Sunday, October 12, 2008

The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe



Pick this one up as my AOM selection in July. I read it back then but had not gotten around to posting about this title. I had heard many great things about this series and when Abe was selected as AOM I had my excuse to pick up the title.

There is a thief running around London. A thief rumored to have the ability to disappear into thin air. London police are beside themselves with no clue to go on.
Christoff, the Marquess of Langford has more than a clue. Leader of the Dra'kons he recognizes the thief as a 'runner' who has fled Darkfirth. Dra'kon laws forbid dragons to step out of Darkfirth and as their leader it’s his duty to bring the thief back and he has the best bait out there, the Langford Diamond. A diamond so full of mystical lore that the Dra'kon in the thief would not be able to resist steal.

Clarissa Rue escaped Darkfirth once and has no intentions of returning. A society more antiquated than London itself, Rue can only see her future decided for her if her secret is discovered. With the Dra'kon heritage dying with every new generation born, females with the purest blood are considered Alphas and are destined to marry the pure blood males. Although Rue's blood is very much mixed, she is the first female in generations to have the ability to withstand the Turn. There are no female dragons flying the skies and if discovered she would be forced to take her place as Alpha female among her kind and marry Christoff. She would never be free again.

When the diamond arrives Rue knows it’s a trap but feels confident that as a woman she would never be discovered. She doesn’t want to steal the diamond but she does want to see Kit, who she has always loved but was found unworthy as a mixed blood to even lick his boots.

She is discovered by Kit himself, who yearns the freedom runners search for but is forced by his responsibilities to his position and his people to stay behind. When he realizes that Rue is his true Alpha he knows he must have her. When he discovers that she is Clarissa, the young girl he watched as a child, his determination doubles. She brings life to his existence and her fierce spirit sings to him. Now he needs to prove to her that he loves her for her self and not for the fact that she can Turn.

These two learn to trust each other and love each other as they pursue another runner who has in fact stolen the Langford Diamond in a bid to negotiate for his freedom.

It had been a while since I read a book that mixed Fantasy and romance so well. The world Abe built balances the romance very well. I did find Rue a bit on the annoying side at times and Kit was very arrogant as well but the romance was great and the scenes where they took dragon form were wonderful. I think the book could use less prose to tell the story but all in all I’m definitely looking forward to the next installment.

Grade: B-

2 comments:

Marg said...

I really need to read this book. I have owned it for forever!

By the way I have tagged you for a meme. Details here

samantha.1020 said...

I've been meaning to read this book for awhile now. I really should get to it sooner rather than later. Nice review!

 
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