Author: Erica Hayes
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: Erotic, Dark Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Series?: Yes. Book #2
Category: Adult
In a time where fairies are taking over the paranormal craze and becoming the new vampire, Shadowglass stands apart from the norm. I was blown away by the creative dynamics of this second book in the Shadowfae Chronicles, leaving me to want to never put it down! I was captivated and mesmerized by a dark fantasy world that seem to 'pop' off the page, as if it could really exist.
Ice -- the heroine-- is a fairy con-artist, stealing to keep herself, and her friends, safe through the protection of a dangerous vampire gangster. But, in a world where paranormal beings hide amongst humans, females must be particularly careful around males, who often don't care about the safety or feelings of them. So when Ice finds herself in the bed of demon lord, Kane, she realizes just how lucky she is to leave unharmed. But could she be tempting a change in her fate when she steals an alluring shiny mirror on her way out the door?
Unbeknownst to her at the time, the mirror is wanted by many beings, which puts her in a very dangerous position. Not to mention, the mirror comes with hidden risks that come with the high price of madness, and the desperation to fulfill hazardous inner desires -- which Ice becomes a casualty of. The question that stems from this change in character is whether or not Ice can find a way to rid herself of these feelings before they end up killing her.
Of all the people that Ice didn't expect trying to cause her harm, was the one person who could do the most damage. Indigo has always been the mysteriously quiet, bad-boy metalfae that Ice has wanted. But, Indigo is also thrown in to the chase for ownership of the mirror, by being charged with destroying Ice and bringing it back to the wicked demoness, Delilah. What Indigo wasn't expecting was to fall victim to an intensely hot sexual passion with Ice that could end up costing them both of their lives. As the mirror continues to wreck havoc on the sanity of everyone it enthralls, it's a question of who will rise above the brink of permanent disaster.
This is an absolute must read for those people that love a great erotic urban fantasy, and aren't afraid to submerse themselves and get lost emotionally in an intense dark world that is full of danger, violence, eroticism, and doesn't follow the typical 'fairy-world'. The path to a happy-ever-after is tragically bumpy, filled with blood, vomit, betrayal, and deceit. If you want clean and pretty, than this is probably not the book for you.
One of the biggest reasons I love this book so much is because of the fearlessness Erica Hayes demonstrates in creating a unique fantasy world set in urban Australia where creatures give themselves over to the occasional desires that are often taboo and avoided in most writings: drug use, drinking and partying it up, and sexual openness. But, I feel as though the way these subjects are approached is in such a way that it seems natural in its context. More specifically- it makes up this fantasy world.
The writing style creates such wonderful three-dimensional imagery, comprising of a multitude of metaphors, anologies, and colorful words. I knew in my mind what the characters looked like, the sensations they were experiencing (and let me just say that when they were yummy... they were yummy!), and I could easily place the setting and the components that made it up. Even though I could literally open the book to any page and randomly locate a wonderfully written paragraph full of descriptors that tantalize your senses, I'm giving just one example, taken from the first page, as not to give away any spoilers:
"...a mash of bright fairy wings and rainbow limbs and slick vampire smiles, the air steamy with breath and lust and chemical euphoria. Humans here, too, a few sly ones who can see, but mostly shimmered-eyed and drunk on poison glamour, here for the oblivion. A heady bubble of unreality, this club - no thought, no consequences. Kiss, embrace, dance, love, drown your cares in glorious sensory nectar. A fairy kind of place, no rules, no guilt, the air so glassy with glamour it might shatter." [pg.1, third paragraph]And, to top off the fun, illustrative writing style, Hayes integrates writing in both first person-- through the eyes of Ice (heroine), and third person -- the remainder of the characters.
Another strong factor in my appreciation for this book was the ability of Hayes to create different personal traits, such as strengths and weaknesses, for each of the characters -- and there were a lot -- and still be able to maintain specifics throughout the entire story. Like I said, there were a lot of dynamic characters in this novel which occasionally got hard to track -- especially in the beginning. Sometimes it was hard for me to get into, or develop that relationship with, some of the characters because I didn't feel as though they had the emotional appeal that it required. However, the main characters, such as Ice, Indigo, and Blaze, were obviously stronger than the secondary ones.
The plot was believable since it is a fantasy world. I would have liked to know where the mirror originated. Was it magically forged? If yes, then by whom? Instead the mirror just... was. It was the center of attention, but with little history on how it even came to be. How did it come in to the possession of the first owner at the beginning of the book?
Regardless of that fact, that I didn't realize this was the second book of the series until after I was done reading it in its entirety -- and went searching for more books from the author,-- it was an amazing adventure, and I never once thought, 'Hmmm...I don't get it.' Or, 'I'm lost.' With that being said, I'm sure I'll have a couple of 'ah-ha' moments when I go back and read the first book, Shadowfae. But, overall, I think it's safe to say that you could read this book as a stand alone if you had to.
~*~Final Thoughts~*~
This is definitely an adult category book due to the graphic sexual content, a scene of drug use, drinking, implication of cruelty (including rape) against female fairies (which does not take place, but is only made aware that it does happen in this world), and violence.
2 comments:
Hey! I have this book! It's in the pile! I hope I can get around to it soon cuz I love the trailer.
:D
I was given this book as a gift and didn't realize that it was book 2 until I talked to a friend about it. I have yet to read it, but it and the first book, Shadowfae are on my TBR. Hope you read the first book sometime. Just hopped by on the blog hop - following you now - can't wait to see what else you read! Stop by sometime at The Wormhole!
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