Book Review: Within the Flames by Marjorie M. Liu

Within the Flames
Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Publication: Avon; Original edition (November 29, 2011)


Description: Joining the Dirk &Steele Agency turned Eddie’s life around. A pyrokinetic and former car thief, he cannot refuse an assignment to cross the continent in order to rescue an extraordinary woman in peril . . . even though he fears losing control of the destructive power of flame at his fingertips.

The last of her shape-shifting kind, Lyssa hides in the abandoned tunnels beneath Manhattan, seeking refuge from those who murdered her family a decade ago and would now destroy her as well. Like Eddie, fire is her weapon, her destiny . . . and her curse. Yet she wants nothing to do with this mesmerizing stranger who seeks her trust while enflaming her passion. For beneath Lyssa’s extraordinary beauty are dangerous secrets . . . and even darker, nearly irresistible urges. But she has won the heart of a fearless protector . . . and all the demons in the world will not make him back down.

My Thoughts: This is the 11th book in the Dirk & Steele series and the first one that I have read. It won't be the last. I thought the book was filled with interesting characters and had a nice combination of danger and romance. The main characters are Eddie and Lyssa. 


Eddie is an employee of Dirk & Steele. He is a prone to bursting into flame when stressed. So being in control is very important to him. He ran away from home at age 13 after he killed a man who had killed his sister. The man was the brother of his stepfather - the same stepfather who was abusing both Eddie and his sister. Actually, Eddie was aiming for his stepfather but his rage was so out of control that the fire hit the brother instead. This led to him spending years on the street and honing his skills as a car thief and learning to control his fire. Now, he works at Dirk & Steele to protect people who need him.


Lyssa has also been on the streets since she was 12. She is on the run from the evil witch who killed her parents and wants to either kill or convert her. She has been hiding in New York City. She has been afraid to make friends or really get to know anyone because they would become a target for the witch who is searching for her. She has become an artist and author but does all her communication through email.She is also in hiding because the trauma of seeing her parents killed has caused one of her arms to shift to her dragon form and it is stuck there. See, Lyssa is part dragon (on her father's side) and part witch (on her mother's side). 


The witch who is after her is Cruor Venator - that is a witch who is part demon and completely evil. They find joy in torturing people slowly to death and drinking their blood and eating their flesh. They are also able to spread a sense of absolute terror wherever they go. It was thought that the last Cruor Venator had been killed but now she is active again and has started a killing spree. And, it takes another Cruor Venator to kill her.


Lyssa and Eddie have to battle through his determination to protect her and her determination to drive him away so that she can protect him. They also have to deal with the trauma they both experienced as children. And, by the way, they have to find a way to defeat the Cruor Venator.


I found the writing style engaging and the plot fast moving. I liked the exploration of Eddie and Lyssa's emotions as they fall in love. This was a very engaging story.


Favorite Quotes:

His world stopped. Everything inside him, around him, suspended in a wash of terrible heat. Even from across the street, he could see the color of her eyes: golden as the sunrise. Fire licked beneath his skin, inside his heart, in his bones--but it felt transcendent, made of light instead of flame. Light, burning inside him.

*****************

Lyssa had never been touched by a man she wanted.

Actually, "want" was too cheap a word. Every part of her felt inexplicably, inexorably, tugged toward this man. The attraction was primal, elemental--utterly beyond her comprehension. She would have blamed witchcraft if she were susceptible to to that sort of thing, but in this case, all she could call it was insanity.  

I received a finished copy of this book for review from Elena at Wunderkind PR. You can get your copy at Amazon.

WoW: Spirit Bound by Christine Feehan

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. She has a linky widget at her site each week for your post and to make it easy to find posts by other people.

The purpose of the meme is to spotlight books that we are eagerly anticipating. It is fun to take a look at what others are waiting for.

I have noticed that it has expanded my wishlist though. Be warned!

I am waiting for the latest in the Sea Haven series by Christine Feehan - Spirit Bound. Here is the product description:

Lethally sexy undercover agent Stefan Prakenskii knows a thousand ways to kill a man-and twice as many ways to pleasure a woman. So he's looking forward to his new mission: arrive in the coastal town of Sea Haven and insinuate himself in the life of Judith Henderson, an ethereal beauty with mysterious ties to his past... 

Sounds like just the thing for a cold, winter night! It comes out on Dec. 27.

Teaser Tuesday: Within the Flames by Marjorie M. Liu

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I just got Within the Flames by Marjorie M. Liu this week and started to read it as soon as I finished the book I was in the middle of. This is the 11th book in the Dirk & Steele urban fantasy series but is the first book in the series that I have read. It sounds great with dragon shifters and blood stealing witches and a hero who can burst into flames.


Here is my teaser:

He did not follow, but she sensed that if he wanted to, he could be at her side in a heartbeat. He was just like her dream. Intense, dangerous, and real.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (Dec. 5, 2011)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.


I read these books this week:

Singled Out by Sara Griffiths was a ebook that I got from Bancroft Press via NetGalley. I enjoyed this sports story/boarding school story that made some good points about following the crowd and following your dreams. My review is here.

Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis was off my TBR mountain. I was in the mood for a light yet sexy romance with realistic characters and cute animal sidekicks. This book really filled the bill. My review is here.

Blaze of Glory by M. Garzon was sent to me by the author. I liked this story that was an intense romance combined with all sorts of information about horses. It was a wonderful story that would appeal to both horse lovers and romance readers. My review will be posted on Dec. 5.

I am currently reading another review book - Within the Flames by Marjorie M. Liu. This is the 11th book in the Dirk & Steele series but the first one I have read. I have just begun this one and don't have an opinion yet.

Next week will be mostly review books. I still have three that I promised to read in December. I would like to get them read in the next couple of weeks so that I can get a head start on my January books over Christmas break.

Ignite by Kaitlynn Davis is a young adult paranormal that was sent to me by the author.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater is from my TBR mountain. I have heard such good things about this one but have been passing over it in favor of review books.

8: The Previously Untold Story of the Previously Unknown 8th Dwarf by Michael Mullin is a short novel in verse.

Kaptain Vamp by Joanne Lecuyer is a middle grade novel, also short, that was sent to me by the author.

I think that is enough for a week that will also include two music programs and one committee meeting beyond the normal work week.

In My Mailbox (Dec. 4, 2011)

The weekly In My Mailbox post is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It is fun to see what everyone else gets in their mailboxes, shopping bags, and library visits. Click on the link to The Story Siren's site to see the rules and join in the fun.
 
I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow when you see all the wonderful books everyone gets. You will discover lots of great blogs and lots of books that you won't be able to live without.


I got six books this week. Half of them were for review and the other half were new books by favorite authors. Here is what I got for review:

Spin by Catherine McKenzie was one of my Amazon Vine picks. This is little outside my genre but I was interested in this story of a reporter who follows a star into rehab to get a story and discovers that she might be in rehab for a reason. This book will be released on Feb. 7.

Within the Flames by Marjorie M. Liu is the latest in the Dirk & Steele urban fantasy series. I have never read a Dirk & Steele (even though I currently have 3 copies of the first book around here somewhere) but I like urban fantasy and thought this sounded good. The book was published on Nov. 29 and is next on my reading list.

Touchstone by Melanie Rawn was another Amazon Vine pick. This is the first book in a new high fantasy series and will be published on Feb. 28.

These are by authors on my "must read" list.

Future Perfect by Suzanne Brockmann is a reprint of one of her contemporary romance novels. It was originally published in 1993 in the Kismet line. I don't think I have read it and I know I don't currently own a copy. Even if I have read it before, I still enjoying spending time with Brockmann's books.

Fate's Edge by Ilona Andrews is their most recent novel in the Edge series. I have really enjoyed the previous books and look forward to spending some time with this one too.

Demon Bait is by Moira Rogers and is sitting waiting for me on my Kindle. I love the "warning" that Samhain adds to each book description. Here is this one:

Warning: Contains a virtual world where humans flee to escape the demon-infested earth, a dangerously seductive half demon with sex magic to burn and a network-hacking summoner brave enough to make herself vulnerable to him.

Those will keep me busy for a while. What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Book Review: Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis

Animal Attraction

Author: Jill ShalvisPublication: Berkley; Original edition (October 4, 2011)
Description: Jade Bennett couldn't be happier to escape her past for the quiet ranching town of Sunshine, Idaho. Plus, there's nothing like working for veterinarian Dell Connelly. And though Dell has no intention of settling down, Jade's strength and sass are enticements no red-blooded male can resist.
My Thoughts: This was another great romance by Shalvis. I liked the attraction between the two main characters and understood why they were conflicted. Jade had made a promise that she would return home. She has put it off a number of times because she still isn't over the trauma that sent her running to Sunshine, Idaho in the first place. She was attacked at her family's medical center and felt that she didn't do anything to save herself. Her family had always told her that she was strong but this incident destroyed her confidence in herself. She has been rebuilding her confidence in Sunshine with the help of Dell and the other characters. 
Dell was great with animals and had an intuitive feel for what they needed but he was very careful with his heart. As many of the characters said, Dell has abandonment issues. First his mother walked out, then his father died, then a beloved foster parent dies. That is enough to make anyone careful! But he sees that Jade needs her confidence boosted and can't help but care for her. He doesn't want to risk his heart because she has said again and again that her stay in Sunshine is a temporary one.
But the romance can't be denied. When Dell offers Jade self-defense lessons, they begin to get closer. They go into the relationship thinking it will be short term. In fact, they are both deluding themselves that they can be together for a while and then part. This self-delusion is really apparent to the other characters in the story and to us as readers. 
I really liked the cute animal characters in this story too. Jade adopts a wary stray kitten that she names Beans. The vet office has a parrot named Peanut who won't say "Peanut wants a cracker" even though Jade tries to convince it to do so. However it quickly picks up "boner" and a few other embarrassing phrases. Dell also has a large lovable dog named Gertie who spends time at the office too.
This was a fun, sweet and sexy romance filled with likable characters. It is a great story if you are looking for a feel-good romance.
Favorite Quote:

At that, Lilah laughed outright. "Oh, Honey. Haven't you learned yet? You can control a lot of things--work, what you watch on TV, how much ice cream you inhale--but you can't control what your heart does."
Jade brooded over that for a moment. "You can control how much ice cream you inhale?"

I bought this one because I am a fan of Jill Shalvis' light and humorous romances. You can buy your copy here.

Book Beginning & Friday 56: Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis

Happy Friday everybody!!

Book Beginnings

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages.  

Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading. 

If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

The Friday 56

Rules:

• Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
• Turn to page 56.
• Find the fifth sentence.
• Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Freda's Voice
• Post a link along with your post back to Freda's Voice

Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

The book closest to me right now is Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis. I just now finished it. I have been reading it all week in my spare moments. Here is the product description:

Jade Bennett couldn't be happier to escape her past for the quiet ranching town of Sunshine, Idaho. Plus, there's nothing like working for veterinarian Dell Connelly. And though Dell has no intention of settling down, Jade's strength and sass are enticements no red-blooded male can resist.

This is a sweet and sexy romance between a very organized office manager who is on the run from a traumatic event and a sexy but commitment-shy veterinarian. Except he takes one look at her and starts to rethink his decision. Everyone he has cared about has left him and Jade says right from the beginning that her stay is temporary.

Beginning:

"Come on, baby," he murmured. "Give it up for me. You know you want to."

Stop thinking what I know you are thinking. Here are the next couple of sentences.

Jade Bennett did her best to ignore the way the low, sexy voice made her shiver. Besides, it wasn't aimed at her. Dr. Dell Connelly - dog whisperer, cat whisperer, horse whisperer, and know woman whisperer - was talking to a stray kitten.

Friday 56:

As of he felt it, too, he went still as stone, then dropped his gaze to her mouth as well, and for the first time since the parking lot, she warmed - thanks to him.