Burned by Darkness (Dragons of Eternity Book 1)

Couldn't wrap my mind about this. i like paranormal and fantasy and sf and almost everything, but the humor in this book didn't agree with me, and so it spoiled it all. We are all different I suppose. Well written and all that but, naah,....

I was sad when the Guardians of Eternity series ended, but there was a silver lining in that there was to be a spin-off series featuring dragons. Oh yes, excited and eager for that!

The story opens with lovely imp, Tayla, contentedly looking about her at her dream home and tea shop. She has been on the run all her life it seems, but something compelled her to put down shallow roots when she saw the quaint old Victorian house near the woods. And she doesn't even live alone because she has rented rooms to Levet, the gargoyle for his matchmaking business. Levet is sweet and harmless, but he is bothered that she wants nothing to do with a love match. She begs him to leave well enough alone, but Levet doesn't and her life takes a turn for the dangerous and interesting.

Baine has been searching for the gorgeous imp that escape him for twenty-five years. His fiery dragon nature has been on edge since he clapped eyes on the imp when the trolls brought her as a slave to pay a debt to his father. He bought the debt and now she is his if he can catch her. Then it is by luck that his dragon scents her through a portal to the earth dimension. He promptly collects his imp and sets out to seduce her not knowing why he cares that she accept him and willingly take him. He is distracted by his scheming father's sudden interest in having Tayla back and why there is a group of trolls also eagerly seeking her. What is it about Tayla?

Tayla discovers the truth behind her being taken by trolls and sold to the dragon and is determined to honor the debt, but there is no way she will fall for her captor. She won't, she really, really,...she did. But he can't know. She won't be vulnerable to the arrogant male who must think of her as a possession.

This one felt very familiar as it was part of the Guardians world. In fact, there wasn't much world-building. I think there is an assumption that the reader is already familiar with everything, but the newly introduced immortal dragons and maybe the trolls. Not that depth is the strong point.

No, the strong part of the plot is the action and the light, but passionate romances. Things move along quickly or at least steadily. The story is introduced enough so the reader isn't confused and then its off like a rocket. The romance is scorching and formulaic like the series before it. Arrogant alpha male and fiery female who won't be dictated to share a strong attraction and end up in fast and furious fight and love scenes. This is not a complaint; just an observation. I happen to get a kick out of these stories feeling familiar in the paranormal version of a cozy read. I like that the challenges are mostly external and these are easy reads as a result.

I enjoyed Baine and Tayla's story. He is so arrogant and has no idea why she is being so difficult when he went to so much trouble. And she doesn't seem to realize that his demanding, assuming ways are proofs that he cares and not that he sees her as an object. He is one hot, powerful, sexy dragon and he knows it, but Tayla doesn't immediately swoon and jump into his bed. The challenge is good for him and being wanted and treasured is something she needs after her father constantly used her.

I loved that Baine's dragon side had several good scenes and was part of the action. He is a powerful being and I loved seeing the dragon flexing his muscles so to speak. I do wish that the enemies would have been a bigger challenge, but I guess that would have been tough since he was the biggest, baddest monster in the game.

Finally, it was hilarious to have Levet be a crossover character. And hey, he annoys the dragons as much as he did all the other immortals. But he truly has the heart of a knight in shining armor and he so wants to prove it.

All in all, it was a good start to the spin-off series. It was on the lighter side though had enough action and passion to keep it interesting. I would recommend it to paranormal romance fans, but those who enjoyed the Guardians of Eternity series would get more out of it.

I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Tayla has barely opened the doors on her new home when the very dragon she’s been running from tracks her down and demands she pays off her debts in this splendid paranormal romance.

Baine has spent a quarter of a century tracking down his beautiful imp and he’s not about to let her go and the reader can’t help but be enthralled by this romance as Baine works to uncover her secrets before he loses her forever. The relationship is full of fireworks and emotional turmoil as Tayla refuses to be a concubine in a harem and Baine is determined to keep her while the sizzling chemistry between them burns hot enough to scorch dragon scales. Strong captivating characters demand attention while the fast paced, smooth flowing plot thrills readers with lots of suspense, excitement and romance.

Adrenaline pumping excitement builds throughout the story as it quickly becomes obvious that Baine isn’t the only demon hunting Tayla including Baine’s father which adds quite a few heated clashes and - well let’s just they really ought to know better than to tick off a dragon. The intriguing events draw the reader in and the well written scenes and details capture the imagination making it easy for the reader to picture each and every scene as it happens with Levet charming readers and adding his own special touch to the story as he sets out to be Tayla’s KISA – knight in shining armor.

Combine the Guardians of Eternity world with Dragons and you have one heart pounding world to enjoy and I for one am so glad that there is more to come and of course having the cute French gargoyle around to add his charm to the story just makes it perfect, so I can’t wait to read the next one.

Alexandra Ivy’s Burned by Darkness is a good read. Tayla has been running for the last 25 years. She has always felt that she needed to keep moving because she was going to get caught. She thought she was the hapless victim of trolls and sold to the highest bidder. What she finds out rips her apart. The only thing that keeps her together is her near desperate need to get away from Baine, the dragon who bought her. He doesn’t realize that Tayla doesn’t know that she is payment for her father’s gambling debt. When Baine shows her the contract that her father signed she is torn up but resigned to the fact that she going to bail him out again. She agrees to honor the contract but keeps putting up a fight at the idea of falling in love with him. She doesn’t acknowledge the fact that the reason she ran away was because she felt that she could fall for him and have that be a way for him to control her. Baine bought Tayla’s contract from his father the minute he scented her. His dragon knew that she belonged to them. Baine had to deal with trolls chasing her, and a traitor in his mists. Baine worried that Tayla was only with him to honor the contract. He didn’t know why it mattered if she really wanted to be with him, but it did. He works toward gaining her love and when he finally has a good chance she gets kidnapped. I love that Baine sets things up so that Tayla has to admit her feelings for him and that forces him to admit his own feelings towards her. I give this book 4 stars! Alexandra Ivy drew me in and kept me there!

The Dragons of Eternity were once creatures of myth and legend. Now they’ve returned to the world, prepared to claim what’s rightfully theirs…

Tayla is desperate for a place to call home. After years on the run, the young imp impulsively buys a teahouse and is determined to build a new life. Unfortunately, she’s barely opened the doors when she’s tracked down by the dragon who purchased her from troll slave-traders. He demands she pay off her debts…in his harem.

Baine has devoted a quarter of a century to tracking down his beautiful concubine. And now that he has her in his grasp, he’s not about to let her go. But it’s soon apparent that he isn’t the only demon hunting her. He must uncover her secrets or risk losing her forever.

"Dragons of Eternity" is a new series by Alexandra Ivy, a fairly prolific writer, especially regarding the paranormal romance genre.
"Burned by Darkness" is the first book about Dragons, very nice and pretty short.
This writer's style is unmistakable if you know her, the stories are full of humor and sensuality and the protagonists of the book are always very compelling and unique.
A new series but its relates to other books written by this author thanks to creatures that we already met in her earlier stories.
Among all, the little gargoyle Levet, with his big ego, but he still very brave and he's a sweet heart. He's unmissable thanks to his French accent, with his particular idioms, his blunders are so funny , while he's speaking in English. His character is secondary in this book, but he leaves the mark as always.
Baine, the Dragon, is the protagonist, he is the perfect portrait of this breed: his extraordinary powers, thanks to his magic and the physicality and strength of his Dragon form, but he is also arrogant, extremely jealous and possessive of his treasures, lonely and unforgiving, brutally honest and ... beautiful. Not bad then his healthy habit of walking around always bare-chested showing his beautiful tattoos.

Tayla is also a magical creature, in part Faerie, but she has just a particular skill, which puts her life in danger. She lived a life always on the run, this is her biggest regret, she'd love a real home and friends.
Between Tayla and the Baine the attraction is from their first encounter , but the reasons of it is unacceptable for the imp: she's going to become part of his harem, she was kidnapped and sold as a slave to repay a debt.
Their story is a struggle of will and desire.
Baine is accustomed to always have control of things and Tayla is the only woman he ever met to refuse him, but she is also the only one able to make him feel emotions that he has never felt.
I really like them as a couple and I loved Baine because despite Tayla is special for him, he won't be reduced to become her doormat.
The plot is nice and I do love Alexandra Ivy's stories .

"Dragons of Eternity" è una nuova serie di Alexandra Ivy, scrittrice abbastanza prolifica, soprattutto per quanto riguarda il genere paranormal romance.
"Burned by Darkness" è il primo libro su Dragoni, molto carino e abbastanza breve.
Lo stile di questa scrittrice è inconfondibile se la si conosce, le sue storie sono piene di humour e sensualità e i protagonisti del libro sempre molto affascinanti e singolari.
Serie nuova ma comunque che si ricollega agli altri libri scritti da questa autrice grazie alle creature che già si sono incontrate nelle sue storie precedenti.
Tra tutti Levet, il piccolo gargoyle, dal grande ego, ma sempre molto coraggioso e di cuore. È imperdibile grazie al suo accento francese, con i suoi particolari modi di dire,veri e propri strafalcioni, mentre parla in inglese. Il suo personaggio è secondario in questo libro, ma lascia come sempre il suo segno, è molto divertente.
Baine, il dragone protagonista, è il ritratto perfetto di questa razza: i suoi poteri straordinari, grazie alla sua magia e alla fisicità e forza della creature nella quale si può trasformare, ma è anche arrogante, estremamente geloso e possessivo dei suoi tesori, solitario e spietato, brutalmente sincero e... bellissimo. Non guasta poi la sua sana abitudine di andare in giro sempre a torso nudo con i suoi stupendi tatuaggi sempre il bella vista.
Tayla è una creatura magica a sua volta, in parte Faerie, non ha poteri immensi, ma giusto un'abilità particolare, che mette la sua vita in serie pericolo. Ha vissuto una vita sempre in fuga, una solitudine forzata e questo è il suo rammarico più grosso.
Tra lei e Baine scocca subito la scintilla, ma i presupposti per il loro rapporto sono inaccettabili per Tayla: è finita per diventare parte del suo harem, rapita e venduta come schiava per ripagare un debito.
Tra loro è uno scontro continuo tra volontà e desiderio.
Baine è abituato ad avere sempre il controllo delle cose e Tayla è l'unica donna che abbia mai incontrato a fare ostruzione nei suoi confronti, ma anche l'unica in grado di fargli sentire emozioni che non ha mai provato e con le quali ha qualche difficoltà ad adattarsi.
Come coppia mi piacciono molto e quello che adoro in Baine è che nonostante Tayla per lui sia speciale, non si riduce a diventare il suo zerbino.
Carina anche la trama e adoro sa scrivere Alexandra Ivy le sue storie!

Okay so to be totally honest the whole harem thing definitely had me a little worried when I started this one but luckily that turned out to be a nonissue. I was expecting Tayla to end up being one in a room full of many willing to "service" Baine and I have never been so happy to be wrong in all my life.

As soon as Baine saw Tayla twenty-five years ago he knew she was meant to be his. Unfortunately Tayla managed to escape and has been evading him and his father ever since. You see, Tayla was kidnapped by trolls and was given to Baine's father to serve in his harem. As soon as Tayla learned her fate, she escaped and has been running ever since.

Wary of settling down and being caught but tired of not having a place to call home, Tayla buys her teahouse and has it spelled so that she can't be caught. Unfortunately something causes her spells to fail and Baine finds her. When she learns the real reason she was given to Baine's father, and that Baine actually purchased her from him, she knows that she has to pay off her debt. But that doesn't mean that she has to enjoy being in his harem, right?!

I absolutely loved the relationship between Baine and Tayla. The chemistry was off the charts but I loved that Baine wouldn't take Tayla until she admitted that she actually wanted to be with him. And when they finally ended up together? Smoking hot... Literally!

There's a nice bit of suspense thrown in when Baine and Tayla learn that he wasn't the only one searching for her all those years. And, of course, watching Baine become his badass dragon to protect his mate definitely made this one worth reading. I swear there's nothing sexier than a shifters' protective side.

Burned by Darkness was a great start to this new series and I can't wait to see where Alexandra Ivy goes with it. Definitely a must read for fans of paranormal romance!

*ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars-BURNED BY DARKNESS is the first installment in Alexandra Ivy’s adult, contemporary Dragons of Eternity paranormal romance series-a spin off from Alexandra’s Guardians of Eternity PNR series. This is dragon shifter Baine, and imp Tayla’s storyline. Our little gargoyle Levet crosses over and establishes himself a match making business .

Told from several third person perspectives BURNED BY DARKNESS finds our heroine on the run. For twenty five years Tayla has barely stayed one step ahead of the dragon who seeks Tayla as part of his hoard. What Tayla doesn’t know is that she is payment for a debt owed by someone close-someone she hasn’t seen or heard from in years. What ensues is a building relationship between Tayla and Baine, and Baine’s need to claim Tayla as his mate.

BURNED BY DARKNESS is a quick read that focuses on the history between dragons, imps, demons and fae. There is also a hierarchy of dragon power that finds Baine at the helm of his own following, but one that does not usurp the power of the man who sired our hero. Baine’s father wants Tayla for his own purpose, but Baine must ensure that Tayla is protected at all times.

The relationship between Tayla and Baine is acrimonious as Tayla has been on the run from Baine and his father. But there is a definite attraction between our leading couple, one that does not go unnoticed by a perpetually nosy gargoyle, or Baine’s assistant-half dragon-Char. The $ex scenes are limited in number; there is some spark and heat where it concerns Tayla and Baine’s sexual activity.

BURNED BY DARKNESS includes plenty of humor thanks to Levet and his inability to use modern English slang. Alexandra Ivy introduces her readers to another entertaining and wonderful paranormal series that is very similar in style, world building and supernatural character development as her successful Guardians of Eternity. I suspect there will be many cross over characters in future storylines.

Burned by darkness is the first volume in the new paranormal series titled Dragons of Eternity, by Alexandra Ivy.
It’s a spin-off of her Guardians of Eternity series, and the book tells Baine’s story, who made an appearance in Darkness avenged.

The story is a novella and its goal is to introduce the world of the Dragons. Some questions remain at the end of the story: we don’t really know who the real villain is and we know that all the Dragons are not really nice. For example, Baine’s father is a horrible creature. And he’s still alive…
Even if there is a bad guy in this novella, and even if the suspense is resolved, we don’t know if his actions will lead to a chain reaction. So, to be continued…
But readers don’t have to be worried because we close the book with a satisfying HEA.

The characters are very nice. Tayla and Baine already know each other, and when they met a few years ago, Tayla ran away, for some very good reasons that I will let you discover. And when Baine finally finds her, all he wants is that Tayla accepts her feelings for him. But, as often with Alexandra Ivy’s heroes, Baine goes about it the wrong way. As an alpha male, why to hesitate? LOL Tayla will have to be very determined and will have to often stand up to him. I loved the relationship between the heroes, I loved the few hot scenes well described, and I loved the end.

We see Levet again with great pleasure. He now owns a matrimonial agency for paranormal creatures. LOL And by the way, when I closed the book, there was still some mystery about his implication in what happens to Tayla at the beginning of the book.

To conclude, Burned by darkness is very good story by Alexandra Ivy. Again. I highly recommend its reading. And I can’t wait for her next book.

Talk about an arrogant dragon. There is none more so than Baine. Poor Tayla doesn't have a chance. All these dominating males in her life and not a single choice of her own to make until of course she understands the reality of her attraction to Baine. One thing I was a little disappointed about was that I loved the mating rituals especially of the vampires in The Guardians of Eternity series but it's not as defined or elaborate in this series. There is something so romantic about the mate's mark on the skin and I wish something of the sort could have been possible for a dragon mating seeing as Baine has very distinctive tattoos. Other than that, this series looks like it's going to get a lot more interesting and as good as it's predecessor.

Free copy provided in exchange for an honest review

 Burned By Darkness,  Alexandra Ivy
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre:  Romance,
I’ve enjoyed several of Alexandra’s books now and was looking forward to actually getting in at the start of a new series. Sadly though this series is one I’ll be missing.
The story is fine and of course well written as you’d expect from an AI novel, its just the plot that failed for me. I like my romance and/or supernatural reads to have a solid plot, something I can get my teeth in and here, it really just features around dragon natures and the kidnapping/developing romance between Tayla and Baine. The characters were fun, but very light and I didn’t feel I really knew, them so wasn’t really invested in the romance. And one of my pet peeves is twee names so dragons called Char and Synge made my teeth cringe....it’s one of the reasons I can’t bring myself to read the very popular BDB series...I read through to 50% but was convinced by then that this was a series for me to miss, so simply skim read the rest just to see the ending. It won’t stop me reading Alexandra’s other books, I know she’s an author whose works I usually love, and look forward to other stories from her. Just that this series is a miss for me, nothing wrong with the story, simply that it doesn’t appeal to me, but I’m sure there will be many readers who adore it and avidly wait for more. .
Stars: two, sadly an AI series I’ll be missing.
ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers 

Baine is one possessive dragon, “true.” At last they could agree. He would always protect her. “You are mine.” When you're used to having women drop their panties on your command, your ego takes a plunge when one doesn't appreciate efforts, our boy is learning that the female mind is not to be tamed, "why wasn’t she giddy? “You are…” He hesitated, choosing his words with care. “Very difficult to please.” Can anyone e say jealous much? “You won’t talk of other males,” he commanded , bristling with pure male possession. “You won’t even think of them.” I'm going to love this series I love me some moody dragons.

Baine is one possessive dragon, “true.” At last they could agree. He would always protect her. “You are mine.” When you're used to having women drop their panties on your command, your ego takes a plunge when one doesn't appreciate efforts, our boy is learning that the female mind is not to be tamed, "why wasn’t she giddy? “You are…” He hesitated, choosing his words with care. “Very difficult to please.” Can anyone e say jealous much? “You won’t talk of other males,” he commanded , bristling with pure male possession. “You won’t even think of them.” I'm going to love this series I love me some moody dragons.