Deborah Cooke - Firestorm Forever

Three key firestorms mark the culmination of the Dragon’s Tail Wars, pitting the dragon shifters

known as the Pyr against the evil Slayers. The Slayers have struck a blow against mankind, in bringing a pestilence from the ancient world, which is spreading like wildfire through the human world. Sloane Forbes, the Apothecary of the Pyr, knows it is his duty to find the cure, but the solution is elusive, his beautiful neighbor is distracting, and time is running out.
In moving to a remote farm in the California hills, Samantha Wilcox has left her demanding career behind by choice and on principle. It’s too painful to remember her own failures as both mother and physician, and not a point of pride that she fell short of the measure, so she’s determined to start fresh. She’s going to live differently, following her instincts and savoring life’s pleasures—like the hot sex with no commitment offered by her mysterious, sexy neighbor. He’s no more of an herb farmer than she is a tarot card reader, but Samantha is determined to keep their illusions intact—at least until she discovers not that Sloane’s one of the Pyr, the dragon shifters are responsible for the epidemic that stole her son’s life. When the firestorm sparks between these estranged lovers, can Samantha resist its dangerous attraction on principle alone? As Slayers and Pyr gather for the final battle, can Samantha and Sloane work together to save the world and build themselves—and their respective kinds—a future?

Comment: This is the last installment in the Dragon fire series by author Deborah Cooke. This series has been on since 2008 and I've accompanied the releases more or less since 2010, when I discovered this world. Now, almost ten years after, it has come to an end. In one hand I do feel sad but it's also amazing a series has a good, fulfilled ending and gives closure to all the readers who have enjoyed it until now.

In this final book, we finally have Sloane's HEA. He is a character we've know since book #1 and his story was a long time coming. We also have two other romances inserted in this book, as well as the final resolution to the plot we've been following since we've met the Pyr and wanted to see them succeed in their battle against the Slayers.

This book also deals with the continuation of the things that happened in the previous book, especially when it comes to the public reaction to the existence of dragons and how humans are affected by them. The romances seem to take center stage but the plot is interesting to follow.

So here it is the final book in this PNR series. It does feel good to be finishing a solid series and having interesting romances for most of the books. 

It's positive to see the author took time to expand this final installment a bit more to not only provide HEAs to key characters but also to conclude the arc, if we can say so, in a satisfying manner. 

The main focus in this book is Sloane's HEA, something readers have certainly wanted for a long time. I liked his romance with Sam, how we had time to see their love and relationship develop. Sure, it would have been nice to see them together more often at some point but considering all the  related scenes, not directly about them, but to them, it was enough to give a healthy dose of understanding about what it meant for them to be a couple and how the future could be a good one for them. Sam was a bit more explored as a character than Sloane, but then, we got all the other books to learn things about him here and there. This romance was the third firestorm mentioned in the blurb and, like a note from the author in the beginning of the book says, Sloane's firestorm would always be the last one to happen.

The other two firestorms were interesting, not because of the characters alone, although that was great, to see Drake and Marcus, mysterious characters find happiness would always be great, but because their stories took time to properly develop, their connections with their mates, Veronica and Jacelyn, seemed to tale longer thanks to all the page time they had. 

In this regard, the author took a chance of writing a longer book, mixing three different romances with their own special page time and still dealing with the fight scenes and plot closure, as well as slowly introducing new possibilities. I do think it paid off, because this feels like a well thought book, with structure and a good ending.

It was also great to see practically all the characters we've came to love and care about, showing on the page, having air time to do something rather than just be mentioned...how much effort it took to keep everything tidy and orderly so she wouldn't make a mistake or downplay things taken for granted... for this alone, i think the book is a good one.

Of course a bigger show of the final battles after everything these characters went through would have been interesting or if more twists happened but that's ok. I think things weren't as spectacular as one could imagine because the ground is set for what can happen in the next series and for that, some not as obvious details had to be included.

Apparently, the dragon stories will go on, but simply not focusing on this plot anymore. We meet a new villain in this book and any possible future stories featuring a different group of dragon shifters will certainly follow a completely different path from this one, that has been familiar to us since the beginning of the series. What left to wonder is, will we have appearances from our beloved characters there? 

As for this one, I'm happy for Sloane, for how his belief in positive things mixed well with his values and his respect for the traditions and the honor of his Pyr father and ancestors... he isn't the only character here but I got the feeling, despite the several POVs he was the true hero of this book, just as he has always deserved. At least to me.

Here's an applause for a series not going to drag eternally to forgetfulness. It's good when things end when they are in a good place/position. Cheers!

Grade: 8/10

Two more books read

I know it seems I'm just being lazy by not writing more about the books, but I want to write something about them all and I want to get at the same pace I read to keep the blog organized and on my personal schedule.

These two books were second and third in this new year of reading, they didn't affect me the way I imagined and I'll leave only a small comment about my impressions instead of a lengthy comment where I'd have to invent subject because, like I said, I don't have much to say about them...

The dragon shape shifter Thorolf is known for an impressive lineage, raw power in battle, and an

impulsive indulgence of his appetites. The last has made him an outcast from his fellow Pyr, and even his hunt for their dangerous opponent, the Slayer Chen, hasn’t helped. Beguiled and weakened by Chen’s ally Viv Jason, Thorolf finds himself drawn into a trap, as bait to lure his fellow Pyr to extinction. The only one to come to his aid is a woman he already knows to be a thief—does he dare to trust her with not just his own life but the survival of his kind?
Chandra is a sorceress who has trained all her life for a battle against evil that she knows will shape the future. She has never wasted time on the pleasures of the physical realm, much less experienced passion—until the firestorm sparks between herself and Thorolf, demanding more from her than she ever expected to give. Will the firestorm provide new power, or be a dangerous distraction that gives Chen the chance to triumph forever?  

Comment: This is installment # 10 in the Dragonfire series by author Deborah Cooke. This is the first book that has been released as a self publish. It took me some time to get it but finally I managed it. There's still one final book in the series and I admit it will be emotional to let the world go, but the story needs an end and it's better to see it finish with structure and meaning than to have things dragging.

This is Thorolf's story, he has his firestorm after two years missing, the others didn't know where he was, but in this book his mate shows up and it's someone no one saw coming. I admit I wasn't very certain about the pair and part of the story is bittersweet because of all the memories and emotional baggage they have to leave behind. After that happens, the HEA doesn't seem that special, to be honest. The story line is close to an end, one of the enemies dies, the other is almost caught and I foresee an amazing final book. This one has interesting world related elements, but the romance didn't win me over and was weaker than I wished for Thorolf.

Grade: 6/10

*  *  *

Comment: This is a book written by a Portuguese author. The title is translated to "by instinct" and it's a set of chronicles she wrote for a newspaper or magazine. The chronicles are written rather ethereal meaning they don't always have a clear or obvious goal, it's mostly the ramblings of the author on certain themes. Obviously, I preferred some chronicles than others, especially those where the subject was something one could understand or recognize. I'm thinking particularly about the chronicles where the author does a caricature of the typical individual who acts or thinks a certain way, like housekeepers who only care about soap operas or the shy guy who can't demand anything out of anyone and it's always left behind in life. 

The writing itself is very colloquial, very modern and vibrant but I admit I didn't always care about the subjects chosen nor the way the author would generalize a situation based on a specific detail or even the tone with which she accomplishes that. It's her voice and that's fine but overall, I wasn't impressed. The chronicles are short which helped in going through them all.

Grade: 5/10

Deborah Cooke - The Dragon Legion collection

When the Dragon Legion take custody of the darkfire crystal, Drake and his fellow dragon shifters fear that the sorcery trapped in the stone is bent on destroying them. In Kiss of Danger, Alexander defends his wife and son from a vicious killer who has followed him through time. In Kiss of Darkness, Damien enters the realm of the dead to fix an old mistake, but loses his shifting abilities. In Kiss of Destiny, Thad believes he can secure the future of all the dragon shifters known as the Pyr, if only he can win the heart of the elusive woman who sparks his firestorm. Will the darkfire demand all they have to give, or is the unpredictable magic giving these dragon warriors a second chance?
This edition includes all three Dragon Legion novellas (Kiss of Danger, Kiss of Darkness and Kiss of Destiny), as well as an excerpt from Serpent's Kiss (the next Dragonfire novel), a cast of continuing characters and Dragonfire glossary.

Comment: I've had this book since last year, before Thorolf's story was self published, a new path for this author's writing.

This collection is actually three novellas with the explanation of what happened to the Dragon's Legion Warriors we've met in past books but that never got a satisfying end. With this collection we get to see what happened and there's also a sort of conduit between what we see on the regular full length books and the explanations from what happened to what will happen.

Just to explain the novellas plots, this is how things came up to be:

During the books, a group of dragon warriors showed up to pledge their honor to Erik, the leader of the Pyr. We discover they were warriors from ancient times that went though a curse after they were captured by a strong, magical dragon and were only released after his death and centuries of waiting when one of the Pyr recognized their prison as Dragon Warrior's Tooth and set them free.

Then some thing happens and the dragons disappear after the release of the darkfire, a magical element heavily featured on the books' plot line.

So, these novellas serve to explain why the Tooth's dragons are important and why what happened to them has any importance and influence on what is to come on the original series's time line.

I can't say they really matter in terms of individual stories but they do explain the action and the author's choice for the warriors disappearance in the original events. It also justifies the novellas' plot and why it kind of suits the original story's development.

I'll come out right now and say I didn't like the novellas that much. Their worth was more about the details and the elements that matter for the original story that started with the first book, rather than self worth. You see, the novellas are all set on the past, Grecian times, and despite offering a good explanation for things to come, on their own, the romances felt pretty stiff and forced and not very appealing to me. Plus, two of them have the regretful lovers reunited plot, which I hate, and the other not only has insta-love but also a heroine I didn't care about. All in all, nothing much to grab my attention or my enjoyment.

I understand why the author did things this way, and this edition also has a note about the books from the author explaining, which I recognize helps readers understanding things.

But the collection is all about the novellas and as a whole, I wasn't wowed by none.

Kiss of Danger is Alexander and Katina's story. He left her after their son was born because duty called but he didn't know how long he would be gone. Now he's back, time has passed which he didn't know either and now it's time to mend things with her. Of course she never forgot him but life had to move on so she made choices which now put them apart. But a slayer shows up and changes things again. I wasn't much into this story, didn't like their time talking about what was it like for them before and the solution for their story was practical but not that special for me.

Kiss of Darkness is Damien and Petra's story set in the Underworld where Damien's actions will have an impact on future happenings. The romance didn't win me over and this was the most boring of the novellas for me because I was never convinced of their love for each other, no matter how many times they say I love you at the end.

Kiss of Destiny is Thad and Aura's story, with a insta-love/destinate mate trope. Aura is a nymph that has seen what men did to nymphs helpless to avoid them or the consequences of being with them, but since she's a nymph she likes sex a lot even though she isn't promiscuous and the thing she really doesn't want is a child. Thad knows there will be a son after they have sex, because that's how Pyr progeny happens. But he wants love and a ate forever too so the major conflict comes from these two takes on the same subject. I didn't like Aura's personality and behavior and such a short time didn't help, but overall, I had a hard time liking this.

Overall, all three stories were very lacking in development. I accept the idea of how the tropes used are better suited for novellas and short stories but despite being inserted in a well shaped series, I still didn't enjoy them not only because of my personal dislike for them but the content wasn't that special either. I think these stories work as a step to better understand some plot issues, but all things considered I don't think that missing them is such a crime...

Grade: 5/10

Kate Steele / Deborah Cooke

As a werewolf and an enforcer for the Committee for Supernatural Behavioral Enforcement, Mick Matranga has seen his share of lowlifes but Kevin Sutter, pack alpha, is one of the lowest. He has forcibly turned and taken prisoner a young human. Mick has been assigned to affect a rescue and bring Sutter to justice.
Dispatching the bad guy turns out to be the easy part of his assignment. Sutter's prisoner, Rio Hardin, turns out to be a smart-mouthed, sassy brat with the face of an angel who takes Mick's heart by storm. He's also a runaway turned hustler who has suffered numerous abuses in the course of his tumultuous life.
Bound by his code of honor and determined that Rio be protected at all costs, Mick makes it his personal duty to see to it that no one hurts Rio again. If that includes ignoring the instinctual knowledge that Rio is his mate and Rio's own desire to be with him, so be it.
There's only one flaw in his plan. Rio is about to go through his first shift, a very painful process which can only be made tolerable by applying a certain amount of distraction--sexual distraction. Mick has two choices. He can leave Rio in the hands of his very capable brother or he can give in to the mutual heat and need between them and indoctrinate his young charge into the ways of the werewolf.

*  *  * 

 For centuries, the shape-shifting dragon warriors known as the Pyr have hidden themselves from mankind, defending the earth’s treasures in secrecy. But as the final reckoning with the Slayers -- who are determined to eradicate both humans and the Pyr who protect them -- heats up, even the most ancient secrets will be revealed.…
Brandon Merrick is determined to banish his shifter nature forever. The charismatic tattooed surfer is on the cusp of the ultimate challenge -- to prove himself on the whitecaps of Hawaii and secure his future as a pro surfer. But his dragon isn’t prepared to be tamed so easily....
One look at marine biologist Liz Barrett ignites the spark of a firestorm: Liz is his destined mate and his chance for happiness. While Brandon sees their first night together as just the beginning, his dragon seizes the upper hand. Awakening in the company of a raging dragon challenges Liz’s ability to believe her own eyes. Can Brandon accept his inner beast in time to make it work with Liz?
Neither one realizes Brandon is caught in an ancient Slayer’s scheme to enslave him. When the deadly plot ignites, the very island will be at risk...and Brandon and his mate could be the ultimate sacrifice.

Comment: I've read these two books last month.

Altered Heart is a story about shape shifters, which I love.Mick is an enforcer in the paranormal world and one day he rescues Rio, a young ma turned werewolf against his will. After that they sort of bond and Rio only feels safe with Mick. With time Mick starts to understand Rio is to mean everything to him because they are mates. This was a good story, it focused some interesting subjects in this type of books, like the reluctant transformation, the fighting of what it meant to be, the fight against violence and the belief in an HEA. I liked how the main characters were insecure at first, but with time and real emotion, they become more. I think it could have used a bit more of sexual tension, but overall, a sweet story to read.

Ember's Kiss is the story of Brandon and Liz. Another installment in the dragon world crated by mrs Cooke. I liked this story because it taught a good lesson, we should always be humble enough to be able to ask for help. It's not easy, it depends on why and which kind of help, but I feel it's worth reading just to see how it happens in the book. There are interesting developments in the things going on and with each book we learn a bit more about dragons and their families and how important they are and how the best thing is to be happy. I'm always eager to read books in this world and this wasn't a disappointment. Not my favorite, but a very good one.

Deborah Cooke - Flashfire

Master illusionist Lorenzo's dragon nature is his biggest secret. It's also another detail to juggle, like ensuring each of his Las Vegas magic shows is a true spectacle. That is until he feels the burn of his firestorm and his whole world shifts.
Lorenzo wants to satisfy the firestorm and put it behind him. But photographer Cassie Redmond is hard to forget. And when Slayers target the mate he didn't believe he wanted, Lorenzo realizes he'll do anything to keep Cassie safe...

Comment: This is the latest installemnt in the dragon series by the author. I absolutly loved this book! I'm very happy with this because the previous one wasn't the best in the series for me, so I'm not only happy with the book itself but also with the fact I did like it.
The story focuses on Lorenzo, a Pyr who doesn't care much for the Pyrs and is planning a way to disappear from the human radars as well as the Pyrs. He works as a magician and through his art he imagined a way to die without doubts and in a way that will be convincing. However, in mere three days before his final act, he meets his mate and has his firestorm. He's surprised but doesn't beleive in myths and thinks she won't get pregnant if they're together, so he satisfies the firestorm. But of course, things aren't as simple as he might think.
I liked the story a lot. I've read the book almost nonstop and only stopped because of RL demands. The plot was interesting, fluid, easy to follow, like all the pieces were there just waiting to fit. The romance was good too.
Both main characters had doubts in their confidance in relationships but in the end they overcame their fears of commitment and admited to each other - and themselves - that they were happier together. Lorenzo also started to imagine his son and it was so good to see him that way. In the end all the couples were together and it was great to see their companionship. We also see clues about the next stories, and the idea of who might be protagonist too.
This was a great book, I enjyed it immensely. I recommend it to everyone who likes dragons and romance.

Deborah Cooke - Darkfire Kiss

Rafferty Powell has resolved to destroy his hated arch-nemesis, Magnus Montmorency. The pair have exchanged challenge coins, and their next battle will be their last. But Rafferty never expected to meet a woman whose desire for Magnus's end matches his own-and whose soul sparks the firestorm within him...

Comment: The sixth installment of the Pyr's adventures was a bit weaker than the others, to me. Rafferty was the one who always wanted his firestorm. All the others were too surprised to have theirs and some even fought it because they didn't want the responsability and the weight of knowing they would be parents. Not Rafferty. He always wanted it and even appreciating his friends's oportunity, he was wondered when would be his turn. Well, in all the books there was poor Rafferty saddened once again because it still wasn't him. So, now his book came and I thought yep, here it is, I was ready for more than firestorm, I wanted fireworks, sexual tension, true passion!! I was disappointed, the romance lacked chemestry in a way I didn't expect.
Then - and this is spoiler zone - the fact he couldn't have biological children because his mate couldn't conceive. I was sorry for Melissa's fate, for the fact she couldn't, and she was a brave mate, yes, but...this is Rafferty, the guy who despaired for a firestorm, who wanted it more than anything! How bad karma to see him denied that part of the experience...I was really sad.
This issue ruined the book a bit for me...not totally, but a prt of it.

Positive things....yes, some:
Magnus is dead, always a good thing. Although there's still Jorge, trapped but surely will be released someday, and two enemies joining forces to destroy the Pyr...let's see what happens.
We saw two more dragons come along and I must confess I am curious to see them fall in love, and as we don't know if Sloane is next...I mean he is the last one that we know since the start that hasn't a mate yet, but the new ones give me hope too!
Sophie makes an appearance, we understand some new myths about our dragons...all in all, good things.
The book itself wasn't that bad, it just...it's disappointing to see Rafferty with such a weak romance, in my opinion.