Review: Queen of Shadows

Dianne Sylvan
Urban Fantasy
389 pages
Shadow World #1
Chapter 1
ACE 


Back Cover:

Spread throughout the dark corners of our world lies the Shadow World, a society of vampires that feeds off the living. In Austin, Texas, one woman’s madness will drive her into a world that few people ever see – or even know exists…


Shortly after she picked up a guitar, Miranda Grey conquered the Austin music scene with a newfound ability to psychically manipulate her audience’s emotions. But as her powers outgrow her control, her mind is increasingly invaded by haunting secrets and overwhelming sadness. Unable to look anyone in the eye, Miranda is fast approaching the edge of insanity – with no one to catch her fall…

When he outlawed killing humans, David Solomon ignited a civil war among Austin’s vampires. As Prime of the South, his sympathy for mortals angered the old guard who refuse to control their violent urges. David has his hands full with the growing insurgency, but he takes in a broken-down woman, a musician in need of supernatural guidance. Little does he know that Miranda Grey has the power to change his world as well…

Review:
It's true, I take my fiction dark.  The darker the better. It's difficult to make a story gritty and hard, but still come off emotional.  Sylvann pulls it off flawlessly and basically right away. She starts off by giving us an unedited view into the struggling, damaged mind of Miranda Grey, and then quickly throws Miranda and us into the worst possible situation a woman can ever imagine.  It's not easy to read, but you do.  And the story is better for it.  The emotions are raw and surprisingly refreshing.  Sylvan holds nothing back; doesn't play nice and shield your feelings.  And I enjoyed every last second of it.


This is not a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am kind of plot.  The author takes her time and let's the characters and the plot progress naturally.  But don't worry about drag, the pacing is perfect.  There wasn't a time throughout the pages where I wanted to stop.  The story is continual and exciting until the very last page.  Not only is there a possible love story, but there's an exciting and constant battle brewing that has a few twists you wont see coming.


The 2 main characters, Miranda Grey and David Soloman are unique, well-defined and all-together interesting.  Miranda is a struggling musician, but moreover is an all around struggling person.  She's bombarded constantly by people's emotions, and if she accidently touches someone she can hear their thoughts.  She's been keeping everything in check through her music playing, but when we meet her she's pretty low.  The transformation we witness over the course of the first part of the book is all her.  What I mean is, she doesn't try to re-build herself because she's turned vampire {she's not btw}. With some help from a certain vampire, she reevaluates her self-worth and begins to believe in herself again. This is where David Soloman steps in.  David is the ruling vampire for the southern states, and even though he rules with an iron fist, he's not emotionless.  In fact, it's quite the opposite. Even from the very beginning, due to the way in which he reaches out to Miranda, you can see that he has a tender spirit.  Sure, he's hard-headed and stubborn, but he's not untouchable. His emotions and reactions are honest and natural. He transforms as much as Miranda does over the course of the book, and I think that's why you become so attached to these characters.  You see their vulnerabilities turn into character traits.  I simply feel in love with them both, and will watch their adventures until the very end.  


Bottom Line: The emotional joy-ride that is, Queen of Shadows, should be enjoyed by every. single. paranormal fan.  Period.   


5 stars