Book Review-The Fire King

The Fire King
Dirk And Steele Series
Marjorie M Liu
Leisure,
307 Pages
Published Aug 2009
Paranormal/Shifter Romance
ISBN: 0-8439-5940-1

Synopsis:
Long ago, shape-shifters were plentiful, soaring through the sky as crows, racing across African veldts as cheetahs, raging furious as dragons atop the Himalayas. Like gods, they reigned supreme. But even gods have laws, and those laws, when broken, destroy.
Zoufalství. Epätoivo. Asa. Three words in three very different languages, and yet Soria understands. Like all members of Dirk & Steele, she has a gift, and hers is communication.  When she is chosen to learn the dead language of a shape-shifter resurrected after thousands of years of icy sleep, she discovers a warrior consumed with fury.
Strong as a lion, quick as a serpent—Karr is his name, and in his day he was king. But he is a son of strife, a creature of tragedy.  As fire consumed all he loved, so death was to be his atonement. Now, against his will, he has awoken.  Zoufalství. Epätoivo. Asa. In English, the word is despair. But Soria knows the words for love. 

My Review:
Soria is a member of the Dirk and Steele, have special gifts of her own. Although she isn't a shape-shifter, she can understand any language on earth. So when the leader of Dirk and Steele, asks her help them with a problem that only she can assist with. Soria is however very reluctant to do so, because a year previous she lost her right arm, and has had a difficult road since then. However when she meets a creature unlike anything she has ever met, she is intrigued and acts out of character, even for her. Karr, having been awoken from the ground from three thousand years, he is furious that he is chained to the floor. Karr is a mix breed of shifters, half lion and half bird, is unlike any of them have ever seen. Since he is the epitome of the impossible. But Karr is far from the last of his people, having been the leader of all those that were mixed shifters, he vowed to protect them at all costs. Then he meets with Soria who is the most captivating woman he has ever met. Even though he has a rage within him, he knows that he could never hurt her no matter the circumstance. The Fire King is a searching journey for both Karr and Soria where they search for the truth and also share a precious love that they both would fight for.

This is the last one of the Dirk & Steele series that is out, and the only one that I hadn't read, and I am so glad that I have. Its definitely one of my favorites of this series. Both Karr and Soria are powerful enigmatic characters where I endeared myself to them. Karr has only known of killing and rejected and pain in his life. Then he meets up with someone that embraces him fully as he is, never judging and always having trust in him. Never has he known anyone to have such complete faith in one as him, not feeling as deserving of it, even though he does. Soria is a young woman that was powerful and able in her own right before the incident that changed her life forever. Having lost her dependent arm, she struggles more than anything trying to adjust to this new life. However when she is summoned once more, she wants to escape from it, but she learns that you can never escape fate. After she meets with Karr, she knows that no one should be chained as he, even if he is dangerous. So they help each other, learning to live and trust once more and in each other. This is a powerful story that brought a tear to my eye a time or two. Marjorie M Liu portrays their emotions so well, its such a enthralling read. Definitely one I would recommend to anyone that enjoys a good romance mixed with some paranormal.

My Grade On This Book
4.5 Blossoms

Other Books In The Series
Tiger Eye
Shadow Touch
The Red Heart of Jade
Dark Dreamers
Eye of Heaven
Soul Song
The Last Twilight
The Wild Road
In The Dark Of Dreams