3.5 starsHidden Embers is the second novel in the Dragon's Heat series. This is the first book that I've read in the series but the plot was not difficult to follow.Quinn Maguire has seen too much death strike his clan and his family. Grieving over the death of his brother, Quinn is looking for a way to forget. A brilliant doctor, he has not been able to fight the virus that is slowly taking out members of the Dragonstar clan. Quinn feels like a failure and needs to drown his sorrows. While trying to numb the pain in a bottle of Patron, Quinn feels his inner beast come to life when Jasmine Kane (Jazz) walks into the bar. Jazz takes a seat next to Quinn and the attraction is instantaneous and explosive.Jazz is more than willing to have a one night stand with the sexy stranger. She has been recovering from a terrible accident and was more than willing to drive out to New Mexico when her friend Phoebe called, asking for help finding a cure for a unique virus. After a steamy, sexy night, Jazz leaves Quinn, shaken by how intense her reaction to him was. Both are shocked when Jazz arrives at the Dragonstar property and Quinn realizes that Jazz is the doctor he will be working with in trying to find a cure.Hidden Embers is the first book I've read about dragon shape-shifters. Who knew that dragons can be sexy? Hidden Embers started off with lots of heat. The attraction between Quinn and Jazz exploded off the page. Let's just say, I'll never look at a bottle of Patron the same way again. Quinn and Jazz constantly bump heads when working on a cure for the virus. Jazz is an independent woman who is used to working on her own and alone. She doesn't appreciate the protectiveness that Quinn exhibits towards her. Jazz's "I am Woman, Hear Me Roar" attitude grated on my nerves a little. It would pop up at times where she was in true danger. She's in an unfamiliar town, surrounded by shape-shifting dragons who are being targeted for death. She needed to let go of the reins every once in a while.What shocked me while reading Hidden Embers, was I didn't expect some parts to be sad. The virus that is attacking the Dragonstar clan is no joke and there's one part towards the end that had me tearing up. This is no light and airy PNR. There's a lot of smex and romance but the undertone of the overall plot is very dark. I enjoyed reading Hidden Embers and it was a great introduction to dragon shape-shifters. The story for the most part was flowed smoothly. The main characters had a lot of inner dialog that dragged the story in some parts. I would have liked is there was more saying what was going on, instead of thinking about what was going on.All in all, I enjoyed reading Hidden Embers and look forward to the next book in the series, Forbidden Embers, which is Logan's story. I loved Logan in this book and can't wait to learn more about him. Hidden Embers can be read as a standalone. Enough background information is provided throughout the book where you won't feel lost.
