:) ( )

Ajax Petrakos is a Spartan. When the Spartan's lost their epic battle, Jax and six other of his brethren were given the choice by Ares to become immortal and continue to serve their country and be protectors. They accepted and now it is a couple of thousand years later. Ajax struggles with his immortal life, not sure that he wants to continue with this existence. The Oracle has foretold a battle, a mission; one that Jax must complete alone. She has also foretold of his one great love, Shayanna Angel, but he has no idea when or if he will ever find her. The one with whom he must battle is a nasty demon by the name of Elblas (or Sable, as he likes to be called). Sable destroyed Jax's life long ago, so Jax got his revenge by way of removing his once beautiful wings. Sable is very bitter and angry about the fact that he is no longer beautiful, so he comes after Jax full force. But Jax has finally found his Shay, the love of his life. Now that he's found her, can he protect her so that they can be together always?

My opinion: Right away when I started reading this book, I knew I would like it. Anyway that knows me can attest that I LOVE the movie 300. So when I found out this book was about Spartan warriors I was all in! When Jax was given immortality, he was also given abilities. He is able to change into a hawk-like creature with big beautiful wings; this shape-shifting is something he has always had trouble controlling. The way he is described in this book, he sounds absolutely gorgeous! Of course, every time they mention Leonidas, all I can think about is the movie and so when I read the book all I can picture is Gerard Butler...which is definitly not a bad thing! I liked Shayanna, she was very tough. I hated the way her brothers kept the family secrets from her, I didn't blame her for getting so frustrated with them. Especially when the information was so crucial! It really was a special moment when Jax finally realizes he has found her, you could feel the love he already felt for her even though this was the first time they had met face to face. And although it took awhile for Shay to be able to fully trust him, you could tell she felt connected to him instantly too. There was a part where they are talking later on in the book that actually made me tear up a little, but I'm not giving anything away! You'll just have to read it for yourself!!

My rating: 4/5 stars ( )

One of my friends who is a huge fan of the Dark Hunter and JR Ward books really liked this, so your mileage may vary, but I wasn't so impressed.

This book reminds me of a flat soufflé. I could tell that the author carefully assembled all the ingredients and spent a lot of effort on it, and wanted to like it for that reason, but maybe there was a problem in execution somewhere, because at the end it's still flat.

For me, I think it was a problem of authenticity; none of the characters or plotline felt real to me. Part of that could be attributed to a 2500 year old Spartan warrior who seems to have always had the worldview of an early 21st century middle class American when he wasn't saying things like "wee lass" to the heroine. Part of it could be attributed to the awkward mixing of Greek and Judeo-Christian mythologies. I don't know. I only managed to finish this by skimming, and have no interest in pursuing this series further. ( )

If you like paranormal romance and mooned over the movie "300" about King Leonidas and his Spartans, then you should really enjoy "Red Fire". Deidre Knight introduces readers to a world where King Leonidas and six of his fiercest warriors were given a choice by the god Ares to continue to Elysium or be transformed in various ways into warriors for humanity. A big DUH as to which one they chose. For over 2500 years, they have fought the demons to keep mankind safe while slowly realizing that their transformation has also made them toys of Ares. The oracle of Delphi also gave each warrior a foreseeing with a rhyme and the name of the woman who will be his love and complete his soul...if he can wait and win her. This first book is the story of a world-weary Ajax.

Ajax is tired. Tired of struggling against demons; tired of answering to King Leonidas, the Oracle, and Ares; tired of waiting for his promised woman; and even tired of the endless women he plays with. But his ennui soon disappears when he heads to Savannah, Georgia on his latest mission and runs into the woman he's been waiting for...and his most bitter ancient enemy.

Shay returned to Savannah for her mother's funeral and to find out the truth of a recent letter raising questions about her parentage. Her family's history is one of fighting off the demons that plague mankind...but always in secret and always only the men of the family are gifted with the ability to see and feel those demons. So why is it that Shay has recently acquired those same abilities? And who in the heck is the 'angel' with the black wings who keeps coming on to her? If he's not an angel, then just what is he and what does he want with her...other than the obvious?

As with any 'first book' in a series, there's a ton of world-building going on. History, reality, character introductions, etc take a lot of ink and I sometimes found myself wanting to skip a few pages to get on with the 'action'. So I'd have to say I noticed a lack of 'smoothiness' (my own vocabulary) regarding pacing. The plot is an interesting one and I like the idea of the brave few being rewarded for their sure and certain sacrifice to save others. However, just as in real life, sometimes rewards can turn a bit sour and that's certainly true for Ajax. I didn't quite buy Shay's brothers' reasoning for refusing to allow her access to their family history; especially in the face of the ongoing events. So although I did enjoy 'parts' of the plot, I thought there were more than a few weak spots and/or holes that needed to be filled.

The sex scenes were hot and certainly more than NC17; some of them also happen when he is partially or fully 'transformed' so if that icks you out, beware. What woman doesn't love the idea that a man will wait forever (or close enough) for the one woman meant for him? If 2500 years doesn't count, well...how long is an eon anyway? The relationship stays rocky for most of the book and I did get irritated by a few TSTL (too stupid to live) actions on the part of the heroine. Sure, why not go to the graveyard where you've already been attacked once by demons...ALONE!?

Did I enjoy reading this book? Yes. Will I read the next one, "Red Kiss" (which is already out, Jun09)? Most likely. Will I continue the rest of the series? I'll have to reserve judgement and see how Deidre Night's next one goes before I answer that one. ( )

This book just didn't do much for me. The main concept is interesting -- Spartan soldiers turned into immortal demon-fighters. Very strong similarities to the Dark-Hunter series, but that's nothing new these days. So if the Dark-Hunters are your cup of tea, you may want to give this book a try. For me, though, the story didn't come together. The main characters were only so-so in my opinion, and only one of the supporters stood out as interesting future reading material. Most of all, I think it was the author's writing style that I didn't care for; I just didn't find it engaging. I read the first third of the book faithfully, then skimmed the remaining chapters and called it good. ( )