The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe – a Review

Book Description:
For centuries they’ve lived in secret among northern England’s green and misted hills. Creatures of extraordinary beauty, power, and sensuality, they possess the ability to shape-shift from human to dragon and back again. Now their secret–and their survival–is threatened by a temptation that will break every boundary….

Dubbed the Smoke Thief, a daring jewel thief is confounding the London police. His wealthy victims claim the master burglar can walk through walls and vanish into thin air. But Christoff, the charismatic Marquess of Langford, knows the truth: the thief is no ordinary human but a “runner” who’s fled Darkfrith without permission. As Alpha leader of the dra´kon, it’s Kit’s duty to capture the fugitive before the secrets of the tribe are revealed to mortals. But not even Kit suspects that the Smoke Thief could be a woman.

Clarissa Rue Hawthorne knew her dangerous exploits would attract the attention of the dra´kon. But she didn’t expect Christoff himself to come to London, dangling the tribe’s most valuable jewel–the Langford Diamond–as bait. For as long as she could remember, Rue had lived the life of a halfling–half dra´kon, half mortal–and an outcast in both worlds. She’d always loved the handsome and willful Kit from the only place it was safe: from afar. But now she was no longer the shy, timid girl she’d once been. She was the first woman capable of making the Turn in four generations. So why did she still feel the same dizzying sense of vulnerability whenever he was near?

From the moment he saw her, Kit knew that the alluring and powerful beauty was every bit his Alpha equal and destined to be his bride. And by the harsh laws of the dra´kon, Rue knew that she was the property of the marquess. But they will risk banishment and worse for a chance at something greater. For now Rue is his prisoner, the diamond has disappeared, and she’s made the kind of dangerous proposition a man like Kit cannot resist….In this bewitching novel, Shana Abé transports us into a world of exhilarating romance and magic.

Review:
The Smoke Thief is the first novel in Shana Abe’s Drakon series.  The story starts in 1737, as we meet the members of the Drakon tribe, who are shape-shifters, with the ability to shapeshift from Human to Dragons. We learn early on, that 16 year old Christoff Langford,  is being groomed by his father, to become The Marquees. While sitting in a boring meeting with the members of the council, he watches the girls playing outside the window.  One girl catches his attention, as the other girls were teasing her.  The girl is Clarissa, who is looked down upon, since she her father was human, and is considered a Halfling.  Five years later, while at school, Kit learns that Clarissa drowned.

The story then moves to 9 years later, where Kit’s father is now dead, and Kit is now The Marquees of Langford.  Once again Kit is in a meeting with the council, as they discuss a problem about a jewel thief in London, who is fast becoming famous, as the Smoke Thief.  The council is concerned, as they lead secretive lives, not allowing others to know anything about them, and The Smoke Thief is a concern.  The gossip is that the thief disappears like smoke, and the council knows that many of the Drakon’s can shift into mist, besides shifting into Dragons.  They determine that the thief has to be one of their own runners (some who run away from the tribe and their laws to live on their own in the human world). 

Such a thief could only be a runner, a member of the tribe broke their laws and escaped their village of Darkfrith. To do so is punishable by death, and this particular runner’s high-profile thefts are endangering the safety of the entire tribe, whose survival depends on passing for human.  Kit leads some of his tribe members to go to London to trap the jewel thief.   They plan to use their own Langford Diamond to attract the thief to try and steal it.  However, the problem is that the Drakon’s rely on precious jewels like diamonds as their life force.  So they cannot afford to lose these stones, and they are taking a huge risk displaying the Langford Diamond.

Rue is the heroine in this story, and she is actually Clarissa, who faked her own death to escape the Drakons. Unbeknownst to the Drakon tribe, Rue is the only female in 4 generations who can make the Turn, and before anyone could find out, she ran away by faking her drowning. A female who can complete the turn, is expected to mate with the Alpha, and Rue did not want to wed someone who did not care about her.  Rue, has done well in London, and has become part of London’s high society.  But Rue in private is the jewel thief known as the Smoke Thief. 

Rue cannot resist a challenge, and though the Herte diamond is under heavy security, she decides to steal it. But before she can take the diamond, she as to abort and run before she is caught.  Kit sees the perpretrator running, and is astonished to see from afar that she is a woman, and can shift.  While he tries to catch her, someone else does steal the precious diamond.

Kit manages to find Rue, and surprises her at her home.  Bringing her back to Darkfrith, they make a deal.  She will help them recover their precious Herte diamond, and find the real thief, and in return, they will let her go free, otherwise she would have to return to Darkfrith and marry the Alpha, Kit, whom she has no intention of doing so.

As they set out on the journey, both Kit and Rue find themselves very much attracted to one another, though Kit already knows he wants Rue for himself.  There is a lot of action in trying to recover the diamond, and Kit becomes injured.  It is Rue who must save him, and during his feverish rants, she discovers that Kit has no intention of letting her go free.  Rue must fight her own demons, and members of the council to save Kit, as well as insure her own freedom. 

Shana Abe has created a wonderful world, with a super interesting race of Human/Mist/Dragons.  I loved watching Kit and Rue change into Dragons just to relax and have fun.  Abe has also created two wonderful characters in Kit and Rue, whom you cannot help but love, and you find yourself rooting for them all the way.  Zane is another good character, as the young friend Rue sort of adopts, and he helps her with her thefts. Kit is a leader, handsome and powerful, and Rue is his perfect mate, as she will match him with her strength and fearlessness.  The romance was done so well, and you can’t help fall in love with them.  Wonderful couple…great new series by Shana Abe.

Reviewed by Barb