Customer Reviews

Kiss of Fury (Dragonfire, Book 2)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Some people were kind of blase on Deborah Cooke's first novel in the series Kiss of Fire, and after I read it I could understand why, since it seems she was feeling out the storyline for the first time.
However, after reading Kiss of Fury, I have to say that the author has found her niche and is running with it! I absolutely loved the storyline and both hero and heroine were in depth and the epitome of coolness.

Donovan Shea, an Irish born Pyr, has had commitment issues, and not for the usual reasons. His life has been full of disappointments and people leaving him. He has given up on true love and never wants to have any children, thus when he finds that on this particular mission that his friends have set him up to save the woman that will cause his own firestorm, you can guess how pissed he is.

On the other hand, there is Alex Madison, a young scientist who is on the verge of one of the biggest environmental breakthroughs in decades. However, before she finish her work, she is attacked by Slayers, who destroy her work and brutally kill her partner. Horrified by the dragon Slayers, she is of course even more terrified when another dragon takes her from the hospital, saving her from the psycho ward!

Donovan and Alex's story gets even more steamy and complicated as both parties try to fight their attraction to each other, only to find themselves drawn back into the other's arms. Donovan's issues of trust, and Alex's fear are key points in the relationship, and it only gets more twisted as many issues from the past are suddenly coming to light.

All of the characters from Kiss of Fire return, including Quinn and Sara, Naill, Rafferty, Erik, Sloan, Delaney and Sophie the Wyvern (who seems to only get more annoying in this book). All the villians who didn't die in book one also return, along with some new villians who might prove quite a challenge for the small Pyr group.

New hardships arise, as the slayers reveal their new "academy" where they are making a new army of zombie dragon warriors. However, the revealed legend of the Dragon's Teeth, might be the Pyr's saving grace as they will soon have an army of their own (an army of dragon Spartans at that...take that 300!).

This book is a must read and the romance and action is phenomenal! Donovan and Alex are two sides of the same coin and I must say Cooke did an awesome job on this one. I will definately be buying book 3 (Kiss of Fate) next year, and will see how well she transforms Erik in the newest novel.

Alexandra Madison and her partner have developed a revolutionary new invention that has the potential to save the planet. One night of nightmarish violence lands Alexandra in the hospital and her partner in the mortuary, with their prototype destroyed.

Alex knows she must continue with their plan, which means gathering her backup data and prototype quickly in order to finish the job before the deadline in just a few days. Being kidnapped from the hospital by a handsome stranger puts a bit of a kink in that plan, but not as much as being continuously attacked by the Slayers who killed her partner and left her for dead. Of course, even these attacks aren't quite as distracting as the intensely compelling desire she feels for her kidnapper...

It is the duty of the Pyr to protect the Earth's treasures, which includes humankind. Donovan has been tasked with rescuing the lovely scientist from the hospital before the Slayers can finish her off. Once he finds her, the Firestorm is unleashed and he realizes she is his destined mate. He is determined to resist the Firestorm until Alex is out of danger and he can leave her in peace. But then the sexy little minx comes up with a plan to thwart the Firestorm. He isn't so sure it will work, but it can't hurt to try - can it?

Before I had turned the last page of the first book in Deborah Cooke's DRAGONFIRE series, I knew I wanted sequels in this riveting new paranormal saga. As much as I had loved KISS OF FIRE, I adored its sequel, KISS OF FURY, even more.

Something about the hero for KISS OF FURY appealed to me immensely. Maybe it is Donovan's bad boy persona, or perhaps it was the underlying vulnerability that drives him. Then again, it could just be his selfless nature and willingness to sacrifice all for those he loves.

Alexandra is the kind of woman I hope to be. She may experience fear, but she doesn't let it cripple her. When the chips are down, Alex will do whatever needs to be done to defend


both herself and those she cares for. Not only that, in her mission to complete the work on her invention, she works for the good of the entire human race. It is no wonder that she would be the perfect mate for a man like Donovan.

We see the return of that creepy Boris in KISS OF FURY, and this villain brings with him some surprises that throw our heroes for a loop. His army of minions has increased, and the challenges the Pyr face are formidable.

The Pyr, however, are not without their own secret weapons. We learn more about the Pyr leader's talents, and the group learns even more about their own heritage than they already knew. Someone new joins the small band of Pyr and their fight against the evil Slayers, surprising all. Even the ethereal Wyvern plays an even bigger part in this book, and there are hints that she may find her own story in the not too distant future, if I read Ms. Cooke's clues accurately.

In KISS OF FURY: DRAGONFIRE, BOOK 2, Deborah Cooke delivers a fiery tale of love and passion with few subtle morals to the story and quite a few twists in the plot. Although she wraps up the story with the answers we need to enjoy the ending, she manages to leave us with just enough new questions to have us awaiting Book 3 with bated breath!

**Courtesy of Wild on Books**

Series Order:
Kiss of Fire (Dragonfire, Book 1)
Kiss of Fury (Dragonfire, Book 2)
Kiss of Fate: A Dragonfire Novel

Cooke's second book in her Dragonfire series, KISS OF FURY, follows the ongoing battle of good and evil fought between an ancient species of male shape-shifting dragons. The Pyr, whose job it is to guard earth's treasures -- the most important of which is humans -- must stop the Slayers from destroying the planet and killing off humanity. In addition, in order to remain strong, the Pyr must continue their line, so when a Pyr's "firestorm" heralds his destined mate, he must answer the summons. The newest set of sparks fly between the Pyr "Warrior," Donovan Shea and the human "Wizard," scientist Alexandra (Alex) Madison.

Alex Madison has invented a "green" machine that will help save the planet, but just as she's ready to unveil the environmental gem, her partner is murdered before her eyes - eviscerated by dragons - and the green machine prototype is destroyed and the lab burned. While recovering in the hospital from her own injuries, she continues to be haunted by memories of the horrific murder and evil dragons. Unfortunately, she's misdiagnosed as unstable and is ordered to be sent the psychiatric ward, only to be rescued by a stranger who turns out to be yet another dragon.

Donovan Shea is sent by the Pyr to rescue Alex from the hospital and guard her from the Slayers who want to destroy her and all evidence of her invention. When Donovan figures out that he was chosen for this mission because Alex is his destined mate - which is obvious because his firestorm burns to life when he's with her - he's angry, because he's vowed never to marry or father children. Determined to cheat destiny and avoid falling for the feisty, intelligent scientist, the reluctant warrior fights his desire for Alex, which only seems to turn up the flames.

In a race for time, Donovan and Alex work to rebuild the green machine, with help from the other Pyr dragons (including the only female dragon, the beautiful Wyvern). The Smith and the Seer (Quinn and Sara) from KISS OF FIRE return, and Eric, the Pyr leader, tries to learn the Slayer's dark secrets having to do with the "shadow dragons" who don't bleed. The mystery of the dragon's tooth is also introduced - we're sure to read more about that in future books in the series.

I'm a long-time fan of Cooke's medieval romances, as well as her contemporary fiction (written under Claire Delacroix and Claire Cross). I also just finished her newest urban fantasy novel, FALLEN by Claire Delacroix, about a fallen angel hero - I highly recommend it to readers of any genre, but especially those who like edgy, dark urban fantasies. Cooke is a master at world-building, whether it's a contemporary world where dragons co-exist with unsuspecting humans or a post-nuclear urban setting filled with dark, gritty imagery and yummy, rich characters (like in FALLEN).

Eric's story, KISS OF FATE, is next in the Dragonfire series, and I'll be the first in line to buy it.

Like one of the other reviewers wrote, I must have read a different book. The book read like an average, not very well written, romance novel. The hero and heroine lacked the tension that creates a good romance. I'm not much of a fan when, in the first 10 pages, one or both of the main characters recognize that they are fated. Talk about taking away the tension.

I rated it 2 stars because I save the 1 star ratings for authors who truly offend. The author didn't offend, she simply wasn't very good. As a huge fan of imaginative and well written paranormal mystery and romance, this book doesn't even compare. I was so disappointed that I threw it on my discard stack after the first 100 pages. I don't recommend it.

Felt ripped off with this book. The whole book sped toward the culmination of the firestorm between the two main characters and then when it FINALLY happened and they decided it was fate and to give in to it......NOTHING. It just continued with their story at a later date.I checked just to make sure my kindle did not miss downloading a few pages since it was such an abrupt dismissal of what should have been a momentous union.

I decided to buy this book based on the reviews, now I'm wondering if the publisher or author's friends are the ones writing reviews. It was pretty bad. The author did try to come up with a plot--something some other authors in this genre don't bother to do, but it was confusing. The invention was a car that ran on salt water. This is not a spoiler because I can't see a connection to the characters' motives. Some how we have to believe that this invention would save the earth as opposed to its non-invention causing all humans to die which is what the bad dragons want--huh?

The writing is pretty choppy. At no point was I grabbed by the narrative and pulled into the characters' lives. Instead I kept thinking--do I want to quit now or finish it? I did finish it, but I probably should have just quit. Oh, and people who died in the first book and this book seem to come back alive so I guess you never know when a character is really dead.

I'm indifferent to this book, really. Maybe it would have been better if I had read the first one? I don't know. Anyways, for me, there wasn't any chemistry between the characters. There was just a firestorm - they had sexual attraction, but the male lead was too focused on not giving in to it because of daddy issues, and the female lead was wishy washy. There wasn't a time when you got to 'watch' them start to really like the other person, to feel a bond, you know? I love the steamy bedroom scenes, but I'm a sucker for everything that leads up to it, too. I love me some witty bantering with an undercurrent of sexual tension!! I hope the third book is better, though. I like the concept she has going, it just needs a little more development.

this was a great book. a second in a series. I can't wait to read the next one. Deb Cooke can keep your attention and make you not want to put the book down until you read the last page. Even then I still wanted to keep reading. The adventure never stops and the pages seem to sizzle in your hand. Great read.

Taking advantage of all the world-building and characters from Kiss of Fire, it is great to see many familiar faces back in the action. Prophecies continue to act as the catalyst sending a mating heat Firestorm to connect one of Dragonshifting Pyr with a destined mate - this time the Wizard and the Warrior. And though there are plenty of other Pyr yearning for the very rare chance of gaining a mate and an heir, the lucky dragon, Donovan is not one of them. In fact Donovan intends to deny his Firestorm and even though wizard-to-be Alexandra is annoyingly hard to resist, Donovan is absolutely determined to never claim a mate.

Though neither wants to makes a committment, the Firestorm is an attraction that's near possible for them to ignore and is threatening Donovan's ability to protect Alexandra while she accomplishes a task vital to the fate of the world - one that requires focus she just can't acheive while under lustful effects of the Firestorm. But being the smart one, Alexandra comes up with a plan to cheat the Firestorm, and Donovan is fully on board with the idea which seems like an ideal way for them to take advantage of their attraction without making the committment that Donovan doesn't believe he is able to make. But Donovan is selling himself short and when Alexandra finally decides she wants to keep him, she's intelligent enough and strong enough to get Donovan past the shadow of the father who abandoned Donovan as a child and to help Donovan to see that he is not the loner he believes himself to be, but that he is a fiercely loyal supporter of those he cares about.

I liked Alexandra, though until Donovan finally won her trust, she often walked into danger while exercising her independence. She was a much better heroine than Sara from the first book. And bad boy loner Donovan was truly yummy. The fact that Donovan didn't embrace his firestorm led to a nice building of tension between him and Alexandra. So with the romance this time was being better than in the first book, and with so much more going on in the background including the perversions of nature that the Slayers have cultivated to strike a demoralizing blow in the battle against the noble Pyr, I really liked Kiss of Fury. With Kiss of Fury the ensemble of dragon-shifting warriors is becoming better established and we got to know several more of the Pyr better, so I am looking forward to the next book Kiss of Fate but really hoping that there will be many more Pyr books to come.

Way too much complicated plot, dragons, a green machine, and other characters. It was very hard getting through the book. Yes, I skimmed by way to the end. I asked myself when I was done, what was this book about? Didn't like it at all!