The Smoke Thief

Drakon #1

by Shana Abe

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.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Dragons, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Historical Romance, Historical

325 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 27, 2005

About the author

Shana Abé is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of seventeen books, including the acclaimed Drákon Series and the Sweetest Dark Series.

She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California, and currently resides in the mountains of Colorado with her very patient husband and a lot of pets.

Reviews

[Monty Cupcake ☠ Queen of Bloodshed ☠ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I expected. It started out interesting. It starts with Rue at age 12. Rue is an outcast in the dragon community she lives in because she's a halfing. They treat her like a peasant. All dragons have to live in the dragon community, no other options. Any who leave, called runners, are brought back and punished. Rue drowns at age 17.

Ten years later....guess what, she's not dead. She's the Smoke Thief and the only female dragon able to turn into a dragon in forever. And turn into smoke - three forms: smoke, dragon, human. Christoff "Kit", Lord Langford, is the Alpha dragon and he's out to catch the Smoke Thief. He's stupefied to discover Rue, a woman, can Turn and is the thief. Who knew women could think, right? Amazing. Kit realizes she's an Alpha lady dragon and that she should be his. His new mission is to get Rue, bed & wed her, and get the stolen Langford diamond back.

Rue is so not for having anything to do with Kit, other dragons, or returning to the dragon community. They treated her like shit and she'd have zero freedom back there, unlike now, in London, where she owns her own house and does what she wants. She does her utmost to avoid Kit, but she's captured and makes a deal to help them recover the diamond. Etc, etc.

Kit is a giant jackass who thinks all women want him and can't understand why Rue isn't delighted with his claim upon her. He spends the whole book telling her how she'll be going back home, that she has no choice, that her ideas aren't worthwhile, etc. He basically spits on the life she's created for herself for 9 years and tells her 'you've had your fun, time to be my wife and make babies, because I always get my way.' I know this is set in 1751, but it's paranormal, did the author have to make the guy this misogynistic? He also is fine with the idea of raping her to get what he wants.

"Will it be rape, or will you flatter yourself with an attempt at seduction?" she asked.
"There is no rape between a husband and a wife," Kit said.

"Rape or seduction. He would take either."


Rue, she's an awesome thief and I liked her London life. She's kind to people, only steals from the über rich idiots, and saved an urchin's life. Unfortunately, she's had a crush on Kit forever and he's hot, so she is susceptible to his charms. She does fight him basically the whole way and tells him no about 10,000 times, but she'd have more luck telling an avalanche falling on her head no than Kit. I didn't mind her character, but I wanted her to kill Kit. He may not beat her, but I wouldn't call him nice or romantic. Everything he says feels like a ploy just to get her. I don't find him sincere and I'm mad she didn't stab him.

Conclusion: I thought this book dragged in a lot of places, it never connected for me, Kit, the hero of this "romance" is a douche, and Rue gives into him. The dragon theme was nice, but it wasn't thrilling. I definitely won't be reading anymore in this series.

[Alexis Hall]

Another oldie review. I like to hope I've passed my romance driving test subsequently; but who knows.

Just when I think I’m getting the hang of things around here, something happens that reminds me I still need my L-plates. The first chapter of The Smoke Thief introduces us to a sixteen year old shithead who is idly watching our heroine, Rue, as she gets into trouble with some mean girls. Later, we learn that he’s the alpha dragon in these parts and Rue has a crush on him, but he’s too busy banging other people to notice. When Rue vanishes, and is presumed dead by the tribe, I genuinely spent a few chapters believing that she was going to meet someone else (someone who, perchance, wasn’t a shithead), in basic recognition of the fact that the person you sorta fancied when you were fourteen is never going to be ideal life-partner material because, hello, you were fourteen and they were probably a shithead.

Anyway, this was incredibly wrong. The shithead was the hero, the heroine was in love with him all along, and that was totally okay, and they were meant to be together and blah blah blah. And, hum, I bet everyone else saw that coming a mile off. Personal genre recalibrations aside, I did really enjoy The Smoke Thief and I am now a fully paid up, card carrying member of the ‘dragons are hot’ club. Do we get badges? The last dragon-themed romance I read was Dragon Actually, and wangs aside, I didn’t get much sense of the reality of dragons from that book. Yes, they were very big and scaly, but I didn’t quite believe in them somehow, or develop a conception of them as being as meaningfully distinct from humans. To put it another way, Tolkein would probably have said they approached dracognitas rather than true draco. In The Smoke Thief, however, the sheer glorious awesome of being a dragon is given plenty of attention. I apologise, this is going to be a long quote but I didn’t have the heart to cut, well, any of it:

Ah. Her first breath was like inhaling snow, fiercely cold, sending light and energy through her entire being … She lifted her head and stole her second, delicious breath, bounding across the firmament, a phantom creature that matched the sun and those purer clouds: her body pearl white, her scales rimmed in gold.

The drákon were sleeker than the depictions that survived in medieval tapestries and texts … living flame and speed and gilded wings that mastered the wind. No wonder the Others had rendered them so clumsy in their fables; in true life their radiance was almost incomprehensible, splinters of sky, as fatal and glorious as a hail of firelit arrows.

I think even Tolkein would have to admit: that, my friends, is sheer draco.

To be honest, my most dominant reaction to The Smoke Thief was ‘holy shit, this is beautifully written’. I’ve discussed this a bit before in comments, and I’ll try not self-derail, but I tend to feel that writing quality is often far more subjective than people are willing to credit. At least, once you get beyond the basics of getting the words in the right order. I have often caught myself levelling somewhat arbitrary charges of being ‘badly written’ at books I don’t like, or want to feel in some way superior to, so I’ve consciously tried to find a reading space that allows me to respond positively to what I feel might be ‘good’ writing, while also preventing me from leaping gleefully onto my high horse over things that simply aren’t expressed the way I would necessarily express them. Therefore, when I say The Smoke Thief is gorgeous, I mean not only were the words placed coherently on the page in the generally approved fashion but they were so strikingly arranged thereupon that they stirred me from my stew of careful neutrality and I actually noticed them. And this is a big deal for me.

The sheer loveliness of the writing saturates the whole book. Your mileage may vary because, for some people, it could stray a bit too close to purple but, frankly, I like that colour. I mean we are talking a deep, rich indigo here, not your Grandmother’s lavender pot-pourri. I honestly think I read it in a sort of swoon, reeling from page to page like a summer-drunk drone, finding myself bizarrely interested in the sort of things I confess I usually skip, like the colour of heroine’s frock or how hot the hero looks with his kit off:

The Marquess of Langford, with his remote composure and his eyes hooded green, no human modesty, no shame. He was drákon, and Rue realised now that she had never seen it so clearly in anyone until this moment: not mortal, not weak, but something ancient and formidable, barely bound in the sinew and grace of a man’s unclothed body.

Ngh. The words, the words, they are so very pretty, I just want to roll around in them, purring. It’s a good job I’m already in my bunk.

The Smoke Thief is set in a sort of alt-Georgian England, except with dragons. They’re able to blend into society by taking human form but they live by very different rules within their own tribe. I really loved the setting – I mean dragons and women in fabulous gowns and men in high heels, my buttons, they are so pressed right now. What worked particularly well for me was the blending of fantasy and history, so there was a sense of familiarity as well as difference. This gave the world a degree of natural depth, without either making everything generic or requiring masses of detailing, although, truthfully, I could have done with just a touch more exposition because I still have no idea what’s going on with the drákon, where they came from, what they’re doing, and how their society is supposed to work. However, unlike Dragon Actually, I read it as deliberate obfuscation, rather than inadequate world building.

I actually found the fragmentary glimpses of the drákon somewhat troubling because much about their society seemed actively unpleasant and oppressive. Part of the plot revolves around recapturing this poor guy who tried to run away from it (he just wanted to play the violin and be free) and I felt absolutely terrible for him. Similarly, the heroine is on the lam from consistent ill-treatment, and a potential forced marriage with the hero, and I know Georgian England wasn’t exactly a walk in liberty park either, but I genuinely wasn’t sure how I was meant to feel about Rue having to go back and become part of this deeply horrible culture. And, in this respect, I almost felt the language of The Smoke Thief was a further obfuscation – everything is expressed with such lavish sensuality, it’s remarkably easy to get distracted by the pretty and ignore, or downplay, how nasty things actually seem to be. I suppose that’s fitting for a book about dragons, though, bedazzling, marvellous monsters that they are.

The main action of The Smoke Thief revolves around the adventures of Rue and Christoff as they chase a stolen diamond and he attempts to get her to marry him in the traditional romance hero manner of threats and blackmail (all these years, I’ve been doing it so wrong). The plot is deliciously twisty, involving both crocodiles and masquerade balls, and, for the most part, maintains a sensible balance between sexual tension and exciting adventures. Though, now I think about it, they do, at one point, stop to shag at a ball, rather than giving pursuit to the thief they’d come to the ball expressly in order to catch, which wouldn’t have been nearly so jarring if the rest of the book hadn’t woven the sexing and romance so effectively into the narrative tapestry. What did throw me, however, was the fact the book itself opens with what I can only describe as a detour into complete weirdness, which I shall attempt to share with you now. Deep breath…

So there’s this fairytale place and special people live there who, like, hear, diamonds and are totally magical and shit, but then Others come and are mean to them until they all run away, but they leave some of their kids and diamonds behind because, I don’t know, baggage handling requirements, and there’s this amazing castle that nobody can get into but then the Others eventually do get into it, and it’s full of amazingly hot, pale people who apparently spawned themselves Biblical style by some committed, hardcore incesting. So then the incest-dragons who live in a fairytale castle in the Carpathians become Feudal nobility, and it’s all groovy, but one of their diamonds has turned evil, and people are starting to get pissed off because Feudalism is not a sensible system of government, yo, and then some random peasant nicks the evil diamond and a dragon princess, and things go bad, and it’s all bad, and the dragons start dying because … they do? Then the dragon princess arbitrarily kills the peasant and pegs it with the evil diamond, burying it under ground, before arbitrarily dying herself. And so all the dragons are dead and the evil diamond is buried, except it turns out there were other dragons somewhere else all along who are totally fine and not dead … and holy flaming prologue, Batman, what was any of that about?

I expect it’s probably about establishing the series premise but, ultimately, it’s still an entire prologue about some drákon who have nothing to do with the drákon in the book, and a diamond that also isn’t the diamond in the book. It is, however, testament to just how ludicrously lovely I found The Smoke Thief that my main reaction to this was not “what the hell, this is completely irrelevant” but, instead, “oh, this is beautiful, I like this, is there more?” And this isn’t a real whinge, it’s mainly bewilderment, and I will add that both the prologue and epilogue, with their slightly fairytale style, serve as gorgeous bookends to the main story

As seems pretty typical for me, I found myself liking the heroine considerably more than the hero, although I also got the satisfying sense that they were very well matched, as they are both strong, clever and capable, without always being sympathetic. Having fled the drákon to avoid being forced into marriage with Christoff, Rue has made her career as a jewel thief, a wonderfully dragonish profession (and, incidentally, I just love how acquisitive and into shiny stuff the drákon are). Although much less openly aggressive than Christoff, she is, in her subtler way, just as savage, sharp and ruthless as he is and I liked the way the power balance remained pretty equal between the two of them, despite Christoff’s constant attempts to tip it in his favour. I also felt they both came across as distinctly paranormal creatures, not merely as humans with extras. Their morality, their passions and their values seemed noticeably (and, occasionally, unpleasantly) their own; and their ability to shift from human, to smoke, to dragon is portrayed as being inextricable from who they are, and plays an important role in their developing relationship.

Christoff, however, I wavered on. I will admit the language sort of seduced me into being into him and there’s enough vulnerability there to lend sympathy to some of his more alphatastic behaviour. It’s a bit ‘poor little all-powerful uber-dragon’ but he’s just as trapped by his role, and the expectations of it, as anyone else in his world:

He thought of all the times he’d wanted to run himself, to escape Darkfrith. He looked out at the stars thrown cross the cold sky and envy of [Rue] speared through him bright as pain – just a flash, and then he smothered it.

And, although he’s relentless in his pursuit of Rue, he’s driven as much by his loneliness as by, y’know, his overwhelming manly need to possess her:

But, beneath his look was something even worse. Beneath it was something that flickered and caught in her chest, tenderness and recognition and a sparse, empty ache that seemed to penetrate her very being.

There’s no denying he’s kind of a dick a lot of the time, and the bit when he threatens to murder a child unless Rue marries him is kind of a nadir even for a dragon operating under a different set of moral values, but he’s also clearly a rather sad and stifled dick, which made him slightly more bearable than is probably right or fair. Towards the end of the book, I was even starting to feel he might be about to change and grow as a person:

He was tired of her hostility. He was tired of trying to woo and manage her at once. She was too intelligent for blandishments and too independent to bow to his will just because he wanted her to.

Oh, yes, Christoff! Yes! Well done. You’ve finally noticed that Rue is a real person, with wants and needs that may be divergent from your own. Good on you, my lad, good on you. Perhaps you should, y’know, try actually talking to her? But then, literally a handful of pages later as they get their dragon-bonk on behind a painted screen at a ball:

Rape or seduction. He would take either.

Bad dragon. No biscuit. I think what really confused me about this line was that it came out of nowhere, like a cartoon anvil, when they were already having perfectly consensual sex. And I understand it’s probably meant to convey the primal urgency of Christoff’s passion but, dragon or not, I can’t readily imagine the thought process that develops from “I’m really enjoying this consensual sex we’re having” to “This consensual sex we’re having is so damn good, that if it wasn’t consensual, I wouldn’t care.” That’s just kind of insane.

And, even though I recognised that Christoff and Rue were very alike, and very well-suited, I wasn’t entirely happy about the ending. Basically Rue and Christoff end up together (no surprise) and go back to Dragonville, where there’s vague talk of Changing Things For The Better TM, and promises that they’ll regularly come back to London so Rue has some freedom left in her life. I can’t decide whether I’m deeply unromantic, because I didn’t really buy into the primal meant-to-be-togetherness of their relationship, or excessively romantic, because I felt it was too great a compromise. Obviously, I recognise that, in real life, love is compromise, and that’s okay, but Rue was such a fiercely independent character, and drákon society seemed so bloody awful, that I wasn’t sure Christoff was worth it. And I know have a slightly problematic, and let’s face it, patronising tendency not to trust heroines with their own happiness but I felt the fact that Rue had a crush on Christoff when she was growing up was over-accepted as a reason for why they should be together now. They do spend a fair bit of time together, chasing the diamond and having sex, but Christoff spends the whole of that time actively lying to her about his intentions and trying to bludgeon her into marrying him. We’re told early on that love works differently for the drákon:

The drákon did not woo and wed as Others did; their dance was more primal, the outcome more fixed. Driven by instinct, as well as passion, when mates were chosen, it was for the course of a lifetime.

But, honestly, I kind of found that a bit of a cop-out. I hasten to add, this wasn’t anything to do with the book, just my personal preferences and interests coming into play. For me, love has to be an intellectual drive as well as an instinctual one and, although Christoff was attractive and powerful and wore some truly excellent coats, I couldn’t quite see why it had to be him for Rue, and not some other attractive, powerful and sartorially classy bloke. I mean, I know they’re both alpha dragons and therefore somewhat limited in their options, but, for me to buy this particular romance, I needed to feel that their being together was as much genuine choice as a natural inevitability. Right at the very end, Christoff does release Rue from her obligation to marry him – but I got no sense from that scene that he really believed she might leave him, or that she even really considered it. So that slightly unbalanced the book for me because it felt like Rue’s real concerns for her freedom and agency got subsumed into “well, it’s okay, really, because she loves him.”

On the other hand, I suspect this an entirely personal grumble, and it was certainly a minor one. The Smoke Thief is an engaging, elegant story, beautifully told, and the most successful blending of romance and fantasy I’ve read so far. Well, okay, that’s from a shortlist of two, but it’s still top.
Everything I learned about life and love from reading The Smoke Thief: I like pretty words. Having your leg gored by a crocodile is no barrier to bonking. Georgian England has the best frocks and the best shoes. Dragons are totally hot. Heroines with swords are totally hot. Heroines in drag are totally hot.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure how a historical romance with dragon-shifter characters was going to play out; it could have been really cheesy. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The author blended magic, romance, and a historical setting with this cat-and-mouse story seamlessly. I was completely drawn into the world and characters and I can't wait to read more about the drakon now.

Clarissa Rue Hawthorne is a halfling; have Other (human) and half Drakon (dragon). She's an outsider in her community and is constantly picked on by the stronger girls. She quietly watches as the alpha-to-be Christoff Langford flirts and chases after all the other girls in the shire, falling in love with him against her better judgment.

Fast forward 9 years and Clarissa has escaped the shire and its strict rules to live among the Others in London. Clarissa is drawn to the jewels and treasures of the wealthy in London, and she stops at nothing to get what she wants.

But when Christoff brings his tribe's own treasure to London to show off to the public, Clarissa fears that she might be recognized and taken back against her will. The only problem is, during the showing someone else takes the gem and Clarissa is forced to help Christoff recover it, all the while fighting off his advances. Clarissa knows he sees women as replaceable and she doesn't want to become one of the many. Christoff has other plans for her though.

Clarissa is a great character. She's independent, head-strong, smart, resourceful, and likable. Christoff is your typical alpha-male, but he knows when to push and when to back off; the man has great timing. I liked how we got to see inside his head a bit to see what he was thinking and feeling.

Both characters were very well-written and their romance was believable. Some might not like the whole fated to be mates thing, but honestly, their romance had started almost 10 years ago so it wasn't as if they had just met. Plus they didn't jump into bed right away and the tension was built up adequately. And the scenes where they finally gave into their urges were really hot.

I thought that giving them two forms - smoke and dragon - was really neat. As a friend pointed out, their smoke form is an ingenious way to camouflage them until they get above the clouds so they can then turn into dragons without people seeing them. It actually is very clever, and also useful to escape out of sticky situations.

I also really liked the character of Zane and I was happy to see that he shows up in the next book. I'm curious to see what happens with him.

I enjoyed this book a lot and I really appreciated the author's way with words. This book has a fairytale quality to it and her writing is magical. When you read the parts when they're smoke or dragons you really get pulled along for the ride.

I don't read a whole lot of historical romance but even if there hadn't been dragon-shifters and magic in this I still probably would have liked it. This really was a great start for this series and I look forward to reading more by this author!

[Carmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the kind of book I despise, despite it's pretty prose.

There's a secret clan/organization of weredragons. Some have mixed with humans, yielding halflings, which are looked down upon. Apparently, nowadays, the ability to turn into a dragon is limited to men only. So they would love to find a woman who can Turn, because then she can breed.

Many weredragons run away from this clan/organization, because it is run with an iron fist by a bunch of jerks. Runners are hunted down and killed.

The protagonist, Clarissa Rue, fakes her own death at age 17. She's a Halfling. She runs away to London and becomes a jewel thief.

Our male protagonist, Cristoff, or Kit, is the Alpha of the clan organization. He's a spoiled, ruthless man - but we are supposed to think he's super-sexy.

So. He goes to hunt down Clarissa Rue after it's clear that the famous London jewel thief is a weredragon. But of course, he's the Alpha Male, and since she's the only female who can Turn in existence, that makes her instant Alpha Female. So he claims her as his bride, or whatever. Forget that she doesn't want to marry him, or return to the clan. What she wants doesn't matter at all. She's his, okay?

Since she's Alpha Female, and the only woman who can Turn, you think this would make her strong, right? Wrong. She's bullied by Kit, captured by Kit, almost raped by Kit, etc.

Also, she's a virgin and he's had so much sex he's like a pro, or something. MINUS TONS OF POINTS. God. I hate that sh*t.

Kit's super-protective. He doesn't want any other man looking at her, touching her, breathing the same air as her, etc. She, while living in London, saved a little street urchin from certain death. Now Street Urchin is her little friend. He's 11 or 12. KIT IS THREATENED BY HIM. Because he's male. Oh God, he thinks a 12-year-old kid is horning in on his property. Sick. This is sick. Later he is going to kill the kid. Not because the kid is a "threat" to his manhood (how sad is that?!) but because the kid knows the truth about Kit and Clarissa Rue being weredragons. And he's just like "Go upstairs, Clarissa Rue. You don't want to see this." AS IF SHE'S JUST GOING TO TURN HER BACK AND LET HIM MURDER THE CHILD SHE SAVED FROM THE GUTTER. Then Clarissa Rue's all "Oh, don't kill the kid. Please, I'm begging you, blah blah blah." So Kit says he won't kill the kid if she agrees to marry him. Oh, blackmail and threatening to kill children. That's EXACTLY the way to get a woman to fall in love with you. NOT!!!

But then Kit gets sick. Oh, we're supposed to feel so sorry for him, poor baby, he's ILL. Oh, poor little thing. She nurses him back to health and I guess we're supposed to see him in a vulnerable state and actually start liking him or something. Ugh.

THEN she finds out that he betrayed her. It's a long story, but he promised her freedom (as in, doesn't have to marry him or rejoin the clan if she lives with him for two weeks and they find this giant diamond and another Runner). But no. It was all a lie. He was going to force her to marry him and force her to rejoin the clan anyway. No matter what. I guess if you're a woman you have no rights to decide who you marry, where you live, and if and when you have sex. When she confronts him with this, he's NOT EVEN APOLOGETIC. He's all "Oh, well, I'm Alpha Male and what I say goes and I'll never let you go. You're my property now and you'll never get away from me." AGAIN, I want to stress that we are supposed to see this as sexy, okay? Not rapist/abuser/scum of the earth. But sexy and powerful, or something. Disgusting.

I won't spoil the ending, but I think you can see where this is going. To what the author thinks is a happy ending. MY version of a happy ending would be: she kills Kit, runs off and takes the Street Urchin with her, and never lays eyes on another weredragon again. But we all know THAT won't be the ending of this book.

Long story short, this book teaches us that:
1.) Women have no rights. They are the property of men. Rape is perfectly acceptable. Actually, at one point in the book, Kit tells Clarissa Rue "There is no rape between a husband and a wife." LIES. FILTHY LIES.
2.) It's okay to kill people who disobey you.
3.) It's okay to kill children if they are a "threat" to you somehow.
4.) Even males who haven't gone through puberty yet are threats to a man/owner's property (a.k.a. women) and need to be killed so that the man/owner is not threatened.
5.) Acting in the above ways will be seen as super-sexy by women, and they will eventually fall in love with you and have tons of sex with you.

ONE REAL STAR, ONE ROMANCE STAR

[AH · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. It was wonderful. It was thrilling. I thoroughly enjoyed being swept away to a magical world where the drakon (dragon shifters) live amongst us.

The Smoke Thief is set in the 1750’s so it also has the richness and textures of that time period. The author creates a world where a group of people can shift into beautiful, majestic dragons. I loved so many things about this book. The flying sequences were phenomenal. When the drakon shift into their dragon forms, they first turn into smoke and wind their way up into the sky. When they are high enough, they turn into dragons.

I liked the main characters Clarissa (Rue) and Christoff (Kit). I felt more of a connection to Rue than to Kit. Kit struck me as a little Neanderthal at times due to his Alpha nature, however I did enjoy his frustration and love for Rue. The dialogue between these characters was cleverly written. Their love scenes were steamy.

I enjoyed the dragon lore and how attracted the dragons were to precious stones.

I noticed that the next book does not continue Rue and Kit’s story. I’m a little disappointed about that. Despite my tiny disappointment, I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

[Eastofoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of all the romance novels I’ve read I can’t believe I bypassed this gem for as long as I have. Talk about a hidden treasure, and to think I was skeptical as to whether or not it’d be not only a good story but a “decent” romance (!) I wasn’t too keen on the paranormal aspect and the book’s back blurb doesn’t do it justice. Often the back blurbs make the book out to be more than what it is, but this one couldn’t be more understated.

This story is like a lush and juicy peach. Abé is a master story teller whose words pop, jump, slip and slide right off the page making it mighty hard to put down. She is a genius at describing colours and making you feel like you are actually there with the characters watching on the sidelines. It’s a very sensual, magical story set as a paranormal regency historical. The introduction to the world of the Dràkon makes you feel like you’re reading something from Christopher Paolini’s “Inheritance” trilogy and then when you get into the early lives of the h/h you see the potential for the romance and the story takes off from there.

The hero will have you sighing…. sighing ….. and then flat out OMG-did-he-just-say-that swooning by the end of the novel (ref page 281 –sigh-o-rama people!). Dammit is he ever gooood =) He is so charming, not a Mr Smooth, he just knows what to say and says it sincerely too. He’s 100% alpha though and will do anything to get what he wants. It’s been a while since I’ve read one of those really good firecracker heroines and Rue is certainly one. Nothing stands in her way. She’s a true free spirit and a brilliant thief. If you liked a character like Lily Lawson in Lisa Kleypas’ “Then Came You” then you’ll love this sharp cookie. There’s a good amount of sexual tension as well as some of the best sexually charged kissing scenes I ever read. Kit is a master with those lips ;) His whispers and then the sex scenes just have you trembling. They aren’t over the top but they are so intense making the love story all the more believable. The ending is just perfect too.

If you’ve missed this series like me I strongly suggest you give it a shot. Looks like I for one have found myself a new series –and **grooaan** go the ol' shelves, yet again ;D

[rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book. I really did. The friend who recommended it to me couldn't stop raving about the series. I've loved every other book she's recommended to me, and I really enjoy fantasy/paranormal romances. But, this was just bad.

My biggest problem was the hero. Kit was an ass, through and through. He states multiple times that he will sleep with the heroine, even if he has to rape her. When they finally do have sex, Kit mentions that Rue keeps trying to pull away from him, but he doesn't care. It's all very awkward, and made me rather uncomfortable. I don't have a problem with rape in books, if it is important to the story, but this was presented as romantic. And it wasn't.

At one point, Kit gets a horrible blood infection. I was really hoping it would kill him. But, alas.

The fantasy elements in this book are also not what I had hoped. They can turn into smoke and dragons, but it's not really used for anything, except a stupid plot device.

All in all, the best part of the book in the Prologue. It's beautifully written, and talks about the backstory of the drakón...a story that sounds much more interesting than the one we were actually told.

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATE: Moving this to 5 stars on reflection. It's gooooood.

____

I have slightly mixed feelings about this one.

On the one hand: gorgeous lyrical writing, an obsessive blond alpha hero, a deeply unusual premise that involves dragon shifters in the 18th-century British aristocracy.

On the other hand: a romance that leaves me just a little bit dissatisfied.

Basically, the hero and heroine knew each other as teenagers, only he was older. She once caught him with an OW - her bully - and he said a couple of mildly mean things about her. She ended up leaving, but years later he realises she's his mate and basically kidnaps her.

As much as I loved this book, I just couldn't get over the hero's earlier behaviour. He didn't even treat her badly, so I can't be like 'GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AND GROVEL!' I just wish there had been a bit more parity in their relationship - like, maybe if she hadn't been a virgin. Then I'd feel like they were even. Otherwise, even though I really enjoyed the romance and it's ostensibly everything I love, I feel a little bit disquieted.

The heroine is fine - actually, she's pretty great. A thief who's made a life for herself and doesn't plan to kowtow to the hero, at least not too easily (though I still wish she'd made him writhe more).

[Suzan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eksikler, havada kalan yerler ve çeviriden kaynakli sıkıntılar vardı ona rağmen kurguyu çok beğendim keyifle okuttu kendini ☺

[Lisa Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a shelf on GoodReads entitled “take-flight” that I use for all sort of things: airplane pilots, angels, dragons. Or in this case, drákon . These mythical breasts are beautifully, if fiercely, portrayed in Ms. Abe’s book. I love the descriptions of they flights.

It felt…exhilarating. Even with him there, it felt like liberty, like she need never touch the ground again.

The sun began to set and the entire sky kindled to flame, suspending them in wild pink and cherry and orange, colors so burning and luminous they almost hurt to behold. Every stroke of her wings shifted hues, deepening the heavens, and when the first of the stars sparked overhead – a bouquet of them all at once – all that was left of the day was a band of intense maroon melting like hot sand into the edge of the world.

At times the author’s descriptions reminded me of an old fashioned movie; back when the camera spent time on a scene so we can absorb the surroundings – or the ambience – if you will. Ms. Abe does the same thing; describing the birds’ or monkeys’ reactions to the dragons’ presence, or the intricate description of masquerade costumes. She takes her time on a passage, which is quite alright with me, even if I was a little impatient to move the story along, I finally just enjoyed the lyrical prose of her writing.

I was confused a bit during the prologue and the first chapter, but that is not unusual for me with regards to the fantasy genre. I caught on quick enough by chapter two. Dragons are irresistibly drawn to gemstones. They can smell them, feel them, breathe them. They can change - or “shape-shift” - from human, to smoke, to dragon. Cool.

There was a point at which I was so incredibly glad Rue had escaped the beastly tribe at Darkfrith that I started having my own little fantasy that Kit would not be her love interest. Then, about the time Ms. Abe started writing about that scribe in the council room, I actually flipped to re-read the back-of-the-book-synopsis to check, “Could it be someone else? Please!” There was no way that Kit would ever redeem himself.

I didn’t blame Rue, who is half human, for fighting her fate. Who wants to be in a relationship involving unrequited love? Especially if you’re not the one loved!

About here I need to tell my friend, Faithmarie, not to worry. Rue gets her happily ever after. After all, it did get Romantic Times Historical Romance of the Year 2005. And it’s an enjoyable flight of fantasy until she gets it.

[Katyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - basically just chewed through it until it was done. There wasn't much in the way of fleshed-out secondary characters, but I didn't mind. The development of Kit and Rue was so well-done and rounded that I didn't miss a strong secondary cast.

They were really great, complex characters. Rue, desperate to fit in... honestly, I have to wonder if she didn't become such a flamboyant, notorious thief - as they said in the book, the Council knew it HAD to be a dragon - because she wanted to draw them to her. Display and revel in her strength, after a miserable, outcast childhood. Everything about her, as an adult woman in London, screamed Alpha - she was practically daring them to come, and had plans in place for when they did.

And then there is Kit, the reluctant leader, oddly jealous of the life of a runner. That sort of wistful component really made him appealing.

I also loved the nuance of dragon myths, and the way they were woven in, like, for example:

- Dragons and their treasures... the way they are utterly captivated by gems (you see that several times, Kit's reaction to the pearls at the masquerade ball; Rue's reaction to the rubies)

- Dragon possessiveness. It is funny, because strong possessive or jealous tendencies usually irritate me, but it was so incredibly in their nature that I loved the play of it here.

The only thing missing, in my not-so-humble opinion, was Kit killing that slimy little Councilman. Seriously, it needs to happen.

As an aside, though (and it isn't really fair to include this as commentary on the book, because the BOOK was great, this is more regarding the series), I am disappointed to see that the next book doesn't pick up from here. There is SO MUCH MORE STORY with these characters. What happens when she returns, how they change the shire. Their struggles with the council. What happens with the runner? What is to be done about the crowd of men that drift around her (and what the heck is up with that, anyway? Creepy!) I don't want to jump a couple decades down the road to their children. Pah! Tell the dang story!

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

FMC jewel thief.
Actual bodice ripping.
Dragon Shifter’s
Fated mates
And so much mischief 😏

What’s not to like?… RTC

[~Tina~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've wanted to try a historical romance for some time now and didn't have much luck the last time.
This, was much better.

Clarissa Rue Hawthorne as always been an outcast in the eyes of her tribe, being that she's a halfbreed. Half mortal, half dragon, she's pushed aside, tormented or ignored. It's no wonder she faked her own death when she turned at the age of 17, for that would make her the female Alpha and by there laws and traditions she would have to wed the male Alpha, which is no other then the charming Christoff Langford.
While her heart as always loved him, she does not want to marry a man who does not love her in return.
Or does he?

There is actually so much more to the story, but I want readers to experience this gem at first hand. But, simply put, this book is a dazzling historical romance that I absolutely loved and devoured.

While it took a bit to get use to the style, Shana Abé writes a gorgeously imaginative tale of magic, romance and suspense. I love the way she twisted the dragon lore into her own, how the characters can shape-shift, shedding there clothing to be dragons and or humans with a wisp of smoke. It was quite...convenient really and I have to say incredible sexy. Whether they danced the skies or into each others arms, it was alluring and elegantly done.

Even though the destined-mate notion is pretty common in reads, I still found this to be a unique storyline that was deliciously enticing and enjoyed this approach to unrequited love meets true.
The romance is tightly followed and it didn't need any other characters to fill the void.
Kit and Rue are both complex and intense. I liked the way they test and challenged each other. Rue is strong-willed and resilient while Kit is dominant and sincere, there traits bounce off each other giving them both a stubborn edge to the chemistry in both passion and dialog.

All in all, I thought The Smoke Thief is a wonderful cat-and-mouse chase that goes straight to the the heart, finding a love story that will test the bonds of fate.

Such an enjoyable read and I look forward to continuing this series in the next book, The Dream Thief.

Beautifully done!

[AmyK · Rating 3 out of 5]

If being able to shift into a dragon was a super power, that would be the one I would pick. I love dragons, and reading about dragons, and I want one as a pet too!! Changing into smoke would be kind of cool too, but every time there was a shift to smoke I couldn't stop visualizing the big black smoke monster from LOST!

This book was ok, I can't say I couldn't put it down, but I didn't want to throw it across the room. There was some great writing and imagery in some parts and then there was some boring "can I just skim this section" parts. I would have liked it better if there were more fantasy, and less romance, but that's what I get for reading a romance novel about dragons right?!

[Zeek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done! Shana Abe opens her world with a myth about dragons and brings it into the Georgian period. The story revolves around the alpha of the dragon shifting pack known as the Drakon and the woman who would become his mate.

It starts off with them as children. Clarissa is an intense, shy child born of a lower class mother. She is picked on by the supposed alpha female and her pack of meangirls until the day of her eighteenth birthday when she fakes her death and escapes the land of her ancestors for the anonymity of London England.

When it comes to the attention of the Drakon council that one of their own is on the loose and using their shifting powers to steal from the rich, they are shocked. Not so much by the thievery but moreso for the fact that a Drakon has escaped their level eye. Fewer and fewer Drakons are making the transition to shifter and everyone is accounted for- accept for this one. So they send their alpha to bring the rogue shifter home.

When Christoff, Earl and alpha of the Drakons, susses out the even more shocking news- that the defiant shifter is female- he's determined to bring her in and will stop at nothing to get her by his side- now more than ever, it's personal- for this headstrong girl is meant to be his bride.

A historical romance novel,(yes there is sex in this book!), but with a paranormal/fantasy romance heavy hand- I of course couldnt resist it. Cristoff pretty much wants Clarissa from the very beginning altho it took her growing up to finally realize that- and the heroine of course always loved him. What she couldnt handle however, was the pack that comes along with him- which of course sets up the major conflict in the story. It takes them working together to catch another thief to work it all out.

Fantastic heroine and I love the dragon shifter theme, so yes I do recommend The Smoke Thief for those who like shifters and magic mixed with their romance. I've read so many mixed reviews on the sequels I'm a little wary about moving on to the next but I will try it for sure!

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are wondering why this book moves between raving 5 star reviews and abyssal 1 star ones, you are not alone. But understand that once you have read it everything gets clear. (Kind of..)

Yes, it has a wonderful prose and a pretty good idea.
Yes, it has a pretty awful romance.

All of the above sums it up. I was absolutely intrigued by the book and at the same time repelled by it. No, not by the threats of forced seduction or the hero (he’s what he has to be to be consistent). I’m repelled by the stupidity of some romance cliches. The drakon have an absolutely awful society where they are “slave” to the “common good”. If you run you are dead (they hunt and kill you). If you aren’t dragon you are pretty worthless.
Does she runs because of it? No, she runs away because she lurves him so much she can’t stand the idea they have to be forced to marry. Sorry, say that again? I apologise to all those lucky chaps who fell in love at 15. You will excuse me if I say that it’s not love, but infatuation. So the very foundation of this romance was totally wrong with me.

I’m supposed to believe she’s so strong, that she’s ready to die for her freedom (yes! What a woman). Unfortunately at the end all her choices are weakened by the plot. She’s tricked into believing they’ll let her go. When the truth comes out nothing comes out with it. Again, sorry?
She’s literally unable to resist her hormones or his..?) So you don’t see how they fall in love, but how much they are drugged by pheromones… Meh.

But mostly there’s no love, there’s a pretty stupid infatuation on her part and quite strong animal lust on his. Yeah maybe at the end that might be starting to evolve. Not enough to let me believe you accept to be a breeding mare and a slave.
there’s a token resolution at the end but it’s no way good enough to be acceptable.

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a long(ish) prologue that tells the story about the origins of the drákon and the first chapter that scared me because it seemed it was going to be a YA story, you get a pretty decent first book in the series. For me it managed to do what any first book should do. I am interested in more.

If I had to assign only one genre or sub-genre to this book it would be paranormal historical romance. It takes place in 1700s and you have shapeshifting from human to dragon to smoke (for now).

Clarissa Rue Hawthorne's father was human so even as a child she never felt she belonged with the drákon. Or, at least, some of them wouldn't let her belong. So she decided to escape.
Marquess of Langford, the drákon Alpha, is in London trying to catch a thief. And the two meet again and this time he is not going to let her escape.
The romance is not really strong and the whole book feels more of a set up for the rest of the series, but it's good enough. It kept my attention.

It's an interesting world and there is probably much more about the hidden world of the drákon in the following books.

[Fani *loves angst* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book very much, but I did not love it as many others have. My main problems were:
1. The story seemed to drag a little around the middle with the hero and heroine saying the same lines over and over for way too long. Luckily, it soon picked up again.
2. The hero was not very likable; he did not come as trully sympathetic to the heroine.
3. The heroine distrusted him until the very end: that did not make for a plausible HEA for me.
4. The building of the 'drakon' world and the mystery overshadowed the romance, IMO.

I liked the fast pace, Abe's writing style, the heroine's backbone and determination and the whole 'drakon' world; I just felt the romance lacked. However, I'm on my way to order the second book in the series; the excerpt in the end of TST, made me believe the hero of this one to be much more interesting than Kit.

[Chambodia · Rating 1 out of 5]

As I was reading this, I kept wondering if this was a real book or if I had been punked. I liked the idea of Rue, at first. This was after slogging through the introductory chapter that had nothing to do with the rest of the novel. Once the "romance" began, it became a more and more tedious read. These authors keep setting me up to like their strong women protagonists, and then they turn into mush.

I always feel sad when I dislike a book so much and then see (Book 1) after the title. Who wants more of this crap?? Why?

[Alison Diem · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. If you're going to do a "marriage of convenience" type of romance, you have to get us to the point where we like the hero BEFORE page 200. Seriously. He needs a save the cat moment early on, esp. if he's going to be a rake for most of the book. I know that they end up together, because it's a romance and because I read the little snippet from the sequel at the back of the book. I feel awful for Rue, the heroine, because she deserves better.

[Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms) · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Edit July 24, 2015 - Re-read again (first read in 2011)and just finished the entire series again. I love this series and the world Shana Abe has created. She captures the essence of what it would feel like to fly as a dragon but also what it would feel like to become SMOKE. Although I love the entire series, this first book is my favorite. If you love fantasy, dragons, beautiful worlds hidden within the real one, romance, sex but well done and not smutty - give this book a try. ][Extra note - I loved this book so much I named one of my dogs (I raise Australian Shepherds) Smoke Thief and her call name is Draki]

NOTE: this is an edit/update. I have read four of the five books in this series now as well as some reviews of them. If someone is contemplating reading these, I'd like to clarify a couple of things based on criticism in some reviews. This is a series about Dragons, not about humans. The Drakon are dragons who shape-shift into humans and not humans who shape shift into dragons. There is a BIG difference. They live lives as humans and only fly in secret, but that does not make them human. They are actually more like a wolf pack in that the alpha is supreme and his mate/wife must be an alpha. This is how the tribe endures - the strongest and the most gifted (drakon can inherit different gifts and the gift of shape-shifting does is not always present) being the leaders. Other than the alpha pair, the drakon fall in love, marry, and live very much as we do. But survival of the tribe is above all in importance because without it they all will die. Is the alpha a dominant male - yes, he has to be. He is a dragon. Can he love - of course he can...and does.

______

This book was exactly what I needed last week - a book to whisk me away into another world and of course a book to keep me up until the wee small hours of the morning. I love a good supernatural story with romance, intrigue, action and that very special thing - beautiful writing.

I found the prologue of this book very intriguing but a little confusing. Later I realized that I did not have to completely understand it as the picture would unfold as the story went along. This is a story about supernaturals living among humans, but it is so different than many of the others that there almost is no comparison. The Drakon have lived for centuries in Northern England in total secret with their ability to shape-shift back and forth from human to dragon. The drakon are attracted to and derive power from gems and live where the land is rich in them. No one of the drakon is allowed to escape from Darkfrith, Durham and the penalty for "running" is death.

There are some werewolf story similarities throughout this story as the drakon are considered a tribe and there is the concept of the alpha. In Smoke Thief, the alpha is Christoff Rene' Ellery Langford, Earl of Chasen, known to his friends and family as Kit. The "runner",.... well you need to read the book!

I really don't want to give spoilers here as I had no idea what the book was about and the discovery was part of the fun of the read. The heroine in the story is enterprising, clever, determined, and very competent. Kit is as I said, alpha. At times I thought to myself that those who like to criticize the relationships between man and woman in books may not like some of Kit's demanding ways. If so, I think they need to read carefully where Kit very deliberately explains, "that is what we are, that is what I am". These are not humans, they are drakons.

I can't over emphasize too much that a lot of what makes this such a good read is the writing. The beauty of this writer's descriptions of the dragons' flight, the smoke element which I am not going to spoil here are just far above the ordinary. The romance is HOT and this is not YA. Although I did not find it over the top graphic, there is quite a bit of sex. It starts out when Kit is 16 but most of the book takes place much later, and most of it is set in London.

Did I say this already - love the descriptions of the shape-shifting, the flight, the scenery, the night - beautiful. And I LOVE THE COVER! I've ordered book#2

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collaborative review by Cynical-Bitter-Me (CM) and Fantasy-Lovin'-10-year-old-Me (FM) with **spoilers**:

FM: It was so cool how Rue and Christoff could Turn to DRAGONS. And SMOKE. And fly with each other. And both be Alphas.

CM: First of all, Christoff is a girly name. Secondly, didn't it seem just a bit too much? Them both being so powerful and beautiful and oh so perfect? The prologue tries to set it up all mystical and god-like, but it was way too over the top.

FM: And it was so wonderful how protective Zane was after Rue has saved him. And jewel thieving! Lots of pretty balls! Hyenas and monkeys and crocs, oh my! And the disapproving council was so stern!

CM: But it was all so desultory. It just didn't flow well at all. Not much depth was given to any part of the plot. It was a jack of all trades, master of none. It skipped exploring details that could have given us a much richer story (e.g. the Turn, Rue's transformation/climb to success in London, how they would change the drakon ways). And the council was so 1-D. They weren't even that much of a threat since Christoff could just smash his fist down, pee all over the place, and assert his dominance.

FM: Christoff was so sweet to Rue. He loved her so much! And noticed her when she was a kid. And waited for her all these years! And Rue was such a fiercely independent gal. She could hold her own so well. And it was rewarding watching them finally find a balanced relationship. They're such an epic couple and just made for each other.

CM: Christoff's gorgeous Alpha who wants a mate. Boooring. Rue does keep the conflict alive and kicking, but her protests weren't that shocking. I've seen it before.

FM: But this book was engaging and fun to read. And I know you're going to devour the next in the series as soon as you can get your hands on it.

CM: Maaaybe...

All that being said, I did like the novelty this book brought. It was pretty full on a mix of the fantasy and romance genres. Probably more a romance actually. Which is different than the very cool cover and intriguing title would have you believe.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear new_user,

Thank you for recommending this book to me. Seriously. If you hadn't, I probably never would have known about it. I never would have met Kit and Rue, who were terrific together, and Zane, who was so adorable. Through this recommendation, I think I've found a series that I can really love. Hell, I already ordered the rest of the books from Amazon. You rock, nu!

xoxo
Leah


*~*~*


So, as mentioned above, I loved this book. It was great. I haven't read many books about dragon shifters, so that was interesting. But what made it even more so was the fact that The Smoke Thief is a paranormal historical romance. I was a little wary about how that was going to turn out as my very limited experience with books of that sort is not a good one. However, Shana Abé very beautifully weaves the paranormal elements in with historical London.


The characters were as interesting as the plot, and I loved the three main ones: Christoff (Kit), Rue, and Zane. It was interesting to watch Kit and Rue together after their childhood. One where she loved him and faked her death so that she wouldn't get him though force. One where it seemed he barely noticed her when, in fact, he remembered every time he'd seen her since she was twelve and he sixteen. It was interesting to watch their love grow for each other: Rue from a childlike love to real, heartbreaking love, and Kit from merely knowing she'd be his because she was the Alpha female to actually falling in love with her. And then, of course, there was Zane, our little, twelve-year-old urchin (as Kit likes to call him) that Rue took in. He's a sneaky one and he's definitely going to grow up to be a Bad Boy, A.K.A. The Kind Of Guy Your Mother Warns You To Stay Away From.


The Smoke Thief was a very interesting, entertaining book, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. Especially The Dream Thief, starring our resident Bad Boy.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in a five book series which is very unique. I absolutely devoured it. I thought the premise might not work (shape shifting dragons) but it totally did! It's a historical setting (Victorian England) with a paranormal fantasy aspect that is so well done! I was really pulled into the story. If you haven't tried this series and you enjoy historical fiction with a touch of fantasy, I highly recommend it! In my opinion, the books in the series get better and better. I think it's one of the best series out there!

[Wicked Incognito Now · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stupid book!! I couldn't put it down all day!!

I loved the emotional intensity, the magical quality of the descriptions, the love story....

Even though the love story is grounded in a fated mate situation, I still bought the love these two feel for each other. Even though Kit steamrolls over Rue, I was still completely enthralled by their situation and their love for each other.

Fantastic!

[karli · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. RANT. Okay, honestly, it takes a lot for me to say a book is too problematic for me to just not read. It has to blatantly be problematic and romanticize abuse or be racist, etc. Well, this book has all of that! Within the first few pages, the love interest, Kit, makes fun of the protagonist, Clarissa, for being a 'halfling' (half dragon, half human). THIS TROPE IS SO PROBLEMATIC AND I'M SO TIRED OF IT. As a biracial person, the trope of being half-magic, half-mortal or whatever is problematic esPECIALLY when seen as a bad thing (i.e Draco calling Hermione a filthy mudblood).
SECONDLY, Kit says, a few times, he will sleep with Clarissa even if he has to rape her???? WHAT???? There is a line that says, AND I QUOTE, "rape or seduction, he'd take either". That's absolutely disgusting and sick and honestly this author should be ashamed of herself. I'm currently so angry and heated but I'm going to stop ranting because I think you get the point.
This book had SO MUCH POTENTIAL the writing is lovely and it has DRAGONS I just want a cute dragon book!!

[Laura Lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It was a good story and I loved Christoff but Rue bugged me quite often. Seriously, you have been in love with him since you were 12, he's hot in the sack and beautiful to look at, but you don't want to marry him because you know he will never love you as much as you love him? Whatchu talkin' bout Willis? And horror of horrors, you have to go back to the shire where you grew up, where you were a half breed and all the girls were mean to you. Except now you go back as the alpha female, married to the alpha male that all those beotches want. Yeah, sucks to be you.

But other than those silly devices used to keep them apart, it was a good book for a PNR.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It wasn’t what I was expecting at all. In fact when my friend handed it to me I honestly didn’t know what genre it was. She usually gives me stuff that's YA... this book however is DEFINITELY not YA. *wink* I thought it was a really fun read. The plot and characters are very well developed. The author has a beautiful way of writing; not over detailed but exquisite to read. And the Alpha male…. WHOA… All hail alpha! So far my favorite in the series.

[Karyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"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" - Thus begin the first lines of The Smoke Thief, the story of the mysterious race of half-human half-dragon, and from there it only gets better.

This book is about Clarissa Rue Hawthorne, who as a half breed Drakon child is pretty much looked down upon in her Drakon Shire of Darkfrith. The only thing going for her is her loving mother and Christoff, the Drakon next in line to be Alpha, who she can only afford to look at from afar.

Then she decides to make something of her life.

Fast forward a couple of years and Clarissa (who goes by the name Rue) has made a name and a life for herself in London, far away from the other Drakon and living by her own rules. She's the famous smoke thief, only no one knows this other than a little street urchin, Zane, who she rescued one day.

The Drakon know it is one of them who is the thief. Christoff, all grown up and hotness personified (my words, not from the book) is now the Alpha. He's got a plan for catching the thief - The Langford Diamond - one no Drakon can resist. Only the plan goes kaput when Christoff (or Kit) sees a previously-presumed-dead Clarissa at the showing for the diamond and is smitten.
And then the diamond is stolen.
To make matter worse, Clarissa escapes from Kit.
By Turning to smoke.
The first female Drakon to do so in I forgot how long.
Now the Drakon need their diamond back, and they need Rue..as does Kit.

I loved this book. Shana Abe is being added to my favourite authors based on only this one book, which really should tell you all you need to know. You can picture the words that flow in this book - imagine the events as they happen. Get completely immersed in the mystery and wonder that are the Drakon. I loved the history and legend of the Drakon that the author weaves into this beautiful story.
This is a story where you want to read the next page simply because it is a joy to read, to know what these two characters will do next.

Clarissa Rue is a strong character - lacking in ego but confident in her own abilities and her own skin. A woman/Drakon who decided she wanted better than life had to offer her and went ahead and created that life for herself. The smart witty dialogue, and the effect she has on Kit and the other Drakon only adds to her appeal. And when she tells you the reason why she left her previous life, you'll only respect and admire her more.

Christoff/Kit, now Marquess of Langford, is an Alpha through and through. He's ruthless, knows his mind, also extremely confident in himself and uses his charm shamelessly. He's also a Drakon besotten (is that even a word?) with Rue from the moment he sees her in London - No, not love at first sight. Atleast he doesn't show it if it is. He'll do anything to get what he wants..and he does..but you can see as the story progresses how he softens his stand for Rue.

The romance is..intense. Kit is charming, and he uses all of it on Rue. This is sweet seduction at its best - and its all sincere, which is the bestest part.The kissing scenes are lovely..and the conversations..oh well -
"I've wanted you from the moment I first saw you in the museum. Before that. I wanted every part of you from the first time I felt you, your presence. I want you in the sky, and against the earth. I want to kiss you again, I want to touch you, I want to feel you in my arms and I want to hear you gasping my name when I'm inside you. I want all that, and I want it badly. Every time I look at you, I want it. So you're going to have to become used to that, Rue. It won't change."
Now tell me you don't want Christoff for yourself.

And now on to the next book,The Dream Thief which has more my favourite street - urchin Zane...
In case I didn't mention it, this one goes up there on my Favourite shelf - way up there with Bitten, Daughter of the Forest, Graceling...oh well - GO READ!!

[♥ Rebecca ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

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? 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 and daydreams, 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."