Review: Fury of Seduction - Coreene Callahan

Successful landscape designer Tania Solares prides herself on living by her own terms, relying on no man to provide for her. But her carefully controlled life takes a turn for the extraordinary when her inquiry into the disappearance of her best friend thrusts her between two warring factions of dragon-shifters. Suddenly Tania’s survival depends on Mac, a newly initiated dragon-warrior who will break every rule to keep her safe.

Now that Tania knows the truth about Dragonkind, returning to her old life is too grave a risk. Ivar, leader of the Razorbacks, plots to decimate the human race, and Tania is just the tool he needs. Despite the danger, Mac cannot deny her a choice: Trade the independence she’s fought so hard to achieve for safety in a magical world, or turn her back on the man she’s grown to love in order to reclaim a freedom that might not last? It is an impossible choice. And yet a sacrifice must be made…

Dragonfury Series:
Fury of Fire
Fury of Ice
Fury of Seduction
Fury of Desire (Spring 2013)
Fury of Obsession (release date to be confirmed)
Fury of Surrender (release date to be confirmed)

Visit Coreene Callahan's website for more information

Review:
Have you ever come across a series that has all the elements it needs to make it a favourite but somehow it never quite hits the mark? That's kind of how I'm feeling about the Dragonfury books right now. These books have so much potential but each book leaves me feeling like I'm missing out on something. I was willing to forgive the similarities between this series and the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Midnight Breed series during the first book, I even forgave them in the second book but I keep hoping that the author will branch out and start adding her own unique voice to the world she is creating and it hasn't happened yet. Yet again this book is full of similarities to the BDB & MB series and it didn't even stand out as particularly different from the previous books. It seems like the author has found a formula she likes and is determined to stick with it and I'm getting to the point where I'm not sure if I should continue reading.

What I did like about this instalment is that we are starting to find out more about the Dragonkind race as a whole but we now have so many different enemies and plot lines going on that it took away from the romance between Mac and Tania. I really would have liked at least one of the sidelines to be resolved but I've just been left with a load of questions. I'm thinking that it would be helpful for them to start finding their high energy mates from a different area though - surely if they're trying to stay under the radar the number of disappearances (not to mention the fact that all of the women can be linked to each other!) is just going to raise suspicion. Another thing that really bothered me was the way the points of view would change mid-scene, I know this is a trick often used to raise tension but there are good and bad ways of doing this. At one point Mac and Tania are finally about to get down to business and halfway through the deed the point of view jumps to one of the bad guys and we get to see him attend an orgy. Is it any wonder I don't feel invested in Mac and Tania's relationship?

I really liked Mac in the earlier books, if you put the fact that he was a no nonsense cop who suddenly discovers he is half dragon while investigating a woman's disappearance (remind anyone of Butch from the BDB?) to one side and you have a nice guy who is learning how to fit into a world that is very different to the one he thought he knew. He is struggling to learn to control his dragon abilities, something that isn't helped by the fact that he is the only water dragon and the others have no idea what he should be capable of, but he really comes into his own when Tania is in trouble. I have to admit that while his methods of protecting her worked they also succeeded in scaring the living daylights out of her - if Mac had done the same to me I'd never have forgiven him because it would have taken me months to get over the trauma! I did enjoy seeing what he was capable of though and I'm curious to see what other dragon abilities are going to pop up as the series continues. I'm afraid I didn't end up being a huge fan of Tania though, she obviously cares a lot about her sister but I never really felt like I got to know her as a person and I couldn't really see why Mac felt they were so perfect for each other. I hate to use the term "too stupid to live" and it's something that you'll hardly ever find in any of my reviews but in this case it fits Tania perfectly. I could have forgiven her for putting herself and everyone else at risk to run to her sister if she hadn't immediately forgotten all about her sister the minute Mac had rescued her from the situation she ended up in.

I've made a lot of complaints about this book but it wasn't all bad, I still think the whole series has a lot of potential and I'm really, really hoping that the next book lives up to that. Each book so far has been a relatively quick and pleasant read even if it wasn't completely original. I like the camaraderie between the Nightfury warriors and I do want to see more of them find their mates (I'm particularly interested in Forge and Venom after this book), I'm even curious to see how they are going to stop Ivar. My favourite book so far was definitely the second one, Fury of Ice, so I'm hoping that the next book gets back to that standard. One thing I will say for Coreene Callahan is that she can write a good action scene, especially the aerial battles where the Nightfuries are fighting the Razorbacks which she makes incredibly easy to picture.

Source: Received from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Fury of Ice - Coreene Callahan

Homicide detective Angela Keen thrives on the city’s rough streets. But when she becomes the prize of all prizes in the dragon-shifter world due to her “high-energy” status, she gets more than she bargained for. Kidnapped by Lothair of the Razorback clan, Angela barely survives captivity before managing to escape. Hurt and alone with nowhere to hide, she faces certain death when Lothair uses the trace energy she leaves in her wake to hunt her down. But before he can reach her, a mystery dragon-shifter intervenes and saves Angela’s life.

Now a guest of the Nightfury clan, Angela regains her strength as her rescuer, Rikar, the last living frost dragon, gradually breaks down her mistrust. Surrendering to her desire for Rikar, but still uncertain of her feelings, Angela goes against his wishes and agrees to be used as bait to lure Lothair into the open. As the battle commences, the true struggle comes from within: Will Angela return home to the life she loves, or forsake it all to be with Rikar?

Dragonfury Series:
Fury of Fire
Fury of Ice
Fury of Seduction
Fury of Desire (Spring 2013)
Fury of Obsession (release date to be confirmed)
Fury of Surrender (release date to be confirmed)


Visit Coreene Callahan's website for more information

Review:
From the minute I found out about Coreene Callahan's new paranormal romance series about dragon shifters I knew I had to read it. I've always had a soft spot for dragons but you don't seem to find many of them in this genre - not enough for me anyway! I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the first book Fury of Fire, I'm not going to go into too much detail because I did that in my previous review but there were things about the mythology that didn't make sense and I found it difficult to get on board with a relationship where the hero knew that his actions would kill the heroine. However, despite the problems I had with the first book I still felt that the series had a lot of potential so I couldn't resist requesting a copy of the second book Fury of Ice when it came up on the last Amazon Vine list. I'm very pleased I gave the series a second chance because this was a much stronger instalment and I'm now really excited to see where things go next in Fury of Seduction.

Detective Angela Keen was a side character in the first book as she investigated the disappearance of Myst. At the end of the last book we saw her captured by the Nightfury's enemy the Razorbacks and she went through quite an ordeal before she escaped. I have to say I can really get behind a heroine who manages to rescue herself rather than sit around waiting for the hero to come and save her. Angela is tough, she has trained hard to be good at her job and she refuses to sit back and be a victim. After her escape she is emotionally raw but she is determined to get her chance at revenge against the dragons who took her. She knows she can't manage it on her own though so asks Rikar for help.

Rikar is Bastian's second in command and the loss of Angela to the razorbacks raised all of his protective instincts. He is determined to keep her safe and he is so sweet in the way he is willing to work at earning her trust and not push her into anything she isn't ready for. He obviously cares for her deeply and really struggles with the instincts to keep her safely away from the enemy and the need to give her whatever she wants by letting her get in on the revenge. I felt their romance was much more believable than the one between Bastian and Myst, both Rikar and Angela were much more likeable and it was easy to route for them as a couple. I did feel that Angela got over her ordeal a little too quickly but that was a fairly minor thing because the author did try to show that she wanted to move on and you could feel the connection between them.

There are still a few too many similarities with J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood books and Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series but I felt that there were less this time and I'm hoping the series moves even further away from that as it continues. I had some major problems with the motives of the bad guys in the first book but I'm pleased to say that was resolved in this book, I'm not sure if I misunderstood things before or if it just hadn't been explained very well but either way things now make much more sense which I was really pleased about. I really enjoyed getting to know more about some of the other dragons in the Nightfury clan - Mac and Forge both particularly caught my attention but I also have a feeling that I'll really like Wick so I'm hoping they all get their own book in the future. I'm pretty sure that it will be Mac's turn next and I'm definitely looking forward to reading his story.

I would happily recommend this book even to people who weren't completely sold on the first story. This instalment was much stronger and I think the series will just get better and better. If you like the BDB and MB series or any other book with a strong group of male warriors who put their lives on the line to protect others then it would be worth giving these books a try. The banter between the dragons is fun, I like the fact that the women still have a part to play in the story and I love the fact that there are so many different dragon types and they all have different skills. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Source: Received from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Fury of Fire - Coreene Callahan

A clandestine race of half-dragon, half-humans known as dragon-shifters lives among us. Bastian, leader of the Nightfury dragon clan, is sworn to protect humankind at all costs. For him, honor and duty always come first. When the clan dictates he take a human mate to sire a son, he falters, aware that for a human to birth a dragon-shifter she must die. Myst, the woman given into his care, is the most extraordinary he’s ever met, and though he can’t bear the thought of harming her he is bound by duty.

Myst loves her life in the human world, but Bastian has captured her heart in an instant of electric connection. But Bastian and his warriors are in the middle of a deadly battle with the Razorback dragon-shifters, intent on killing every Nightfury clan member—and the humans they protect—the fate of their world and ours hangs in the balance.

An extraordinary blend of action, fantasy, and steamy romance, Fury of Fire brings to life a dangerous new world intertwined with the survival of humanity, all while exploring the meaning of honor and the nature of true love.

Dragonfury Series:
Fury of Fire
Fury of Ice
Fury of Seduction
Fury of Desire (Spring 2013)
Fury of Obsession (release date to be confirmed)
Fury of Surrender (release date to be confirmed)


Visit Coreene Callahan's website for more information

Review:
As soon as I spotted Fury of Fire on Amazon Vine and realised it was a paranormal romance about dragon shifters I was sold.  I have a bit of a soft spot for dragons and it looked like this would be just my kind of read.  This had the potential to be a favourite new series for me but unfortunately I had a few problems with it and it failed to live up to my expectations.  In order for me to explain what I didn't like about this book my review will contain slight spoilers but I will try to keep them to a minimum.

I was really looking forward to finding out about Dragonkind but I have to admit that I found the author's mythology was confusing at times.  Dragonkind are a race of all male dragon shifters, they must feed from the energy of human females and do this by skin to skin contact (usually during intercourse but not always).  They can only breed with human women who always give birth to Dragonkind sons and for some reason NEVER survive childbirth.  Bastian is the leader of the Nightfury dragon clan who are a group of warriors who protect humans from the rogue dragon shifters known as Razorbacks.  The Razorbacks often drain the women they feed from to the point of death and their whole goal is to wipe humans off the face of the planet.  No, these bad guys aren't particularly intelligent - I have no idea how they expect to be able to feed or breed if there are no humans left?  Even if they only kept women alive they'd be in trouble after 1 generation when no more females had been born for them to feed off of!  Another thing that really bugged me was the fact that they have all the same weaknesses as a vampire - why create a race of dragon shapeshifters and make them have trouble with UV light?  You might as well just call them vampires and give them the ability to fly.

Then we have the romance which happened far too quickly to be believable and was frankly quite creepy at times.  Dragonkind are only fertile twice a year and it is Bastian's duty to start the next generation warriors by getting someone pregnant.  He is reluctant to do it because he knows it will be a death sentence for the woman involved but he only has a week to find this poor doomed mother of his child so he can impregnate her at the next fertile period.  Myst starts off OK and I thought I was going to like her, she is a nurse and when one of her patients dies in childbirth she will do anything to protect her newborn child.  She is naturally shocked when she discovers that Dragonkind exist and she shows sense by being terrified by the discovery.  When she is kidnapped by Bastian (for her own protection) she is determined to find a way to escape and I thought she was going to make him work at earning her trust.  Sadly that isn't the case, and within hours of meeting him she finds herself irresistibly drawn to him - I really couldn't tell you why!

We are treated to a lot of inner monologue from both main characters and the story could have been so much better if it had been streamlined down and not so repetitive.  I found it hard to fall for a hero who knows that getting his girl pregnant will kill her but goes ahead and does it anyway even though no solution has been found.  I also found it hard to respect a heroine who lets her kidnapper talk her into bed within hours despite the fact that in her own words he is a monster!

Despite the numerous problems I had with the story there was something about it that kept me reading.  There were far too many similarities with J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood and Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series (these just happen to be 2 of my favourite series!) but if the author tidies up her mythology and makes the series her own then it does have potential.  Will I read the next book when it releases?  I probably will pick it up in the hope that the series gets stronger but I don't think it will be a book I rush out and get on the release date.  As Fury of Fire is a debut I'm hoping that Coreene Callahan Fury of Ice will be a stronger instalment.

Source: Received from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle: