Lord's Fall

Lord's Fall   

by Thea Harrison is a wonderful addition to a fantastic series.  I devour these titles whenever I find a new one, no matter what else is due on my plate, these books get moved up to the top of the TBR stack.  (and yes, I have several TBR stacks with various degrees of priority--those for Night Owl Reviews, those sent directly from publishers and authors, and those from the library)  Thea Harrison's books tend to bypass any others because I love the combination of romance and imagination in her tales.  I am an unashamed animal lover and her ability to transfer certain instinctual animal behavior into a human paradigm and tell a great story always entertains me.  Some of my favorite quotes have been from her books...including this one from Devil's Gate

  “I don’t want you to curb yourself, deny yourself, cover up your face or head or any part of your body.  I don’t want you to lose or gain weight, or watch what you say, or deny how you feel, or try to be anything but who you are, because who you are is the most beautiful person in the world to me’.

Thea Harrison, “Devil’s Gate” 2012

Sigh...who could resist a declaration like that?  And isn't that what we all want?  Someone who loves us just the way we are?

I love the characters in this story, they were introduced in Dragon Bound and I was so impressed by the way the author epitomized the stereotypical dragon (covetous, hoarding, arrogant, top of the food chain) in an alpha male that was swoon-worthy yet found a match for him who was deceptively mild, self-effacing and cunning.  It just tickled me that a single unassuming penny could be the cause of such upheaval and I enjoyed the repartee between the characters.  This book allowed us to see them a little further along in their relationship even as it shows many of the other factors in their respective lives.  My Amazon review for Lord's Fall is at this link.  All of the stories in the 'Elder Race' series have been extremely entertaining to me and it is my hope that there will be many more to delight this talented author's fans.  Ms Harrison deservedly won a RITA at the RWA in 2012 and I highly recommend both the novels and the interspersed novellas to paranormal fans who love romance and intrigue.  These books are ones for my keepers shelf, I only hope that the novellas will be released in a single volume one of these days since I am definitely an old-fashioned person who loves her books in print!

The novels:
     

The novellas:
     
I had the pleasure of reviewing many of these titles for Night Owl Reviews at this link and I was delighted to meet the awesomely talented author herself at RWA this past summer.

Devil's Gate

Devil’s Gate   

is the new novella by Thea Harrison which is set in her Elder World series.  I fell in love with the very first book of this series because I thought it was so appropriate that a covetous dragon should be obsessive about his hoard to the extent that he knew when a single penny had been removed.  I am in awe at this author’s ability to make mythological beings realistic and even more memorable yet retain that spark that makes them attractive as lovers and mates.  It is fascinating that she has shifted the view of a medusa from the horrific snake-haired villain to a female who became tipsy because her snake tresses were sneaking an alcoholic drink and she gives new meaning to the concept of having unmanageable ‘hair’.  The story itself was not as intense as some of the previous in the series but the descriptions are exquisite and I have a couple of new favorite quotes to add to my collection, one of which refers to the vampyre Duncan’s sense of control and the other that offers the perfect description of accepting someone for exactly who they are. (p 92  “I don’t want you to curb yourself, deny yourself, cover up your face or head or any part of your body.  I don’t want you to lose or gain weight, or watch what you say, or deny how you feel, or try to be anything but who you are, because who you are is the most beautiful person in the world to me’.)  and the other quote that also makes me sigh... (p. 31  “It said his exquisite gentleness was no accident.  It said he had to be intimately aware of the placement and position of her body to achieve such a delicate, butterfly touch.  It said he touched her because he wanted to touch her, and that he knew how to be gentle and tender, that he was confident and didn’t shy away from scrutiny, and that he could hold steady when he needed to.)  Yum...these are just a couple of examples of this author's beautiful imagery that permeate her wonderful stories!  (and thank you, Ms Harrison, for permission to post the quotes!)

 For best appreciation, one should start with the first book in the series, Dragon Bound or, if a short read is preferred, start with the first novella, True Colors and continue with my favorite in that mini-series Natural Evil (which I have re-read at least 5 times now!).  And yes, Mary, read them even though a couple of the covers are missing their faces--they are well worth the 'sacrifice', lol.

 My Amazon review is at this link (with the title 'Medusae with a Thea Harrison flair') under ELF2060.   I appreciate 'yes, this was helpful' votes if appropriate!

Elder Race Novellas:


    

Elder Race Novels:
     

Natural Evil

Natural Evil by Thea Harrison is her latest novella set in her fascinating world of Wyr shapeshifters.



I fell in love with this series with the first novel (Dragon Bound) that introduced Dragos Culebre.  He is an obsessive/compulsive dragon that knows when a PENNY has been altered in his extensive hoard.  He is the leader of one of the seven demesnes that his kind (one of the Elder Races) have populated.  The fascinating and long-lived shapeshifters (Wyr) that populate this world seem to have well-developed protective instincts that are exacerbated when they meet their mates and each subsequent book highlights their actions.  They coexist and occasionally have alliances with other beings such as vampires, djinns, oracles and faeries which leads to even more fodder for fantastical and enjoyable stories.  My Goodreads review for Dragon Bound is at this link

Those of you who are new to this series are in for a treat as there are four novels and two novellas to work your way through.  The most recent novella, Natural Evil, introduces a Peacekeeper who winds up desperately needing the assistance of a very competent yet emotionally weary retired soldier.  An astute reviewer noted that there is a pack of Tarot cards that helps tie this story in with the previous novella, True Colors, and indications are that the cards move as they desire and will choose the subject of the next novella.  The novellas give an excellent flavor of the world if one is trying to decide whether to invest in the novels but unfortunately are only available in e-format at the present time.  Hopefully the author will publish a print copy of several novellas once she has more of them written.  My Amazon review is at this link, as always, I appreciate "yes, this was helpful" votes for the review under ELF2060 if indeed you do like it.



I received a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review