This starts slow but eventually kicks into gear and stays that way until the end. I'm somewhat of a fan of the Artemis Fowl series, and I enjoyed this too. What a fun read this was!

In the days of yore, he flew the skies and scorched angry mobs—now he hides from swamp tour boats and rises only with the greatest reluctance from his Laz-Z-Boy recliner. Laying low in the bayou, this once-magnificent fire breather has been reduced to lighting Marlboros with nose sparks, swilling Absolut in a Flashdance T-shirt, and binging Netflix in a fishing shack. For centuries, he struck fear in hearts far and wide as Wyvern, Lord Highfire of the Highfire Eyrie—now he goes by Vern. However...he has survived, unlike the rest. He is the last of his kind, the last dragon. Still, no amount of vodka can drown the loneliness in his molten core. Vern’s glory days are long gone. Or are they?
This was just an enjoyable read! I love fantasy stories and don’t get enough of them! I never read the Artemis Fowl series so I was unfamiliar with this author’s writing. I’m glad I tired him. I loved both Squib and Vern and the adventure that is this book! I highly recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

This one starts off with a bang and was a lot of fun. I wish the pacing held strong through the whole book. Overall an entertaining read.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy!

Did not finish - I could not connect with the plot or writing so I decided to put it down.

It has been quite a long time since I have read a book by Eoin Colfer…I think I was a young-ish teenager, and reading the Artemis Fowl series. Looking at his backlist now, I can see that this was not his first foray into adult fantasy, but it is the first one that I found out about, so I was curious to see how the writing matched up.

Of course from the beginning I could tell that it was written with an adult audience in mind. The crude humor and language helps with that. But I also very much realized that it has been far too many years since I last read any of Colfer’s books, so I really couldn’t compare them much anyway.

I liked this book, but it felt like it took me a little bit to get used to the setting and the characters and such. But after the first 20% of so, I started to settle in to everything, and of course it took almost that long for the journeys of Squib and Wyvern to connect.

After that things picked up, in both terms of comedy and action. It was fun to watch these characters come together.

And the characters were interesting as well. Regence Hooke was a despicable person, and I just felt grimy reading about him, even from the beginning.

I think I’ll probably have to read this one again, just to better get a grip on things and immerse myself in the story. Honestly I think I was reeling a bit from this, because even though I knew it was an adult fiction, my body also still expected a more MG adventure, which is silly, and totally a personal issue, so I’m not marking the book down for it at all. I just know that it will be better for me to read it again so I can process it all better.

This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I had a hard time finishing it to be honest. It wasn't bad by any means, it's an acquired taste for sure. I personally couldn't get used to the tone of voice, because I was expecting something to the tone of Artemis Fowl. It wasn't for me. There was a lot more swearing than I would've liked, and it came across as bizarre for me for the most part. The premise was interesting and I wish I hadn't finished or even started it for that matter. I was disappointed with it, but maybe someone else will enjoy it.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

Two stars: A book with potential, but it falls flat with vulgar humor and a boring story line.

For Squib Moreau, life in the Cajun swamp is never dull. Even though he keeps trying to do the right thing, he keeps getting into trouble. He can’t resist a job to run some illegal drugs down the river, but unfortunately, his decision goes wrong very quickly. Squib happens to creep up on Regence Hook, the local dirty cop who is trying to court his mother, and in doing so he witnesses a murder. While trying to escape, Squib very nearly dies, but then he is rescued by the strangest creature, one Vern Highfire, a dragon who spends his days in isolation. Vern used to be feared across the land, now he drinks vodka and watches Flashdance. After Vern rescues Squib, he then tries to murder him as he doesn’t want anyone to know his secret, but Squib manages to escape. Vern is then convinced by his long time friend, Waxman, to allow Squib to run errands for him for a month, if Squib reveals his existence, he will die. Unfortunately for Squib and Vern, Regence is on their tails, and he will stop at nothing to kill them both. Who will prevail?
What I Liked:
Sigh... I picked this one up hoping for a brilliant dragon book with lots of humor. Considering that this was written by a very popular middle grade author, I thought I was in for a treat. Unfortunately, I was disappointed but there were a few bright spots.
Squib Moreau is a troubled character who longs for a proper father figure. He loves his mother and tries to do right by her, but ultimately he keeps getting in trouble. Even though Squib has his flaws, I found him a bit endearing too, and I couldn’t help but to cheer him on.
Vern the dragon, was interesting to say the least. I was expecting a dragon, but Vern is more of the pensive brooding type. He hid away from humanity after his kinfolk were murdered by humans. These days, his life consists of grocery deliveries, lots of vodka, a comfortable chair and lots of time watching and rewatching Flashdance. A strange dragon indeed.
Waxman was the most interesting character, he was a type of a dragon offspring. He was unique to say the least. I only wish that he had a larger role in the story.
And The Not So Much:
*I don’t know where this one went wrong, but I think for me the first thing was the absolutely repugnant character Regence Hook. He is so awful and terrible and, I kept thinking he was going to die but he keeps on going and going. This. man is so vile. I hated him and every time I had to read about him I wanted to toss my Kindle at the wall. He was absolutely detestable.
*I was so disappointed with how it went down with Waxman. Seriously? A centuries old Mogwai and he can’t take down a puny human? Nope! Stupid. Hated it.
*This was billed as a book with lots of humor, but I didn’t really enjoy the humor. It was mostly vulgar language and crude humor. Wasn’t for me.
*The story started out interesting but then it went downhill really quick. I found myself skimming the last portion of the book. I hated it.

Highfire was a book I picked up hoping for a funny and entertaining read featuring a dragon. While there were a few things I liked, for the most part, this book was a big miss for me. I wasn’t a fan of the vile villain, I hated reading about him. The humor was vulgar and fell flat. The final part of the story was lots of killing, and it got tiresome. In the end, this is a book I would not recommend. I was expecting great things as Colfer is a brilliant MG author, but this one was not for me. Skip it!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All my opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

I'm a big fan of the Artemis Fowl series, so to see a Colfer book for adults, I had to pick it up. A bit of a slow start, but great characters and entertaining story lines.

The world's last known dragon has taken up residence in the Louisiana Bayou, hiding deep in the swamp from the humans who were responsible for his specie's near-extinction. Vern is doing just fine drinking beer and watching satellite TV in his Laz-y-boy until he is accidentally discovered by a human; after which a series of events involving drug lords and corrupt public safety officials threatens his ability to hide away and stay safe.

I found Highfire to be a pretty entertaining read. There's a lot of action, high stakes, and even some character growth. The writing is just fine, but I found at times that the combination of the Louisiana accents, the stereotyped characters, and the strange setup was frequently too much for me. All the same, I found myself rooting for Squib and Vern as they fought off the sociopathic Regence Hooke to save the day. I definitely recommend for fans of comedic writing that includes a fantasy element and/or borders on the absurd.

Very enjoyable book about friendship between two very different characters. Have purchased for our library collection as several of our patrons enjoy reading fantasy novels.

Author of the Artemis Fowl series Eoin Colfer writes an adult fantasy in his usual trademark style.

With a keen sense of pop-culture awareness, Highfire is a charming, funny, but sometimes brutal look at life and crime in the Louisiana bayou.

A young fatherless teen named Everett 'Squib' Moreau tries to stay out of trouble and earn some money to help out his mama while protecting her virtue from a psychopathic constable named Regence Hooke. Dragon named Lord Highfire, better known as Vern, the last of his species, is hiding in the swamps. Another creature living there too--a mogwai named Waxman who is the result of interbreeding between humans and dragons at some point centuries ago.

Their interactions fill book with lots of adventure, danger, horror and excitement mixed with a great deal of humor.

Highfire is bizarre but wildly entertaining book to read.

Having read the entire Artemis Fowl series and being a fan of Eoin Colfer, I was not only intrigued by name recognition alone, but enticed by the premise of this story upon reading about it. This is an adult novel, first and foremost, so I knew it would present quite differently than other works I have previously read. Keeping in line with classic Colfer, the fantastical yet outlandish elements are still present. The story had potential to be not only entertaining but unique as well. We have Vern, who used to be Wayvern, Lord Highfire or Highfire Eyre, who has now moved past his glory days and resides as a vodka-drinking, Flashdance obsessed dragon isolated in life in the bayou of Louisiana. Vern hides from the swamp boats on tours and spends his days bingeing Netflix, drinking, and lighting cigarettes. His life encountered a segway moment when he encounters a 15 year-old troubled boy who witnessed a murder and is on the run from the world's most crooked cop. Sounds interesting enough, right? The problem is, the story just fell flat for me. I am not sure if it was the plot overall or the set-up. Something just didn't work. I do suggest giving it a read and encountering the witty writing that is entertaining and seeing for yourself what you think. Potentially, I had too many lofty expectations of a new adventure with familiar elements.

After trying this one twice, I ended up DNFing it. I absolutely loved the Artemis Fowl series and was really looking forward to Eoin Colfer’s foray into adult urban fantasy. Unfortunately, the inclusion of Regence Hooke just turned me off this book entirely. In Hooke’s sections,the book became crude and entirely unpleasant to read. His POV sections made me very uncomfortable (and included some rape references).

The other parts of the book had a unique sense of humor and what seemed like it could become an interesting plot. However, Hooke entirely spoiled the book for me.

*Disclaimer: I received a free advance copy of this book from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Vern is (probably) the last dragon alive, and is currently living a lonely life in the Louisiana swamp, until one day his covert existence is threatened by a teenager's run-in with a corrupt cop. Everett "Squib" Moreau manages to avoid incineration and convince Vern that he can be useful rather than a liability, but things get a little dicey when the corrupt cop keeps digging. Vern and Squib are forced into an unlikely partnership to save themselves and their loved ones.
Highfire is an entertaining adult fantasy novel with a quirky cast of characters. It is funny, sad, and graphically violent in equal measure. After a bit of a slow start the story picks up, with nonstop action towards the end.

Highfire is a dragon, you might know that dragons still exist, but they do. Squib is a teenager bent on keeping his mom away from a slimy deputy, but first he has to figure out how to keep himself out of trouble. One night out in the Louisiana swamp, all of these players find themselves meeting each other, and an unlikely bond will form. This was a fast paced, humorous, yet poignant book that takes a look at relationships in many forms. Amazing read.

Vern (officially Wyvern, Lord Highfire, of Highfire Eyrie) is the last of his kind. He is the only dragon left after thousands of years of dragon supremacy. Now he spends his days just wanting to be left alone, hiding out in a backwater in the Louisiana bayou, drinking vodka, chatting about the old days to his only friend Waxman, and watching QVC on cable TV. That is, until a local Cajun boy named Squib who runs errands for Waxman stumbles into his territory and sees Vern in fiery action. Vern knows humans are bad news: you befriend one of them, and the next thing you know, there’s a mob outside with torches and pitchforks. The last thing Vern wants is to get close to a human, but when Waxman is suddenly incapacitated, Vern finds he has no choice but to trust Squib.

Many fantasy novels tend to have either a quest story or are a retelling of a fairy or folk tale. Highfire has a different plot structure since it is set in the 21st century in our world with a contemporary plotline that imagines how a dragon would adapt and survive. A similar style of fantasy novel is Anonymous Rex by Andy Garcia, about a dinosaur who lives in Los Angeles and works as a private investigator.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

Squib Moreau has a problem, a serious problem. Corporal Hooke was hot for his Mama and completely out to get Squib, especially when Hooke is caught on camera killing a local in the Louisiana swamp. Then Squib got saved by a dragon named Vern! Now all Squib had to do was stop Vern from finishing Hooke's job for him. Luckily, Squib had been working for Vern's friend, Waxman, already. So a scheme is concocted for Squid to work for Vern while Waxman takes a vacation. But Hooke comes back into the picture and everything goes "gang aft a-gley" to quote Burns! Plenty of action and even a bit of happy ending for most of the deserving and a fitting end to others. A fun read all around!

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title!

Title: Highfire
Author: Eoin Colfer
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Vern was once Wyvern, Lord Highfire of the Highfire Eyrie, but now he hides out in a fishing cabin in the Louisiana swamp, subsisting on vodka and entertaining himself by watching Flashdance and Netflix. He’s the last of his kind, and no amount of vodka can drown the loneliness of his life and the sadness of the end of his glory days. Until he meets Squib Moreau, a local swamp rat doing the best he can to make his momma proud, even if that means working for a smuggler and witnessing a murder.

Squib wants to stay out of trouble and make enough money to pay off the debts his momma’s ex left them with—and move the two of them far, far away from Regence Hook, a local constable with an eye for his momma. But Hooke isn’t just a dirty cop. He’s also eyeball-deep with the local crime syndicate—and determined to destroy the witness to his crime—even if he must take down everyone in his path. Even a dragon.

This is not your typical dragon-disguised-as-a-human story. For one, Vern isn’t disguised. And who would imagine a dragon who loves Flashdance? Vern’s tough exterior is a mask for centuries of loss and strife, so it’s easy to see just why he has trust issues. Squib loves his mom enough to do anything for her, even when he lands in trouble over his head. This was a fun adventure story with a unique premise and a voice that fits the Louisiana swamp it’s set in.

Eoin Colfer lives in Ireland. He’s the author of the Artemis Fowl series. Highfire is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.)