A review by nimirra
Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop
5.0
Heir to the Shadows is just as good as the first!
Here things start coming together. Jaenelle is safe. Oh wait no she isn't! Hekatah is still scheming is really no one is safe while she's still alive (err undead), the Dark Council is trying to get their claws in her, and Jaenelle is even a danger to herself now in more ways than one.
One great thing about this sequel is that we finally get to know Lucivar. He was in the first one of course, but he never got much screen time. I knew I liked him, but I wasn't sure why. Now I know: He's a snarky, overprotective, sneaky, prick (as Daemon calls him) and I wouldn't have him any other way. He steps in and serves the big brother role to our heroine perfectly and his interactions with Saetan are not to be missed.
But we pay for the enjoyment of getting to know this Eyrien Prince. We pay by not getting any of his brother! Sure Daemon makes a couple sporadic appearances throughout the novel, but he's not the Daemon we have all come to know and love. He's too far lost in the Twisted Kingdom. Which does give other characters a chance to shine, like I said, but lets just say I can't wait to see him back to his old self in book three.
Also in this book we get to know some of the people Jaenelle had been sneaking off to meet in book one when she wasn't at home or with Saetan. Her friends prove to be a very interesting bunch. Some of them I loved to the point where I wish they had their own series to play in. They really help to flesh-out this Daemon-less sequel.
Despite all my whining about the lack of a certain character- I can't deny that this book delivered. More actually happened than I expected... things that I was sure would be stalled until the third book. Lucivar finally escapes the cruel queen that enslaved him. He meets with Jaenelle once again and adjusts to living in the radically different shadow realm, Kaeleer. Jaenelle makes her offering to the Darkness and returns with surprising results. I won't lie and say I wasn't disappointed that they didn't show that scene on-screen, but I guess it's good not to have all your answers; let the book keep some sense of mystery. An even bigger deal is that Jaenelle finally relents to starting her own court- and does it.
I thought it might be more exciting for the author to leave some of these big (expected) happenings for the final book in the trilogy- but somehow with them happening beforehand I'm left even more desperate to read the next book!
Here things start coming together. Jaenelle is safe. Oh wait no she isn't! Hekatah is still scheming is really no one is safe while she's still alive (err undead), the Dark Council is trying to get their claws in her, and Jaenelle is even a danger to herself now in more ways than one.
One great thing about this sequel is that we finally get to know Lucivar. He was in the first one of course, but he never got much screen time. I knew I liked him, but I wasn't sure why. Now I know: He's a snarky, overprotective, sneaky, prick (as Daemon calls him) and I wouldn't have him any other way. He steps in and serves the big brother role to our heroine perfectly and his interactions with Saetan are not to be missed.
But we pay for the enjoyment of getting to know this Eyrien Prince. We pay by not getting any of his brother! Sure Daemon makes a couple sporadic appearances throughout the novel, but he's not the Daemon we have all come to know and love. He's too far lost in the Twisted Kingdom. Which does give other characters a chance to shine, like I said, but lets just say I can't wait to see him back to his old self in book three.
Also in this book we get to know some of the people Jaenelle had been sneaking off to meet in book one when she wasn't at home or with Saetan. Her friends prove to be a very interesting bunch. Some of them I loved to the point where I wish they had their own series to play in. They really help to flesh-out this Daemon-less sequel.
Despite all my whining about the lack of a certain character- I can't deny that this book delivered. More actually happened than I expected... things that I was sure would be stalled until the third book. Lucivar finally escapes the cruel queen that enslaved him. He meets with Jaenelle once again and adjusts to living in the radically different shadow realm, Kaeleer. Jaenelle makes her offering to the Darkness and returns with surprising results. I won't lie and say I wasn't disappointed that they didn't show that scene on-screen, but I guess it's good not to have all your answers; let the book keep some sense of mystery. An even bigger deal is that Jaenelle finally relents to starting her own court- and does it.
I thought it might be more exciting for the author to leave some of these big (expected) happenings for the final book in the trilogy- but somehow with them happening beforehand I'm left even more desperate to read the next book!