August | 2007 | Scooper Speaks

Archive | August, 2007

Dragon Heat by Allyson James

Favorite Lines: “A vibration began in the area of her thighs, a constant, insistent vibration that warmed her at the same time it distracted her. Caleb broke the kiss and looked down at her, eyebrows drawn. “What is that?” “Oh, hell,” she said, realizing. “It’s my cell phone.”” (p. 135)

Lisa Singleton is about to come into great power. That is why the golden dragon, Caleb, is sent to guard her. Living in the spare bedroom of Lisa’s apartment, he has come to know and care for her, as she has for him. She, however, doesn’t know that she’s in danger until she is attacked one night.

Suddenly finding herself a target of a black dragon and a powerful witch, Lisa must also come to terms with Caleb. He is no longer trapped in his dimension looking into her world. He is now able to cross into the human world. He is a man and a hot one at that. Lisa and Caleb must work together to prevent the black dragon and the witch from destroying the world while creating a new relationship as lovers and not just roommates.

Dragon Heat by Allyson James is a great book. We get a new shapeshifter in the dragon; granted he can’t just wish himself human or dragon (he relies on an armband). I like the descriptions of what Caleb looks and feels like as a dragon. He isn’t hard and scaly. He feels like a human and he has the human addiction to television. He is a loving creature that I adored. As a human, he is stunning and sexy, stirring up Lisa’s (and my) hormones.

Lisa is complex. Over the course of the book we learn many of the different facets that make up Lisa. As I was looking for my favorite passage, I began to find foreshadowing that I had ignored before. Some of it was blatant, in your face foreshadowing that left me smacking my head and saying “Duh”. But it works.

There are several plots going on in Dragon Heat and one of those pertains to the next book in the series. I don’t want to give anything away, so I won’t list the next book in the series. All I’ll say is that it will be released Nov. 6.

If you want to know more about this book, you can read the first chapter here.

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Queen of the Orcs: King’s Property by Morgan Howell

28 Aug

Favorite Lines: “The only thing a man gives a woman is a big belly. Nothing else comes free.” (32)

Dar has a hard life; she is from a poor family in the highlands of King Kregant’s Realm. When the king’s men arrive in her village in search of new recruits for the army, she is given to them. Thus begins Dar’s new life as a slave in the King’s army.

Branded on her forehead she learns that she is to work in the Orc encampment for the rest of her life . If she is found away from the regiment she is assigned to, she will be killed. Dar rallies and decides to befriend the Orc’s and learn their culture. This places her on the outs with the humans. As she learns about the Orcs, she makes powerful enemies determined to destroy her.

Queen of the Orcs: King’s Property is book one in Morgan Howell’s Queen of the Orcs trilogy. DEL REY has made me happy by publishing a book in the series each month, instead of making us wait a year for the next installment.

This book is gritty. It is hard, yet sentimental. It takes a woman and places her in a horrible situation forcing her to live or die. The life of the women in the camp is beautifully detailed and realistic. The women act like women. They snip at each other like dogs fighting for a bone. It is a matter of survival. It is ugly. It is war.

Many things happen without Dar’s knowledge or consent. We the reader know and cringe before applauding Dar’s innate ability to sense trouble and at times avoid trouble. She is the only one able to sense an ‘otherness’ to the Orcs. She quickly realizes that her survival depends on befriending the Orcs, something that causes dissension between Dar and the other humans.

This book takes a new look at the Orc. It is like meeting the vampire of old and replacing him with the new vampires. (For example, we used to equate the vampire with a person who was possessed by a demonic spirit. Now many books have reinvented the vampire as a person with a rare blood disorder or a species from another planet stranded on earth.) The Orcs introduced by Howell are simple minded. They are a maternal society who are fierce yet fail to comprehend lies and manipulation. If you want to learn more about Howell’s orcs go here. (I want to send a shout out to Tia for this link she posted over at Fantasy Debut.)

This is a great book. Book two will be released today and I’ll be there to pick it up.