nemerith's review against another edition
5.0
Cassie has a whole lot going on... The vamps want to have her under their thumb, the mages want to kill her and get the power to go to one of their choosing, Myra is trying to kill Mircea, the geis is triggered and all over the place... and I haven't even mentioned the fey!
Worldbuilding:
Sooooo much happened in this instalment. We shifted to many different times (god knows how the Pythia keeps track of who and what!?) but apart from being curious where and when we ended up this time, I never felt confused or lost due to the great descriptions and information I got while reading. As always the author has great attention for details, making it much, much easier for readers to follow the story.
Character development:
Cassie didn't really have the time to think about all the implications of being the chosen heir for the Pythia, she's too busy saving herself, Mircea or her friends. That said, she rolled with the punches, learning as she went.
I had totally forgotten about Mac (this is a re-read) and his tattoos. Such a cool guy :) So it was strange to see him being friends with Pritkin, who was, for once, not trying to kill Cassie (well...ish).
While Mircea was in the picture a lot, it was mostly in the 1880s where Cassie had to save his ass from Myra, her evil co-Pythia heir. I have to say though that I liked it that he was so much like his modern self even that long ago, for me it means that he managed not to get jaded (too much) and held on to his core beliefs and principles... go Mircea! (*swoon*)
Pacing and flow:
Well, there was a lot of action, I don't even know if there was a time where Cassie and the gang couldn't just relax and take a breather (well, okay, that one time, but that doesn't count). So yes, a lot of action! Fortunately, there was a good balance between everything going on and conversations and the transitions felt smooth.
The book:
The book itself was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is sex described (if that is important to you).
The book is 374 pages long, spread over 15 chapters and from Cassie's POV (point of view).
All in all:
I'm happy I'm re-reading this series to pick up where I left off since I just can't remember a single thing from this instalment! I loved it! :D
Worldbuilding:
Sooooo much happened in this instalment. We shifted to many different times (god knows how the Pythia keeps track of who and what!?) but apart from being curious where and when we ended up this time, I never felt confused or lost due to the great descriptions and information I got while reading. As always the author has great attention for details, making it much, much easier for readers to follow the story.
Character development:
Cassie didn't really have the time to think about all the implications of being the chosen heir for the Pythia, she's too busy saving herself, Mircea or her friends. That said, she rolled with the punches, learning as she went.
I had totally forgotten about Mac (this is a re-read) and his tattoos. Such a cool guy :) So it was strange to see him being friends with Pritkin, who was, for once, not trying to kill Cassie (well...ish).
While Mircea was in the picture a lot, it was mostly in the 1880s where Cassie had to save his ass from Myra, her evil co-Pythia heir. I have to say though that I liked it that he was so much like his modern self even that long ago, for me it means that he managed not to get jaded (too much) and held on to his core beliefs and principles... go Mircea! (*swoon*)
Pacing and flow:
Well, there was a lot of action, I don't even know if there was a time where Cassie and the gang couldn't just relax and take a breather (well, okay, that one time, but that doesn't count). So yes, a lot of action! Fortunately, there was a good balance between everything going on and conversations and the transitions felt smooth.
The book:
The book itself was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is sex described (if that is important to you).
The book is 374 pages long, spread over 15 chapters and from Cassie's POV (point of view).
All in all:
I'm happy I'm re-reading this series to pick up where I left off since I just can't remember a single thing from this instalment! I loved it! :D
starknits13's review against another edition
2.0
Sooo cassie's stance of I don't want to be controlled but I don't want to be pythia and I don't want this or that got really annoying she needs to stop whining and just OWN it. she's obviously the best choice for the "job" as she calls it. also Pritkin is soooooooo annoying...
I guess i was just annoyed with most of this book
I guess i was just annoyed with most of this book
dewey007's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
The beginning had me entertained then she decides to help Tomas and it all went downhill from there.
She's the main character but she feels like a bystander....
She's the main character but she feels like a bystander....
izzyizreading's review against another edition
1.0
Dnf pg 147.
I give up. I have no idea how I made it to the third one the first time around. My friend is gonna pick up her books and I won't have to think about this anymore.
I give up. I have no idea how I made it to the third one the first time around. My friend is gonna pick up her books and I won't have to think about this anymore.
millie_rose_reads's review against another edition
4.0
One of the ways in which the Cassandra Palmer series distinguishes itself in a glut of protagonists with special destinies and unique abilities is in how they are contextualised and used within the story. Often, references to the downsides of such and such a situation come across tokenistic as they're rarely comparable to its advantages. Stories in this genre are first and foremost about reveling in a specific brand of power fantasy, and Chance surprisingly continues to resist that impulse. Being Pythia sounds absolutely awful and there are no true upsides to it. All Cassie's visions have brought her is people eager to exploit them for personal gain and psychological trauma, and her new ability to shift through time and space, as of Claimed by Shadows, is a presumptuous and unruly nuisance plaguing her with its own agenda. Even the mantle of Pythia is portrayed as a life-time appointment of fending off assassinations and manipulations, and that's only when the power itself isn't propelling you through time to solve every potential paradox.
Which is why Cassie's begrudging acceptance of her position as Pythia is so satisfying: it's less about accepting responsibility as it is asserting a measure of control.
First there's the knowledge that he's pathologically controlled every aspect of Cassie's life on the mere possibility she might become Pythia one day. He met her as a lonely, vulnerable eleven-year-old isolated from the world—a condition he never attempted to alleviate or outright remedy because of his machinations. Then, he placed a creepy and possessive spell on her, robbing her of her sexual agency for her whole teenage and adult life up to now. A spell that can also identify her general whereabouts, too, if it wasn't already invasive enough. And then there's the fact that no more than a day after meeting her again—an extremely traumatic day, I might add—Mircea chooses to pounce on the knowledge of her pre-teen crush and seduce her. The territory is icky and is never quite undercut by supposedly mitigating circumstances.
Alternatively, Pritkin is Claimed by Shadows standout character; a distrustful, pretentious, apoplectic war mage with a fantastic arsenal and an entertainingly contentious relationship with Cassie. Watching them go from uneasy allies to uneasy allies with a grudging respect for each other is Claimed by Shadows at its best.
Which is why Cassie's begrudging acceptance of her position as Pythia is so satisfying: it's less about accepting responsibility as it is asserting a measure of control.
I wanted to rescue Tomas, but, I realised with sudden clarity, I also wanted something else. "It's about making a statement. Someone who is known to be important to me is being publicly humiliated, tortured and killed. Yet no one—not the mages, not the Senate, not a single individual in the supernatural community—ever once thought to ask my permission!"
"Your permission?" Pritkin looked dumbfounded. "And precisely why would they need that?"
I looked at him and shook my head. Screw this. If I had to deal with all the downsides of the office, it was about time I had a few of the perks, too. "Because I'm Pythia," I said quietly, and shifted.While admittedly sketching the same obstacles as the first book—tracking down and preventing Myra, a rogue sybil, from changing the timeline for her benefit—Cassie's role is appreciably more proactive this go-around. This involves repeated trips into the 1880s, as Myra tries to remove someone integral to Cassie's continued survival in a death-prone childhood: Mircea.
I wondered how many other times [Mircea] told me only part of the truth.As a character, I enjoy Mircea. But through the lens of love interest, that character becomes significantly different to assess. Described as the consummate diplomat, he's charming and handsome, incredibly powerful and cunning—with just enough of an ambivalent undertone to his intentions to not be designated a straight-up villain.
First there's the knowledge that he's pathologically controlled every aspect of Cassie's life on the mere possibility she might become Pythia one day. He met her as a lonely, vulnerable eleven-year-old isolated from the world—a condition he never attempted to alleviate or outright remedy because of his machinations. Then, he placed a creepy and possessive spell on her, robbing her of her sexual agency for her whole teenage and adult life up to now. A spell that can also identify her general whereabouts, too, if it wasn't already invasive enough. And then there's the fact that no more than a day after meeting her again—an extremely traumatic day, I might add—Mircea chooses to pounce on the knowledge of her pre-teen crush and seduce her. The territory is icky and is never quite undercut by supposedly mitigating circumstances.
Alternatively, Pritkin is Claimed by Shadows standout character; a distrustful, pretentious, apoplectic war mage with a fantastic arsenal and an entertainingly contentious relationship with Cassie. Watching them go from uneasy allies to uneasy allies with a grudging respect for each other is Claimed by Shadows at its best.
craftingrama's review against another edition
5.0
Wasn't to thrilled with one of the character voices but other then that it was a good listen
vivavia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Death, Suicide, Murder, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Torture
jenwritesnstuff's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Sexual assault
cr6zym0nkeyiz's review against another edition
4.0
CLAIMED BY SHADOW was even better than the first book in the Cassandra Palmer Series, Touch of Frost. I am amazed how each book in this series exceeds my expectations.
CLAIMED BY SHADOW was a bit different from Touch the Dark in my opnion. We are not constantly surround by those wicked hot vampires. Even though we weren't I love it all the same because we are constantly around hot tempered mage, Pritkin.
Okay. He has a hot temper but I love that hot temper of his. To be honest I was all for Micrea and wanted to push Pritkin down some cliff, but now I have completely switched sides. It's funny how an author can do that, isn't it? Make you hot for the guy you hated in the previous book.
CLAIMED BY SHADOW had funny and sexy moments and I got to see some of my favorite characters again, as well as new ones. I can't wait to see what the Circle and the Vampire Senate has in store for Cassie next. I love Cassie and her fun dialogue. I will never get enough of this girl. I am looking forward to seeing how she handles her new powers.
Like always there is tons of action and lots of descriptive scenes, but I loved it like no other. And god, the ending was killer. I am really looking forward to the next Cassandra Clare book now, because it looks like Cassie and Pritkin will be spending some one and one time together.
More of my reviews at Mystifying Paranormal Reviews
CLAIMED BY SHADOW was a bit different from Touch the Dark in my opnion. We are not constantly surround by those wicked hot vampires. Even though we weren't I love it all the same because we are constantly around hot tempered mage, Pritkin.
Okay. He has a hot temper but I love that hot temper of his. To be honest I was all for Micrea and wanted to push Pritkin down some cliff, but now I have completely switched sides. It's funny how an author can do that, isn't it? Make you hot for the guy you hated in the previous book.
CLAIMED BY SHADOW had funny and sexy moments and I got to see some of my favorite characters again, as well as new ones. I can't wait to see what the Circle and the Vampire Senate has in store for Cassie next. I love Cassie and her fun dialogue. I will never get enough of this girl. I am looking forward to seeing how she handles her new powers.
"Girlfriend," I told her, blinking to clear the blood out of my vision, "you so do not want to fuck with me today.”
Like always there is tons of action and lots of descriptive scenes, but I loved it like no other. And god, the ending was killer. I am really looking forward to the next Cassandra Clare book now, because it looks like Cassie and Pritkin will be spending some one and one time together.
More of my reviews at Mystifying Paranormal Reviews