The Dream Thief

I love this book, though it was, in my opinion, slightly less magical than the first book in the series, The Smoke Thief. However, that is not due to anything lacking in this book, merely the pure magic of the newness of the first one. Sequels always lose something of the surprise that comes with meeting a new world with new ideas and characters. The magic of this book was still quite sufficient. And I love it.

For the disclaimers, it does have sex scenes, and if you don’t like them you might not like the book. However, they were nicely done scenes, and there was none of the “the plot is only how I get from one steamy scene to the next” feeling that you get in some novels. The plot and characters and motivation were all nicely show more developed in this book.

I’m just amazed it took me this long to read this book. But hey - it means the third one will be out before I know it.

EDIT: I just realized that I said nothing of the plot. It follows Zane, who you may know from the first book, and Amalia, Kit and Rue’s daughter. They travel (for various reasons) to the continent (from England) to track down a diamond that has the ability to control the drakon. Zane, however, doesn’t know anything about this diamond’s powers, because Lia - who dreams of the future - is scared that if she tells him, her dreams will come true… show less

This is book two in the Drakon Series by Shana Abe' that started with "The Smoke Thief". I actually liked this book quite a bit better than the first one. It helped that I knew to expect a story that was more of a romance than a fantasy.

This book follow's Rue's daughter, Lia, and Rue's ex-assistant thief, Zane. In this book Rue hires Zane to go and retrieve the Draumr, a dangerous diamond that can control drakon. Little does Rue know her daughter Lia has been hearing Draumr's song her whole life and has also been dreaming of Zane. Shortly after taking off on his quest Zane is joined by Lia who has abandoned her boarding school in her own search for the diamond. They are uneasy partners through the wilderness and two questions must be show more answered; will they find the diamond and when they do what will Zane do with it?

I liked this book much better than the first one. Zane is a much more like-able lead man; he has that "I am tough" thing going on with a good dash of vulnerability. He is not so overly alpha like a lot of the romance leads are. Lia is also an interesting character; she has interesting magical abilities and a toughness that comes and goes.

This book is more of an adventure, a quest, than "The Smoke Thief" was. There is less intrigue and more drudging through the wilderness; which I actually enjoyed. The intrigue is still there, the romance is definitely still there. Overall this is a fantasy romance. The characters spend of a lot of time thinking about each other and dreaming about one another. There is some explicit sex, but it is tastefully done.

Overall this was a sweet story and a pleasant read. I thought both the plot and the characters were more enjoyable than the last book. If there is one thing Abe' does well it is sensual writing. Everything in her books is sensual from the description of a room, to the description of a fight, to the sensual love scenes. Everything is saturated in silky golden colors, or dripping in diamonds, the wind caresses, and Lia's hair tumbles in gentle waves of gold. Abe's writing is a bit over the top in sensuality but it is still a pleasure to read. It's a bit like a cupcake with heaping loads of frosting, sprinkles, sugar, and a cherry on top. It is something I read once in a while and enjoy but I don't think I would like to read it all the time. Abe' is very creative in her descriptions and really makes the surroundings in her stories come alive to all of your senses.

I liked that this was more of a fantasy than the first book. So far it looks like there are two more books coming up for this series "The Dragon Queen" and "Treasure Keeper". I will probably read them both...eventually. show less

I loved the hero in this one. Zane was perfect: started as a bad boy and selfish (which fitted with his personna in The Smoke Thief), but when he came to care for the heroine he was super protective, tender, sweet, seductive and caring. Couldn't find a fault with him:) And if I didn't love him enough, the ending assured that I did!Zane and Amalia are searching for the Draumr diamond: a stone that has magical abilities where the drakon are concerned. Lia has been having some very terrifying dreams for years; dreams that her family is destroyed by the man she loves. The source of all evil, is the Draumr. Zane has been asked by the drakon, to bring them the diamond, for a hefty price. Lia plans to get to it before he does and realizes its show more power. As they get nearer to the diamond, their attraction gets stronger and stronger, until they can't deny it any longer. However, there can't be any future for the two of them, since Lia's family will never accept a mere mortal as her husband. Their heartache, passion and love was so vibrant for me, I almost cried for them. Great couple with great chemistry. I just couldn't get enough of them. If I have one tiny-miny complain, is that the romance took the backseat in the first half, as opposed to the adventure. But other than that, it was great. And did I already say I loved Zane?I'm not sure whether I want to go on with the rest of the series however. Reviews for the next one are not so good it seems. Decisions, decisions... show less

We start The Dream Thief years after the first book, The Smoke Thief and meet Kit and Rue's children, particularly Amalia, the youngest and the plainest of their offspring. She is the odd one out this time, wishing to be free and having none of the gifts of her parents or siblings. Or so everyone, including her, thinks. But fast forward five years and things definitely have changed.

Zane, the former street urchin, has grown up into the King of Thieves and since he has the protection of the Smoke Thief herself, Rue, the Drakon suffer him to live and use him when they need him. His latest assignment, however, is the granddaddy of all heists and little does anyone know that Amalia will follow him and that she has the most unique gift of show more all.

*Book 2 of The Drakon series show less

Zane, the urchin boy who served the beautiful Smoke Thief of the first book has now grown into a sleek and dangerous master thief, one of the few humans allowed to know about and work with the drakons, dragon shape-shifters who live hidden amongst 18th. century English society. He is bidden to search for the legendary diamond, the Draumr, by the drakon lord, for a reward that will make him wealthy. He sets off for the Carpathian Mountains, where the diamond was rumored to be hidden.

Lia is the young daughter of the Lord and Lady of the drakons, but has always felt unimportant since she cannot change nor seem to exhibit any powers. However, she may have precognition and a special sense for the diamond, although no one believes in her. She show more feels Zane is important to her future and that of the drakon, and she has always secretly had feelings for him. Against all the harsh rules of the drakon, she is determined to aid him in finding the diamond, a jewel that is also crucial to the survival of her people.

Again, the best thing about the tale is the beautiful language Abe uses. But Zane and Lia are also fascinating characters. I think I like this tale the best of the Drakon books. show less

Amalia (Lia) Langford is the ungifted daughter of the drakon clan's talented leaders, or so everyone thought. Since she was a child Lia has known of her frightening gift, precognition. In her dreams she hears the song of the diamond, Draumr, and also knows that it is her heart and her love for a man which brings the diamond and great tragedy to her land and family. Despite her awareness of the future Lia is unable to stay away from Zane, master thief and the only human to know of the drakon's secrets. However, Lia will not give up on the future and is determined to do everything in her power to find the Draumr and destroy it before her love has a chance to destroy everything she holds dear.

This was an interesting story of a woman show more ostracized from her people and determined to save them all the same. The writing, characters and plotline were well developed. The parts depicting Lia's precognitive episodes added depth and a feeling of desperation to the story as you really want to hope that the visions she has won't be how Zane actually turns out to be. Although this is the second book of a series I’m not sure you would necessarily be lost without having read the first one. Personally I did read the first but remembered very little of it and was still able to follow the story. This is an engrossing tale which I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to lovers of fantasy and/or romance. show less

ok, so what happens with me quite often when I read a series back to back is I get distracted. Like certain things I've heard already and don't need to hear again, etc. I know this about myself and should not read the next in line in a series without a break. So, what did I do? I read the second book in a series right after reading the first one.I'm giving this 5 stars because it deserves it, but I felt more like 4 stars. Zane is great. Rough around the edges. From the street urchin he was, he certainly grew up to be quite the guy. Lia was great too. Interesting to see her character develop. My problem with the H/h was I continuously compared them to the characters in the previous book and I think Christoff and Rue had more depth to show more their characters. ok, I'll stop bitchin'. Truly, this is a great read and I recommend it. show less