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 comm...

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 - t...

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...

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 sto...

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

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...

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...

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 pro...

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 doe...

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 year...

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

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 o...

[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...

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 th...