{Review} Stalked by Flames (Dragon's Breath #1) by Susan Illene

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: July 25th, 2015
Finished Date: November 8th, 2015

Publishers: Self Published
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: For Review
Format: eBook

Pages: Unknown
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US 

 

Bailey Monzac has just graduated college and is leaving town for her parents’ ranch in Texas when a massive earthquake unleashes the unthinkable on the world: fire-breathing dragons.

Chaos erupts as people flee for their lives, and Bailey survives only because she is somehow immune to the dragons’ flames. In the midst of the mayhem, Bailey is helped by a shape-shifting dragon named Aidan, who recognizes Bailey is a dragon slayer and will be an essential ally in the power struggle between—and within—the dragon clans.

Natural disasters intensify and dragons lay waste to the world as civilization all but collapses amid the loss of electricity and running water. Roving gangs prowl the debris-filled streets, and Bailey and her friends manage to find refuge in the university library. As her relationship with Aidan deepens during private training sessions, Bailey must learn to harness her newfound skills or see everything she knows and loves destroyed.

Stalked by Flames is a gritty urban fantasy about a woman’s journey into a dark new reality she never could have imagined.

The Review: Stalked by Flames was a really good introduction to the Dragon’s Breath series.
As the blurb tells us – Bailey is headed home to Texas after graduating college when a massive earthquake hits the college town. She takes refuge in the library with her best friend who works there and plans to head out as soon as things settle. When she does take the chance she and the rest of town are confronted by fire breathing dragons! These dragons are by no means friendly and start burning the place up – people included. Bailey runs for her life but is confronted by a dragon who is intent on roasting her to dust but somehow, she isn’t burned! She isn’t afraid much anymore either especially when she is rescued by a dragon that can shift into a man. The shape shifter is Aiden and he knows what Bailey is even if she doesn’t….and he has plans for her. As this new reality comes to be Bailey and her fellow library survivors face many dangers as the fight for survival begins and Bailey decides that if she is truly a dragon slayer, then she must train to become one and Aiden will be the one to teach her. Can she learn how to kill them to stay alive and save her friends? What about saving her heart too from someone she should never allow into it.
Stalked by Flames was a great read that straddles a couple of genres – dystopian, fantasy and urban fantasy. I thought the author had created a very unique scenario by unleashing dragons on the world the way she did. There is more to it than that but I’ll let you discover that for yourself. I sort of got the feel of ‘The Walking Dead’ but with dragons instead of zombies where people are forced to hide out in homes, scavenge empty stores and homes for food and clothing whilst trying to be aware of their surroundings so a dragon doesn’t roast them or eat them. The story definitely starts with plenty of action with the natural disasters and then the arrival of the dragons, people fleeing for their lives – it’s dramatic and really pulls you into the story and the lives of the survivors. Obviously Bailey is the main character and you can tell she will be something special, I admired her drive and determination. She had some humorous moments in the beginning when she meets Aiden for the first time and I really liked how their relationship unfolded throughout the book, it felt natural and not rushed and even at the end it was only just beginning. They also had a forbidden type of love thing going on that I look forward to seeing develop in the future.
The storyline was full of action and danger that was spaced throughout the book. There are two kinds of dragons here – pure dragons, the savage man eating, burn everything to a crisp kind that are taking over the earth and food chain kind and then we have the shape-shifting dragons like Aiden who shift between man and dragon, Aiden’s clan live mainly in human form and live to hunt down the pure dragons. I like this because it’s always great to read about in air battles & it wouldn’t be much fun if it was left just to the humans. It also gives them a ready made rivalry. When we are with Bailey, the story feels dystopian/UF as they navigate the new world, scavenging and trying to stay alive. They are constantly under fire from not only dragons but other humans who are trying to survive just the same and will stop at nothing to obtain supplies. Then when we are with Aiden, it had a fantasy style feel because they lived in a fortress, battled, wore armour, had servants etc. I enjoyed both aspects and thought they blended well together by bringing Bailey and Aiden together in training sessions where we learn more about each world. Obviously it all heads to a showdown for Bailey to become what she must but to be far, it was like that all of the way through – battling dragons, running from dragons, watching dragons take other dragons out – but there is a little something extra in that last showdown to make me smile. So I really enjoyed this and will definitely look out for the sequel.

Thank you to Susan Illene for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.