Mini-Impressions: Storm's Heart (The Elder Races, #2) by Thea Harrison

During the rule of her murderous Dark Fae uncle, Thistle "Tricks" Periwinkle found sanctuary among the Wyr in New York. Her ethereal beauty and sparkling personality won the hearts of the public, but after her uncle's death, there are those who don't want to see her ascend the throne...

Able to wield thunder and lightning, Wyr sentinel Tiago Black Eagle has ruled the skies for centuries. His massive build and thunderous power make him one of the Wyr's best weapons. And he's the one sent to protect Tricks when she's almost assassinated in Chicago.

Soon, both Tiago and Tricks will fall prey to the stormy hunger that engulfs them- a passion that will shake the very foundation of all the worlds.

In Storm's Heat by Thea Harrison, the second book in The Elder Races paranormal series, Tricks is on her way to claim the Dark Fae's throne. On her way there, one of her cousins attempts to assassinate her and Tricks winds up alone in a motel room where Tiago finds her wounded and drunk out her mind. After a few disagreements and another assassination attempt, Tiago and Tricks begin the journey that will place them in danger and lead them to the Dark Fae's realm. As the heat builds up between the two, they'll fight an unknown enemy, uncertainty, and their own desire.

I liked Tricks in the first book and was really looking forward to her story. I loved the humor in Dragon Bound, and toward the beginning of Storm's Heat I found some of those same amusing moments. I mean Tricks has some great lines. However, to be frank it didn't take long for this character to become a bit of an annoyance. I found her to be a bit too "pouty," needy and superficial. Her "voice" got on my nerves after a very short period of time and that was not good news!

Tiago is a rather forceful alpha character. He was considered a god in the ancient times... but, unlike Dragos, Tiago is quite the softy and once he falls for Tricks (which is rather fast), all he wants to do is please her. He caves in pretty easily to her charm. The one thing he keeps intact is the overprotective bit... and of course, he is relentless once they mate. I liked Tiago, but didn't fall in love with his character.

My biggest problem with this story, however, would be the romance itself. I don't understand why Tiago and Tricks become attracted to each other all of a sudden after 200 years of having on and off contact with each other. What set it off? Why now? There's nothing in the story that explains this. There's no previous attraction or a hint that there was sexual tension or even an awareness between them throughout those years. Again it's the "mating" device that it's so often used in paranormal romance, but without anything to back up the "romance." Unlike the romance in Dragon Bound, I didn't buy this love that sprouted like mushrooms after a hard rainfall.

Overall I found this to be an average paranormal romance read. This particular installment in the series didn't stand out for me like that first book. When it comes to the next book in the series, I'm not sure that I will be reading it right off the bat either. I wasn't enamored of the vampire Carling, and although Rune seems like an interesting character, I think I'll wait and see.  Grade: C

Impressions: Dragon Bound (Elder Race, #1) by Thea Harrison

Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their Dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful–and passionate—of the Elder Races.

As the most feared and respected of the wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they’ve ignited in one another.

So yes, I picked up Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison and had tons of fun reading it last week. Fun! This was a fun, solid paranormal read. I loved the overly alpha dragon and the banter, plus it was hot and sexy.

In the beginning I didn't think the world building was anything to write home about, what with the Fae and Goblins, the older than old, bored-to-death dragon, the half-breed Wyr young woman who captures his attention, and the whole New York setting that reminded me a bit of Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter's world for about a second. However, quickly enough I began to really enjoy this world Thea Harrison created with its different Elder races, magic, humans and all the struggles that go along with those tricky relationships.

The best part of this fast-paced story for me was the dialogue between the two characters. The banter that developed between Dragos and Pia was excellent. Dragos was such a beast! He was portrayed as an over-the-top, uber alpha dragon who just didn't know how to filter what came out of his mouth. Pia was no better. She called it the "lunatic in her," and it made for some great dialogue between these two.

"Pia." He spoke like the words were ripped out of him. "Don't you dare leave me. I swear to God, I will follow you into hell if I have to and drag you back by the hair."

One corner of her mouth lifted. She put her hand over his on her cheek. She said, "You say the most god-awful things."

And he did. He really did say the most awful things throughout the book! As old as he was, the beast never learned the meaning of the words finesse or romance, and Dragos was "born along with the solar system" -- that's old. Twenty five year old Pia, whom Dragos refers to as "a baby, nothing but a moment, a heartbeat," teaches him a thing or two along the way. Talk about a May-December romance!

Dragon Bound turned out to be a great read for me with a few niggles here and there. There were a couple of open-ended threads and unexplained events within the story line, as well as one big thread to do with Pia's shifting that just kind of fizzled at the end. And although Pia held her own against Dragos, I thought she tended to be more submissive than strong. But none of these niggles were enough to spoil the fun for me. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters in this book, particularly Rune, Graydon and Tricks, so you know I'll definitely read the second book in the series, Storm's Heart.

Category: Paranormal Romance
Series: Elder Race, #1
Publisher/Released: Berkley/Penguin, May 3, 2011- Kindle Edition
Grade: B+

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