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:
     

Oracle's Moon

My review isn't live yet on Night Owl but I really enjoyed Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison.  The puzzlement when the powerful Djinn Khalil interacts with the Oracle Grace (introduced in the previous tale, Serpent's Kiss) and the hilarious results of his encounters with her orphaned niece give the story excellent light spots.  A different perspective is given for the prickly Oracle herself as the reader and the arrogant Djinn get to see more of her life.

The following is from my Night Owl Review, the link will be added for the complete post once it is live but this should whet your appetite for now (-:


"A fantastic and enthralling addition to the series.  Harrison continues to weave her magical spell that combines realistic occurrences and pragmatic concerns with mystical beings who learn that there are compromises that still need to be made even if one is an immortal being with unimaginable powers.  The snarky repartee and enchanting confusion generated by an immortal and immensely powerful entity being faced with childish logic make this another entertaining read that will provide a whirlwind ride through a world peopled by vampyres, griffons, djinn and the like.  Make sure you don’t start this unless you don’t have anywhere to go or anything else to do because it will grab your attention and keep you hostage until the end comes all too soon.  Another very enjoyable read."

Thank you to Netgalley for making it available to read...alas for too short a time!
I received a free copy (temporarily) of this title in return for an honest review.