*This title will be released on December 6, 2011*

Title: Winging It Author: Deborah Cooke Series: The Dragon Diaries #2 Cover Art: Juliana Kolesova Genre: Paranormal YA Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Abigail Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: NAL Trade; 1 edition (December 6, 2011) ISBN-10: 0451234898 ISBN-13: 978-0451234896 Sexual Content: Kissing Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

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Please join me in welcoming veteran paranormal romance author Deborah Cooke to the site today.  Well known for her Adult Dragonfire series, Deborah will be launching a new paranormal YA spin-off series on June 7th from NAL called the The Dragon Diaries featuring the next generation of Pyr dragon shifters.  If you missed my review yesterday of the first book, FLYING BLIND, I called it, “Swift and fun, just like I’d imagine flying on the back of a dragon…the innovative mythology and mature storyline should please readers of any age.”

Be sure to visit all the stops on the Flying Blind Tour hosted by The {Teen} Book Scene

 

You can read all the previous Top 10 Lists HERE

Top Ten Ways to survive Pyr boot camp

by

Deborah Cooke

1. Bring chocolate - and hide it from the guys.

2. Nail shape shifting - so you can do it really fast.

3. Accept a dare - especially if it comes from a hot guy.

4. Stay in touch with your best friend - otherwise the testosterone levels will make you crazy.

5. Think fast.

6. Bring extra socks - it's cold out there.

7. Dress for war - this is a fight to the finish.

8. Listen to advice - even when it comes from an old woman in your dreams.

9. Research the variables - so you know what you've got to work with.

10. Don't believe everything you're told - especially if it sounds too good to be true.

 

Book Details

FLYING BLIND by Deborah Cooke

Available June 7th 2011 by New American Library

 

"Zoe is a wonderful heroine--smart, strong and sympathetic. Bring on book two!"-Kelley Armstrong #1 NYT Bestselling Author of The Awakening

The next generation of shape-shifting dragons from the popular author of the Dragonfire novels.

Zoë is the Wyvern of the Pyr – the one female dragon shape shifter with special powers.  But Zoë is at the bottom of the class when it comes to beingPyr, and her powers are AWOL. Worse, there’s no reference book to consult, and the last Wyvern is dead….

Everything changes when Zoë’s best friend is bullied and Zoë reacts. Before she can blink twice, her inner dragon is loose, and she’s suspended from school and headed to a shape shifter boot camp with guys she’s known all her life. But soon she’s doubting her powers – and even some of her friendships.

Zoë quickly realizes she has to master her powers yesterday – there’s danger ahead and boot camp is a trap. A secretive group, the Mages, want to eliminate all shifters and the Pyr are next in line – unless Zoë and her friends can solve the riddle and work together to save their own kind…

Click HERE to read an excerpt

*This title will be released on June 7, 2011*

Title: Flying Blind Author: Deborah Cooke Series: The Dragon Diaries Trilogy#1 Cover Art: Juliana Kolesova Genre: Paranormal YA Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Abigail Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: NAL Trade (June 7, 2011) ISBN-10: 0451233883 ISBN-13: 978-0451233882 Sexual Content: Kissing Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

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Description

The next generation of shape-shifting dragons from the popular author of the Dragonfire novels.

Zoë is the Wyvern of the Pyr – the one female dragon shape shifter with special powers.  But Zoë is at the bottom of the class when it comes to being Pyr, and her powers are AWOL. Worse, there’s no reference book to consult, and the last Wyvern is dead….

Everything changes when Zoë’s best friend is bullied and Zoë reacts. Before she can blink twice, her inner dragon is loose, and she’s suspended from school and headed to a shape shifter boot camp with guys she’s known all her life. But soon she’s doubting her powers – and even some of her friendships.

Zoë quickly realizes she has to master her powers yesterday – there’s danger ahead and boot camp is a trap. A secretive group, the Mages, want to eliminate all shifters and the Pyr are next in line – unless Zoë and her friends can solve the riddle and work together to save their own kind…

Review

Dragon mythology is one of the few in paranormal fiction that is still relatively fresh, and Cooke runs wild with her dragon world.   If you’ve read her Dragonfire paranormal romance series, you’re already familiar with these elemental based dragons and will even recognize many of the parents in FLYING BLIND.

Zoe is the protagonist in FLYING BLIND, a fifteen year old impatient to grow up and develop her Pyr abilities (along with a nice set of boobs).  She’s likeable from page one, if a bit on the young side of fifteen for a YA title.  She’s displays a brave, loyal streak throughout the book that helps to temper her occasional recklessness.  She believably worries about boys and is no stranger to jealousy (but she isn’t ever petty about it).  It all added up to a very realistic teenage girl.

I have to mention one scene that really threw me very early on when Zoe and her friend get into a fight with a few nasty girls from school while everyone is showering after gym class.  I couldn’t get past the fact that this physical fight was supposedly taking place while everyone was naked and yet no mention was made about that.  It all seemed very unrealistic to me.

Overall, the writing is swift and fun, just like I’d imagine flying on the back of a dragon.  The characters do kiss the line between YA and Middle Grade, but the innovative mythology and mature storyline should please readers of any age.  If you’re looking for a break from vampires and werewolves or you’re a fan of Cooke’s adult Dragonfire series, you won’t be disappointed with FLYING BLIND.   The next book in the Dragon Diaries Trilogy is called WINGING IT and will be published on December 6th 2011.

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N/A	The Reading Frenzy ChicaReader A Cupcake and a Latte