I really enjoyed this 11th Dirk & Steele novel. It is one of my favorites of the series. I was happy not to have another story revolving around the Consortium.

This one was not part of any over arcing plot. It was the story of Eddie, the young man who bursts into flame under stress and a girl who is a dragon shifter who also has trouble with spontaneous combustion. I loved Eddie. He was very steadfast and warm and genuine and romantic and protective. The girl, Lyssa, had a tough shell but she really wanted someone to connect with. She of course comes with problems of the supernatural kind and tries to get him to leave for his own sake but he just sticks with her no matter what, repeating that he will not leave her and she is not alone. He is determined that he will not leave her. He has some beautiful lines which I wish I had marked while I went along.

"Twenty-four/seven," he murmured against her mouth, "I would stick with you. I would look over my shoulder with you. Every day, for the rest of my life."

The story is complete in itself. It is well written and the whole thing makes sense. The relationship happens fast but I don't mind that at all in a paranormal romance.

If you're a fan of the series I think you'll really enjoy it. If you're new to the series, I believe you could start here without being lost. ( )

Living with the pain of having his sister murdered and in revenge having killed the wrong man, the hero keeps his distance from everyone around him. He's barely in control of his frightening abilities with fire. But when his boss brings him a case where a shape shifting girl is being hunted- he instantly knows he'll do everything in his power to save her. The heroine has been running most of her life. She's running from the witches that are hunting her for her powers. She's running from her own powers. She's running from the dragon inside of her. So when the handsome hero shows up saying he's been sent to protect her, it's no surprise when she runs from him as well. But the problem is, he's chasing her. In each other, they find a deep rooted connection in their loneliness, their feels of remorse and cowardice and the hope-however slight-of having someone else understand them. The hero realizes that she owns him from the first second she turns those golden eyes his way. Lock stock and barrel, he's a goner. The heroine fights everything tooth and nail. She's very distrusting of everything, but mainly of herself. She's stuck in a half shift and lives in constant pain. But the fact that she's being hunted by the feared blood witches, is the main reason she pushes everyone away. This stubbornness lasted the entire book, sometimes she'll falter and allow the hero in but just as quickly those walls go right back up. The hero is honest when saying if she were anyone else, he would have left her and issues far behind long ago. But no matter how much she irritates him, or keeps him at arms length, there's nothing she or anyone else can say that would make him give up on her. I love this author. I don't think there's any other author in my library that has this writing style. Paranormal realism with such heart. Each and every character in this whole series is something whom you can relate to in some way or another. The hero. tormented with his guilt and memories is given the chance to be the hero, to help another tormented soul and gain some understanding and peace with himself in the process. God, the way he spoke to that kid after he and his mother were attack really torn at the heart strings. And the heroine who is such a powerhouse with the her inner dragon and her witch side but too afraid to use either. Until the hero shows her that it isn't going to just go away. She must take back her life, accepting herself and facing her demons. Lovely book but a go-to author. Guaranteed to be a knockout. ( )

Nice to get Eddie's story. Nicely paced storyline but a little too neatly wrapped up in the last couple of pages. ( )

After reading [b:In the Dark of Dreams|7717157|In the Dark of Dreams (Dirk & Steele, #10)|Marjorie M. Liu|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1279465840s/7717157.jpg|10453638] I was a little worried about going into this one. The previous book in this series, just didn’t really click with me. However, I was sucked into the story the moment I read the first line of, “A dragon slept beneath New York City.”

When she was twelve, Lyssa watched her parents murdered for their powers. Feared and cast out of the shapeshifter community because of her mother’s heritage, Lyssa has no one to turn to. In order to survive, she has been living on the streets hiding her erratic powers and avoiding others. However, the murder of the one person who knew what Lyssa was leads her parents’ killer straight to her, but it also sends Dirk and Steele pyrokinetic, Eddie, as well.

Eddie has always had trouble controlling his powers and his most recent flameout was caused by news that his sister’s killer has been released from jail for good behavior. He wants nothing more than to hunt down her murderer, but finds himself assigned with the task of finding and protecting Lyssa. Working with the gargoyle, Lannes, he discovers that Lyssa is not the helpless little lamb that they had been led to believe. Instead, he finds himself faced with a woman who everyone, Lannes included, seems to instinctively fear and hate. Soon enough, he finds himself the only one willing to help Lyssa take down her parents’ killer.

Eddie has been a reoccurring character in the series since the very first book, so I was pretty thrilled to see him get his own story. He hasn’t had it very easy, with his powers constantly flaring up and, once or twice, almost killing him. He also didn’t have a very great childhood, growing up with an abusive step-father and then living on the streets for a little while. What I loved about this, though, was how his past experiences made it easier for him to understand where Lyssa was coming from. He was understanding of her predicament, but also knew when to push at the walls she put up around herself.

Lyssa was another of Liu’s great heroines, but I think she was also one of the most vulnerable. Don’t misunderstand when I say vulnerable for lacking backbone though. The girl has some serious guts; she just has been on her own for a really long time and it shows. So, to have Eddie pop into her life and then refuse to abandon her, even with everyone saying that he should, both touches and scares her to death. She’s petrified that he’ll die either by her own hand or by the person who’s hunting her. Eddie, for his part though, is a stubborn mule and refuses to give in. I rather adore him.

One of the things that I really love about this series is how Liu incorporates her side characters into the series. She never makes them flat and when she brings in main characters from past books, it’s always to serve a purpose. She did that in this one with Lannes, the hero from [b:The Wild Road|2712887|The Wild Road (Dirk & Steele, #8)|Marjorie M. Liu|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255710250s/2712887.jpg|2738433]. He was a pretty prominent figure in the story, but he wasn’t exactly the good guy in this book, which I just loved. He had reasons behind his motivations and seeing how much he feared and hated Lyssa highlighted just how prejudiced the paranormal community is against her. Because seriously? Lannes is such a sweet character that seeing animosity and distrust from him was pretty shocking.

My only complaint, which really isn’t a complaint but me pouting, is that Koni didn’t make an appearance in this book. I missed the crow shifter. He’s the character that I always look forward to seeing in these books. Since Eddie got his own book I’m hoping and praying that Liu will eventually give Koni his. And, after reading this story, I also kind of want to see Roland get more page time. He had a pretty kick ass moment here. ( )

Two people trapped by secrets, cruelty and the strangeness of their own powers find one another and overcome incredible odds to make a life together. Perhaps not Liu's strongest novel, but I'm glad Eddie finally got to find his other half. ( )