Reviews

Fury of Fire by Coreene Callahan

inmyhumbleopinion's review against another edition

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4.0

Nurse practitioner, Myst Munroe is having a bad day and it is about to get worse. Myst goes to check on pregnant patient Caroline and finds her bleeding out on the floor. She begs Myst to save the child. 911 says it will take 30 minutes for an ambulance so she performs an emergency c-section and saves the child. Then her world gets really interesting.
Dragon shifters are at war. On the one hand are the Nightfury (led by Bastian) who wish to coexist peacefully with humans and then there are the rogue Razorbacks (led by Ivar) who think that humans are pests only good for breeding and eating and the rest should die.
Bastian takes Myst and the baby into custody while saving her from the Razorbacks. Back at the lair we meet several hunky alpha dragons and a beta elf (who I want for my very own). We learn about their world and Bastian and Myst fall in love. But there are questions and stories untold so this will be an interesting series. I liked that Myst was a strong woman who didn’t let the alpha male lie to her, and owned when she was wrong.
As I was reading this I kept thinking of Lara Adrian’s Breed series. This is a lot like it only with dragon-shifters. It has room to grow and I shall join the ride

naomilane's review against another edition

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3.0

I loved Knight Awakened by Coreene Callahan, such an fantastic book, so I wanted to read more of her work. Fury of Fire is a good book, with lots of potential but unfortunately, it didn’t work that well for me.

The story is a good one, Coreene’s writing style is very good as well, I really like it but there wasn’t enough development. The plot was interesting and I did like it but, at the end of this book, we’re left without answers. None. It’s so disappointing. During the entire book there are several questions unanswered, questions who are important to the story and for the MCs and their relationship but at the end, it’s like those questions didn’t exist. And it left me very frustrated.

I also understand insta-love/lust in books with shifters because that is their nature, so when it’s well written, I don’t mind at all. In Fury of Fire it was well written but, once again, too quickly. One minute the heroine hates the hero, she wants to escape and the next she’s already in love. It’s a bit complicated to explain without writing spoilers… The relationship between Bastian and Myst was not explored enough for my taste either. The book is not a short one but unfortunately, even though I liked them, I didn’t feel really connected to them.

Since it’s the first book, I’m hoping to have answers to my questions in the next book. I really hope so, because I’m seriously feeling frustrated. I think some questions really needed to be answered in that book because they were directly connected to the heroine and to her relationship with Bastian, unfortunately, we have nothing and yeah…I find that a little weird.

I did like Bastian and Myst, they formed a great couple even though their relationship was barely explored. Myst was kinda dumb and frustrating at times but it was understandable given her situation. Bastian is all alpha-male. Leader of the Nightfury dragon clan. He was very patient and sweet with Myst and I really liked him.

I really feel weird right now because I don’t know what to truly think about this book. The more I think about it while writing this review, the more I remember things that displeased me but at the same time I still liked the book. U G H! What really bothers me, AGAIN, are the unanswered questions. I mean, there are so many of them! What about the baby? And Forge? And what about Myst’s pregnancy? What’s gonna happen to her? What did Bastian mean when he said she wasn’t entirely human anymore? Where is Angela? And Mac? I NEED ANSWERS!!!

Anyhoo… I’m still going to read Fury of Ice, because, ONE, I want answers and, TWO, I really liked Rikar and Angela and I want to read more about them. Like I said, the story in itself was good, I really liked it, lots of potential. Coreene is a great writer, she describes everything so well. I loved the battle scenes. It was very well written! And well, I do love dragons and this series is still very promising.

noetical's review against another edition

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5.0

Excellent fast-paced read.

amelie_books's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Re-read*** 
Probably for the 4th time...
Spice: 🌶️ / 5

TW: Kidnapping, Forced pregnancy, attempt at SA
Those are the one I can think look it up in case there is more!

Just learn that there are more than just 6 books! So I'm re-reading them to get back in the story.

Still love it! I appreciate the fact that the male can't really fight his dragon instinct. His animal instincts usually win over his human morality. It's interesting to see from his POV and him trying to fight what his dragon wants.

Absolutely love the dual POV! Huge fan of multi pov

sunnydee's review against another edition

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4.0

3,6 von 5 Sternen
*Inhalt:*
Myst Monroe ist Krankenschwester. Als sie zu einer schwangeren Patientin fährt, findet sie diese halbtot auf. Sie kann nur noch das Baby retten, doch hinter dem Baby sind einige Leute her. Unter anderem Bastian, der Anführer der Nightfury, einem Drachenclan. Plötzlich hat dieser nicht nur Interesse an dem Baby sondern auch an Myst, in der er eine unglaublich starke Frau und gleichzeitig Energiequelle für sich entdeckt. Doch wird er Myst davon überzeugen können seine Gefährtin zu werden oder wird ihm Ivar, der Anführer des verfeindeten Drachenclans einen Strich durch die Rechnung machen?

*Wie kam das Buch zu mir*
Ich fand den Klappentext des Buches unglaublich ansprechende. Ich mag Urban Fantasy und ich mag es über Drachen zu lesen. Das Buch wurde mir vom Verlag zur Rezension zur Verfügung gestellt.

*Aufmachung/Qualität*
Erst einmal möchte ich auf die Seitenzahl hinweisen. Das Buch ist wirklich dick und dafür finde ich den Preis von 8,99 € wirklich günstig.
Der Einband hat eine hohe Qualität und es sind beim Lesen keine Leserillen entstanden. Die Covergestaltung ist ja immer Geschmackssache. Mir gefällt das Cover und auch die geplanten Cover der Folgebände sehr gut. Es vermittelt einem bereits beim ersten Blick, dass es hier heiß her geht, sowohl in Liebessachen als auch beim Thema Action.
Die Kapitel sind um die 15 Seiten lang und lesen sich sehr schnell.

*Meinung:*
Die Grundidee ist nichts wahnsinnig neuartiges, aber trotzdem sehr unterhaltsam. Es bekämpfen sich hier zwei Clans, die Nightfurys und die Razorbacks. Die einen wollen im Einklang mit den Menschen leben, die anderen sehen sich als überlegener Rasse und wollen die Menschen nur für ihre Zwecke nutzen. Bei den Drachen gibt es nur Männer. Ich möchte hier nicht zu viel verraten, da der Grund für diese Besonderheit einen Großteil der Handlung ausmacht. Eine Gefährtin zu wählen ist keine einfache Entscheidung und dieser innere Konflikt begleitet den Leser über das gesamte Buch und macht auch einiges an Spannung aus. Man lernt nach und nach die Ziele der beiden Clans kennen und wie sie diese verfolgen. Auch hier möchte ich nicht zu viel verraten. Die Idee ist wie gesagt nicht neu, aber ganz gut umgesetzt. Allerdings wird im ersten Band dieses Thema betreffend noch nicht allzu sehr in die Tiefe gegangen. Ich denke mal das kommt dann im zweiten Band. Die Drachen in dieser Geschichte haben sowohl eine menschliche Gestalt als auch eine richtige Drachengestalt zwischen denen sie nach belieben hin und her wechseln können. Gerade die verschiedenen Kampftechniken/Kampffähigkeiten der einzelnen Drachen fand ich faszinieren, obwohl ich Actionszenen nicht so gehäuft brauche wie sie in dem Buch vorkommen.

Der Schreibstil ist locker, aber zog sich streckenweise schon sehr. Es wurde für meinen Geschmack zu viel gefüllt. Sinnlose Informationen oder Wiederholungen fielen mir das ein oder andere mal ins Auge und störten mich schon ein wenig. Dafür gibt es auch Punktabzug. Im Nachhinein hat man das Gefühl zwar viel gelesen zu haben, aber dass gar nicht so viel passiert ist.

Die Emotionen wurden ganz gut vermittelt, aber da gibt es etliche andere Bücher die mich mehr überzeugen und packen konnten. Es wirkte manchmal als ob die Autorin sich ein wenig zu sehr bemüht die Emotionen der Charaktere herüber zubringen. Die weibliche Hauptprotagonistin durchlebt hier aber durchaus einige Aufs und Abs und auch dem männlichen Hauptcharakter werden genug Emotionen zugeschrieben. Es kam einfach nicht ganz so überzeugend bei mir an.

Spannung ist in dem Buch vor allem in den Actionszenen zu finden. Diese sind recht häufig und auch sehr lang beschrieben. Also Actionfans werden hier durchaus auf ihre Kosten kommen. Die Kämpfe unter den Drachen waren selbst für mich sehr packend, da jeder Drache eine andere Waffe hat und diese auf viele verschiedene Arten einsetzten kann. Nur mal so als Beispiel kann ich hier Eis, Feuer und Skald nennen und dann verwenden Drachen des selben Clans manchmal auch Kombinationen ihrer Fähigkeiten. Das fand ich wirklich genial. Ansonsten wird die Spannung durch die Besonderheit der Beziehung zwischen einem Drachen und seiner Gefährtin aufrecht erhalten. Es gibt da so einige Geheimnisse zwischen Bastian und Myst und man wartet eben darauf, dass alles ans Tageslicht kommt und wie es schlussendlich ausgeht. Aber auch der Konflikt zwischen den Drachenclans, der aus ihren unterschiedlichen Einstellungen zur Menschheit resultieren sorgen für Spannung, allerdings kam mir das ein wenig zu kurz. Überraschende Wendungen gab es keine für mich.

Die Charaktere sind interessant, aber auch sie konnten mich nicht fesseln. Sie sind eben Mittelmaß – gut für eine schöne Unterhaltung zwischendurch, aber nichts was einen umhaut. Die Drachentruppe um Bastian wird aber schön abwechslungsreich gestaltet. Leider spielen seine Kumpels bis auf Rikar nur einen kleine Nebenrolle. Hier hätte ich mir mehr Interaktion der Drachen untereinander oder auch mit Myst gewünscht.

Die Liebesgeschichte gestaltet sich durch die kleine Besonderheit, die ich hier nicht erwähnen kann, sehr schwierig. Mir persönlich fiel es gerade durch diese eher negative Zukunftsaussicht sehr schwer mich auf das Paar einzulassen. Außerdem wurde die Entwicklung der Liebesgeschichte auch zu oft durch die vielen Actionszenen, die sich über Seiten hinzogen, unterbrochen und es kam einfach keinen richtige Stimmung bei mir auf. Grundsätzlich ist Bastian aber ein typischer Paranormal-Fantasy-Held – sexy, dominant und einfach umwerfend. Myst verfällt ihm wieder wie so viele Paranormal-Fantasy-Heldinnen fast kopflos und kann nur geradeaus denken wenn er dann mal nicht in ihrer Nähe ist. Mich stört das nicht und daher lese ich dieses Genre auch so gern. Die erotischen Szenen sind sehr geschmackvoll geschrieben, kommen nicht zu häufig vor und kommen ohne vulgäre Ausdrücke aus.

Warnungen: Gewalt, Sex

Grundidee 3,5/5
Schreibstil 3,5/5
Emotionen 4/5
Spannung 4/5
Charaktere 4/5
Liebesgeschichte 3,5/5
Erotik 4,5/5

*Fazit:*
3,6 von 5 Sternen
Auch wenn sich meine Rezension eher negativ anhört, denke ich, dass dies ein tolles Buch ist. Ich bin nur leider nicht die perfekte Leserschaft dafür. Für Leser, die sehr gern viel Action in einer Geschichte haben und gern einen sehr detailreichen Schreibstil lesen, ist diese Geschichte sicher perfekt. Bei mir kam aber durch den ständigen Wechsel von Actionszenen, Grundhandlung und Liebesgeschichte keine richtige Stimmung auf und keiner dieser Aspekte konnte mich dann richtig packen. Wirklich packend fand ich allerdings die verschiedenen Drachen im Kampfeinsatz – das war mal was besonderes.


Reihe:
Tödliches Verlangen
Verborgene Sehnsucht (erscheint am 12. August 2013)
Gefährliche Begierde (erscheint am 9. Dezember 2013)

its_tara's review against another edition

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2.0

This review was originally posted on my blog

Okay, so in honour of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d read a nice paranormal romance novel. Unfortunately, I could have picked a better book.



Admittedly, I finished this book, and it wasn’t terrible, I just didn’t really enjoy it, and I had a few issues with it. One of those was the writing style. It just wasn’t for me. It was one of those things where I can’t really explain why I wasn’t enjoying it, I just wasn’t.



Another issue I had was the characters – I wasn’t particularly keen on any of them. Eventually, I came to almost-like Bastian – he might be this big alpha male type (and okay, given the genre of the book, I should probably have expected that one) but he did genuinely seem to care about Myst come the end, and some of the things he did for her were almost sweet. Even if he didn’t always tell her the full truth. However, Myst herself, I found to be far too headstrong, and too whiny all at the same time. It was pretty obvious she was going to get herself into trouble by leaving the lair – was it not obvious there’d be police looking for her? – and yet she went and did it anyway. I just… yeah, I didn’t like her. The supporting cast, for me, were fairly unremarkable, though I understand that subsequent books in the series follow them in more detail.



In this, Ivan was the leader of a renegade group of dragonkind. Now, dragonkind, are half-human half-dragons who ‘feed’ from human energy. Now, Ivan at one point states a desire to wipe out humans. Now, if you need to feed from humans to survive, this idea seems a little half-baked, to say the least. Later it does transpire that he actually wants to perform genetic experiments which would help overcome the shortcomings of dragonkind as a race (such as their inability to birth daughters, they only have sons – meaning they have to breed with human females… another potential flaw in wiping out humans?) Okay, so an evil scientist bad guy that Bastian and his crew (the Nightfuries) are fighting to stop – I admit, it was fairly plausible, but didn’t feel particularly original.



Now, I’m not saying this is a bad book – the sex scenes were generally pretty well done, and didn’t feel ridiculously cheesy, and it wasn’t a case where you had a “bare all” scenario – some things were left out, and I think this was for the best. It didn’t feel sleazy or anything, which can happen with this kind of book. Also, the attraction between Myst and Bastian was well written, and it was obvious when it moved from lust towards affection, which was good.



I also liked the idea of the dragonkind, and the ways that they managed to hide themselves from human view were pretty clever. It was also nice to see a paranormal race using human technology as well as their own, rather than being scared of it, because let's face it, to survive in the modern world, they'd probably at least need to have a working knowledge, and that isn't always portrayed in fantasy novels.



Also, the story moved along relatively quickly, meaning I didn’t end up getting bored at any point. This book wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t particularly for me. Definitely could have been worse, but a couple of things bugged me overall.

robint1981's review against another edition

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5.0

I love the Dragonkind

diecryread's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

sonkad's review against another edition

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3.0

Good but very similar to BDB and I mean VERY similar which wasn´t a good point in this case. But the reason for only 3* is that I didn´t connect with the main couple, at all.. On the other hand, I can´t wait to read Riker and Angela´s story!

raven168's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5 stars
This was a two star book for me...until the end. The ending was great and was the only reason I bumped up my rating.

As far as beginnings to a series go, I have read way better...but I have also read worse. This one was pretty mediocre. One thing that bugged me the most was the almost immature way it was written. While at times it made it humorous, a lot of the time it tended to be annoying. It was almost like whatever popped into the author's mind at the time was written down and kept. If I ever read the saying "slow your roll" (in any form) again, it will be too soon. Which I fear will be right away with the next book. It was said a lot. Brand names were dropped everywhere as if it would have a bigger impact than just saying "toothpaste" or whatever else it was. Sometimes I wondered if they were getting paid for advertising specific brands it was so often. Also when something needed to happen in order to either get to a certain point, or make something already done make sense, we were thrown a new magical reason to pop out and cover it. Sometimes I would be like 'whatever' but other times I had to roll my eyes.

Some things didn't make sense. When Myst is taken to Black Diamond thru the portal, she is told there is one way in and one way out. Which would be that portal. Okay, I will buy that. But later she is able to easily walk out of the mansion, go to the garage, steal a car, and simply drive home. What happened to only one way in or out? Then there's the two dragon clans at war here. Bastian is the commander of the Nightfuries and their rouge enemies are the Razorbacks. By all appearances the Razorbacks have a great number of dragons in their clan....and the Nighfuries have less than ten. Even with the devastatingly low birth rate of new dragons, one would think there should be more than just a handful of the "good guys" or just in a clan period.

Does it sound like I didn't like this book? Well, that's not really true. I didn't really find it all that great, but it wasn't all that terrible either. I like the different powers each dragon has and how some of them are born stronger than others. Like Bastian. He has skills that no other dragons have and that was pretty neat. Riker was also really cool with all his ice powers. Fight scenes were interesting and some of the characters were good. It was just the writing. I really hope that as the books go on, the writing gets more mature. Because at this point it feels like a teenager is writing parts of the story and having characters say things that people their age wouldn't be.

As for the main characters, I didn't really care for either of them. I always hate it when the chicks freak out when they first see the guy turn into a dragon and think him a monster. I like to think I would be floored with the awesomeness of it if I ever saw that and jump at the chance to be around them. Myst annoyed me more than not. And very little pisses me off more than a girl who won't talk to the guy about a problem and instead runs away. Right into trouble after she has already been told that the enemy would be out to get her. I mean, come on! Why do so many characters have to think they can just go back to their old lives after they get dragged into a new one? Overall, Bastian was a good character. I liked him, I really did (because I do love a strong leader). My problem is when warriors like him become emotional messes because of a female. Do I want him to treasure her and be sweet towards her? Definitely. But don't turn into a pansy that wants to be dominated by her. Please. Don't lose your composure to tears.

A lot of the side characters were fun. I really liked Rikar and can't wait to learn more about Forge. Another I think there is more to than we have seen would be Mac, and I think we'll get a lot more of him in the next book. The males in the Razorbacks are definitely messed up, with their leader having brains to jack up his crazy.

Myst is a nurse that likes to go out of her way to help people. Making a late night trip to check on a pregnant patient that has missed her last few appointments, Myst is unprepared for what she finds and what she must do. And by being there she ends up being dragged into the middle of a dragon war when Bastian sees her and is immediately taken with her. But it's not just his human side that wants to keep her, even his dragon side does. With a ferocity that he can't control and doesn't understand. Which makes him take Myst and the baby she just delivered back to his home.

Myst doesn't really have a choice, but she doesn't fight it as much as she wants to because of the baby. She knows she has to be there to take care of him. We end up learning about the dragons along with Myst, but even so, I still feel like a lot of things were not explained or not explained enough. One of the biggest things that she needed to learn about was how the dragons feed off of this Meridian thru females. They need the energy to survive probably more than real food (apparently energy has a taste too...who knew?). One of the most important things she needed to know though, Bastian keeps from her until it's too late out of fear. The dragon population is dwindling because every child they sire is male, and the mothers always die. With Bastian unable to control himself, Myst, not surprisingly, freaks out when he tells her what he's done. Despite fighting her growing attraction every step of the way, when she runs away he's all she can think about.

She had more than just getting away on her mind when she did that though, and tries to find out why the mothers always die. She finds what's she's looking for, at least a good lead, but she also finds herself in a lot of trouble. This is where the story really picked up for me. The Razorbacks make it to Myst before Bastian can and chaos ensues. Bastian is furious when Myst is taken and for good reason. She puts up a good fight but the Razorbacks aren't as respectful towards females as the Nightfuries are and they don't stand for her attitude. Myst's rescue comes from a surprising person and with what happens to him, I'm sure he regrets it a little bit. But he's also important to Myst's future.

Ivar is the head bad guy and he really is a bad guy. He pretty much says and does whatever he wants and he never seems to suffer any consequences. Currently he's having a new compound built where he can work on his experiments. He's determined to figure out a way to breed female offspring and will go thru as many humans as it takes. Enjoying himself along the way is just an added bonus.

Things look promising going forward and I'm hoping they keep this ending pace and get better.