Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
Release Date: April 20, 2010
Publisher: Harper Teen
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 352
Source: Traveling to Teens
Interest: Series
Challenge: None
Other Titles in the Series: Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange & Fragile Eternity
Hunger for nourishment.
Hunger for touch.
Hunger to belong.
Half-human and half-faery, Ani is driven by her hungers.
Those same appetites also attract powerful enemies and uncertain allies, including Devlin. He was created as an assassin and is brother to the faeries' coolly logical High Queen and to her chaotic twin, the embodiment of War. Devlin wants to keep Ani safe from his sisters, knowing that if he fails, he will be the instrument of Ani's death.
Ani isn't one to be guarded while others fight battles for her, though. She has the courage to protect herself and the ability to alter Devlin's plans—and his life. The two are drawn together, each with reason to fear the other and to fear for one another. But as they grow closer, a larger threat imperils the whole of Faerie. Will saving the faery realm mean losing each other?
By far my favorite book of the series!
This fae series is one of a kind. Each novel could possibly stand alone, but the series is better savored if read in the order of release. The Wicked Lovely Books are not your average tale of twinkling fairies of hope and love. The fae in these stories are dangerous, destructive and lethal. Their world isn't sunshine and rainbows, it's despair and longing. It's so richly layered, so stunningly crafted, I was just taken aback by the entire thing. I didn't put it down.
I'm honestly amazed at the initially unseen connections within the entire series. The plot is just so intricately woven... just wow. I was impressed by the entire novel... writing, plot, characters. Everything was right on.
I loved both of the main characters in the novel, Ani and Devlin. In the previous novels I always wanted to see more of Seth and Ash, their minor roles were just never enough. With Radiant Shadows, I couldn't get enough of Ani and Dev, I was completely engrossed in "their" story! Seth & Ash who?
I also give kudos to Marr for writing what she does. I love that she isn't afraid to cross the "normal" relationship barriers. She stays so true to the limitations she has set, it's refreshing to see an author stick to what they started with. Marr doesn't write for a reader, she writes the story as it's meant to be told.
I'm very much looking forward to where we are taken next.