Heir to the Shadows (Black Jewels Series #2)

Return to the dark, complex, and beatiful world of Anne Bishop

Bishop keeps the trilogy alive with this second book. The continuing story of Jenelle is moving and emotional. The battles, though not spectacular, and the physical enemies, though week, are not the point of this book. It is the inner psychological battle of the young witch, where she is her only formidable enemy. This series continues to impress me. I love the rich culture of the world created by Bishop. I'm fascinated by what goes on in each of the Realms and how they've changed yet still echo what they were created to be. And the characters--I find myself drawn to them, again and again, as if they're old friends already. The characters are complex, rich with detail and emotion. The kindred are introduced more fully in this book. Anne Bishop is excellent at character development. I have not had a book draw me in the way this one did in a very long time. It is very easy to slip into this book and feel like you are part of it. At the end of the first book, there was a point where I got chills and became quite emotionally bound to the welfare of the main character. The second book has repeated that sensation. This is a complex book but a truly easy and delightful read. This book was a real page turner, I recommend heartily the series for and fantasy fan.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fascinating journey into the darkness....

Absolutely wonderful, I literally could not put this down and wanted to read late into the night to find out what happened next. I had no idea where the story would lead but I knew it would be good, and it was. My only complaint would be that the timeline of the novel seemed a bit disjointed....one page we're in the one year and then the next page we're 2 years after with no warning and it may take several pages to be told that it's been that long. But overall it doesn't detract from the thrill of the story.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Awesome!

I couldn't put this down. Right after I finsished the first book I immediately picked this one up and barely put it down! Very different from other books I've read and I just love the story and characters. Found myself giggling a few times.. Very fun read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Favorite

This is the second book in my all-time favorite series.

Awesome

Love this book.

Love the book, hate B&N policy

All of the books in Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series are amazing. Just an FYI, these book are all also DRM protected, which means you can only read them with a Nook, and you are not able to convert them!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

An Enthralling Continuation

Heir to the Shadows, as the previous book describes it, is the continuation of the story of Jaenelle, Saetan, Lucifar and Daemon that began in Daughter of the Blood. But if the first book is remarkable for Saetan's arc (he stands as a father figure to Jaenelle) then this installment is notable for Lucifar's growth in the course of the story--the man that stands as a brother to Jaenelle. The story is plain fun to read as Jaenelle begins to form around her the beginnings of her court from other powerful witches to magical creatures such from unicorns to talking dogs. Despite some dark themes, there is a lot of humor in this book, one of the many reasons I enjoy it so much as well as strong world-building.

Stronger than the Daughter of the Blood, but still uneven.

The second book in the Black Jewels trilogy picks up almost immediately after the conclusion of Daughter of the Blood, then quickly starts jumping forward in time in intervals of days, months, and even years. The story makes these jumps throughout, and unfortunately, Bishop does not accomplish them smoothly. The jumps are necessary to keep the plot moving, but every time there was a jump forward in time I felt a moment of dislocation, as there are very few clues in the text about what happened in the intervening time -- I understand that the time was mostly irrelevant, but the author needs to be firmly enough in control that he/she can say "Over the next two years, Jaenelle continued to gain physical strength while her emotional well-being stagnated. . ." or something of the sort to smooth the transition.

Another jarring aspect was that Bishop doesn't seem able to handle having all three of her main male characters in the same book. Lucivar was nearly nonexistant in Daughter of the Blood, while Daemon and Saetan got all the screen time; in Heir to the Shadows it is Lucivar and Saetan that are the focus while Daemon languishes in limbo off screen. In Daughter of the Blood this didn't bother me tremendously, for even though his perspective was shown very early on, not enough had been established about his character for me to feel the lack. But in Heir to the Shadows Daemon is already a well-established character, one whom I eventually cared about deeply, so to have him essentially forgotten for the years that the book covers was frustrating.

Beyond those two things, however, Heir to the Shadows was more engaging than Daughter of the Blood was; I still have no real sense of the physical landscape, but at least the magic system gained a little complexity (though it still resembles an RPG too strongly for my taste) and all the people lusting after Jaenelle this time were bad guys, so it didn't raise my hackles. (Besides, she grew up, so it was less queasy-making.) I still objected to the fact that none of the characters ever sat down and hashed things out -- there would have been less conflict if they had, but that sort of conflict is cheap anyway -- but overall this was a stronger novel than its predecessor, and I am looking forward to reading the conclusion of the trilogy.

This is a good book and a quick read.

I really liked this book, and the series in general. It's a different story line than I have read before, and has very intneresting characters.

Excellent Read

Her books are just great especially the Shadow books!! Once you start reading can't put it down and you really start to feel for the characters!

OMG Again!

This is the second book in the trilogy and just like the first one it hooked me right away. I couldn't put it down. Anne Bishop takes you into a world that is filled with amazing characters. Most definitely read the first book in the series and then this one, you won't regret it.

Absolute Best!!!

I love this writer! I can't even count how many times i've read this trilogy over the past years. I always come back to over and over. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read.

Avid Reader

Never have i read a better book. Each book in the trilogy only gets better than the last. And the spin offs definately don't dissapoint.

Exceptional Series!

This is a wonderful sequel to an already wonderful book. It is as wonderfully written as the first book and it pulls you right back into Anne Bishop's mesmerizing world.

Amazing!

This book only illuminated Anne Bishop's amazing talent to weave an exquisit world so natural and life like our own I highly recommend this book to anyone who truly appreciates a well written fantasy book!

Love this series

This was, by far, my favorite book. The entire series is like nothing else around. It takes the dark magic stereotype and changes it into something not a lot of people would expect. Anne Bishop is a great writer with an even greater writing style. A perfect mixture of humor and drama. And the characters seem so human. This was the best book ever

My Favorite

This is my favorite book in the trilogy! So great, and the suspense is killer. I loved the characters and the story, everything about it.

Hello Great

Who would not love this book that has everything. From 'i would die and lie to you love, so you can stay forever safe' kind of love. It was hard for me not to cry because of what she put up with so that her sister counld live and she could save her friends. It was just great for anyone.

BEWARE THE BLOOD!!

If you have anything important to do, do it befroe you buy these books! And I strongly recommend that you buy all three books. These books hook you, And they end abruptly, so make sure you have the entire trilogy before settling down for these amazing novels, and Anne bishop is a WONDERFUL writer. This book is a bit 'cleaner' than the 1st, and Daemon isn't in it that much, but i loved it all the same. ( Side Effects of reading the Black Jewels Trilogy maybe and are not limited to: Insomnia, due to reading all night, Daydreaming about your favorite parts,and varied emotional reactions. Use Caution: They can be highly addictive.)

The best book ever!!

This book was SOOOOO good!! I was up all night reading this book when I was supposed to be studying for a test! Everybody that read the last book will love this book.