Thursday, October 10, 2013

Open Flame by Lacy Danes Review & Giveaway!!!







Open Flame
Dragons Fate Book 2
Lacy Danes

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Date of Publication: September 24, 2013
Publisher: Samhain Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-61921-746-1
ASIN: B00CZ8MCHO

Number of pages: 118
Word Count: 32K
My Rating: 3.5/4


Book Description:

Between hate and lust lies heaven, hell… and smoldering love.

Like his brothers, Madoc is a dragon born by blood magic. Unlike them, he has only once bitten a human in a near-hopeless quest to find his eternal mate. Watching that woman die nearly destroyed him.

Now he works to invent a watch that will rewind time. When he attends the Spectacle of Time in Paris, though, he finds a woman who shakes the foundation of his world and crumbles his ferocious control.

Ever since the black-haired man with the red crescent on his cheek ruined her family, Fina has hated him. When she runs into him in Paris, she is determined to show him just how much. Instead, overwhelmed by the desire to both kill him and bed him, her body betrays her and she melts in his arms.

Sparks fly, and—when his teeth sink into her skin—she ignites. But she can’t run far and fast enough to avoid the burning truth. She is now part of Madoc’s dangerous world, body, soul, and fire.

Warning: This novel contains explicit sex, time-shifting, distance-hopping, a super-hot dragon, and a woman who can take the heat.



My take on the book:


Ok Ok, I have to admit I was conflicted about my review of this book.

On the one hand, I loved it. I loved the concept of Dragons, the fact that each dragon wields a particular magic of their own and the integration of vampires. But on the other hand, I was a tad disappointed with how the story unfolded. Book one of this series, Waterfall was permanently added to my fave book list not long ago when I read it, it was chalk full of steam and so much je ne sais quoi which I felt was missing a bit from Open Flame. It was a good read, a really good read. I loved the characters as much if not more than book one but and this is a really big but, I felt like this story and its characters might have done better if featured in a longer novella or full length novel. Now maybe I’m being partial due to my disappointment in the book’s ending (not the way it ended but well its ending read the pros and cons for a better explanation) but I’ll stand by my observation. I didn't feel there was enough of a story, everything felt rushed this time around and that was my confliction while reading this story.

Once again Lacy Danes was a genius with words and imagery so that was a major plus in my opinion so the story wasn't lacking there. The world was vivid, almost tangible. Ms. Danes has a unique way with setting a scene and I believe wholeheartedly that this book captured that.  I’d probably make more sense if I broke it all down for you guys.

The Great (Pros):


  • The Characters. I loved Madoc and I really liked Fina. She was just the right of spunk and woman. She made me mad and made me laugh at her utterly ridiculous monologue (this is of course meant it the best sense. Ms. Dane’s writing was superb so I’m not calling that ridiculous in the least.) She was strong which seemed like a great fit for Madoc. Madoc was just the perfect mesh of sexy dragon goodness and lost puppy.
  • The Prologue. This part of the story was simply and to the point. A perfect intro to the story and a great way to allow readers the opportunity to jump into the series even without reading book one. It allows the book to stand on its own giving the reader the option of picking up the first book if they so choose. I recommend reading both though ;)
  • Hudson. He deserves to stand on his own and not fall into the category of characters lol. He was so conflicted and his story tugs at your heart strings but his ability to put that behind him and still be such a great friend to Madoc makes you giddy and swoon. He truly is a great friend to Madoc and in turn Fina, not to mention he is pretty funny in his witty remarks.
  • The Magic. The magic of this world, the creation of Lacy Dane’s brilliant mind, has to be one of my favorite aspects of this story. She crafted the world ‘magically’ and it shows in the way she penned it.
  • Lacy Dane’s Writing Style. It makes you breathless. As I stated before the characters were well loved and amazingly constructed. The world, The Spectacle of Time, The distance hoping just leaves you yearning to read more.
  • Carmen. She was just so well written. While she doesn't appear in the book much, she kinda has a knack for stealing the spotlight when she entered on the page. I can’t delve to seep into this, for fear that I would give away some of the story.
  • The Epilogue. It literally leaves you hungry for more. It has so many redeeming qualities. You have a slight moment of fear but mainly it ends the book on a relatively happy note and you with a smile on your face.
  • Zir. I don’t know why but I just love that word. It’s different, weird even, but a perfect fit for a group of males who are indeed Dragons. Am I the only one wondering how she came up with that?

·    

The not so great (Cons):



  • The word elemental. I know this might sound silly but I have this pet peeve about repetition. The word in my opinion was used way too much in the first chapter. It was elemental this and elemental that and I couldn't stop the sigh of frustration that escaped me while reading it. Then it completely disappeared and I calmed only for it to return again and frustrate me once more.
  • Ilmir. He’s one of the brothers, his element air and I wanted to like him, I really did but I couldn't. At least not till the epilogue. I couldn't stomach his brash attitude or the way he was with Madoc. He was so cold and demeaning. It just irked me to no end.
  • The length. As I stated before, I felt this story would have done more with a little more meat. I felt like it was rushed. Not enough action. There were two baddies for Fina/Madoc to deal with other than the obvious resistance from Fina described in the book summary and neither of them were to my liking. I felt like one was rushed through and the other was added as an afterthought and dealt with poorly by the characters. This was probably my biggest deciding factor for my rating




3.5 Stars/Quills


All in all, I would recommend this book for many readers especially those who like books set in the past, those who love romance and those who love supernatural books. If you read ‘Destiny Kills’ or ‘Mercy Burns’ by Keri Arthur and loved it then this is definitely the book for you.





About the Author:

Lacy Danes made a New Year's resolution to write a hot, historical romance. A year and a half later, she achieved her goal. She lives in Portland OR, where besides writing she enjoys horseback riding, gardening and savoring a great martini while watching the world go by.

Visit Lacy online:






Enter The Giveaway for your chance to win



1 Author’s Favorite Things pack: Fun cocktail accessories and recipes Makeup from Lacy's favorite lines 60.00 Amazon gift card- open to US Shipping







“I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.”

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