Kiss of Fire: Dragonfire #1

For millennia, the shape-shifting dragon warriors known as the Pyr have commanded the four elements and guarded the earth's treasures. But now the final reckoning between the Pyr, who count humans among the earth's treasures, and the Slayers, who would eradicate both humans and the Pyr who protect them, is about to begin...

When Sara Keegan decides to settle down and run her quirky aunt's New Age bookstore, she's not looking for adventure. She doesn't believe in fate or the magic of the tarot-but when she's saved from a vicious attack by a man who has the ability to turn into a fire-breathing dragon, she questions whether she's losing her mind-or about to lose her heart...

Quinn Tyrrell has long been distrustful of his fellow Pyr and a self-reliant loner. So when he feels the firestorm that signals his destined mate, he's determined to protect and possess Sara, regardless of the cost to himself. Then Sara's true destiny is revealed-and Quinn realizes he must risk everything- even Sara's love-to fulfill their entwined fates...

I made it to the end of the first chapter of Amaryllis by Jayne Castle, forcing myself to do so, when I decided it likely wasn't a book for me. Which sucks because the covers of that series are gorgeous and deserve a place on my shelves. *shrugs* Maybe one day in the future.

But on the tail of Shiloh Walker's Back From Hell, I needed something just as dark- or close to it. Something deep. Something hot.

Kiss of Fire has sat on my to-be-read list since January and the last dragon shifter story I can recall reading was in 2003. Yeah, this is long overdo. With shifters, prophecy, myth, and mates, this one sucked me in immediately whereas Amaryllis did nothing more than repel me with the same amount of pages.

I did have a little problem with the beginning. If Quinn didn't know if these 'Pyr' were the good guys or the bad, then how the hell was I suppose to know?

Quite the change of pace, too. Wolves are instinctive, impulsive, and clear with intent. Dragons, on the flipside of the coin, are patient, reasoning beings... and cryptic as all hell.

So I'm gonna sum this up nice and neat. Quinn is a Pyr, a dragon shapeshifter that has lived centuries away from his kind for a number of reasons. His family has been slaughtered. His first wife has been burned alive. Despite living alone, and contently so, he feels his firestorm building- the time to claim his destined mate has arrived.

Sara is an accountant who has chosen to honor her late aunt's spirit by running her old book store, a shop filled with books of lore and legends. The last thing she would have believed in would be the existence of dragons in modern day America but when she's targeted and attacked, that's exactly what she finds to be true amidst the discovery that she's a Seer and her aunt is haunting the place.

Meanwhile, the enemy of the Pyr, the Slayers, have captured the Wyvern and are torturing her for the secrets of the visions she holds.

Now, Quinn is learning that the grudges and mistrust Quinn has placed on those of his kind just may be misplaced, and the one soul to which he has given his trust and affection just may be the one that has robbed him of everything he's held dear.

The best part, by far, in this story are Sara's dreams which are Quinn's memories. Vivid and sad. Compelling. Altering. I love a good, heartpumping dream.

The most shocking part was Erik's son. Did *not* expect that.

The worst part was Elizabeth. Because, quite simply, I don't like baggage.