A Bookworm’s Haven (ABWH): Can you tell us a little bit about Fury of Fire for those who might not have read it?

Coreene Callahan (CC): In essence, the Dragonfury novels are about a group of half-dragon, half-human warriors battling to protect humankind from extinction.

More specially, Fury of Fire revolves around their commander Bastian, and his struggle to accept his nature and the evitable death of the woman he chooses as his mate.

Here’s a taste of what the book is about:

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.

Also, I’ve created a mini movie about the book, which you can check out here: http://youtu.be/8h7jqyrKc5w

(ABWH): Shifters have been on the paranormal scene for a while, as well as my personal favorite, dragons, but I have never heard of dragons that cannot go out during the day. Where did you get your idea for this new twist on dragon shifter mythology?

(CC): When the Nightfury warriors first walked into my head, I knew nothing about them or the world they inhabit. Intrigued, I immediately began mining my imagination to unearth the story. As I delved into Dragonkind history, I found out a lot of interesting things about them. One important realization was that I never envisioned them out in daylight, which begged the question. . .why?

Enter the Goddess of All Things—mother of the first dragon-shifter—with a flare for revenge.

When she discovers the Dragon King cheating on her, she curses him and her offspring by giving them a number of weaknesses.

1. She took their ability to sire daughters, thereby making them dependant on human women to procreate and spawn future generations of dragon-shifters.
2. She tied their survival to humankind by taking their ability to connect to the Meridian (the electro-static current) that feeds Dragonkind, forcing their dependence on human females to draw from the source that keeps them alive.
3. She removed their tolerance for sunlight, making them allergic to UV rays and their eyes so light sensitive they will go blind with prolonged exposure. (And a blind dragon is a dead dragon.)

(ABWH): Do you have a favorite scene from Fury of Fire? I personally love the whole recovery scene with Bastian and Myst. One because it is really steamy but also because of all the realizations the two arrive at because of their connection to one another.

(CC): I love that scene, too! It’s pivotal to Bastian and Myst’s growing feelings for one another and really brings to life the intensity of their connection.

However, I think one of my favorites is what I call the “waffle” scene when Myst walks into the kitchen at Black Diamond (the Nightfury’s lair) for the first time. I love her reaction to the Nightfury warriors’ outrageous baby name suggestions.

(ABWH): Do you have a favorite character from this series?

(CC): I love all the guys. They make me laugh and cry in turn. Each is different in his own way, with strengths, weaknesses, and a boatload of flaws. But while writing Fury of Fire, I fell in love with Wick. He has such a horrific past, and his damaged soul is my demise. Wick, I fear, will always be the one for me.

(ABWH): If this series could be made into a movie, who would your dream cast be for Bastian and Myst?

(CC): Oh, boy. . .good question.

I have a large cork board in my office. I call it my vision board. On it are all kind of things pertaining to the story I am currently writing: pictures taken from magazines—people, places and things—as well as quotes and sayings that speak to me. For Fury of Fire, I pinned the picture of two actors that matched the physical characteristics of what I envisioned for Bastian and Myst.

Bastian – Chris Hemsworth (with short, dark hair)

Myst – Kate Bosworth

(ABWH): What is something we can look forward to in the series that you are especially excited about?

(CC): There are a number of things. The first of which, however, I can’t tell you! Awful, aren’t I? I don’t want to ruin the surprise, because you’ll find out all about it in FURY OF ICE, the second book in the Dragonfury series.

The second exciting thing I discovered while writing Fury of Fire is the Archguard angle. A power struggle is brewing between the five dynastic families that govern Dragonkind. At present, two of the Nightfury warriors are attending the Archguard’s festival and will soon find themselves in the middle of a mess as the tension between rival clans unravels.

(ABWH): Have you ever read or seen yourself as a character in a book or a movie?

(CC): All the time! I have an overactive imagination, so if a character captures my interest, I find myself imagining what it would be like to live in their world. All sorts of questions pop up. What roll would I play in that character’s life? Would I help or hinder that character? What would I do differently if I found myself in his/her position?

All good questions, because as a writer, I am constantly trying to figure out character motivation: the hows and whys a character reacts a certain way in a given situation.

(ABWH): What is your favorite book/series by another author?

(CC): I’m a huge Stephen King fan. I think he is a consummate storyteller, however, I can’t read all of his stories, because some of them scare the heck out of me! Not a good thing for a girl who has always imagined all the things that go bump in the night.

(ABWH): What is something you have to have with you when writing?

(CC): Coffee! I get up every morning at 5 a.m. to write, so a jolt of caffeine is a necessary thing. And my writing buddy, Winston—a mischievous Golden Retriever. I love having him with me, because he lies under my desk and keeps my feet warm.

(ABWH): Can you share what you are working on now? *crosses fingers that it is Rikar and Angela’s story, hehe*

(CC): I’m happy to say Rikar and Angela’s story, Fury of Ice, is finished and will be out in June, 2012! I’m currently working on Fury of Seduction, the third novel in the Dragonfury series. But you’ll have to tune in and read Rikar’s story to find out who the main characters are in the third book. (I know. . .totally unfair.

Also, I’m am working on a new project, a paranormal historical series called The Circle of Seven (book titles forthcoming!), about a group of elite assassins and the magical Order they protect (there are dragons in this series too, so get ready!). The first in the series will be released sometime this Fall, 2012.

(ABWH): Thanks so much for being here today Coreene! Is there anything that you would like to add?

(CC): Thanks again, Meaghan, for having me on today. I had a blast answering your questions and delving deeper into the Nightfury dragon-shifter world!

As a special treat (and with Meaghan’s permission), I’d like to offer one lucky reader an ARC of Fury of Fire. Leave a comment and your email address in the comment section, and I will contact you, then send your copy off in the mail.

(ABWH): Sounds great to me! Thanks for offering up the ARC Coreene! I can’t wait for the next book

So you read it, Coreene is offering up an ARC to one of you! I asked her and she said it was okay to open it up internationally! Woo hoo! So leave a comment below to be entered. The contest will run from now until Friday March 9th at midnight. Good luck to everyone!

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Title:

Author: Coreene Callahan

Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance

Release Date: February 7th, 2012

Commander of the Nightfury dragons, BASTIAN leads by example and expects his warriors to follow Dragonkind’s code. Honor is everything, duty no option, but when both dictate he be the first to take a mate and sire a son, Bastian falters. For the woman given into his care is most the extraordinary he’s ever met and even as she steals his heart, he knows birthing his child will take her life.Nurse practitioner, MYST MUNROE puts herself on the line everyday, pushing past the limits of endurance to bring medical expertise to her patients when they cannot come to her. When a late night home visit turns deadly, she lands in the middle of a battle between two warring factions, dragon-shifters living in secret among humankind. Taken to the Nightfury’s lair, she must decide: return to the life she loves or risk everything to stay with the dragon-shifter who holds her heart.IVAR, leader of the Razorbacks, hates humankind and the band of warrior dragons who protect them. To break the spell that ties Dragonkind’s fate to that of the humans, every Nightfury must die. When the last one falls, he will have what he needs to wipe the planet clean of an inferior race, and once again be free to roam the earth in dragon form.

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review: I you follow my blog or reviews at all you know that I have a serious weakness for dragons. I am fascinated by them and will read pretty much anything that involves them. I am also a member of the Amazon Vine program and when scrolling though the newsletter one day I saw this book. There was no cover, but the summary sounded awesome. Plus, it had my favorite paranormal creatures, that’s right, dragons! So I immediately requested it and could not wait to dive into the world Coreene created.

In Fury of Fire we get a great overview of the mythology, but are not bogged down by details. In some first books of a series, the author can take a lot of time to world build and it drags down the pace of the novel. In this book, Coreene gives us just enough information so we know what is going on and understand how the world works, but the plot continues to move forward. As for the paranormal elements, the dragon-shifters are men who can transform from human to dragon as they please. They can materialize clothing, have some level of magic and the only one I had not seen before was their sensitivity to light. That little attribute took me by surprise, but it did make it interesting when people needed help during the day and the dragons were stuck indoors. I would be interested to see where this sensitivity came from in the first place, but maybe Coreene will cover that more in future installments.

Bastian is the leader of the Nightfury’s and because of this he feels he must help carry on the dragon species. He needs to find a woman in order to do this, the only problem is no woman ever survives birthing a dragon child. His guilt over finding a woman just to lose her has him hesitating, but the second he sees Myst he knows he is in trouble. Myst is a nurse practitioner who feels the same pull toward Bastian when she meets him. She is human, but there is a lot more going on with her than what we see on the surface. She is an enigma to us and to Bastian for quite a while and I am interested to learn more about her. We do get quite a few answers about her in Fury of Fire, but there are some questions still left unanswered at the end that I am hoping will be looked into more in the next book. Bastian and Myst however, were great together. Coreene took the time to let us get to know them and grow attached to them. I was invested in these two characters and really wanted to see things work out for them. They have quite a few obstacles in their way, but I enjoyed watching them work through them together.

We also meet many interesting secondary characters in the ranks of the Nightfury’s. My personal favorite was Bastian’s best friend Rikar. He is Bastian’s right hand man and has no idea how Bastian has fallen for Myst so quickly. He thinks humans are just good for letting off a little steam with a one night stand, but he too meets someone later in the book that spins his world off its axis. I am so glad that he will be the focus of the next book because I loved getting little snippets of what was going on in his head and want to see more. There are other dragons that are not part of the Nightfury rank that are mentioned, but we do not get to explore them in detail. It does however, peak my interest and gives Coreene plenty of opportunity to expand this series.

As for the action, Fury of Fire did not have a dull moment in it! Since the rivalry between the Nightfury’s and the Razorbacks has been going strong for quite some time, the two groups come together multiple times throughout the novel. Thankfully, Coreene did not add in any extra fluff or erroneous details just to fill pages. Every word drove the plot moving forward and I appreciated her getting straight to the point. It kept the fight scenes exciting because they were not bogged down with unnecessary descriptions of the setting. She did use description when needed, but it was just the right amount. Coreene was creative with the action and each battle was different and invigorating. The romantic scenes were not any different. Bastian and Myst were fighting off their attraction for one another from their very first meeting and once they finally come together they burn up the pages. Coreene definitely knows how to write some steamy moments and I relished those just as much as the action.

Overall, I loved this book! It has all the elements I have come to adore in the paranormal romance genre and the dragons were a huge bonus. Luckily, there are still two more installments coming out this year so I don’t have to wait long to dive back into this world again. I highly recommend this book to any fan of paranormal romance!

FTC: I received this ARC for review as part of the Amazon Vine Program.

Title:

Author: Pittacus Lore

Narrated by: Neil Kaplan and Marisol Ramirez

Release Date: August 23rd, 2011

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

I’ve seen him on the news. Followed the stories about what happened in Ohio. John Smith, out there, on the run. To the world, he’s a mystery. But to me . . . he’s one of us.

Nine of us came here, but sometimes I wonder if time has changed us—if we all still believe in our mission. How can I know? There are six of us left. We’re hiding, blending in, avoiding contact with one another . . . but our Legacies are developing, and soon we’ll be equipped to fight. Is John Number Four, and is his appearance the sign I’ve been waiting for? And what about Number Five and Six? Could one of them be the raven-haired girl with the stormy eyes from my dreams? The girl with powers that are beyond anything I could ever imagine? The girl who may be strong enough to bring the six of us together?

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They tried to catch Number Four in Ohio—and failed.

I am Number Seven. One of six still alive.

And I’m ready to fight.

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review: I absolutely loved book one in this series, I Am Number Four (review here), so I was giddy when I got my hands on book two. The only problem? I had so many other books to review that this got pushed to the bottom of the pile. I finally got a copy of it on audiobook and was able to listen to it on my way to and from work. So since this is an audiobook I am going to review the content first and then talk about how I felt about the narration.

When it comes to the content of this book, I will say that I liked, not loved, all of it. Let’s start off with the positive though, and talk about some of the aspects of this book that I enjoyed. The biggest would be the non-stop, heart pumping action. There are very few down moments in this book and even when there are revelations are still being made and the plot is moving forward. I enjoyed reading every unique fight scene and relished every detail we were given.

I also enjoyed getting more background information on the Lorian. There are so many details revealed since we get to see a new character, Seven, and since we get to know Six a little better. It was fascinating to dive into the Loriac history and learn more about how they came to be and how they got to where they are now. More of John’s past is also divulged and how Six came to meet up with him and Henri. I was happy the author took the time to let us get to know them more and soaked up the history of this alien race.

I liked the alternating point of view as well. Seven aka Marina, was an interesting character and I enjoyed the chapters that focused on her. She has had a completely different upbringing from John and Six and it was interesting to get her story. She still has her guardian, but they have been hiding for so long that her guardian has completely given up and does not teach Marina anything. So Marina is flying blind with her legacies and has no one to turn to for help. The fresh perspective on being Lorien from another one of the nine was intriguing and helped keep the plot engaging.

Now I need to talk about a couple of the downsides of this book. The first would be the dialogue. At times it just felt awkward and rushed. There were other times when it sounded like the author dumbed down the language from the first novel. Some of the things that John or Sam or even Six would say just seemed so out of character and it irked me. There were moments when I laughed at the silly nature of the discussion when it was clearly not meant to be funny. I am not sure why this change, but I did not enjoy the dialogue in this book at all.

The other major flaw was some of John’s decisions. He makes careless calls when it comes to the next step in his life and the next step his heart. I am sorry, I know there are some Sarah haters out there, but I am not one of them. I really liked her and even though after reading this book I am not sure where her loyalty lies, I still don’t like the idea of John and Six right now. It seems like the author has changed some of the mythology from the first book around so John can be with Six and I hated it. If you make a statement in one book saying it is fact, I feel like it should hold true for the story and having John be wishy washy about his feelings was making me crazy. Indecision is such a turn off for me and I felt it was unnecessary in this book. There is enough going on in John’s life right now without stirring up his feelings for Sarah and the whole thing did not sit well with me. I have no idea where his love life will go from here, but at this point I almost wish it was not even a part of the book because it was annoying me so much towards the end. It is a forced love triangle that just does not work.

As for the narration, I am split because there were two narrators. The female narrator, Marisol Ramirez, was great. I enjoyed how she read the part of Seven. I cannot say the same for the male narrator Neil Kaplan. Actually, his reading was driving me a little crazy. I think the main reason I was turned off by him was his “overacting” throughout the novel. I realize he is not actually acting, but I am not sure what else to call it. He overemphasized words that did not need to be and tried to make some scenes more dramatic than they were. When it came to the fight scenes it was great, but in the down moments his voice just irritated me. I also did not like him making Sam’s voice so nasally and Six sound like a valley girl. Six is a bad a$$, if you have read any of these books you know that, and Neil just did not do her justice.

Re-reading my review just now it sounds like I am harping on this book a lot, but I have to say that overall, I enjoyed this book. I am just disappointed with some of the character personality changes and the writing was not as good as the first book. I will be reading the next book, Rise of the Nine, but do not recommend the audio version. Towards the middle of the audio I just had to give up and reach for my ARC instead. I could not take the male narrator any longer. This is a series I recommend, because those fight scenes alone are worth reading, but I would pick up the book instead of the audiobook. I am really looking forward to the next book in August, especially after that ending in this book. I also hope to get more sweet action sequences and meet the remaining Nine. I’m keeping fingers crossed that the dialogue gets amped back up and John wises up a little, but only time will tell if those hopes become a reality.

FTC: I received this ARC from the publisher for review. Thank you.