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The Dream Thief (Drakon #2)

by Shana Abe (Goodreads Author)

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 · rating details · 2,011 ratings · 185 reviews

In the remote hills of northern England lives a powerful clan with a centuries-old secret. They are the drákon, shape-shifters who possess the ability to Turn—changing from human to smoke to dragon. And from the very stones of the earth, they hear hypnotic songs of beauty and wonder. But there is one stone they fear....

Buried deep within the bowels of the Carpathian Mounta...more

Paperback, 335 pages

Published August 28th 2007 by Bantam (first published September 26th 2006)

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Dec 09, 2010 Terri rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was a HORRIBLE book.

The premise of the book sounds good: an ancient race of dragon-people, living in secret, and gemstones sing to them. There is a legend of one stone that is powerful enough to control all of the drakon. Drakon-girl goes out to find it, falls in love with a human (forbidden). My problem with this book was the detailed sexual content. The heroine (and I use this term loosely) has detailed sex dreams about the hero (again, loosely). The hero’s also gives the reader a detaile...more This was a HORRIBLE book.

The premise of the book sounds good: an ancient race of dragon-people, living in secret, and gemstones sing to them. There is a legend of one stone that is powerful enough to control all of the drakon. Drakon-girl goes out to find it, falls in love with a human (forbidden). My problem with this book was the detailed sexual content. The heroine (and I use this term loosely) has detailed sex dreams about the hero (again, loosely). The hero’s also gives the reader a detailed description of his own sexual fantasies regarding the heroine. Once they do begin having sex, the author spends pages and pages describing it in pornographic detail. One would have to skip half the book to avoid this, as the author can’t seem to get away from the idea of them sleeping together. On top of that, the characters don’t even seem to like each other. They make each other miserable throughout the book until the very end, when all of a sudden, they’re in this sweet, loving, functional relationship and you, the unfortunate reader, are left saying, “… are these even the same people???” One of the worst aspects, too, was the author’s perspective on love. The heroine at one point states that “being in love is the absolute worst feeling in the world.” Really?! I realize that love isn’t always sunshine and roses, but being in love, real love, especially at the beginning of a relationship like these characters are, is a glorious feeling. The abrupt transition from loathing and lusting after one another to sweet and caring is not only confusing, but plain unbelievable. I, as a reader, don’t really think they’re going to end up happy. I think they’re going to be the kind of couple that one of them poisons the other twenty years from now. They were both horrible people, that I didn’t like at all. And I REALLY didn’t want to know about their sex life. REALLY REALLY didn’t want to know.

This book gets 1.5 stars. I liked the concept of the plot, but the execution was awful. I sincerely hope that the author’s love life has not been like the characters in this book, because she cannot be happy if so.

(less)

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Apr 12, 2012 HÜLYA rated it 5 of 5 stars

Rüya Hırsızi Shane Abe kenara uzun zaman önce koyup unuttugum kitaplardan.Ingiltere'den Romanya'ya Karpat Daglarina kadar uzanan Historical Fantastik bir hikaye ilk roman Duman Hirsizindan daha cok begendim. Bu daha soft bir ejderha hikayesi. Shane Abe'nin büyülü kalemi ile hala daha tanısmadıysaniz cok sey kacıriyorsunuz bence. Seriye
Duman Hirsizi ve Rüya Hirsizi kitaplari ile başlayabilirsiniz.

Rüya Hırsızi serinin ikinci kitabi. Ilk
kitapta Rüya Hirsizindaki Amelia Longford'un anne ve babasi Ru...more

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Oct 11, 2011 CaroB rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Once again I find myself in awe of Ms Abé's ability to weave words into a story tapestry. Beautifully written prose, a plot that made me think, and characters that puzzled, charmed and sometimes frustrated me but remained firmly in my head even when I put the book down.

These characters are so unlike Rue and Kit from The Smoke Thief, that I'll admit to wondering at first how they could possibly compare in my esteem. Though a continuing story, the world created here was different from the previou...more

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Oct 01, 2011 Michele (Reading Lark/CanadianTwiMom) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Michele (Reading Lark/CanadianTwiMom) by: Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms)

Shelves: adult, general-fantasy, own-it, dragon-lore, hardcover

Intrigue, adventure and romance await when you open up Shana Abe's second installment in the Drakon series.

The Dream Thief picks up a few years after the events of The Smoke Thief. Rue and Kit went on to lead their tribe in Darkfrith and have a family of their own. This sequel surrounds Kit and Rue's youngest and seemingly unremarkable daughter, Amalia (or Lia for short), and Zane, Rue's 'street urchin' whom she took in when she found him as a child dying on the streets of London.

Zane is now an...more

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Jan 24, 2009 Sherry rated it 5 of 5 stars

I don't follow series as a rule--but I do follow Shana Abe's Drakon series. It is rare that a writer combines both mesmerizing story telling with mesmerizing prose. Shana Abe does exactly that in her Drakon books, combining beautiful, precise, yet sweeping world-building with intimate, passionate love stories between equals. I can't get enough of those dragon shapeshifters.

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Jun 08, 2012 Jerianne rated it 1 of 5 stars

What started as a promising read turning into a story with great potential, reading like a young adult romance novel and written for adults, complete with adult elements. After the first few pages, I was wondering why this had not been shelved in the young adult fiction, as the style seemed to better fit that genre. The main character was 14 when the book began, and 19 when the main action of the plot began. Young adult fiction, right?

Then I reached some, shall we say, romantic parts that were...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2007, reviewed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Earlier this year a friend of mine dragged me aside, thrust a copy of The Smoke Thief into my hands, and told me to read it or die. So I did, and it was good. Clever, not your typical romance novel, and not your typical fantasy-oriented romance novel (which is the hot new trend these days. Vampires and Dragons and Werewolves, oh my!) In it, a young girl had run away from her secret clan of human-to-dragon shapeshifters (the Drakon) and was plundering her way through London’s jewel chests. Obviou...more Earlier this year a friend of mine dragged me aside, thrust a copy of The Smoke Thief into my hands, and told me to read it or die. So I did, and it was good. Clever, not your typical romance novel, and not your typical fantasy-oriented romance novel (which is the hot new trend these days. Vampires and Dragons and Werewolves, oh my!) In it, a young girl had run away from her secret clan of human-to-dragon shapeshifters (the Drakon) and was plundering her way through London’s jewel chests. Obviously, this broke a ton of rules and the clan Lord or ‘Alpha’ sets off to find her. It was pretty nifty. The heroine, Rue, was spunky and relatable. The action sequences in London were nifty. The only thing that really bothered me was the way Rue settled down so easily at the end. You’ve been saved by your Lord and Master, honey. Your adventuring is done. But it was, in the grand scheme of things, a minor irritation and I let it go. (Although the more I dwell on it, the more it bothers me, to be honest.)

I was browsing the new releases at the library this week when I discovered Abe’s sequel, The Dream Thief. I excitedly snatched it up, ran home, and ripped through it. …it was okay, but I’m not in love. I’m not really sure I’m in like.

The Dream Thief features Rue’s youngest daughter Lia, the only one of her siblings who cannot shift to dragon form. Lia has gifts of her own though, and they lead her and Zane (Rue’s scrappy little urchin sidekick, all grown up,) on a dangerous journey through the Carpathiens. The quest is to recover the Draumr, a mystical diamond that can be used to control the Drakon. The Draumr ’sings’ to Lia, demanding her attention, causing her to be come increasingly singleminded as she nears it. Lia also sees visions of the future that seem to indicate that Zane will use the power of the Draumr against her and her family, to no good end.

First off, I don’t find Lia all that a compelling a character. Sure, she runs off from finishing school to go adventuring with Zane, but does it strike her that maybe she doesn’t have to, heck, she shouldn’t follow along with what her dreams foretold? At points it becomes quite clear that they aren’t 100% accurate and that the future can be changed, but she seems resigned to making them come true regardless. She’s also a little too timid, and too thoroughly engrossed in her love for Zane to really come across as anything but a lovesick kid. I had hoped for her to have a little more of her mother’s spunk and flair, but it never really emerges.

Zane surprised me, too. Not that scrappy little urchins don’t often grow up to be articulate, reasonably successful adults in sequels (often retaining their original line of work,) but he grows up to be surprisingly multisyllabic and, dare I say it? Suave. Except when he’s agonizing over how he’s not good enough for Lia and how her family won’t accept him — at which point I wanted to smack him upside the head. Also, the parts where he was fantasizing about being able to have Lia and control of the Drakon by virtue of having the Draumr were a little creepy. Romantic Heroes are generally not so much about wanting to have total control over their brides and their families. When they are, they’re usually called Villains.

The one thing that struck me over and over reading the novel was how much the journey reminded me of the myriad incarnations of Dracula and other vampiric stories that I’ve seen and read, going through the little towns, dealing with the superstitious countrymen, that sort of thing. The key difference here was instead of Vampires, we had Dragons.

The last lines of the book certainly leaves the series open for a third novel. I will probably read it when it comes out. The Dream Thief isn’t a bad book. It’s decently plotted, thought out, and eminently readable. But if the previous novel was more like a fantasy-adventure novel with a romance sub-plot thrown in, this read more like a romance with a fantasy-adventure subplot thrown in. I would have preferred to read about the further adventures of Rue, and I think this book would have been better suited for her.(less)

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Dec 30, 2010 Karissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is book two in the Drakon Series by Shana Abe' that started with "The Smoke Thief". I actually liked this book quite a bit better than the first one. It helped that I knew to expect a story that was more of a romance than a fantasy.

This book follow's Rue's daughter, Lia, and Rue's ex-assistant thief, Zane. In this book Rue hires Zane to go and retrieve the Draumr, a dangerous diamond that can control drakon. Little does Rue know her daughter Lia has been hearing Draumr's song her whole life...more This is book two in the Drakon Series by Shana Abe' that started with "The Smoke Thief". I actually liked this book quite a bit better than the first one. It helped that I knew to expect a story that was more of a romance than a fantasy.

This book follow's Rue's daughter, Lia, and Rue's ex-assistant thief, Zane. In this book Rue hires Zane to go and retrieve the Draumr, a dangerous diamond that can control drakon. Little does Rue know her daughter Lia has been hearing Draumr's song her whole life and has also been dreaming of Zane. Shortly after taking off on his quest Zane is joined by Lia who has abandoned her boarding school in her own search for the diamond. They are uneasy partners through the wilderness and two questions must be answered; will they find the diamond and when they do what will Zane do with it?

I liked this book much better than the first one. Zane is a much more like-able lead man; he has that "I am tough" thing going on with a good dash of vulnerability. He is not so overly alpha like a lot of the romance leads are. Lia is also an interesting character; she has interesting magical abilities and a toughness that comes and goes.

This book is more of an adventure, a quest, than "The Smoke Thief" was. There is less intrigue and more drudging through the wilderness; which I actually enjoyed. The intrigue is still there, the romance is definitely still there. Overall this is a fantasy romance. The characters spend of a lot of time thinking about each other and dreaming about one another. There is some explicit sex, but it is tastefully done.

Overall this was a sweet story and a pleasant read. I thought both the plot and the characters were more enjoyable than the last book. If there is one thing Abe' does well it is sensual writing. Everything in her books is sensual from the description of a room, to the description of a fight, to the sensual love scenes. Everything is saturated in silky golden colors, or dripping in diamonds, the wind caresses, and Lia's hair tumbles in gentle waves of gold. Abe's writing is a bit over the top in sensuality but it is still a pleasure to read. It's a bit like a cupcake with heaping loads of frosting, sprinkles, sugar, and a cherry on top. It is something I read once in a while and enjoy but I don't think I would like to read it all the time. Abe' is very creative in her descriptions and really makes the surroundings in her stories come alive to all of your senses.

I liked that this was more of a fantasy than the first book. So far it looks like there are two more books coming up for this series "The Dragon Queen" and "Treasure Keeper". I will probably read them both...eventually. (less)

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Sep 29, 2010 Catherine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: uf-pnr

I have loved Zane from the first book even though he was only a child at the time, so when I realised that he would be the hero – all grown up – in The Dream Thief, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. He is without doubt a better hero than Kit and I think Abe did a great job at transforming the child Zane from the first book into the grown up Zane in this one.

There is something very magical and fairytale-like about this story and everything it encompasses, but it’s definitely not filled with...more

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Apr 26, 2009 Maureen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Wow. Loved it. And I'm not easy to please.

I don't usually read much fantasy. I'm more of a sci-fi girl myself. I don't like vampires and werewolves, angels and demons --- but I don't mind a little magic and dragons (probably because I can imagine the magic as yet-to-be understood science and the dragons as a lost species or alien creatures, you see. grin) I am so glad I picked up this book.

But not just because of the dragons. It's because Shana Abé is a fantastic writer. She has illustrated to m...more Wow. Loved it. And I'm not easy to please.

I don't usually read much fantasy. I'm more of a sci-fi girl myself. I don't like vampires and werewolves, angels and demons --- but I don't mind a little magic and dragons (probably because I can imagine the magic as yet-to-be understood science and the dragons as a lost species or alien creatures, you see. grin) I am so glad I picked up this book.

But not just because of the dragons. It's because Shana Abé is a fantastic writer. She has illustrated to me what it is that makes a good book. It's not really about the dragons or the sci-fi or whatever other setting a book has. It's not about the romance or the alpha male or damsel in distress. It's not about the setting or the plot or the conflict (though make no mistake - that stuff helps a lot!). What Shana Abé showed me is that a good book is all about the character interaction.

The interaction between the characters while they go about the business of the book must be first and foremost humanly believable. Their actions and dialogue must be true to who the character is and must not be forced or artificial. The characters must be built and maintained. Too often when reading a romance novel, I feel like a lawyer who stands up in the courtroom and says "Objection! Foundation!" or I'm left scratching my head, thinking "Where did that come from?" Unfortunately, I fear far too many romance novels fall into that trap. Shana Abé most definitely does not.

Additionally, she has done the "is he a good guy or a bad guy" paradigm about the best I've seen it. I truly believed it could go either way right up until the end. And that's because she stayed true to who the character was. Everything Zane said and did was believable. Lia was also a great female lead. She was vulnerable and afraid without being a simpering ninny. She was strong and in charge when needed without being overbearing or nonsensical. She did what she had to do despite her desires and fears... a lot like many good, strong women I know in real life.

Good job, Shana. I haven't read any of your other books, but you can bet I'm going out today to get them!(less)

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Jan 26, 2011 Vanessa theJeepDiva rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, fantasy, historical, romance, shifter

Book 2 in the Drakon series picks up a few years after the first books conclusion. Clarissa Rue and Christoff (Kit) have had five children. The youngest child is Amalia (Lia); she is the main female character of this book. Her one Drakon gift is dreaming the future. This gift presents itself to her at a young age, so at the beginning of the book she is still a child. She is a child having dreams that let her know Zane is in her future as far as she can see.
Zane, the young street urchin that R...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Mel P rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

I was a little disappointed. I was so keen on reading this that I sneaked it ahead on my to-read list and I have to admit I was disappointed. I guess this is what happens when you hype up a book in your own mind. I loved that Lia had all these magical gifts that she kept hidden from her family and that she was balancing two futures in her hands - dark and light. She had this heavy burden thrust upon her but she never complained about it, she was just resolved to do something about it. Which I en...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Leah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-stars, by-george-thats-awesome, come-here-baby-so-i-can-lick-you, damn-that-cover-is-smokin, cherry-poppin, historical-harem, king-of-the-harem, queen-of-the-harem, scars-and-tats-and-piercings-oh-my, author-shana-abe, series-drakon, its-all-in-the-accent, bad-boy-take-me-away

I love this series. I've never been much for dragon shifters, but after reading this series, I think I have to reevaluate. True, Zane isn't a drákon, but Lia was and I think I have a little bit of a girlie crush on her.

I've loved Zane since the first book of the series, The Smoke Thief, and was really looking forward to reading and learning more about him in The Dream Thief. And TDT did not let me down. I adore him even more now. He is sarcastic, uncouth, and vicious, with seemingly no morals, b...more

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Jun 23, 2009 Eastofoz rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Readers who enjoy a good romance in a fairytale setting

Shelves: historical-regency, paranormal

Beautifully written just like “The Smoke Thief”, this book just sings and lulls you into a fairytale world. Everything is so vivid and bright making even the most banal things sparkle. Abé just keeps you turning the pages to see what will happen next all the while slowly building the sexual tension between Zane and Lia.

Zane is a fantastic hero. He’s so jaded. The dry humor and “digs” in this book are top notch. Lia turns out to be a lot stronger than I thought she would be too. The two of them...more

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Jun 05, 2011 Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms) by: The first book, Smoke Thief!

Shelves: could-not-put-it-down-books, favorite-series

Wow! I read this in two sittings - long ones though! I love this author's writing and so glad I discovered her and this series. Romance, humor, adventure, fantasy, and wonderful characters all woven together with beautiful descriptions of people and places. Although I understood the legend of the drakon through reading the first book, The Smoke Thief, I did find it confusing at first. The two page prologue in The Dream Thief is shorter, and I wish i had read it before starting the first book. It...more Wow! I read this in two sittings - long ones though! I love this author's writing and so glad I discovered her and this series. Romance, humor, adventure, fantasy, and wonderful characters all woven together with beautiful descriptions of people and places. Although I understood the legend of the drakon through reading the first book, The Smoke Thief, I did find it confusing at first. The two page prologue in The Dream Thief is shorter, and I wish i had read it before starting the first book. It's an incredible legend going back many many generations to a time of beautiful dragons who were drawn to gems and heard their songs. These dragons ruled all in their domain. Over the centuries the Others (mankind) hunted them and discovered their secrets, but the drakon also discovered the secrets of man. They became shape-shifters and learned to deal with their environment, but never forgot that they are not human and have a loyalty to the tribe to keep their secrets.

This second book in the series is the story of Zane who we met in the first book as the street urchin whose life was saved by Rue, the smoke thief. Now Zane has grown up and I loved the wonderful man he has become. Shaped by his childhood and relationship with the drakon as the only human they trust, he is tough, hard as nails, competent, ruthless, but capable of great loyalty and in the end.....well, no spoilers. Then we have Lia, daughter of Kit and Rue, the tribe alphas, from the first book. Lia is a princess of the drakon but apparently with no gift or powers like her older sisters. Zane is sent on a dangerous quest by Kit and Rue and that quest is the story within this book. Innocent little Lia should have had no part in this quest, but Lia is not all that she seems to be which Zane finds out along the way. There is intrigue and danger and of course a beautifully written romance as the story unfolds.

I think I liked The Smoke Thief just a little bit better than this one, perhaps because there was more of the amazing descriptions of disappearing from human form into smoke and then, at times, into a dragon. Those segments of The Smoke Thief are so beautifully done and magical, and not as much a part of this story. But having just finished this book, it is a five star for me and I am awaiting the third book!(less)

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Feb 24, 2012 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars

Another series flames out. I liked "the Smoke Thief" quite a bit. It had interesting characters, a lively plot and a fun take on dragons and the people who can turn into them. "The Dream Thief" has Lia, the youngest daughter of Rue, the smoke thief. Lia can hear the future and is destined to find the mystical diamond of her people in the Carpathian mountains. Lia is also in love with Zane, a man she's known since childhood which makes their eventual sexual relationship more than a little icky.

Th...more

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Aug 26, 2011 Jeanine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazing! This series just keeps getting better! So far, Zane and Lia (the main characters in the Dream Thief) are my absolute favorite! They go on one hell of an adventure together searching for a Drakon diamond that has called to Lia ever since she was a young girl.
Zane is the love her entire life, literally. She's dreamt of him for as long as she's heard the diamond. The only problem is Zane is a notorious thief and the diamond they seek will give any human who holds it the power to control t...more

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Jun 15, 2010 Diana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, romance, shapeshifters, historical-romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 25, 2013 Rebecca ♥ Ash, Jem, Warner ♥ rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of historical romance high fantasy romance

Shelves: adult, fantasy, historical-fiction, romance, shapeshifters, provincial-library, adventure, reviewed

Another 4.5/5 for Drakon, and very nearly 5/5. This is such an amazing series. Such a great concept, crossing historical romance with dragons. And I love the men in it so far! I loved Zane even more than Kit, but they were both so naughty but still dignified. Zane isnt even Drakon but there was still something about him that was just magnificent. I am slightly in awe of him. I really cant blame Lia for being in love with him most of her life. For making a move on a man in his mid-thirties when s...more Another 4.5/5 for Drakon, and very nearly 5/5. This is such an amazing series. Such a great concept, crossing historical romance with dragons. And I love the men in it so far! I loved Zane even more than Kit, but they were both so naughty but still dignified. Zane isnt even Drakon but there was still something about him that was just magnificent. I am slightly in awe of him. I really cant blame Lia for being in love with him most of her life. For making a move on a man in his mid-thirties when she was only 14. I am sure she couldnt have helped herself. But the way she was dedicated to him was inspiring. She knew him her whole life, being a friend of her mother, and she knew what he was. A criminal, a thief, a liar. But she loved him. She knew his future (or a possible future), and the terrible things he was capable of, yet still she loved him.

The story in this was much grander than The Smoke Thief, which was about a jewel theft in London. In The Dream Thief, Lia and Zane go to Hungary to track down a legendary diamond that can control the Drakon. There is much at stake. There are powerful new enemies, and powerful new allies, and you dont always know which is which. There is sacrifice and love, and a possible dark future. The sense of desperation between Lia and Zane, caused by her dreams, was nearly intoxicating. The scene where they made love just after Zane had found out the power of the diamond, was heartbreaking and beautiful. The more I write about this book, the more I wonder why I didnt give it 5/5. The writing is breathtaking, its beautiful and hypnotizing. I added 12 quotes from the book to Goodreads. Nearly every word is worth remembering and making note of. Its like a song.

I cant stop thinking about this series, and I have to order Queen of Dragons from my library right away. It is about a character we met in this book. She was only 11, but Zane was only 13 in The Smoke Thief, so I'm sure several years will have passed. I am extremely excited to hear her story. The rest of the series has lower ratings than the first 2 books, but I hope I will love it anyway.(less)

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Nov 27, 2012 Tania rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1-historical, 2-dbt, dragons, theif, genre-fantasy, aristocracy, 3-mf, pre-destined, journey-travel, genre-paranormal-romance, treasure

Slowly easing my way back into review writing (again) so here's a few thoughts until I can write a proper review.

This book added a lot of depth to the world created in the first book. I loved the complexity of the relationship between Lia and Zane. Lia's character was really well developed and gave the author a chance to play with how a young girl would grow up and react to certain events if she KNOWS that she will be lovers with Zane in the future. It actually reminded me of what Amy revealed i...more

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Nov 12, 2009 Fani rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-historical, romance-pnr, best-of-2009, keepers-romance, 2009-purchase, favorite-hero, hero-is-bad-boy, on-the-road, hero-is-a-rake, emotional, hero-is-cold-or-rough, top-20-heroes, georgian, heroine-i-loved, paperbacks-read, childhood-infatuation, hero-is-lethal, shape-shifters, sf-fantasy

I loved the hero in this one. Zane was perfect: started as a bad boy and selfish (which fitted with his personna in The Smoke Thief), but when he came to care for the heroine he was super protective, tender, sweet, seductive and caring. Couldn't find a fault with him:) And if I didn't love him enough, the ending assured that I did!

Zane and Amalia are searching for the Draumr diamond: a stone that has magical abilities where the drakon are concerned. Lia has been having some very terrifying dream...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dragon, fantasy-romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Imagine – a story set in the 18th century, enhanced by an outside observer (ends up to be Princess Maricara – drakon princess of Zaharen of the Carpathian mountains), and the dreams of a young woman drakon, and the emotionally distant thief, and then the actual action – all intertwined.
Princess Maricara gives us the history, and the drakon’s interpretation of the action…
The thief, Zane – Rue’s early protégé, successful thief, action not thinking is his way – and his actions (especially where Li...more Imagine – a story set in the 18th century, enhanced by an outside observer (ends up to be Princess Maricara – drakon princess of Zaharen of the Carpathian mountains), and the dreams of a young woman drakon, and the emotionally distant thief, and then the actual action – all intertwined.
Princess Maricara gives us the history, and the drakon’s interpretation of the action…
The thief, Zane – Rue’s early protégé, successful thief, action not thinking is his way – and his actions (especially where Lia is concerned) are correct, gentle, gentlemanly, chivalrous.
And Lia, Lady Amalia Langford, daughter to Rue and Christoff – she has heard the call of the Drahmhr (drakon diamond of legend – stolen by a peasant, used to control the princess drakon until she killed him , and took the diamond into a miner’s cave) since her childhood, though no one else heard it – and in her teens she sees the possible future, and as she grows older, her dreams are filled with the love of Zane, who uses her ability to not only steal more effectively but to kill her family and kind off, one by one. In her dreams, his actions with her are loving and gentle and of love making – but he whatever he asks, she must do; and he asks the whereabouts of so he can execute his own plans. Lia does not tell her family of her unique talents – but she makes plans. She will find the Drahmhr and destroy it, or she will kill Zane before he hurts her family. Lia has not turned – though outside of her control parts of herself may turn to smoke.
When Lia is 19 years old, the Drahmrh’s song is reaching out of the Carpathian mountains to the Langfords in England. Rue and Christoff (alpha) decide to send Zane to locate it and bring it to them – offering him a lot of money, but not a lot of information as they don’t know much about its location.
Zane goes, and in Germany comes across a beautiful Lia – and they journey together – their interactions are well written – especially as the author contrasts them with Lia’s dreams – they are the same, and yet they are different… in spite of Zane keeping a physical distance, and Lia keeping an emotional distance, they grow closer – after the first real kiss they share, Lia spontaneously and joyfully turns to smoke. Hmmmm as they enter the wilderness of the Carpathian mountains, they sleep together to be warm, and once deserted by their carriage driver, they have sex together. But still Lia does not confide to him her heart – fearful of the power of the Drahmhr.
As they get close to the Drahmhr, she meets Mari – who is only 11 years old, yet the wife of Imre Zaharen – alpha of the Zaharen’s, but cannot turn, so forces marriage to mixed blood Maricara so as to breed with her when she is old enough. Mari warns her away from Drahmhr, but… they do not turn back.
Second night in the castle, after learning of the power of Drahmrh from Imre (who wants them to retrieve the diamond so that he can steal it from them), and wonderful love making where Lia tells Zane she loves him – she awakens to find that Zane has gone for the diamond. She follows, struggles with Zane over the stone – buried in a pond of water in a copper mining cave – and she changes to drakon (for the first time), and hurts Zane – but he has the diamond – she exits the cave – and Imre shoots Zane and claims the diamond. That evening, as Imre is lording it over Lia and Mari – he has control of their bodies – Zane limps in – and though Lia is ordered to kill him, she cannot (love over the power ahhh)… and when Imre orders Mari to ‘finish it’ – she stabs Imre (letter of the order, but…) – and then Zane (though tempted for a minute) works to destroy the diamond – heating it and stressing it until it splinters.
I liked this book.
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Nov 04, 2010 MashJ rated it 2 of 5 stars

In the fantasy genre this would be a quest novel but instead it is a paranormal historical romance- ie it is trying to cover a lot of ground in not many pages. Frankly it doesn't stand up very well against other quest novels. It's too short and misses out all the interesting bits (eg the heroine sneeking away from her school, travelling across Europe by herself etc) because then the hero and heroine wouldn't get enough page time together. I think that the length of the book was 334 pages- and sh...more

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Apr 20, 2009 Kaleigha rated it 2 of 5 stars

While I enjoyed the predecessor in this series, The Smoke Thief, I was disappointed by this one. While the premise was intriguing - a lost diamond that is capable of controlling the Drakon begins to beckon to the Dragon people with its song - it fell quite flat. It wasn't something that I couldn't finish, but I felt no rush to find out what would happen.
While I did not mind the heroine of the story, Lia, I can honestly say that I have never been as uninterested in a main character as I was in Za...more

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Dec 11, 2009 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, dragons, historical-romance, lords-dukes-etc, 2009, paranormal-romance, favorites

ok, so what happens with me quite often when I read a series back to back is I get distracted. Like certain things I've heard already and don't need to hear again, etc. I know this about myself and should not read the next in line in a series without a break. So, what did I do? I read the second book in a series right after reading the first one.

I'm giving this 5 stars because it deserves it, but I felt more like 4 stars. Zane is great. Rough around the edges. From the street urchin he was, he c...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Jes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Well, this book was definitely more...shall we say romantic?...than I thought it would be. It was listed as Fantasy at the Friends of the Library booksale, and I'm wondering if it was maybe meaning the other type of "fantasy". Not that the entire plot circled on sex, cause it didn't. I was just surprised with the details used during the two or three very vivid encounters between the two main characters.

All sex remarks aside, this book was interesting. Dragons who can take the forms of smoke and...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, paranormal-romance, romance

The Dream Thief is the second book in Shana Abé's Drakon series and, like most readers, I was eagerly awaiting the continuation of Zane's story. He was such an interesting character in the first book and I wished he'd have a chance at his own HEA.

The plot itself was engaging, but I personally felt like there could have been an added hundred pages or so to pour out more of the story. Most of the times, I got the impression that Abé was telling rather than showing throughout the book. For example,...more

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Jan 23, 2010 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Normally I HATE romance books. I usually will not even go near them, but I happened to pick this book up in a half price books because of the interesting cover. (I know, I know...cliche) However, I am very glad I did. The sex in the book is well placed, and does not become a hinderence to the story line. The story itself along with the characters will most definitely keep your attention.
For someone who can't stand chick flicks, gives the romance section in a bookstore the evil eye, and banishe...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Jaya rated it 2 of 5 stars

Could have been great, BUT....
A glorious invention, turned to blah!

Mills and Boon style basic writing
Some obscure historical details accurate, combined with BIG obvious mistakes.
The language was totally wrong for the era, but I had the feeling that the simple erotica was more the focus. And I do mean simple.
The three books in this series were given to me, or I'd not have read them through.

It's a big shame, because this story could have been spectacular in the right hands. It feels like it was wr...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Christina (Boupie) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-books, chick-lit, fantasy, historical, mythology, non-scary-things-that-go-bump-in-th, romance, series

I don't always love romance novels. Many are too filled with sex or too sappy but I really loved this one. It had adventure and fantasy and dragons (I like mythical beasts, especially when they are not completely invincible). It does have some sex, which isn't for me but I am sure others enjoy, but it wasn't overwhelming. I thought it was well paced and entertaining. It was far-fetched at times but then again it was a fantasy novel so it needed to be a little out there. This might be my favorite...more

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About Shana Abe

Shana Abé was born in Texas. She spent much of her childhood living in Colorado, with a brief stint in Mexico as a foreign exchange student, and, at age seventeen, lived in Japan as a model. Throughout her childhood, Abé wrote, completing what she calls "The Silliest Romance Novel Ever" during her free time during modeling shoots. Her writing focused on romance, as those were the types of books th...more

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Quotes from The Dream Thief

“Lia: "You've changed your mind about wanting to marry me. You're afraid I'll burn down your home. Embarrass you in front of all the other city brutes."

Zane: "I'm afraid," he said gently, "that you will burn down my heart.” — 14 people liked it

“I need to keep sharp. But when you're this damned close to me, all I think about is you. I think about your mouth, and I think about your breasts, and I think about your pink tongue and your legs wrapped around me. I think about touching you and you touching me--and then I look at you and you're giving me that look--yes, that one, just there, as if you want me to kiss you--please stop--" He exhaled on a hiss, tipping his head back against the wood and pressing two fingers to the bridge of his nose.” — 3 people liked it

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The Dream Thief (Drakon #2)

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