I was very excited to read Flashfire. It is the seventh book in the Dragonfire series, a series that I have wanted to try for a long time but somehow never got around to it. Big, bad dragons are quite interesting to me and I don’t think there are enough books with them as the featured characters. I ended up with very mixed feelings on this book. I am not sure if that was because I jumped in the middle of an established series or if it was just the book itself.
I got the impression that Lorenzo has not been a very popular character in the series. There are two sides to the dragon war, Pyr and Slayers, Pyr being the good guys and Slayers the bad guys. The Pyr are set up to protect humans and Earth and the Slayers are there to destroy it all. Lorenzo is the loner of the bunch often recruited by both sides but never choosing a direction to go. That is because he has a secret plan. He has been entrusted with the darkfire crystal and the flashfire song. The flashfire song is pivotal to Lorenzo because he is going to use it to unmake his Pyr heritage. He despises being a dragon and wants to end that part of his life. Being a master illusionist has given him the ability to set up a stunt where he will be buried in his car for a month and at that time he will use the flashfire song and no longer be Pyr. He will be able to walk free as a human.
Cassie came to Las Vegas for a vacation. She is tired of her paparazzi job and cannot stomach doing it anymore. Her friend convinces her to attend one of Lorenzo’s shows where she makes a connection with Lorenzo she cannot break free of. The connection is what Pyr call a firestorm. The firestorm is where each Pyr is introduced to their mate and it will continue to burn until the couple satisfies it by mating. Legend tells it that a couple satisfying the firestorm will also create a child. Lorenzo does not believe the legend and wants to end the firestorm as quickly as possible so he can focus on his upcoming stunt. Lorenzo and Cassie quickly hook up backstage and then he leaves her in the morning.
The majority of the book focuses on Lorenzo and his desire to not be Pyr. He finds changing into a dragon to be vile and disgusting. He hates the claws, the blood, the rending and tearing. Because I am not familiar with the series I was a little lost at the beginning. The flashfire song and darkfire crystal where not explained very well so I went for about 200+ pages not really understanding what the purpose of either was. It wasn’t until the end when the flashfire song was used that I actually understood its purpose. I cannot say if that was because I stepped into the series at book seven or it was just this book but I did feel like I could have used more info on both items which seemed to be very important to the overall plot.
The world also has many characters. Had I been more familiar with them it wouldn’t have been such a struggle however when Erik, the leader of the Pyr, is brought into the plot I had no backstory on him. I was not sure if his partner is the same type of mate Cassie was for Lorenzo or if he has a separate arc going on. There are also several other characters that drop in. I understood that Chen is the big baddie but some of the Slayers that Lorenzo meets with don’t seem to be as bad as Chen. They are actively recruiting him therefore causing him no harm. This made the waters murky for me and I was unable to determine who was really bad and who was really good. One character that was very vague and thus very intriguing was Marco. I am sure he will get a story soon and he seems to be a very powerful Pyr. He made me pretty curious.
The plot of the story was pretty compelling. Like I mentioned, I am very hung up on dragons. Scenes where good and bad dragons battle are just soaked up by me. There were several battle scenes that were really good. Something about big, powerful dragons fighting just gets to me. Once again, I was hampered by not knowing the backstory but Lorenzo is clearing not liked among his brethren. Erik seems to be the only one willing to help him. Just from reading this book I could understand why. Lorenzo’s main focus is how to not be Pyr. He is rude and surly to pretty much everyone. Cassie turns up pregnant after their first mating during the firestorm and he continues his plans to use the flashfire song. He lets Cassie take pictures of him turning into a dragon so she can use the money as an insurance policy. He truly believes he will make a lousy father and wants no part of it. For about three-fourths of the book he was just stubborn, intractable and not very likable to read about.
The relationship between Lorenzo and Cassie was what really didn’t work for me. He spends most of the book denying anything to do with the firestorm and the history of mates becoming pregnant after the first mating. And then oops, Cassie is pregnant. At first he decides to continue with his current plan and then he has an abrupt about face. Suddenly he just knows he loves her. But what is love to Lorenzo?
She surveyed the interior of the car, but other than the dragon battle wear and tear, it looked perfectly normal. “Is there something special about this car?”
He gave her one of those sidelong glances. “Everything I covet is special,” he said in a low voice, one probably intended to make her shiver with desire.
Wait, what? Did he really just compare her place in his life with his car’s place in his life? They are both “special” to him because he covets them like pieces of property? Yikes. The about-face in his feelings and the way he shows his love to Cassie were just not believable. I never felt a major connection, beyond sex, between the two of them. There was no gradual development only a suddenness that left me wanting.
So my overall feelings on the book ended up confused. The world and story- B+ The main characters- D+. I think that would make a mixed grade of somewhere in the C area. I am still interested in the series because I believe that reading about a Pyr that truly wants to be a Pyr will make the story more complete. Can anyone else who has read other books in the series tell me how they felt about them? Final grade- C.
Favorite quote:
Lorenzo was suddenly beside Cassie, his hand cupping her elbow with a protectiveness that made her heart flutter. “Unbelievable that you could trip in those boots,” he said in an undertone. She could hear the laughter underlying his words.
Cassie pulled her arm from his grip easily. “There’s nothing wrong with my boots.”
He rolled his eyes. Apparently his dangerous mood had passed. “Except that they’re ugly.”
“They’re practical.”
“For what?” Lorenzo glanced pointedly around the lobby. “I see very few broncos in need of breaking.”
Rating: C
Flashfire by Deborah Cooke
January 3rd 2012 by Signet
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About Jen
Lol, I really think you should read this series from the beginning. It was intended as a trilogy at first I believe, and then got a life of its own, changing the overall story arc. I am one or two books behind, and so far, no mention of the Darkfire Crystal comes to mind.
I do hope you will try again, as I really did like those first books. And if you love dragons so much, you might enjoy it.
I thought that might be the case. I felt lost and probably if I go back and start from the beginning it might be a little clearer.
I’ve never been into dragons. Still think I will pass, lol. Nice review Jen.
Thanks! I think I just really like Mick from Jennifer Ashley’s Shadowalker series. That is one fine dragon there.
I read an excerpt and thought he was a sexist ass
I wouldn’t disagree with that!
I really like this series and think it should be read in order. Your missing out on the better books and characters of the series. I wasn’t really a fan of Lorenzo’s either.
It is good to know there are better characters. But I kind of figured there were. It wasn’t good to start with the one book about a guy who hated being a dragon!