A mystical tale is not normally my first choice. I was completely enchanted by this story. The author creates such strong imagery that you soon lose yourself to the fantasy-land found between the covers of this book! I will certainly read the rest of the books in this series.
Helpful Score: 10
I felt a little distracted by the interludes where a storyteller narrator seems to go over the past or the present story.. felt a little redundant and repetitive. Otherwise most of the book was written exquisitely. Very lush prose that sets Abe's writing apart. Interesting and complicated pair (Lia and Zane) as well and a set up for book 3.
Helpful Score: 7
An interesting storyline with a very unlikely hero who makes the book worth reading.
Helpful Score: 5
This is a very unique series of books & this is the 2nd one. The concept is there are a small group of people who have an ancient secret which is that they can shape shift into dragons. I cannot wait to read the next one!
Helpful Score: 3
I adored the first book in the series and while the couple in this book are interesting and complicated, Abe's male character seems so emotionally crippled and dark, he wasn't that likable for me. Worse yet, the female lead fluctuated between independent and doormat and didn't seem that focused as a character. Definitely not as good as the first in the series. I have purchased all four in the series though and am delighted to see where Abe will go with her other charcters!
Helpful Score: 2
A keeper
Helpful Score: 2
Although shorter in length than "The Smoke Thief" this book is just as lyrical and filled with the fairy tale of the drakon. I see (I hope) book # 3 coming...highly recommend, espcially if you liked the first one.
Helpful Score: 2
The second of the Drakon trilogy follows Amalia, daughter of the Alpha, and the thief Zane as they search for the mystical stone that can control or destroy. Infused with dark eroticism and a well-realized fantasy milieu, this is a book you can fall into.
Helpful Score: 2
Not as good as the first in the series, but it does well to open the door for the third. Entertaining and sensual, but it just didn't suck me in the way the first book did. I usually read things that are a little more packed, but I would still recommend this one.
Helpful Score: 2
the author weaves an fasinating story, left me not wanting to put the book down.
Helpful Score: 2
I really liked this in that it brought back the character Zane as the lead male in this book. I'd a feeling after reading the first one that he would be back, and wasn't disappointed in the relationship he develops with Amalia. The story is just amazing and it's one I would probably read again in the future since this series is really impressive if you love a good romance.
Helpful Score: 2
Actually not a bad book. Pretty fast read, and a decent plot. I'm even thinking of getting the other's in this series. :) HOpe they are as quick as this one was.
Helpful Score: 1
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
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.
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
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.
Helpful Score: 1
Not as good as the Smoke Thief but worth reading if only to get more information about the culture and history.
This book was hard to get into, but it was really good once it gets there. I even read the sequel: The Smoke Thief.
This is a wonderful series. I am having a hard time putting these books down. This is the second of 4 in a series. I've read the first three and am in the fourth. All of the books are beautifully written. There isn't a lot of that repetitiveness that I find in most sequals. I would love to keep them on my shelf, but I am willing to share my copies.
Book Description
In the remote hills of northern England lives a powerful clan with a centuries-old secret. They are the drákon, shape-shifters who possess the ability to Turnchanging from human to smoke to dragon. And from the very stones of the earth, they hear hypnotic songs of beauty and wonder. But there is one stone they fear....
Buried deep within the bowels of the Carpathian Mountains lies the legendary dreaming diamond known as Draumr, the only gem with the power to enslave the drákon. Since childhood, Lady Amalia Langford, daughter of the clans Alpha, has heard its haunting ballad but kept it secret, along with another rare Gift....
Lia can hear the future, much in the way she hears the call of Draumr. And in that future, she realizes that the diamondalong with the fate of the drákonrests in the hands of a human man, one who straddles two worlds.
Ruthlessly clever, Zane has risen through Londons criminal underworld to become its ruler. Once a street urchin saved by Lias mother, Zane is also privy to the secrets of the clanand is the only human they trust to bring them Draumr. But he does nothing selflessly.
Zanes hunt for the gem takes him to Hungary, where he is shocked to encounter a bold, beautiful young noblewoman: Lia. She has broken every rule of the drákon to join him, driven by the urgent song of Draumrand her visions of Zane. In one future, he is her ally. In another, her overlord. In both, he is her lover. Now, to protect her tribe, Lia must tie her fate to Zanes, to the one man capable of stealing her futureand destroying her heart....
In the remote hills of northern England lives a powerful clan with a centuries-old secret. They are the drákon, shape-shifters who possess the ability to Turnchanging from human to smoke to dragon. And from the very stones of the earth, they hear hypnotic songs of beauty and wonder. But there is one stone they fear....
Buried deep within the bowels of the Carpathian Mountains lies the legendary dreaming diamond known as Draumr, the only gem with the power to enslave the drákon. Since childhood, Lady Amalia Langford, daughter of the clans Alpha, has heard its haunting ballad but kept it secret, along with another rare Gift....
Lia can hear the future, much in the way she hears the call of Draumr. And in that future, she realizes that the diamondalong with the fate of the drákonrests in the hands of a human man, one who straddles two worlds.
Ruthlessly clever, Zane has risen through Londons criminal underworld to become its ruler. Once a street urchin saved by Lias mother, Zane is also privy to the secrets of the clanand is the only human they trust to bring them Draumr. But he does nothing selflessly.
Zanes hunt for the gem takes him to Hungary, where he is shocked to encounter a bold, beautiful young noblewoman: Lia. She has broken every rule of the drákon to join him, driven by the urgent song of Draumrand her visions of Zane. In one future, he is her ally. In another, her overlord. In both, he is her lover. Now, to protect her tribe, Lia must tie her fate to Zanes, to the one man capable of stealing her futureand destroying her heart....
Was OK,something new,I didn't find it very intersting
Not as exciting as The Smoke Thief. However if you plough thru repetitive stages of Lia and Zane's journey in search of Draumr, the surprise ending is worth waiting for.
One gets the impression there's a third book to come featuring the young Princess Maricara.
One gets the impression there's a third book to come featuring the young Princess Maricara.
Very good book.
Could not get into it at all.
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 answered; will they find the diamond and when they do what will Zane do with it?
good plot.
Original, excellent idea.
i hate the storytelling of it. could've been done much better.
everything seemed unnatural and random. as if the author understands nothing of human nature or delivering an awesome reader experience
i hate the storytelling of it. could've been done much better.
everything seemed unnatural and random. as if the author understands nothing of human nature or delivering an awesome reader experience
