Kiss of Fire by Deborah Cooke

Back Blurb for Kiss of Fire-

When ace accountant Sara Keegan decides to settle down and run her quirky aunt's New Age bookstore, she’s not looking for adventure. She doesn’t believe in fate or the magic of the tarot—but when she’s saved from a vicious attack by a man who has the ability to turn into a fire-breathing dragon, she questions whether she’s losing her mind—or about to lose her heart…

Quinn Tyrrell has long been distrustful of his fellow Pyr and a self-reliant loner. When he feels the firestorm that signals his destined mate, he's determined to protect and possess Sara, regardless of the cost to himself. Then Sara’s true destiny is revealed—and Quinn realizes he must risk everything—even Sara’s love—to fulfill their entwined destinies...


I'm not 100% sure how I came across Ms. Cooke. I think I was browsing on amazon or something. Anyway, I came across this book and after reading the back blurb, plus her info on her site, I thought I'd buy it. I'm really, really glad I did.

Kiss of Fire is different. Yes, it's about shapeshifters, which is an extremely popular topic in paranormal romances, but these are DRAGONS (can you tell I love dragons? LOL)!

Quinn is the Smith. He alone is immune to dragon fire. Where it would kill his fellow Pyr, dragon fire gives him strength. His past haunts him (of course), so he has cut himself off from his fellow Pyr and stays secluded with his forge and his metal.

Sara is a former accountant who gave up a lucrative career to move to a smaller town, take over her aunt's mystic bookstore and take life at a slower pace. From the very start of the book, her life is in danger.

What did I like about this book? Quinn. Quinn is HAWT and the cover is hawt too. Though he tends to be a dominant man, he's not inclined to rule over Sara with an iron fist. He's an Alpha, but he's not an idiot. He's strong and caring and a good Alpha-type male.

Sara is a good heroine as well. She's smart, intuitive and isn't afraid to stand up to him when she thinks he's being an ass. She's the one who figures things out and she's strong, maybe not physically, but emotionally and spiritually. She's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in.

The other thing that's nice the way Ms. Cooke figures out their mating. She explains that the heat between the H & H is called a firestorm. The H & H are destined mates, but it's only while the firestorm lasts. The firestorm will end when the heroine becomes pregnant. Once that's happened, if the two of them have formed a deeper emotional connection, then they become lovers in all sense of the word. That's much better than the mates who are stuck together for life because of their mating bond. The firestorm is there specifically for breeding purposes. :)

I also liked the villains. There's a good reason behind them. They're basically rogue dragons who are trying to get rid of the Pyr so that they have free rein on humans (yum, dinner!). There's no evil consortium or loony humans trying to kill them...at least not yet.

She creates a world that makes sense & I appreciate that. You can tell she really thought it over long & hard.


What did I not like? After Quinn & Sara's firestorm ends, Ms. Cooke hints at something, but never 100% clarifies it. Is he or isn't he? You'll know what I mean when you read it.

Sara's inability to believe, though things are proven quite quickly. She waffles & that's really, really annoying, considering how often her intelligence is brought up. If she's so smart, why is it that something that is proven without a reasonable doubt still causes her to doubt? That didn't make sense.

I don't like destinies. Fate, prophesies, etc. To me, this is lazy writing. It's a cheap way of creating a reason for your H & H to get together. Did it make sense to the story? Yes, but it's a very, very old plot twist that just gets old after awhile.

Erik. He was growing on me a bit by the end of the book, but he's not my favorite. I know a book is planned for him, but I'm not sure how I feel about him getting his own story. I'm hoping his love is a tough chick who literally brings him to his knees.

And how do you pronounce Pyr? Is it PYRE (long i sound) or something else? I hate words that aren't easily pronounced. Grr. :(

My rating: B- I look forward to reading the next in the series (Donovan's Story!).


You can visit Ms. Cooke here