The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe

also The Duchess in Love by Eloisa James

This weekend I read The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe. I am very interested in Shana Abe. She writes a unique romance. I thoroughly enjoyed The Smoke Thief… as much as I enjoyed her story The Last Mermaid. In her own way, Shana develops high concept stories. Maybe not so noticeably “high concept” as someone like Gena Showalter but once you read her work you know what I’m talking about.

In Smoke Thief, I was pleased to notice that she wrote with a rhythm. Not as strong as Anne Rice’s Lestat but a rhythm none the less. I can’t remember if The Last Mermaid had a rhythm like this because I read it before I read Lestat where it was impossible to ignore the rhythm of Anne Rices words. I have got to learn how to do that. It’s beautiful really. I am going to study The Smoke Thief. I like the way Shana Abe writes. Eloisa James too. She has a way in building emotion in her stories.

I also read The Duchess in Love (by Eloisa James) this weekend. This is the first in a series. I don’t know what that series is called. I didn’t think this story was as good as the other stories I read by her… Much Ado about You and Kiss Me, Annabell. But THAT is what I can truly appreciate and what gives me that hope. The Duchess in Love is an earlier book and she is only getting better with each story. Practice! Don’t get me wrong… The Duchess in Love is still above par compared to other romance novels. I cried reading it. I don’t cry too often reading stories. Those get my attention.