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The Smoke Thief by Shana Abé
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The Smoke Thief

by Shana Abé

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Takes a chapter or two to warm up (I’d prefer it if they killed the prologue and epilogue) but once it’s going, boy does it go! Fabulous world building, brilliant characters and some lovely use of romantic tension. Fantastic romantic fantasy. ( )
ph8 | Jun 12, 2009 |  
In this paranormal romance (it seems to be marketed as a fantasy, but to me it falls squarely in the romance genre), a race of dragon shape-shifters try to exist hidden among ordinary humans in 18thC. Europe. They have settled at Darkfrith in the North of England and have developed rather draconian rules for their society. It is forbidden to leave Darkfrith without permission. All "runners" will be hunted down and either brought back, if they are a precious breeding female, or killed if they are male.

Clarissa, as a half-human drakon, has never fit in. She risks everything to begin a daring new life in London, using her unusual skills, such as being able to turn into smoke, to become a master thief. Unfortunately her exploits bring her to the attention of Christoff, Marquess of Langford and Alpha leader of the drakon, who is charged with hunting her down.

There have been fantasy-romances before, and plenty of alpha-heroes, but the best thing about this tale is the rich, magical, fairy-tale quality of the writing. Many of the descriptions are enchantingly beautiful. But the fairy-tale feeling also creates a bit of a distance between the reader and the characters. I found the main characters both interesting and sympathetic, but sometimes their thoughts and motivations were obscure. It was still a pretty little tale that is worth at least a quick read. ( )
aprillee | May 20, 2009 |  
While I generally like stories about dragons and their insular societies, I'm not fond of cultures that hold their citizens captive. The society of dragons is so bad that one cut off his hand to fake death and drowning in a river, while another faked death via animal attack to escape the confines of the dragon village. While keeping their existance secret is a necessary and admirable goal, the lengths to which the elders will go to in order to recover an escaped dragon surpass those of the tactics used to recover escaped slaves in the days of the underground railroad. The dragon hierarchy has yet to abandon the notion that full blooded dragons are better than halflings and have the right to abuse those of lesser status.

There is also a prologue that details the beginning of dragonkind and their castle of gems in the Carpathian mountains. The prologue is completely unnecessary to the rest of the story as the story takes place in England in the 1700's. There is no connection within the story between the English dragons and their Carpathian cousins.

Despite all of this, I enjoyed the story. Rue is a strong woman who grows into herself after she escapes the dragon village. Her apprentice is a loyal, if somewhat misguided, child. Between them they begin to change the prevailing viewpoint and start to reshape dragon society. ( )
Taleri | Feb 10, 2009 |  
Ehhhh.....I liked it. Sure, why not. It is an interesting tale that is well written, but I felt a little disconnected from the story while reading it. Also, it takes place in the 1700s. Yak. Not my thing.
I already own the subsequent books in this series and will be reading them soon. But, I am not bouncing with excitement at the prospect. ( )
777Penny | Jan 24, 2009 |  
And enjoyably romantic book with a twist. Drakons have amazing shape shifting abilities. I loved the imagery of the passion between Rue and Kit as they turned and turned again. ( )
punxsygal | Sep 19, 2008 |  
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Imagine a place so ripe and thick with the promise of magic that the very air breathes in plumes of pearl and gray and smoky blue; that the trees bow with the weight of their heavy branches, dipping low to the ground, dropping needles and leaves into beds of perfume.
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0553804480, Hardcover)

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 dra´kon, 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 dra´kon. 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 dra´kon, 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 dra´kon, 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....In this bewitching novel, Shana Abé transports us into a world of exhilarating romance and magic.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:56 -0400)

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