Review: Breath of Fire

Breath of Fire

Tammy Kane

Fantasy Romance

Dragonfold Series*/Book 1

Dorchester Publishing/July 2009

Library book

From the back cover ~

When the dragon came to claim him, Karl knew his great plan had gone horribly wrong. If he had known the creature was real, he wouldn’t have scoffed at the villagers… and he certainly wouldn’t have been so quick to let them chain him to a rock. Mattaen Initiates trained as warriors, but no man could defeat a dragon.

"My name is Elera, daughter of Shane. And you, Initiate, are my virgin prize.”

She had vanquished the beast and named her price: one night with the virgin sacrifice she’d saved. He’d taken a vow of chastity, but Karl still had a man’s needs—and Elera’s sultry curves made him ache to taste his first woman. With one scorching kiss she shattered his defenses… and led him into a world of deception and seduction, where he’d be forced to choose between the brotherhood that had raised him and the woman whose courage set his heart on fire.

What starts out as the old story of villagers sacrificing a virgin takes a drastic change when a man (Karl) questions their beliefs. Our hero Karl then agrees to trade places with the virgin and he can because... he's a virgin too! But Karl is in for a surprise when it turns out the villagers were right - dragons are real!

The dragons in Kane's book are not shape-shifters but actual dragons. One male dragon with a harem of females. Kane gives the reader the feeling that these dragons have unique personalities and are more than the monsters humans think them to be. I became enchanted with these creatures and felt that by making them more than just props for the humans, they were an essential part of the story.

Elena is an alpha heroine who starts off saving the hero and demanding an interesting payment in return. She wants Karl to spend the night with her. I liked her from the very beginning. There was a bump in the road early on but after that I found her to be an intriguing character. She was smart, loyal, brave and funny with a sarcastic wit that she used well on Karl.

Karl is the hero and he is truly heroic in his beliefs. He has trained for many years as a warrior and as a member of the Mattaen Initiates. I liked Karl and his need for knowledge and his curiosity when it came to Elena and her world. He's only a few days from taking his final vow when he finds himself part of Elena's reward for saving him and the village from the dragon. When he agrees to spend the night with Elena he makes it clear that he has no intention of having sex with her. Elena makes it clear that she will try to change his mind. She doesn't sleep around but she does enjoy sex and has a number of reasons for wanting Karl.

Here's where I had the problem. Elena uses her body to try and change Karl's mind about the no sex and then she uses magic and his virginity becomes a thing of the past. I understand why Elena did it, she even tells him she had no choice, but I still thought it was a dirty thing to do. Karl had explained to her about his vow and his celibacy. His body may have wanted her but in his mind he had every intention of remaining celibate and taking his vow.

So once Karl got past that hurdle the story continued with Karl discovering more about Elena, her land and why she rescued him and needed to spend the night with him. I enjoyed the journey Karl had to take to get to Elena and find the answers he searched for. He was a sponge when it came to learning, always wanting to know more and know why. His knowledge wasn't just books, he was a warrior, a skilled fighter. That knowledge came in very handy in Elena's world.

The fight scenes with the humans and the dragons were exciting, filled with action and tension. I liked the secondary characters, they were developed enough without overwhelming the story or the hero and heroine. Elena's good friend, Tem, played an important role, helping Elena and Karl take on the task of leading Elena's people during a challenging time. Tem is the hero of the second book and I look forward to reading his story.

Tammy Kane has created an intricate world of heroines, heroes and dragons. The twists and turns in Breath of Fire were well plotted and for the most part, held my interest. The story was entertaining and left me wanting to read more of this world. Breath of Fire proved to be a captivating start to a new series. The next book, Fires of Faith, is one I'm looking forward to. No word yet on it's release but I'm hoping for this summer.

Rating: B+

*You can go to TGTBTU to read an interview with Tammy Kane where she talks about writing and the direction the series is heading. There are some mild spoilers. That's were I got the unofficial series name of Dragonfold.

Review: Kiss of Fury

Title: Kiss of Fury

Author: Deborah Cooke

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Series: Dragonfire/Book 2

Published: August 2008

From the back cover ~

For millennia, the shape-shifting dragon warriors known as the Pyr have lived peacefully as commanders of the four elements and guardians of the earth's treasures. But now the final reckoning between the Pyr, who count humans among the earth's treasures, and the Slayers, who would eradicate both humans and the Pyr who protect them, is about to begin…

Scientist Alexandra Madison was on the verge of unveiling an invention that would change the world—then her partner was murdered, their lab burned and their prototype destroyed. When recurring dragon-haunted nightmares threaten to land her in a psychiatric hospital, Alex knows she has to escape to rebuild her prototype in time. But first she must return to her ruined lab…

Handsome, daring, and impulsive, Donovan Shea is more than willing to do his part in the Pyr/Slayer war and save The Madison Project. Assigned to kidnap Alex, Donovan is shocked when her presence ignites the firestorm. He has no desire for a destined mate, but when Alex is attacked by a Slayer, Donovan finds himself meeting fire with fire in her defense. Won over by Alex's intelligence and determination, Donovan fights to rebuild her invention in a race against time. By the time the Slayers close in on their prey, Donovan knows he'll surrender his life to protect Alex, --but will have to lose his heart to possess her...

The second book in the series made me happy I started this series. I think the author did a better job engaging the reader in the romance while still continuing with the world building. I felt more connected with Alex and Donovan than I did with the hero/heroine from the first book.

Donovan isn't as into the mythology of the Pyr as his fellow dragons. He's also decided he will not claim his mate when his firestorm comes. Which is really too bad since it's here and he's been ordered to keep Alex, his destined mate, safe from the people who killed her partner and are now trying to kill her. Donovan's not a happy camper. But he's up for the challenge until he has to deal with Alex. She's not exactly willing to simply put her life in his hands. The friction between these two added to the fact that neither one wanted to get involved with the other but the firestorm had other plans. There's no resisting the desires the firestorm stirs. The more they try to resist the stronger the pull becomes.

Alex is an intelligent woman but it's more book smarts than street smarts. That's not to say she's stupid and innocent of the outside world but the world that she's thrown into isn't anything like she's ever experienced. There's no way to plan for having men who turn into dragons hunting you down. At first she's not sure who to trust. Her partner is attacked and killed by dragons then Donovan shows up doing a "Come with me if you want to live" routine. She knows she needs help but is still wary of Donovan and not willing to follow his orders. Alex definitely makes Donovan work to keep her safe!

The tension between Donovan and Alex continues to increase as does the continued threat from the Slayers and the zombie dragons the Slayers have created. Yes, zombie dragons. And like zombies they're hard to fight and harder to kill. I liked the way Donovan and Alex worked together towards their goal once they got past their initial distrust. They seemed to fit together well and even though they are "destined" to be together it still felt there would have been an attraction without the firestorm.

The rest of the Pyr rally around their brethren to offer help in completing Alex's "green machine". It was nice to see the Pyr that we got to know in Kiss of Fire. (read my review here) Cooke continues to give the reader more information on each of the Pyr, keeping up the interest in the Pyrs' with stories still to be told. The Slayers that lived through book 1 are also in attendence with new Slayers showing up to give the Pyr more trouble and some of the fun fight scenes that I enjoy. I have to say the Slayers are down right nasty. These guys aren't wimps and could swap stories with Attila the Hun. This definitely appeals to me because it evens up the odds against the Pyr. Which makes it much more interesting. I don't like it when the good guys win every time. Not very realistic and I want realism when reading about dragons. LOL

Overall, better than book one. Now to see about book three. And book four just came out. Wow! Dragons all over the place. And if dragons aren't your thing Deborah Cooke also writes historicals under the name Claire Delacroix.

Deborah Cooke and Claire Delacroix can be found here.

Rating: B+

Review: Kiss of Fire

Title: Kiss of Fire

Author: Deborah Cooke

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Series: Dragonfire/Book 1

Published: February 2008

From the back cover ~

For millennia, the shape-shifting dragon warriors known as the Pyr have lived peacefully as commanders of the four elements and guardians of the earth's treasures. But now the final reckoning between the Pyr, who count humans among the earth's treasures, and the Slayers, who would eradicate both humans and the Pyr who protect them, is about to begin…

When ace accountant Sara Keegan decides to settle down and run her quirky aunt's New Age bookstore, she’s not looking for adventure. She doesn’t believe in fate or the magic of the tarot cards, but when she’s saved from a vicious attack by a man who has the ability to turn into a fire-breathing dragon, she questions whether she’s losing her mind—or about to lose her heart.

Self-reliant loner Quinn Tyrrell has long been distrustful of his fellow Pyr. When he feels the firestorm that signals his destined mate, he's determined to protect and possess Sara, regardless of the cost to himself. Then Sara’s true destiny is revealed—and Quinn realizes he must risk everything—even Sara’s love—to fulfill their entwined fates.

Dragons - I'm not exactly drawn to dragons, I can only recall reading a few books where the shape shifters are dragons. But I read some positive comments about this series and thought I'd give it a try. It took me a bit to get into Kiss of Fire, but the dragons turned out to be a nice change from the vamps and weres that seems to be running rampant in PNR lately. I did find myself more curious about how the men looked in their dragon form than in their human form. LOL Cooke's descriptions of the dragons makes them seem fierce, dangerous and beautiful all at the same time.

Sara Keegan, our heroine, is an an accountant by trade and an odd choice for running the New Age bookstore she inherited from her aunt. She likes order and doesn't believe in the mystical the way her late aunt did. But she's decided that she will give it a try. I thought Sara was an okay heroine. I wouldn't say I really liked her but I didn't actually dislike. I found myself a bit bored when it was only Sara on the page. She was someone that I might sit and politely listen to while I'm actually day-dreaming about being somewhere else. Fortunately this book wasn't only about Sara. Things definitely perked up when Quinn showed up.

I love the loner, bad-boy type. Now I wouldn't call Quinn a real bad boy, he's more of a leave me alone and I'll leave you alone, unless you get in his face. Then all bets are off. Quinn appealed to me in the way he shunned the Pyr and all their traditions. He didn't want anything to do with the other Pyr shape-shifters. He wanted to be left alone, to work in peace at his metal shop. But he couldn't deny the pull of his firestorm. Nor was he too proud to ask for help when he really needed it. He's the kind of guy that makes me want to help him. You know the type that you think shouldn't be alone and all he needs is "The Love Of A Good Woman." LOL

There's this thing called the "firestorm" that each Pyr goes through. This is when they find their destined mate. I know some reader don't like the whole destined mates idea so if that puts you off, well then you might have a problem with this series. Personally I'm okay with it as long as the author shows me that the hero and heroine belong together. So Quinn feels his firestorm coming and goes in search of Sara. The problem with the firestorm is that it works like a beacon for all the Pyr and the Slayers. The Slayers show up to kill the destined mate of that Pyr's firestorm. The Slayers are the Pyr that have crossed over to the dark side. They basically want to kill the good Pyrs and humans and take over the world. They try to kill the destined mates of the Pyrs so no more new Pyrs can be born.

Quinn and Sara meet but Sara doesn't know anything about why the heck sparks are literally flying when they touch. She of course finds out that this hot guy that she's so attracted to is actually a dragon. Okay... Seeing is believing and Sara seemed to take it all in stride, especially after her life is threatened and Quinn is there to fight off the Slayer trying to kill her.

The world that Cooke has created is interesting with all it's ceremonies, history and the whole good vs. evil thing going. Cooke does a good job explaining the world and how the shape shifters co-exist with humans. I do have what seems to be an ongoing problem with how the sightings of the dragons are explained in regards to humans. When the dragons shift and fight they are often in the sky, because they're dragons and dragons fly. :) They do have the ability to control what humans see but not on a large scale and they can't be expected to know which humans might have seen them fight. They are too busy fighting! While I like the fight scenes the believability does detract from them.

The main thing Kiss of Fire did was introduce me to this fascinating world and make me want to read more about these dragon shape-shifters. Which is why I read the next two books in the series and have every intention of continuing with the series.

Deborah Cooke, aka Claire Delacroix aka Claire Cross, and her dragon shape-shifters can be found here.

Rating: B