4 stars-- Kiss of Fire (Dragonfire #1) by Deborah Cooke

For millennia, the shape-shifting dragon warriors known as the Pyr have commanded the four elements and guarded the earth's treasures. But now the final reckoning between the Pyr, who count humans among the earth's treasures, and the Slayers, who would eradicate both humans and the Pyr who protect them, is about to begin...

When 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. So 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 fates...

Type: Paranormal Romance, Shifters (Dragons)
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5

A couple months back I asked for dragon shifter recommendations after finishing G.A.Aiken and Katie MacAlister's dragon series. Turns out I have a thing for dragons. Who knew?! That landed me with Deborah Cooke and the Dragonfire novels. I really liked it too. The first few chapters were a little hard to process. A lot of characters are thrown into the mix right at the start and not in an easy way. The hardest part for me were the fight scenes early on where there were so many dragons on the good guy (Pyr) and bad guy (Slayers) sides. Cooke used dragon colors to distinguish between all the different dragons and it made my head spin since every dragon had a different coloring. I decided to just go with it and read through those parts and not worry too much about matching dragons up with sides. After that it was much easier to get into the story. I liked the twist on dragons that they were earths protectors and gifted with the four elements (fire, earth, wind, water). That the Pyr were protectors of earth's treasures including humans while the Slayers were rogue dragons out to eliminate both the Pyr and humans.

Quinn Tyrrell and Sara Keegan were a sweet couple. They were easy together which was a nice change from so many series where the couple is always bickering or butting heads. Right from the start they fell into an easy banter and I couldn't help but smile along with them. It really felt like they had known each other for quite some time instead of just a handful of days. Even when they argued it was kind of sweet in an odd sort of way. They just felt right together which was a good thing since they were destined mates. I liked how Sara and her newly discovered seer abilities were used to help Quinn come to terms with his past and help lead him towards trusting the right people/dragons. I thought it was a nice start to the series and enjoyed the plot of Sara and Quinn coming together to fulfill a prophecy and saving the Pyr. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the next book in the series and getting to know some of the secondary characters a bit better.

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