Smolder, Drake Security #2 by Mika Nix

If you want to read a book about a true Bookworm Dragon, then you definitely need to check out Smolder, the second book in the Drake security series by Mika Nix.

From the blurb:

I was hired to protect him, but will our smoldering attraction ignite into love?

When my hot headed brother found his fated mate, a deep, aching desire opened up inside of me for my own. Everyone knows dragons are covetous, jealous… possessive. I am all of these things, but never more so than when I set my eyes on Dempsey for the first time.

Beautiful. Awkward. Sweet. Shy. Perfect. My dragon wants to wrap himself around him the moment he bumps into me outside of his antique shop. Dempsey, however, is not as keen on that idea as my inner beast is.

He hired Drake Security for protection, and he needs it even more than he realized. Unfortunately, we specialize in brute strength and burning sh*t to the ground, and the problem Dempsey has is way out of our league.

Is he my fated mate or am I just so desperate for one that I’m falling for him too fast? Either way, I’ll move heaven and hell to protect him, even if the forces that are after him are unlike anything I’ve dealt with before.

I’ve spent thousands of years hoarding books and storing their words close to my heart. Will the love stories that live inside my soul be enough to woo him? Is it too much to hope that fate has chosen him for me?

**** Smolder is book 2 in the Drake Security series and has a reluctant fated mate, dragon shifters, book swooning, ancient mysteries, and magic. Each book can be read on its own, but is so much better if read in order. The series is all dragons, NO MPREG.

Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's Review:

"I could read so many books if I lived for thousands of years."

Oh, my sweet Dempsey. Same girl, same. If I asked you to find me a couple who are more suited for each other than Hemingway and Dempsey, I think you'd have your work cut out for you. This isn't an opposites-attract or grumpy sunshine pairing similar to book 1. No, this is a romance between two sweet as pie bookworms who are more like each other than not. It's amazing how much these two ended up having in common. Or, well, maybe not. There's a reason fate chose Dempsey as the perfect mate for Hemingway.

"What does he look like when he's absorbed in a good book? What does he sound like breathless from a kiss?"

Such a way with words that Hemingway. In fact, those poetic words of his are part of how he woos a semi reluctant Dempsey. Poor Dempsey doesn't have the greatest self-esteem when they first meet, but fear not! Hemingway makes it his mission to change that and with some help from the exuberant Lake, I think he succeeds. All of this is done in addition to trying to figure out what in the supernatural hell could be after his precious mate.

I really enjoyed the sweetness of the romance between these two. It was adorable how much Hemingway's dragon was besotted as well. He didn't make it easy for Hemingway to deny who Dempsey was to him. These dragons are smarter than their bipedal halves, it seems. Speaking of dragons, it appears the wanderer of the brothers Arson is going to be the next one to fall prey to fate's plans and his mate is definitely going to be causing a stir among the family. I can't wait to see how it all plays out because I have a feeling it's gonna bring the drama and I'm 100% here for it!

Rating: 5 Stars

Sheena's Review:

Smolder is the second in a series, and I would recommend reading the first book before this, as those characters do play a major part in this. This is Dempsey and Hemingway's story, and I really enjoyed it.  Hemingway is hired as a bodyguard to Dempsey when he discovers his shop has been broken into and he no longer feels safe, and their connection is instant. I loved how Dempsey stood up for himself right from the start, Hemingway had the potential to be overbearing and Dempsey tempered that trait right from the off.

I loved how protective Hemingway was, though, even without being sure that Dempsey was his mate. These two were absolutely perfect for each other, with their love of rare books and antiques. I also loved the connection between Lake from the first book, and Dempsey and their growing friendship. The plot moved along well too, and I got a sense of real peril for poor Dempsey. There's a nice cast of secondary characters too. I liked them all. Dahlia, Shakir, and the other brothers, too. Most of all, though, I adored Dempsey and Hemingway together, they were super sweet and hot and just everything.  

I am loving this series and can't wait to read the next brother's story.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

SNik's Review:

Second in series (Drake Security), best if read in order. Paranormal. Fated mate. Slow burn. Found family. Dual POV. 

Hemingway is tasked with providing security for a local antique dealer, but Dempsey is more than a beautiful, shy, sweet book nerd. He is Hemingway’s mate. Hemingway knows he has to protect Dempsey, but also try to slowly woo the man, but that becomes harder and harder as his dragon clamors for him to claim Dempsey. 

This story is beyond swoony and romantic, with Dempsey feeling undeserving of Hemingway’s attention and attraction. Hemingway is thoroughly committed to making Dempsey see his worth, more than any valuable he has within his hoard, and everything he has collected has been in anticipation of being together with Dempsey. 

In this story, being fated mates means having that person having shared interests and passions, valuing every part of your partner, wanting their closeness and company, so Hemingway and Dempsey are beyond meant to be together. With the danger to Dempsey hanging over their heads, the fear of limited time together gave their relationship a tinge of bittersweet, but of course resolved so they could get their HEA. 

This series is getting better with each book.

Rating: 5 Stars

Angel's Review:

" Who cares what the world thinks? Most of the world needs an enema anyway."

I absolutely loved Hem and Dempsey's story. As a bookworm and a fellow hoarder of books, this book resonated with me more than the first one did. I can relate to Dempsey in so, anyways, I really enjoyed his character. He was shy, and a bit awkward, but he didn't let people walk all over him. He stood up for himself when it counted, even though he was scared. When he slapped Hem, I silently cheered for him. You go Dempsey!  

The descriptions and the details of this universe are breathtaking. I adore learning what each of these dragons hoard for their future mates. I like learning more of their quirks and personalities. In this book, we got more information into what other paranormal creatures exist in this world; Vampires, witches, werewolves, curses, ghosts.... And I'm sure there will be other creatures we learn about as the series goes on. 

I adored Lake encouraging and supporting Dempsey in this book. They became so close and it was amazing reading about Dempsey's growth and journey. And of course we got to see more growling and protective dragons, who can't help but getting worked up over the littlest of things. Especially when it concerns their mates.

 

The curse aspect of this book was really intriguing to me. The brothers have never fought something they couldn't see or touch before, so it added a much different element to the overall story and added more to the plot. It was fascinating to read about what the authors chose to have happen to Dempsey in regards to the necklace. It was so interesting and made me excited to read more.  

'I fell in love with books because they were a window into a life I would never have. They were an escape from the life I did have.'

I'm so excited to read more of what's to come in this story. I'm looking forward to reading Arson's book, which if I'm correct I think will be next! 

Rating: 5 Stars

Zakiyya's Review:

𝙎𝙢𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧è𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙚 𝙡𝙖 𝙘𝙧è𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣-𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨!
𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙮 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚.

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙟𝙪𝙢𝙥 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨.

𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙨𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙙.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 - 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙄'𝙫𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚.

𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙬𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧.

𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙖𝙠𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙨𝙤 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚.

𝙇𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙨𝙚𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡.

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 – 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨' 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜... 🥰🥰

𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙙, 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙣-𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙨.

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘼𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙'𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨.

𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚, 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙩…💙💙

Rating; 5 Stars

Heather's Review:

Instant attraction, epic love quotes and a shared love of antique books... oh yeah and a curse... As a former hoarder of books, these two characters were my long lost soulmates!  This was a beautiful love story that had enough external angst, that it was lovely to see the relationship grow quickly and without too much internal angst!

I love when these two authors get together!  The writing flows seamlessly and the story builds on so many different levels!  It's such an interesting world that they are building and I can't wait to see what happens next for the Drake Security brothers!

Rating: 5 Stars

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