A Kiss of Flame (Shadows Eternal 3) by Ashley Lockwood-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 30, 2024

One last adventure. A dragon bound by duty. A simmering passion that could change everything.

A Kiss of Flame will be the third book in the Shadows Eternal Series.

Barith thought he’d find his true mate long before his mother, Queen Eithne of the Sun Dragon horde, chose one for him. But time has run out. As the eldest of her five children, the queen is ready for her son to make a match and return to the horde to fulfill his duty. Fate intervenes when Barith learns his oldest friend, the half-fae mage Levian, has vanished while tracking a group of dangerous thieves. Seizing the chance to delay his impending fate, Barith embarks on a rescue mission that could be his last taste of freedom.

Levian agrees to let Barith join her investigation into the mysterious dark thieves she calls the Black Masks, knowing their friendship will change forever once he’s mated. When their efforts lead them to an exclusive club catering to magickal creatures’ darkest desires, their act to blend in ignites a firestorm of temptation and long-suppressed feelings that threatens to consume them both.

As duty and desire collide, Barith and Levian must confront the true nature of their bond before it’s too late. Will they risk everything for a chance at love, or will ancient traditions and old wounds tear them apart?

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REVIEW:A KISS OF FLAME is the third instalment in Ashley Lockwood’s contemporary, adult SHADOWS ETERNAL paranormal, fantasy romance series. This is dragon prince Barith McCroy, and mage/Fae Levian Myrddin’s story line. A KISS OF FLAME can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual omniscient third person perspectives (Barith and Levian) A KISS OF FLAME follows the best friends to lovers / forbidden relationship between dragon prince Barith McCroy and half Fae/mage Levian Myrddin. Prince Barith is betrothed to a female dragon in the hopes of making a stronger horde for the Queen but Barith has been in love with his best friend Levian for as long as he can remember, and struggles with his mother’s choice. Levian, the Wizen Council of Mage’s official Ambassador to the Zephyr High Court, finds herself on the hunt for stolen artifacts, artifacts imbued with magical power. The Black Masks, shadow thieves, are working alongside a power mage, a mage who has mastered the dark arts but with the help from a prisoner with inside knowledge, Levian journeys towards the darkness, in an effort to reclaim what doesn’t belong.

The world building follows several paths including the introduction of Prince Barith’s siblings, and their Queen mother, a woman who is determined to control her only son. On her own, Levian searches for the stolen relics, wherein she will be come face to face with the darkness.

The relationship between Levian and Barith is a best friends to lovers; a forbidden relationship in which neither one is willing to admit their love, a love that is prohibited by the dragon Queen. Betrothed to someone he doesn’t love, Barith struggles between duty and honor, and the love of a woman he cannot have. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of coloful, magical and powerful secondary and supporting supernatural characters including the introduction of Barith’s sisters Catriona, Judith, Flora and Gwen, and their mother Queen Eithne; half-faes Lucian Vane and his co-conspirator Tsuki; as well as Levian’s father Merlin McCroy; and High Daemon Lord Carvatticus; The requisite evil has many faces.

A KISS OF FLAME is a story of power and control, magic and mayhem, secrets and lies, family and relationships, acceptance and love. The slow building premise is detailed and dramatic; the romance is fated and seductive; the characters are desperate and dynamic.

Reading Order and Previous reviews
Shadow of Dark Desire
A Heart of Ice and Shadow

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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Haven’t started the series? Book 1-SHADOW OF DARK DESIRE is FREE

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Book 2-A HEART OF ICE AND SHADOW is only 99¢

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