I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my ow

This story is about Dragon King Nicolai and Esther, a human. Esther is an agent for MI5 and she and her brother Henry live and work with the Dragon Kings. They are one of the few humans who know of their existence.

Out on a mission, a part of Esther's memories was taken by a Druid. What did she see? What does she know? Esther feels she must look for the Druid and try to get her memories back. She feels lost and un-whole. She isn't even sure if the memories she has are in the correct sequence...

There has always been an attraction between Nik and Esther but Esther feels she cannot even think about it until she has her memories back and Nik understands her feelings. They embark to London to try and piece together Esther's last days to see if they can find the druid. Nikolai has a special talent as a Dragon King. He can sketch memories and dreams that come to him and that could really help Esther. Plus Nikolai won't leave her safety to anyone else. Questions also come up about Esther and her brother's parentage.

The Druid is basically being blackmailed to do as she has done by a man who wants to be the King of Dragon Kings, an evil, evil man.

Can Nikolai and Esther find the Druid and her memories? Can they truly find out who is the one spreading all the turmoil?

After I started reading the book, I remembered I had read another book or 2 from the series and I do enjoy the author's writing. A time or 2 I was a bit confused but it did clear up for me. At first I felt like there was a lot going on but now I feel like I just had to adjust to the characters and their heritage. Not only do you have the Dragon Kings and the humans, you also have the Dark (evil) and Light (not evil) Fae nd the Druids of course.

I think I need to start getting caught up on this series...oh, without giving anything away...I hope that Pub owner in London got some answers on his lost love...

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to enjoy Donna Grant's book # 12 - Heat. I'm definitely giving this book five stars. I loved the interactions between the all the characters and there are a lot of characters at this point. We first got a glimpse of Nikolai in Blaze and I'm glad he has his own story and HEA with Esther. (Now I'm hoping that her brother will also get his own HEA even if it's not in his own book..and maybe with a Fae..) The plot thickens now with Dragons, Faes, Druids, Warriors, TruthSeeker & JusticeBringer. Now I want to know more about the last two and did they really wipe out the entire family.
I'm still crossing my fingers that Rhi's Dragon King is Con but deep in my mind it's telling me that that is probably not true. Although Ms. Grant is very slick in her wording and I really thought Con was her man for about a good two seconds lol. I need more clues as to who this King is!

Donna writes such great wonderful characters that have you coming back for more. Every book answers questions and raise more.

Having read all the books in Donna Grant’s Dark World to date, I was thrilled to get an ARC copy from NetGalley of "Heat", the next upcoming book in her Dragon Kings series.

"Heat" continues the story of Nikolai and Esther whose attraction first began in "Blaze". Together they are determined to locate the Druid who infiltrated Esther’s mind and stole some of her memories. As the story progresses, we learn a lot more about Ulrik through Nikolai’s memories about his past relationship with Ulrik. From those memories as well as Nikolai’s present-day interactions with Ulrik, there are many unsettling questions about what the Dragon Kings can expect from Ulrik, both good and bad. While all this is going on, Rhi and Balladyn’s relationship is tested by some unexpected events and this may well alter the dynamics between the Dragon Kings and the Fae.

Tensions among all the parties keep building. Asher sums up the situation very nicely when he says,

“MI5 has been taken care of for the moment…But that still leaves our spy, (view spoiler), the Dark, Ulrik – or Mikkel, or both – the Reapers, Usaeil, the mortals – particularly the one you have in the dungeon – no’ to mention the wooden dragon and the magic mixed up in that. And lest we forget, the Druid who continues to wreak havoc among us.”

Throw Rhi and Balladyn into the mix, Usaeil’s treachery, and the newest developments with Esther and her brother, Henry, and there is much that is left unresolved.

"Heat" ends on a most ominous note - (view spoiler) And then there are those cliffhangers at the end: (view spoiler)

The world of the Dragon Kings is constantly changing and the tension keeps building. Even knowing that there is so much more to come before the final battle, I feel the series moves at a pace that keeps flowing and keeps my interest throughout. I can’t wait for the next books in this series as well as the interrelated Reapers series to learn what happens next.

Another FANTASTIC addition to the Dragon Kings series. I loved the story in this book and loved the way it fit in to the series as a whole. Still waiting for Rhi's King to be named :)

Book 12 in the Dark King series, I thought Heat was a great read! I loved Nikolai and Esther and thought their romance was beautifully done! I enjoyed how most of the story was focused on these two and their romance, with side pockets of other characters peppering the pages just enough to move the overall plot along. Ulrik, Con, and Rhi, encounter surprising changes of their own-some good, some bad-while Esther and her brother, Henry have a shock of their own.

I’ve read this series off and on over the years and was able to jump back in with Blaze (book 11) with no problems. In Heat, the romance was spot on and the supporting cast was great! I liked the plot twists and am excited to see what’s in store for the Dragon Kings next!

ARC provided courtesy of St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley.

Omg, the twist continues. The love of our dragons just gets stronger with each mate being found. Urick is becomeing more than the bad guy and we just keep asking more questions. Wow and wow. Can this author get any more amazing.

I have been a fan of the Dark Kings series now since I started part way through the series by reading book 5 first and since then I have devoured anything and everything related to the Dragon Kings!

I definitely think that to get the most out of this series you need to read them in order and I don't think this one really works too well as a stand alone as there are still a lot of loose ends and discussion about what has happened in the other books to make it a bit confusing!

I enjoyed the writing style, pace and settings as always but for me this one wasn't one of the strongest books of the series, I felt it was a bit of a filler to try and close off some of the loose ends ready to start a bigger story that has been building up for a while - that said I still really enjoyed it and read it as soon as it landed on my Kindle! 4.5 stars from me for this one, rounded up to 5 stars for Goodreads and Amazon - looking forward to the next instalment!

A great read! I need to play catch up on this series. I've read the first 3 in this series and just jumped into book 12, Lol. In this book we have Nikolai, Dragon King to the Ivories and Esther an MI5 Agent. Together they embark on an adventure to help her recover memories that were removed by a Druid. This story is filled with suspense, characters from previous books, more questions than answers and so much lies and betrayal. I freaking loved it. I have a serious thang,for Dragons. I love them soooooooo much. Nikolai falls in love with Esther he realizes that Esther is his one true mate. I enjoyed this story immensely and need to go back and read books 4-11, Lol. 5 stars!!!

If you haven’t read the others you might be a little confused, like me. It was an excellent story though with dragons and other paranormal creatures. The sex was hot. The characters were both good and evil. It doesn’t just tell the main characters sides but several more views. They don’t argue or fight, it’s just a love story between a dragon and human.
Esther is a MI5 agent who had some of her memories erased by a Druid. She is staying in Dreagan, the dragons castle, while trying to find out who took her memories and what she did in the time she doesn’t remember. Nikolai is a dragon king who was orphaned by some of his own people. He has the power to look at a person and see where they have been. Then he sketches it. He helps Esther find the Druid that stole her memories, so they travel to London where she was last at. There they discover secrets of Esther’s and who she truly is. Nikolai knew she was his mate when she walked into his room and saw his drawings. But he will wait until her memories are back before telling her, meanwhile Esther has fallen in love with him too. First they have to get her life back on track before they start talking about a future.

I love the Ancients, and if you throw in some magic and dragons like this book did, then you’ve got my attention.
The story involves Dragon Kings, Fae, Druids and the battle for supremacy between the magic world of immortals and human beings. There is a war brewing and an ancient Dragon King, Nikolai, is woken up from his deep slumber and finds himself in the middle of it all. He has the ability to bring to life one’s memories and thoughts through his art and Esther, a former MI5 Agent, and sister to Henry, a member of Dreagen, has lost a huge chunk of her memory after coming across a Druid.
In an attempt to regain her memory, Nikolai, comes to terms with an action they took against a former Dragon King, Ulrik, the man who raised him as his own after his parents were murdered. The guilt he’s carried over the years makes him not only vulnerable but also understanding of Esther’s fears and angst. When they are on the brink of finding the powerful Druid, Nikolai, realizes that Esther is his mate and that makes their quest more dangerous. Past secrets, former and new allies, all align and you can help but wonder when the next book’s going to be released.

I loved the flow because the author’s writing feels like you are listening to a story and living it through the characters.
She’s got a balance on character dynamics in the Dragon Kings. I am intrigued by the mystery she’s created around Ulrik. The other dragons know him as a great leader, calculative and even manipulative but they also know that he’s not a fool. It’s almost as though they are the pieces on his grand chessboard and he decides which moves to take.
I was drawn to Con because one: he is in love with Rhi, a fae, and they cannot be because there are enemies including Rhi’s sister, who prefers to have them apart. Second, he is the Dragon King who Ulrik is most likely to challenge to a fight and defeat. Third he is calculative, he does not second guess himself or give away too much of himself. So, Donna Grant, I’d love to read Con and Rhi’s story because I know he did not just save Balladyn,because the woman he loves asked of him. He’s looking to collect a favor and I want to know what it is.
Can we take a second and talk about the cover? I love the cover and shout out to the designer because all the covers of the books in the Dark Kings series are sizzling.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and it was a thrilling adventure.

5 Stars. I love this series and devour each installment. Since there are so many characters, some I connect with more than others. At first I wasn’t sure about Nikolai and Esther. He seemed distant and kept himself apart from the others, sketching. Esther was devistated after the Druid took control over her and a shadow of her former self. I didn’t see how these two would help each other. Boy was I wrong.

Nikolai was so patient and understanding. He supported her and stood behind her as she went on her journey. To see Ester come into her own and Nikolai protect her while not taking over control of the situation was refreshing. He’s still a strong man, but doesn’t need to dominate the situation.

Henry annoyed me. I won’t go into why, but I hope he’s redeemed when his novel comes. I felt that Rhi, Balladyn, Ulrik and Con take up more than usual in this novel. Which I liked, it it did create a bit of a jarring effect when going between all the storylines. A bit of a shake up towards the end, but honestly, who of you didn’t see that coming! I really wish we’d get some official resolution of who Rhi’s Dragon King is, but i guess that’s one wish not coming true for a while.

I highly recommend this book and am on the edge of my seat waiting for Ulrik’s novel. Can’t wait to see if he’s paired up with Eilish.

Normally I love this author but I haven’t read other books in this series and I really couldn’t follow what was going on.

This is the first book I have read by Donna Grant and it is part of a long-running series. Even without reading the previous books, I was able to catch up with a lot that was going on. It helped that this book focused on the relationship between Nikolai and Esther.and gave in-depth background on Nikolai and enough background on Esther to understand her situation.

I liked the early relationship of the orphaned Ivory dragon Nikolai and the Silver Dragon King Ulrik who saved his life. Watching Nikolai as he helped Esther recover her missing memories and be supportive of her in every way was heartwarming. Now I want to go back and find the first book in this series to follow all the characters and storylines that were in this book.