The second volume of the Black Jewels Trilogy picks up right where the first left off and follows Saetan, Daemon, Lucivar and Jaenelle through the next eight years.

These books are literary crack. The prose is not, perhaps, quite so deathless as it could be, and I've still got some issues with the gender stuff and the longevity, but none of that matters. I had the time of my life reading them.

I mean, I read this in a day. (By which I mean that it took me about twenty-eight hours). I couldn't put it down. I didn't even bother to force myself to take breaks. I read as much as I could throughout the day. I surrendered my evening to Anne Bishop. I didn't willingly close the thing until it was done.

As was the case with DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD, it's all down to the characters. We spend a lot more time with Saetan this time around, and I've become even fonder of him. He's so completely unlike what you'd expect. His world is pretty domestic, and I loved getting to see the household just being. Their idea of "just being" is pretty different from everyone else's, so there's still plenty of excitement and tension and all that jazz, but it's a far cry from the sweeping, epic stuff going on in the background. That sweeping, epic stuff isn't the focus here at all. We (by which I mean I) aren't so concerned with the world at large as we are with this family and everything that goes down between them.

We also get a whole lot more of Lucivar, which is a damned good thing. He's a total prick, and I love the hell out of him. I'm pretty sure I'd loathe him in real life, but on paper? On paper, he's gold. Despite my intense reaction to it, I've got to admit that I didn't initially enjoy this as much as DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD. Lucivar's appearance changed that. He launched me straight into OMG I LOVE THIS!1!!ONE1!!1!! territory.

The only charactery downside was that Daemon played a much smaller role this time around. There are good reasons, but I still missed him.

I feel like I ought to say something else, something deep and meaningful, but I'm afraid I can't. They may be dark and twisted and painful, but these books have been pure fun for me. I'm a total sucker for stuff that rips my heart out and stomps on it. You know that bouncy feeling you get when you're reading something really enjoyable, like you're having such a great time you could just float away? Yeah? That's me with these books. They haven't really given me any deeper issues to consider, but I'm having a wonderful time with these characters and their story. I highly recommend them to you.

(A longer, gushier version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina). ( )

Jeanelle grew, aged and came back from the brink, but is she ready to face what is to come? Daemon is lost in the Twisted Kingdoms, sure he killed his love. Lucivar hates his brother for having learn what he did to Witch. Saetan continue to love Witch like a father even if it's sometimes difficult.

A beautiful continuation of the first book. Darkness descend on the the characters. It's intriguing and compelling to read. ( )

Heir to the Shadows was a strong middle of the series book. It did its job well to further along the plot. Jaenelle is getting older and we learn more of what she is capable of. The characters that are introduced strengthen Witches ties with the blood and Kindred. You become more emotionally connected with the main characters that you couldn’t end with this book, you’re compelled to see the entire trilogy through.
The creativity and imagination in this trilogy is amazing, and this is my favorite book of the three! ( )

In Book 2 of Anne Bishops Black Jewel's Trilogy- With Daemon’s help, Janelle has been brought back from the psychic wasteland she had descended into after a vicious attack. Her body has healed and aged a only couple years but her spirit, that which makes her Witch- Dreams Made Flesh and the very embodiment of magic, is fully mature. She is coming into her powers but some things are missing, chief among them- Daemon. (Thinking he killed her body in the process of recovering her mind, Daemon never left the psychic mists after showing Janelle the way out.)

Janelle has blocked out much of what happened, and thus has forgotten Daemon. But those around her, not knowing exactly where Daemon is anyway, are not ready to lead her through those forgotten memories, assuming she will come to them on her own when she is ready.

Saetan, after challenging the council he helped create for the right to become her Guardian, has stepped up to train and aid her. He would have lost that challenge too if it wasn’t for a magnificent display of power by Janelle that sealed, once and for all, her right to one day become Queen of the Blood.

This chapter of the saga gets a bit bogged down in the mire of political intrigue, but with Janelle’s detractors foiled at every turn, we are still led to an ending where all is returned to her- including her consort- and with her throne all but seized, if not yet secure.

As this is the “bridge” book, the one that continues to build on what started in Daughter of the Blood and leads us to the happenings in the one to follow, it’s not as exciting as the first and last. But it’s needful to read and just as heart wrenching at times. ( )

Wow!! My face is still a bit damp from tears and my heart is still pounding. This is the second book in this trilogy. I read but didn't review the first although it was almost as good. I'm a lover of fantasy, humor, sex and mystery and this trilogy contains all of that. This second book was light on the sex but when you read something this amazing, it really doesn't matter to me.This is the fantasy story of a girl and how she becomes queen of almost all she sees. In the first book we find out some about her lineage and then about the horrible people that pose as her family. She is "witch" and has power beyond any that has been seen before but she must grow up as human and take the abuse and use that goes along with it. This second book is her story of her rise to power, her search for her true lover and her love and acceptance for the "kindred" of the Blood (her lineage). This is a wonderful trilogy for almost anyone. It is so well written that you are in the middle of the story before you know it. Even the long descriptions of things are enticing and I'm a fast reader aka a skimmer. I find myself not skimming in these books. Now I can't wait to jump into the Queen of Darkness. If I could rate this trilogy higher than a 5, I would do so. ( )