Dragons, Smoke, and Thieves...Oh My!
Title: The Smoke Thief
Author: Shana Abe
Genre: Paranormal Historical Romance (Shapeshifter)
Synopsis: In the northern hills of England lie an extraordinary tribe of beings with the ability to shapeshift from human form to a dragon. They are Dra'kon. Tucked away in the shire, these beings must live in seclusion and are forbidden to leave the sanctity of the clan under the penalty of death or incarceration. Those who attempt it are called "runners."
Clarissa "Rue" Hawthorne became a "runner" the day she turned 17. That was the day she faked her death and began a new life in London. A string of high profile jewelry robberies has earned her the title of "The Smoke Thief" which will surely raise the suspicions of the tribe. What she didn't count on was the Marquess of Langford himself taking up the task of hunting her down.
Christoff "Kit" Langford could hardly believe the thief was a woman...a halfling no less. She possessed a daring spirit and ferocious will that would draw every male in the tribe to her. As Alpha, she was to be his and his alone. Yet Clarissa won't give up her freedom without a fight, and he was very much looking forward to the challenge.
This story takes place in 18th Century England and the author does a fantastic job of keeping the story true to the period. From the dialogue and locale to the makeup and wardrobe I really got a sense of traveling to another time and place. The shapeshifting angle seems natural and fitting withing the story and this read turned out to be a surprise and a pleasure early on. This novel truly has something new to offer.
The Good:
- As I stated above, this novel stayed true to its concept from start to finish. No jarring modern language slipped in. No slip ups with technology. Wonderful.
- Rue was pretty saucy and I liked that. She was a model girl in a time when that sort of notion just did not exist. Girlfriend frequently went out disguised as a man and was totally comfortable with it. Awesome.
- I like the idea of an Alpha male AND an Alpha female. It sounds nice and balanced (even though the male is truly the boss...but whatever.)
- Kit was a hero, but not always a likable one and I like that. He was almost an anti-hero with his deceptiveness and ulterior motives...sometimes I honestly wondered if I really liked him...but I did.
- The shapeshifting gifts were surprising and different. There was nothing silly or campy about it which helped me "stay in the story."
- Cat fight! It was short, but satisfying even as told through hearsay.
- Not once did Kit holler "MINE!" in this entire novel. (Say WHAT?) Can it even be classified as a romance novel without that being somewhere in there? Oh...wait...he does declare "She is mine" to a room full of men secretly lusting after her...I guess that kinda counts...plus "Taken" makes an appearance.
- Rue is described as being a "halfling" but we never find out what the other "half" is. I hate it when books end without answering all the questions or at least promising answers in a future installment.
- Kit was a self centered snob at the beginning of the book, and I have no indication that he isn't still a snob by the end of the book.
- This book had overtly sexist notions throughout, but hey it was set in the 18th Century... and if you read romance with alpha men, that's pretty much what you sign up for, no?
- That said, Christoff did have this slightly corny speech about "being the man he always wanted to be." A little too heavy on the sugar if you ask me, but I stomached it because he was an ass quite a few times.
- This book dragged in a couple of places which stretched my reading out a day longer than it should have. Obviously it wasn't a deal breaker because I did finish it...I just hate it when that happens.
- Even though this book features some new twists on the old dragon-tale, it wasn't completely without at least few romance novel cliches...ya gotta love the whole "some other guy has touched you so now I have to have sex with you RIGHT NOW to remind you, and me, that you're MINE!!!" moments. Honestly how can that NOT make a girl go weak in the knees? /sarcasm
- I now know I can read a historical romance and not get bored. This is something no one will care about but me.
- I find it interesting that after 4 decades of non-Turning females, Rue was the only one blessed with the gift. I wonder if this is do to "inbreeding" issues or if the "why" comes out in subsequent books.
Similarly, it was interesting how the clan was described as being mostly fair skinned with light features (hair particularly). Rue was a rare "dark beauty" with dark hair and dark eyes even though her skin was "moon pale." :-/ Yeah...I'm not going to even bother to climb up on my soapbox about that one...I'll just say after praising something for being original, I have to take back cool points for this typical "exotic" nonsense. - Rape or seduction. At one point, Kit boldly communicates that he will take it either way which may turn off some readers. Personally I didn't have problem with it because it was crystal clear that although he may have been taking something that had not been officially offered to him...Rue was right there with him in the moment so I'm good with saying that in this case consent was "implied" and from what I could tell a good time was had all around.
- Pages it took for me to "get into" the book: 60 (out of 324pp. in the MM paperback edition,)
Song Dedication: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" - The Platters (If for nothing else but the title)
Quote: "I bind you"...."Do you yield to me?"