The Treasure Keeper by Shana Abé (Drakon #4)

Genres: Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy/Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: March 19th 2009
POV: Alternating - Third-person, Past tense
Smut-O-Meter: 5 out of 10
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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With such novels as Queen of Dragons and The Dream Thief,Shana Abé has created a unique and vividly imagined world that exists side by side with our own—a realm populated by a race of supersensual men and women whose power to change shape permits them unlimited acts of pleasure…and ever-present danger. Now the survival of the drákon rests in the hands of a young woman with untried and unexpected powers—and the powerful Alpha male she must break every drákon law to save.

The drákon are at war, surrounded by an enemy they have every reason to fear. The sanf inimicus are no ordinary human beings but the most dangerous of hunters. They've sworn to exterminate the shape-shifters whose presence they now can detect, and they've already claimed a prize prisoner: Lord Rhys Langford.

It’s a blow the drákon clans feel from Darkfrith, England, all the way to the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania. But it strikes no one harder than Zoe Cyprienne Lane. A mere seamstress’s daughter, Zoe isn't even in the same league as Rhys. In fact, as an unwed male in the Alpha line, according to drákon custom, he owns her. So nothing could be more outrageous—or personally ruinous—than the mere notion that she might set out on her own to find her childhood friend...and first true love.

But the unexpected is exactly what Zoe intends to do. For years she’s been hiding two extraordinary Gifts that have set her apart from other drákon females: the power to become invisible and the power to feel others’ emotions. Now, guided by a link to Rhys—his presence and touch as electric as if he were beside her in the flesh—Zoe uses both Gifts to infiltrate the sanf inimicus. And for Rhys, whose time is running out, Zoe is his last lifeline to a world—and a love—he never thought he’d regain. Only together again, hunter and huntress, can they save the drákon from the traitor in their midst who would destroy them all.

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This was better than its predecessor, Queen of Dragons, but not as good as the first two books. So I would rank them 2, 1, 4, 3. I still have to read book 5, that one has the lowest average rating though.

I really enjoyed Zoe as a heroine. I loved how she was such an icon of beauty and grace to all the men of Darkfrith, and she didn't even know. I wonder how Hayden found the courage to court her. Zoe was incredible, how she ran away and searched for Hayden and Rhys on her own. She did so much that people didn't think women could do. And she couldn't even Turn. I suppose that the previous three heroines did similar things, but there is something about Zoe that fools us into thinking she is meek and subdued and not capable of such things, so it surprised you when she does.

I also loved Rhys. He was more like his father than Kimber. But Zane from book 2 is still my favourite hero from this series. Rhys was definitely the most brooding and tragic of the Drakon men. I felt a lot of sympathy for him and I was a bit sad about the ending overall. It was an HEA but not a perfect HEA. We don't know if Zoe would have really chosen Rhys in the end if things had turned out differently. She told Rhys she never really loved Hayden, but she was so loyal to him up until his death, it makes me think that regardless of her feelings, she probably would have gone through with marrying him.

The story was very interesting, and it was the first to not focus very much on the dragons. Since Zoe could not Turn, but had other Gifts that made her unique, and it focused a lot on that. She and Rhys had a lot of great interactions throughout, but I was sad that for so much of the book Zoe was caught up on Hayden. It didn't give much time for a romance to develop between her and Rhys. When it finally did happen it felt a bit rushed. Although Hayden was nice, she clearly belonged with Rhys so I was just waiting for it to happen.

Although I enjoyed this one a lot despite the tragedy of it, I feel very anxious about reading The Time Weaver. It sounds extremely tragic. This series cannot end on a dark note. It better not!

“I love you. At your best and your worst, I love you. Paris or Darkfrith. Here, there, and everywhere, I love you.” 

The Dream Thief by Shana Abé (Drakon #2)

Genres: Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy/Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: September 26th 2006
POV: Alternating - Third-person, Past tense
Smut-O-Meter: 5 out of 10
My Rating: 5 out of 5

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In the remote hills of northern England lives a powerful clan with a centuries-old secret. They are the drákon, shape-shifters who possess the ability to Turn—changing from human to smoke to dragon. And from the very stones of the earth, they hear hypnotic songs of beauty and wonder. But there is one stone they fear.

Buried deep within the bowels of the Carpathian Mountains lies the legendary dreaming diamond known as Draumr, the only gem with the power to enslave the drákon. Since childhood, Lady Amalia Langford, daughter of the clan's Alpha, has heard its haunting ballad but kept it secret, along with another rare Gift...Lia can hear the future, much in the way she hears the call of Draumr. And in that future, she realizes that the diamond—along with the fate of the drákon—rests in the hands of a human man, one who straddles two worlds.

Ruthlessly clever, Zane has risen through London's criminal underworld to become its ruler. Once a street urchin saved by Lia's mother, Zane is also privy to the secrets of the clan—and is the only human they trust to bring them Draumr. But he does nothing selflessly.

Zane's hunt for the gem takes him to Hungary, where he is shocked to encounter a bold, beautiful young noblewoman: Lia. She has broken every rule of the drákon to join him, driven by the urgent song ofDraumr—and her visions of Zane. In one future, he is her ally. In another, her overlord. In both, he is her lover. Now, to protect her tribe, Lia must tie her fate to Zane's, to the one man capable of stealing her future—and destroying her heart.

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This is such an amazing series. Such a great concept, crossing historical romance with dragons. And I love the men in it so far! I loved Zane even more than Kip, but they were both so naughty yet still dignified. Zane isn't even Drakon but there was still something about him that was just magnificent and Alpha. I am slightly in awe of him. I really can't blame Lia for being in love with him most of her life. For making a move on a man in his mid-thirties when she was only 14. I am sure she couldn't have helped herself. But the way she was dedicated to him was inspiring. She knew him her whole life, him being a friend of her mother, and she knew what he was. A criminal, a thief, a liar. But she loved him. She knew his future (or a possible future), and the terrible things he was capable of, yet still she loved him.

 

The story in this was much grander than The Smoke Thief, which was about a jewel theft in London. In The Dream Thief, Lia and Zane go to Hungary to track down a legendary diamond that can control the Drakon. There is much at stake. There are powerful new enemies, and powerful new allies, and you don't always know which is which. There is sacrifice and love, and a possible dark future. The sense of desperation between Lia and Zane, caused by her dreams, was nearly intoxicating. The scene where they made love just after Zane had found out the power of the diamond, was heartbreaking and beautiful. The writing is breathtaking and hypnotizing. Nearly every word is worth remembering and making note of. Its like a song.

I cant stop thinking about this series, and I have to order Queen of Dragons from my library right away. It is about a character we met in this book. She was only 11, but Zane was only 13 in The Smoke Thief, so I'm sure several years will have passed. I am extremely excited to hear her story. The rest of the series has lower ratings than the first 2 books, but I hope I will love it anyway.

“Something inside his chest unlocked--wildly, slowly, a peculiar sort of melting. He was lost. He was the thorn and the thistle, blown upon her breeze. He felt, strangely enough, staring into her yes, like he was going to weep.”

The Smoke Thief by Shana Abé (Drakon #1)

Genres: Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy/Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: September 27th 2005
POV: Alternating - Third-person, Past tense
Smut-O-Meter: 5 out of 10
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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For centuries they’ve lived in secret among northern England’s green and misted hills. Creatures of extraordinary beauty, power, and sensuality, they possess the ability to shape-shift from human to dragon and back again. Now their secret—and their survival—is threatened by a temptation that will break every boundary.

Dubbed the Smoke Thief, a daring jewel thief is confounding the London police. His wealthy victims claim the master burglar can walk through walls and vanish into thin air. But Christoff, the charismatic Marquess of Langford, knows the truth: the thief is no ordinary human but a "runner" who's fled Darkfrith without permission. As Alpha leader of the drákon, it's Kit's duty to capture the fugitive before the secrets of the tribe are revealed to mortals. But not even Kit suspects that the Smoke Thief could be a woman.

Clarissa Rue Hawthorne knew her dangerous exploits would attract the attention of the drákon. But she didn't expect Christoff himself to come to London, dangling the tribe's most valuable jewel—the Langford Diamond—as bait. For as long as she could remember, Rue had lived the life of a halfling—half drákon, half mortal—and an outcast in both worlds. She'd always loved the handsome and willful Kit from the only place it was safe: from afar. But now she was no longer the shy, timid girl she'd once been. She was the first woman capable of making the Turn in four generations. So why did she still feel the same dizzying sense of vulnerability whenever he was near?

From the moment he saw her, Kit knew that the alluring and powerful beauty was every bit his Alpha equal and destined to be his bride. And by the harsh laws of the drákon, Rue knew that she was the property of the marquess. But they will risk banishment and worse for a chance at something greater. For now Rue is his prisoner, the diamond has disappeared, and she's made the kind of dangerous proposition a man like Kit cannot resist.

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I love the combination of genres in this. It would at first seem like a Georgian historical romance, set in 1751 London. But it was also a cat-and-mouse story of a jewel thief. But then, on top of all of that, there are dragons! Yep, you heard me.

Clarissa grew up in a secret tribe of shapeshifting dragons that is disguised as a village and a large manor house, where the Alpha dragon and his family live. From a young age, Clarissa has been in love with the Alpha's beautiful son Cristoff, 4 years older than her, and far above her in status. But when Clarissa is 17, she discovers she can shift. A terrifying reality, or a dream come true? Female who canshift are rare, so she will be forced to marry Cristoff. It may sound like a dream come true. But more than wanting to marry him, she wants him to love her. So she runs. She runs away to London and becomes the Smoke Thief. Nine years later, Cristoff is now Alpha and still unmarried. He comes to London to stop the Smoke Thief before their kind are exposed. But he had no idea what kind of fight he was getting into with Miss Clarissa Rue, The Smoke Thief.

 

I really loved Cristoff, aka Kip. He was swaggering, arrogant, loyal, bold, determined, and passionate; about being Alpha, about his people, and about his Rue-flower. He was so yummy and the relationship between him and Rue was so unusual. She was bitter about him trying to force her back to the tribe, and he was bitter about the fact that she ran from him 9 years earlier. But it didnt stop them from falling for each other, again, in Rue's case. And the first time they had sex was unbelievable! It was unbelievable that he would attempt it, and unbelievable that she would let him! The arrogant, bold, determination, and passion in him all came into play in that scene. And the bold and daring in Rue that allows her to be the Smoke Thief, also allowed her to have sex with the man of her dreams on the floor of an office during a high society party, with someone else in the room, without being caught.

Rue and Kip were a well matched pair, as rivals, as a couple, as partners in crime, as everything in life, they were amazing together. Their constant bickering, as well as their mutual respect and admiration. And I love the history and magic, and mystery behind the drakon. The way the book ended, with hints of what is to come. I cannot wait to read The Dream Thief!

"In the year 1751, for the first time in centuries, two Alpha hearts united. The power of their union shivered the very web of the drakon. Souls trembled on invisible strings. Fates shifted. And ancient ties, long forgotten, thrilled to life."