Bambi Unbridled: Review: Soulfire by Juliette Cross

Soulfire
by Juliette Cross
Series: Nightwing #1
Pub. Date: Oct. 20, 2014
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Pages: 109
Format: eBook
Source: Amazon / Freebie

My Rating:

Sultry Scale:

In a world divided by prejudice and hatred, only love can bridge the chasm.

Tensions are rising in the Gladium Province. The boundary between humans and Morgons has begun to blur. While the human aristocracy strives to maintain distance between their daughters and the dragon-hybrid race, fate has other plans.

As the daughter of the corporate king, Jessen Cade is duty-bound to honor her arranged marriage to a man she detests. Feeling trapped by family duty and a loveless future, she longs for more, straying to the Morgon side of the city.

Lucius Nightwing is the eldest son of the powerful Morgon clan, and the greatest enemy of Jessen’s father. When a bar-room brawl thrusts Jessen into his arms, his dragon roars to the surface, craving to sate his carnal hunger in the brown-eyed beauty. The beast in Lucius recognizes her as his own, even if the man refuses to admit the truth.

I love dragon books, and I love to support Louisiana authors. So I doubly win with this dragon series by Juliette Cross! Maybe I can convince Juliette to attend the Bella Nola Author Event on Feb. 18, 2017 (details coming soon)!

Anywho, I am reading these books out of order. I didn't know about them until I read one of the spinoff books, Waking the Dragon, featuring the very yummy Kol Moonring. I felt a little bit lost in that book because I did not have the advantage of all the world building that was done in the Nightwing series. So I am going back to read these in anticipation of book 3, Nightbloom, being released later this month.

This series involves a mixture of two races - human and Morgon. The Morgons are descendants of dragon shifters - sort of dragon-human hybrids with the physique of a human and wings and (sometimes) eyes of a dragon. The males are all wonderfully growly and alpha - yummmmeeee. When a Morgan meets his fated mate, he can release soulfire to her through his kiss to bind their souls together. Very romantic - it makes me all swoony. If only these things could happen in real life!

Our Morgon featured in this book is Lucius Nightwing of Nightwing Security. Lucius has been working to integrate the human and Morgon races - which is not an easy feat. This gives the book an undertone of the difficulties with race relations that could apply to any society. When Lucius finds his fated mate, Jessen, we know things are going to be difficult as she is the daughter of a man who does not think humans and Morgons should mix (unless its solely to make loads of money). So Jessen must make a choice between her love and her family.

I really liked Jessen and Lucius - I have no complaints about either of them other than the book was too short so it left me wanting more! The secondary characters were just as engaging as our main couple, and I look forward to their books in the future. As for the antagonists, Jessen's family, the drama was big but not unrealistic. Her father is a real piece of work, and I have big concerns about what is going on with her brother. I look forward to seeing how this plays out in the rest of the series.

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About the Author

Juliette calls lush, moss-laden Louisiana home where the landscape curls into her imagination, creating mystical settings for her stories. She has a B.A. in creative writing from Louisiana State University, a M.Ed. in gifted education, and was privileged to study under the award-winning author Ernest J. Gaines in grad school. Her love of mythology, legends, and art serve as constant inspiration for her works. From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance--brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.

Juliette is a multi-published author, including her Nightwing series with Kensington Publishing and The Vessel Trilogy with Samhain Publishing.