BURNING DESIRE – Donna Grant
Dark Kings Series, Book 3
St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN-10: 1-2500-6070-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-2500-6070-9
October 2014
Fantasy

Ireland and Scotland – The Present

Rhi, the light fae who has both helped and harassed the dragon kings, was captured by the dark fae in the previous Dark Kings volume. To find her, Dragon King Kiril relocated from Dreagan, the dragon kings' property in Scotland, to dark, fae-infested Ireland. His task is to find out where the dark fae hold Rhi. Of course, Kiril knows the dark fae have identified him and track him. A dark fae woman, Shara, flirts with him at a bar, and he asks her to dinner. He is unprepared for his instant attraction to Shara.

Shara is the daughter of the powerful dark fae Blackwood family. Because she failed to live up to their expectations for evil, they punished her with a thousand year lock up in her bedroom. Now, if she cannot seduce the Dragon King Kiril to redeem herself, her brother will kill her. Her family wants to capture a Dragon King to prove their power. Unfortunately, Balladyn, once a light fae and friend to Rhi, now turned dark fae and evil, plans to outmaneuver the Blackwoods and steal their planned dragon king capture.

Shara knows she is dark fae; she has done evil and has the red eyes and silver streaked hair to prove it, and although the dark fae have turned light fae to the dark, the change has never gone in reverse. She feels her love for Kiril is doomed, but he has done more for her than anyone else ever has, especially her own family. He even offered her sanctuary at Dreagan. How can she do anything she knows will harm him?

While the undeniable attraction between Shara and Kiril is the main theme of the story, secondary stories are very important. Finding Rhi and gaining her release frames the purpose of the story, and the significance about which dragon king was her lover begins to build. The movements of the dragon king, Uric, and his plans to carry out his retribution against the other dragon kings, continue in this volume, with him taking some action. Balladyn, along with other dark fae, constantly work to defeat the dragon kings, and the momentum toward a coming war increases. Other dragon kings known from previous stories play vital parts, as does the half-fae, half-human dark warrior, Phelan. It is a complicated story, but I believe a key one to future stories. I recommend reading the previous Dragon King volumes before tackling Burning Desire for understanding the nuances, but even if you do not, you will be able to follow the action with little problem.

Robin Lee