Review: Wicked Dark Dragon

Wicked Dark Dragon (Dragon Heat #3)

by Lolita Lopez

Blurb:

 Adopted a few weeks after birth, Ivy Morales suspects that

she might not be totally human. Fully aware that one whisper of such insanity would land her in a mental institution, she keeps the outlandish thought to herself. But there's no ignoring the increasingly vivid and stunningly powerful dreams of an ancient blood feud that plague her nightly—or the darkly erotic turn those dreams have recently taken.

Drawn to Mexico for Spring Break, Ivy unwittingly stumbles right into the path of the same evil presence from her mysterious dreams. Kidnapped and held hostage, she has only one chance to survive. She reaches out to the wickedly sexy man from her dreams and prays he'll answer her call for help.

Welsh dragon shifter Ian Madoc struggles to understand the strange dream connection he shares with this unknown woman. In all his centuries of life, he's never experienced anything like it—and it unsettles him. When the dreams turn to pleas for help, Mad rushes off in the middle of the night, hell-bent on saving the young woman he fears may be his mate.

But rescuing Ivy from the clutches of the Knights is only the beginning of Mad's problems. When Ivy's true identity is revealed, old secrets and a close friend's betrayal put him at odds with the rest of the Brotherhood. Protecting the dragon species is no longer his top priority. He'll do anything to keep Ivy safe, even if it means walking away from the only life he's ever known.

Themes: dragons, magick, paranormal

Rating: 3.5 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

The dragons are invading once again! Invading my mind and my bookshelves, to be sure.  The third installment in the Dragon Heat series was interesting and sweet, with a woman escaping hell to be awakened to the heat within herself by the sexy beast that has capture her heart and soul.  If you have read previous stories in this series it seems that the timing of this book overlaps a bit with previous stories, but I loved it anyway.  Ian “Mad” Madoc is a great character, sweet, strong and deadly all while being a good friend to his new mate.  Ivy was a woman whose world has collided with the hidden world of paranormals that has always been a part of her life, even if she had no idea about it.  I have enjoyed each book in this series, though some of the characters are asses that focus too much on the external damage caused by others and not enough on the drama they cause with their callousness.  The next book in the series, starring Niko, I believe, is going to be awesome and I cannot wait to see him lose his heart to a human. 

Mad is the kind of mate that any girl could wish for, sweet, brave, loving, and deadly to his woman’s enemies, but he is a bit overwhelming for the likes of Ivy.  I especially enjoyed the way he remained determined not to give into his base animal instincts and needs just to give Ivy the time she needed to make a decision about their mating.  When his friends deceive them both into rushing things, he resists for her sake right up until she seduces him and convinces him that she’s ready for him.  Ivy was a sweet if somewhat shallow character, but I liked her despite that.  She was still very young in many ways and being forced to handle a long and torturous imprisonment, drastic changes in her worldview, and a sexy and attentive new mate, all at once, was a bit much for her.  Overall, the story was short and pretty good, with some danger, drama, passion and love.  It was also nice to see Griff and know his mating was going well.  This series is interesting and I hope that future books might be a bit longer so Lopez has time to expound on her characters and really get into the grit of the emotions that drive these mystical and fabulous creatures. 

*eARC provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.