Flashfire (Deborah Cooke)
Title: Flashfire
Author: Deborah Cooke
Copyright: 2012 (Signet); 396 pgs.
ISBN: 978-0-451-23547-3
Series: Dragonfire #7
Sensuality: Warm
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Summary: Lorenzo di Fiore is Pyr, though he wishes he wasn’t. He’s not interested in being a Slayer, either. He doesn’t want to be a dragon at all. Lorenzo rather concentrate on his Las Vegas magic show, his planned spectacular “exit” from the spotlight and, hopefully, from his fellow dragon-shifters. He is in possession of a spell that he can only use once and he plans to use it to sever his ties to his dragon side. He’s looking forward to the time when he won’t be bothered by firestorms, unwanted visitors, or the involuntary urge to shift. Lorenzo is so desperate to finally be free of that side of himself, he hasn’t really thought about the true impact it could have — like, whether the spell might actually kill him, or how will he protect his ailing father if he can no longer breath a protective ring of dragon smoke. And then Cassandra Redmond enters the picture and all his plans get thrown into an upheaval.
Cassie is a photographer. A celebrity photographer — paparazzi, if you want to be truthful. She’s in Vegas because of her best friend, Stacy. Stacy was left at the altar and she didn’t want to go to Vegas alone — it was suppose to be her honeymoon — nor did she want to lose the deposit money. Cassie has never taken a real vacation — something Stacy always points out — nor has she ever felt she needed one, until now. Her last assignment brought her to a cross-road and she’s not sure if she wants to go back to the hunt. There is a very lucrative offer out there for photographs of the Pyr, but Cassie doesn’t believe they are real. She’s not interested in the assignment, but out of curiosity, asks her editor and learns that the same amount of money is being offered for photos that prove the dragons are fake. It’s the type of money that would allow her to retire from photographing celebrities and pursue other work. However, she’s still on vacation and Stacy is dragging her to yet another Vegas show.
Comments: I really liked this book, though I was a bit apprehensive at first. I was not happy with the heroine in Darkfire Kiss.
This book was different from the others. Lorenzo wasn’t part of Erik’s warriors, so he’s not someone the reader knows much about. The new threat is Chen, and the book’s prologue introduces us to his agenda and we get a glimpse of a few new characters — including the hero of the next book. This book seems to be setting up things for both book 8 and Thorolf’s book — I’m making a huge assumption that he gets a firestorm (and since he’s still around to help Zoe in her spin-off series, I’m sure I’m right). Chen is still anxious to collect the dragons with the strongest affinity to water, earth and air: Lorenzo, Brandon, and Thorolf.
Lorenzo took a bit to warm up to. Like all the Pry, he’s got some personal baggage that makes him act the way he does. Once I got to know him better, I began to like him. Since he hasn’t been around other Pyr during their firestorms, he’s skeptical about the whole phenomenon. One thing he does believe is that, if he consummates the relationship, the sparks will go away. Lorenzo doesn’t think Cassie is his type, so he doesn’t expect to fall for her. Once he realizes he loves her, he’s determined that she should come with him when he “disappears”.
I really liked Cassie a lot, as much as I liked Alex and Ginger. She’s smart and observant. There are a few times when something Lorenzo does or says that she could have taken the wrong way or lead her to assume the wrong thing. She’s quick to pick up on how to read him. Cassie never expected to fall for Lorenzo because of her first impressions of him. Though she didn’t believe in the existence of dragons, once she sees Lorenzo shift in a way that can’t be construed as a part of his act, she accepts what she sees. She also comes to understand his reasons for the dangerous disappearing act he has planned. Like the other mates, Cassie keeps her cool in dangerous situations and does her best to stand her ground against bad dragons who can kill her easily.
In the epilogue, the whole gang (minus Thorolf) pay Cassie and Lorenzo a visit so Quinn can repair Lorenzo’s armor. We get a quick update of all the families. One thing puzzled me: I thought that Rafferty turned down the position of cantor, yet he is referred to as the new cantor. I thought that was Marco. I’ll have to re-read the pertinent part of Darkfire Kiss. Maybe Marco is only responsible for the crystals.
I’m looking forward to reading the next book. Brandon seems young — compared to the other shifters — and I think that will give the book a different feel. Also, as much as Thorolf annoys me, I’m curious to see what’s next for him. He’s in an interesting situation.
Start: 4 March 2012
Finished: 6 March 2012
Rating:
Liked It A Lot!
