Abe, Shana - The Smoke Thief
This is the first book of what I suspect is a trilogy. Unfortunately, I didn't like it as much as I liked the second one.
It's been generations since the drakon -- shapeshifters who morph into smoke or dragon form -- have had a woman who could make the Turn. Their society grows increasingly closed off, and when word comes of a jewel thief who can vanish like smoke, Kit Langford, the Alpha, goes off to London to capture whoever is possibly exposing the drakon. Little did he know that the Smoke Thief would turn out to be a woman, Rue Hawthorne.
You can very much tell this is the first book of a trilogy, as there is a very long and rather boring prologue about drakon history, etc. etc., and then another bit with Rue and Kit as kids, and then an epilogue promising more to come. Quite frankly, I would have much rather had incluing.
Unlike the second book, Kit is an Alpha drakon. As such, finding Rue, the only woman who can make the Turn, convinces him that she is destined to be his bride and that he'll make her agree to it however he wants. Needless to say, I spent most of the book wanting to brain him, particularly when he was going on about how wonderfully strong and fierce she was. Dude. If you like her being fierce and strong, the best way to demonstrate it really isn't multiple attempts to blackmail her into marriage or to constantly make statements to yourself that you will win her over no matter what she thinks.
Way to respect a girl.
On the other hand, Rue is awesome -- she has lived nine years by herself as a thief, consistently masqueraded as a Comte, among other things, and largely had her own life. Abe makes her struggle to keep her freedom very real, which is another reason why I kept wanting to bash Kit over the head.
He does have a small revelation at the very end along the lines of "If you love her, let her go," but even then, it looks like he totally expects her to come back anyway. So when they reach a compromise, it feels more like Rue is giving up things that are very precious to her, while Kit only makes a few concessions.
Sigh. On the other hand, Abe continues to hit some of my romance buttons like mad (unrequited childhood crushes, female thieves, icy heroines). I only wish her heroes would stop being so stupidly alpha male.
Links:
- keilexandra's review
It's been generations since the drakon -- shapeshifters who morph into smoke or dragon form -- have had a woman who could make the Turn. Their society grows increasingly closed off, and when word comes of a jewel thief who can vanish like smoke, Kit Langford, the Alpha, goes off to London to capture whoever is possibly exposing the drakon. Little did he know that the Smoke Thief would turn out to be a woman, Rue Hawthorne.
You can very much tell this is the first book of a trilogy, as there is a very long and rather boring prologue about drakon history, etc. etc., and then another bit with Rue and Kit as kids, and then an epilogue promising more to come. Quite frankly, I would have much rather had incluing.
Unlike the second book, Kit is an Alpha drakon. As such, finding Rue, the only woman who can make the Turn, convinces him that she is destined to be his bride and that he'll make her agree to it however he wants. Needless to say, I spent most of the book wanting to brain him, particularly when he was going on about how wonderfully strong and fierce she was. Dude. If you like her being fierce and strong, the best way to demonstrate it really isn't multiple attempts to blackmail her into marriage or to constantly make statements to yourself that you will win her over no matter what she thinks.
Way to respect a girl.
On the other hand, Rue is awesome -- she has lived nine years by herself as a thief, consistently masqueraded as a Comte, among other things, and largely had her own life. Abe makes her struggle to keep her freedom very real, which is another reason why I kept wanting to bash Kit over the head.
He does have a small revelation at the very end along the lines of "If you love her, let her go," but even then, it looks like he totally expects her to come back anyway. So when they reach a compromise, it feels more like Rue is giving up things that are very precious to her, while Kit only makes a few concessions.
Sigh. On the other hand, Abe continues to hit some of my romance buttons like mad (unrequited childhood crushes, female thieves, icy heroines). I only wish her heroes would stop being so stupidly alpha male.
Links:
- keilexandra's review