March 18,
2012
Shadowlander
(Shadow Sisters #1)
by Theresa
Meyers
Genre: Urban
Fantasy
Publisher:
Entangled Publishing
Release
Date: November 1st, 2011
Author: Website Facebook Twitter
GoodReads
Author Summary
Four sisters, three
rules to live by, one big problem.
O'Connell Family Rule
#1: Don't let the Fae know you see them.
O'Connell Family Rule
#2: Don't talk to the Fae.
O'Connell Family Rule
#3: Never, ever follow them.
Most people only
believe what they can see. Gifted with the ability to see the deep, dark fae of
Shadowland, Catherine Rowan Mary O'Connell would prefer not to. When the fae
abduct her friend Maya, Cate breaks the sacred O'Connell Family Rules and sets
a trap for the handsome fae who haunts her every step.
Rook, High Court
Advisor to the Shadow King, has been following Cate since she was sixteen. When
Cate reveals herself as one of the fabled "Seers", Rook is
stunned—she is one of the few that can permanently open the gates between their
worlds. If he turns her over to the Shadow King, his court will rule the human
realm.
Cate knows she has
precious little time to find Maya. By midnight, the glamour of Mid-Summer's Eve
will fade, leaving her trapped forever in the Shadowland, but Maya's abductor
won't give up the woman he's mesmerized easily.
The midnight hour is
almost at hand. Cate must choose: her freedom or her destiny.
My Thoughts
I adore
stories about the Fae! The legends, lore
and myths, the fact that I’m completely transported to a place where
imagination completely takes over, or perhaps it’s just my Irish heritage. Regardless of the reasoning, these kinds of
stories are among my favorites.
This
novella is an introduction to the new Shadow Sisters series by Theresa Meyers. It sets the stage for the full-length novel
due to come out in Fall 2012. The author
has given life to a spectacular world with Fae and humans sharing the earth but
in different realms. Humans are unaware of the Fae living among them with the
exception of Fae Seers that are extremely rare. Seers don’t know why but they
learn from a young age to avoid the Fae at all costs and never let them know
you can see them. The O’Connell sisters are
‘seers’ of the Fae.
In this
novella, we are introduced to Cate as one of the four O’Connell sisters, and
Rook as the Prince of the Shadow Court. Theirs is a love against many odds…different
worlds to which they belong, their minds at odds with their hearts and their
responsibilities at odds with their passion.
Shadowlander is a great introduction to the Shadow Sisters series.
So about
the story…
The
novella gives us the background about an ongoing war between the Shadowland Fae
and the Wyldwood Fae. The Shadowland Court
will soon appoint a new leader for the war. Rook, as the King’s son, is
positioned to become the leader, however the ambitious Kallus has plans to
usurp Rook. A war prize will prove a
boon to the King so he kidnaps Maya, the impulsive friend of Cate, to gain
favor with the King.
Cate
O’Connell is a Fae Seer as is her four sisters.
They’ve spent their lives learning to deal with the ability from their
grandmother. Their mother disappeared
when they were very young never to be seen again.
Rook
has been infatuated with Cate for a very long time. He often follows her around and watches over
her. He has no idea that Cate can see him. Cate isn’t spooked by his stalker-like behavior,
as he’s never aggressive. She actually
feels protected and at ease with him watching over her. And more than a little intrigued with him
also.
When Cate
watches her best friend Maya being led to her doom by a Fae, she hatches a hasty
plan to get her back. She will let Rook
know her ability, use his infatuation with her to get him to invite her to the
Fae realm and save her friend. A very
flawed plan from the start but there it is.
She didn’t have time for anything more elaborate as her ability to get
Maya back to the human realm without the aid of a Fae would cease in 12 hours, the
end of Mid-summer’s Eve.
Another
important aspect to the overall plot of the series is an intended invasion of
Upland (a term the Fae use to refer to the human realm). The Fae view Upland as
theirs since they owned it first and humans are destroying it. They don’t want to do away with humans, only
the control to make humans cease destruction.
The invasion would prove to be much easier if a Seer with the ability to
permanently open the gates between worlds were possessed. A willing Seer that is, would give the Fae a
clear advantage over the human realm.
The
relationship between Rook and Cate sizzles from the beginning of the novella. Rook dare not let himself touch Cate, as he’s
afraid he might not be able to stop himself from taking her. He satisfies himself with light touches of
Cate’s hair and getting as close as he can without touching. She knows of course what he’s doing and can
feel his closeness, however she can never let on. For sixteen years, this desire burns. So you can imagine the passion that erupts
when he realizes she can feel him. Meyers
is very skillful at ensuring we feel what they feel. The passion blazes off the pages and to tell
the truth, I was quite mesmerized.
But as
their passion continues to ignite, there is still intent on both sides to use
each other, albeit reluctantly, for the good of others. Cate uses Rook’s infatuation with her to
obtain his promise of help in finding Maya and seeing her safely returned home,
and Rook knows that possessing a Seer can give his Court a clear advantage over
others in coming wars.
One
thing I wish the author addressed was the fact that Cate put her sisters in
danger by revealing her seer abilities to Rook and the Shadowlanders. The Fae know the ability is hereditary and
therefore by outing herself, she put her family in danger. I don’t know how
this could have been dealt with but maybe in the next novel, we’ll see a
purpose.
One
thing that I found very cute and giggle-worthy is how the author set it up so
that the more mischievous Fae are the cause of accidents on the human realm and
they spend their time wreaking havoc whenever possible for mere amusement. Not cool but kinda funny in a macabre way.
Bottom Line
In my
opinion, this novella was a great introduction to the Shadow Sisters series.
If you like adult stories about Fae of legends, you will enjoy this one. If Meyers
can achieve what she has in a novella, I sure am eager to see what she can do
with a full-length novel. I hear that
Book #2 is due out this fall 2012 and I can’t wait!! I’m really looking forward to reading more in
this series!
Happy Reading!!
4 Bad Boys – Really
Enjoyed It!!!!
BUY NOW…
I love stories about the Fae as well. It seems it has a heavy romantic element too though, which I usually don't go for. Is this the case? It still sounds really interesting and it's hard to find new takes on the Faery mythology.
ReplyDeleteYeah there is a lot of romance to this story. i was surprised to see it was labelled as UF and not PNR. Sometimes the lines are so blurred between these 2 genres. Right now i can see the story taking on more action if an invasion of earth happens and the other sisters get involved. But Its hard to know which direction Meyers will take it though. Give it a go to see if you like it. Its a fast read because its a novella and its only $0.99 right now.
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