Queen of Shadows

Original post here: http://offbeatvagabond.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-review-queen-of-shadows-shadow....

Another book that once I started it, I wanted to punch myself for waiting so long to read it in the first place. I wanted to read this because I love my Urban Fantasies and I love my badass heroines. But I had no idea how dark this book would be. It definitely grabbed my attention quickly and didn't let go until the end.

The main character Miranda isn't your typical heroine. Due to her power, she can read and control people's emotions, she is very isolated. She keeps to herself because everyone effects her. She is a very depressed woman with one thing to love; her music. After a performance on stage, she experiences something dreadful show more and tragic night, she finds out she has more power than she thought. She finds her will to live and she finds that she shares the world with vampires. Our other main character David is definitely high on my list of book boyfriends. He is what I always wanted to see in a alpha male, but I never have. A vampire who is super hot, super powerful, super nerdy, loves video games and is obsessed with Ben and Jerry's ice cream. How can you not love that?!

I love the connection between David and Miranda. Lots of chemistry even though they both fought it. I love that Sylvan takes the time out to really let us know her characters. We get so much insight into our main characters, we love them seperately just as much as we love them together. And I also love that it didn't happen immediately. They had some bumps to go over first and that was a great experience to see.

I really love the story. It was paced very well. Someone is killing of vampires and humans and it just seems like random killings. But there is a connection that was interesting considering it is something you would expect from humans, not vampires. It was definitely a unique concept that was great to read.

I also like Sylvan's take on the vampire world. It was so structed and run well. David truly is a genius. I love how they choose the warriors to be a part of the team. It is nice reading that because with a lot of other books, it is all about who bit you first. This was different.

Overall, this is going the favorites list. I loved the characters. Miranda is such a wonderful heroine. She is strong and powerful, but very vulnerable and Sylvan did a great job showing us all those angles. This book is dark and action-packed. I couldn't ask for anything more really. Definitely recommended. I have book 2 with me right now and plan on starting it tonight. show less

Its not hard for me to pinpoint why Queen of Shadows works so well for me. There's three reasons actually. One, Miranda doesn't just suddenly overcome her fears. Two, David is honest about who he is, what he has done and doesn't expect anything more from Miranda than a safe recovery. And three, the soul mate/destined for one and other principle works here in a believable way.

Let me back up. Miranda in the beginning is a desperately miserable young woman, barely surviving and staying sane. Things don't go so well for Miranda fifty pages or so. A horrific incident occurs (a warning would be advised here) and her world is suddenly inside out.

Sylvan takes her time in building the connection between David and Miranda. There is definite show more tension between them, but the two of them are both cautious (for separate reasons) and instead build a solid trust with each other. Its not easy, Miranda doesn't miraculously begin trusting David (or his associates), she's wary of his intentions and sanity quite frankly. And David is wary of her. He doesn't quite understand why he felt a need to bring her back to 'Haven' (the compound he runs his territory from) or why he feels a need to train her so she can control her gift.

Slowly the two open to each other and it’s a sweet process. They communicate, something severely lacking in a lot of relationships in books today. And when the time comes for them to reveal all, well it felt more satisfying (to me, the reader). It didn't feel like the author was pushing this connection to excuse them feeling all touchy-feely after only two days.

Faith and Sophie cracked me up. The two of them added a stretch of humor to the book that kept it from being too brooding.

My only complaint is that Miranda goes from one end to the other end with what seemed like very little difficulty towards the climax of the novel. There was pain, and it didn't come about in the most delicate of ways, but she took it in a stride. I think, based on the rest of the novel and previous explanations, Sylvan was trying to say that Miranda was a natural due to her heritage and gift, plus her connection with David. Which I'm fine with, I'm also cool with her being Miss Kick Butt--we see her training and learning. I wasn't as cool with her becoming Miss Best At All Things in what seemed like a relatively short amount of time.

The epilogue however was priceless. I would so do what that girl does if confronted by a hero of mine. show less

This book was a breath of fresh air in the glut of vampire fiction that is covering the shelves these days. The heroine, Miranda, felt real, which is something that I feel Urban Fantasy is starting to lose. Miranda makes bad choices. She suffers. Not everyone loves her. Terrible things happen to her and she doesn’t immediately get over them. I loved the way music was worked in, and Sylvan really captured the feel of Austin.

When I was looking for Sarah J. Maas' book Queen of Shadows I came across this book and decided to read it as well. Quick sensitivity warning, there is a gang rape scene that may be difficult for some readers to read.

Miranda comes into her empathic powers as an adult, she doesn't know what is happening to her but uses it through her music until it grows out of control almost killing her.

David takes Miranda in after discovering her over the bodies of her rapists, she's bloody and beaten and needing help. David is the Prime of the Southern vampires, he and his Elite are hunting down a rogue insurgent faction, but he keeps making time for Miranda. David helps her recover from her attack and trains her psychically before pushing her away show more to keep her safe until he's rooted out the uprising, but we all know how that ends.

I enjoyed this world, the main characters as well as some of the secondary characters. David's second easily steals the limelight at times as well as Miranda's trainer Sophie. I loved seeing Miranda grow and change from helpless to strong and in charge of her life. There's a lot of predictability and a few, 'that was too stupid' moments that had me downgrade this read from a five to a four and I didn't like seeing David having sex while feeding when he had Miranda in the house. I know it was still early in the getting to know you stages but I wanted him to be turned off by others not seeking every other red head available.

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4-4.5 stars
I decided to re-read this books and the others in the series to remind myself of the happenings, and in hopes that the next installment will be released soon.

I was surprised to see that my rating after the first read was 5 stars, until I remembered that, in the event my rating has a fraction, I round up to the next whole, since I can't actually select 4.5 stars.

On re-reading it I decided that it was between 4-4.5 stars, and rounding down to a four was a more accurate score. I still enjoyed it, and think it was well out together, and a very good starting point for a series, setting up the world building. It whetted my appetite and made me invested in finding out what happened to the characters next.

This first book in a new urban fantasy series was fabulous. It was dark and romantic, with complex characters and a unique plot. I am always excited when I come across a book that takes a common trope, like vampires, and makes it intriguing and fresh.

Miranda is an empath; she can feel other’s emotions. She first discovers this while performing with her guitar. At first it is wonderful for her, but it starts to overwhelm her, and by the time we meet Miranda at the beginning of this book, she is getting weaker and weaker, and cannot control her powers. Luck is on her side when she comes across David Solomon, a vampire, and leader of the vampires in the southern states, in the grocery store. He recognizes her powers and is able to teach show more her how to control them. David is having his own problems with a group of vampires who do not like his law of not killing humans. They are leaving dead humans around Austin with their symbol written in blood.

Again, this is a pretty dark story. Miranda goes through a very graphic and terrible situation at the beginning of the book. But the strong characters and wonderful world building made this one heck of a story. show less

I didn't realize this was UFR instead of just UF, so I wasn't crazy about that. The book started out super dark & gritty UF, and then turned into total gooey PNR. That lost a star from me. And my least favorite kind of PNR, to boot--the fated-to-be-mated kind. I tolerate it in shifter books, cause well, they're animals. But otherwise I just think it's stupid.I'm not a big PNR fan--I just don't feel like I get to know the characters well enough to be gaga for the romance, and in turn, I don't feel the characters have gotten to know each other well enough, either.Call me crazy, but I prefer my heroine & hero to be a bit antagonistic to each other in the beginning of the series. Lends to some juicy sexual tension--I guess I'm just a fan of show more delayed gratification. ;)I did like the characters, I'm curious to see what the author does with them in future books. I think it's difficult for authors to write a couple that's already together--so much of this genre is about flirting, angst & tension.One of the things I really liked about this book was the whole concept of being a victim vs. being strong, and how someone can give you a push in the right direction, but it's up to you to make that choice and get yourself there. I'm never much a fan of a heroine who needs the hero to save/protect her. It's nice when he does, but I need her to be able to do it on her own, too.Although I thought the end took that a bit too far. So she's obsessed in love with this dude, but she didn't memorize his phone number over all those months of pining for him? Yes, I know we all rely on speed dial these days, but when all is said and done, aren't we all just silly 13 year old girls when we're gaga for a guy? And silly 13 year old girls memorize said guy's phone number.So, since she doesn't know his phone number, she has to go through her change alone, locked in her human friend's bathroom. Days go by, he thinks she's dead, he's of course pining away, while she finally makes her way to him, of course during the big climactic battle scene. It was a bit over the top for me. show less