Seven years ago, Kaylin left the fief of Nightshade with various demons at her back, vowing never to return. Since then, she has made it into the ranks of the Hawks - one of the three branches of peacekeepers in Elantra including the Wolves, Hawks and the Swords. She's worked hard to get where she is, overcoming a rough childhood where she lived on the brink of poverty, scrounging to make a life for herself. These fiefs are areas full of old magic that don't really come under any government jurisdiction and it shows as crime is rampant. But she's moved past all that (or so she thinks) when Kaylin's boss gives her a new assignment, asking her to investigate a recent murder in the fiefs along with - surprise, surprise - her childhood friend Severn who she doesn't exactly have fond memories of. The murders throw her back into the horrors of her past as the killings mirror those that occurred seven years ago and above all seem directly connected to Kaylin. Kaylin is determined to stop the murders this time around and with Severn and a Dragon at her back she is prepared to unravel the mystery no matter what the cost to herself.So much happens in this 400 page book but not always what I wanted to hear about. I found myself confused about several points in this book. For the first 100 pages or so, I was just confused. I had absolutely no clue what was going on most of the time - so much history, the different races - it was a lot to take in. It got better, but I was still floundering for the rest of the book. Most of the time I left a scene only understanding a piece of what just occurred. But that's not to say Sagara's world building isn't extremely impressive. Elantra is composed of six races: humans, Aerians, Dragons, Barrani, Leontine, and the creepy Tha'alani. Each has it's own complicated set of customs and caste system that I, for one, would have loved to learn more about. And I wish I knew more about Kaylin's early years spent with the Hawks and Severn's time spent with the Shadow Wolves. I know this book is intended to be the first in a series but I really wanted MORE. There were also a few inconsistencies that stood out a little too much: like the fact that even though Kaylin was raised on the streets she refers to herself at one point as a spoiled brat. Huh. I didn't know street urchins qualified as spoiled brats. But Kaylin herself is wonderful. She does what it takes to get the job done and I can't but help love her for that. ( )

It was really hard for me to decide, once I finished this book, if I really liked the story or not. There were things about the novel that were good, but many that got on my nerves. I came to the conclusion, after some deliberation, that there were two things that irked me about this book.

One was that I had a hard time with the way the main character, Kaylin Neya, acted. She's twenty years old, but through her actions, thoughts, and words, I felt like she was thirteen, which was also a time in her life when traumatic things happened to her. It irritated me how immature she seemed for her age. I'm still not sure if the author did that on purpose or if that's just what the author thinks 20 year olds act and think like. My suspicion is that it was done on purpose, trying to show how much the past effects Kaylin, but having said that, it could have been written so much better. Kaylin didn't have to act like a thirteen year old to show that she was still partially stuck in the past. I felt like Kaylin was acting like one of those kids that, after being reprimanded, sticks her tongue out at her disciplinarian when their back is turned.

I also really didn't like the constant mystery and alluding to events that happened in Kaylin's past. The author took way too long to explain the way Kaylin acts towards Severn, a boy she once knew in the "fiefs" (what could be compared to slums), who becomes her partner in a branch of "law enforcers" called the Hawks. During their first encounter after 7 years, she tries to kill him. More than half of the book leaves you wondering what Severn could have done to warrant this type of reaction, and her subsequent treatment of him. This thread of the plot is dragged out much longer than necessary. The reader doesn't find out until well through the 2nd half of the book. The "event" is constantly being referred to without the reader being "allowed" to know what the actual event was.

Other than those two things, the story wasn't half bad. Her other characters were more likeable than Kaylin. The world and types of races that Sagara creates are really rather intriguing, and the actual story line isn't half bad. I just wish that Sagara had taken a different approach to revealing Kaylin's past in the fiefs, as well as making Kaylin a more mature woman. ( )

I am now on book three of the series, which means I read and finished this book. I was engaged in the story but got lost several times when the author failed to help me understand her concepts. I liked the characters and the story, I just think the author got caught up in the fantasy at times and was unable to put it into words the reader could understand. ( )

Ummm... it was a very difficult book to finish. Not because it's a hard read, it just wasn't engaging enough to make me want to keep reading. I kept putting it down (and, in fact, ending up reading a non-fiction while in the middle of this because it was more engaging!).

And the last quarter of the novel was very rushed. First 3/4 spent setting up the history, plot and romance, last quarter to do all the action (except, of course, fulfilling the romance - and isn't Luna supposed to be a romance line?). It's almost like a different writer took over at the end - the writing gets "poetic" and flow-y and is told in fast forward... actually becoming, well, juvenile.

I don't think I'll waste my time with more in this series. ( )

I was a little disappointed by this fantasy crime novel. Based on the jacket, I’d expected a sophisticated tale of court intrigue. Instead, I got an impetuous teenager with a mysterious past, working with someone from that past, trying to solve a series of murders where the corpses are all tattooed similarly to tattoos that exist on her own arms and thighs. I might have been better able to accept it on its own merits if I hadn't expected something so drastically different. ( )