SHADOW RISING (The Otherworld Series)
by Yasmine Galenorn

PUBLISHER: Jove

PUBLISHED: 14 February 2013

GENRE: Fantasy / Paranormal Romance

We're the D'Artigo sisters; savvy half-human, half-Fae ex-operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. My sister Camille is a wicked-good witch with three sexy husbands. My sister Delilah is a two-faced werecat and Death Maiden. And me? I'm Menolly, a jian-tu turned vampire in love with a wildly hot werepuma. Unfortunately, life is about to get very, very nasty ...

Nerissa and I can't decide what we want to do for our promise ceremony and we're bickering like an old married couple. My sisters and I head to Otherworld for a meeting with Queen Asteria. Once there, we discover that Shadow Wing has dispatched Telazhar - a malevolent necromancer - to reignite the Scorching Wars. And as soon as we return home, we find Gulakah, the Lord of Ghosts, waging a battle to control the magical beings over Earthside. Caught between two terrible enemies in a battle spanning two worlds, we can only hope we're in time to stop all-out annihilation.

MY THOUGHTS:

I had my first brush with Yasmine Galenorn's writing when I was given the chance to review Night Seeker (Indigo Court #3) last year. Having thoroughly enjoyed jumping into the middle of her Indigo Court series, I wasn't overly concerned that my first encounter with Galenorn's Otherworld series was not going to be from the very beginning and I'm pleased to say I was not disappointed.

I soon noticed there are a LOT of characters to remember and as a total novice to the Otherworld, I did find this tricky. There were also references to characters and terminology which would have had more meaning to those readers that have been with the series from the beginning but which I did not always immediately understand. But, never fear, Galenorn has very helpfully provided a cast list and glossary at the back of the book! I only wish I'd realised that sooner!

I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone so all I'll say is that a lot happens! For me, it didn't always flow naturally but considering it's set in a well-established World with a variety of strong characters; each with their own strengths and weaknesses, I was happy to overlook this.

As much as I enjoyed reading the story from Mennolly's point of view, I have to admit I quickly tired of the terms of endearment that her and Nerissa seem to use in every sentence that they speak to each other. Describing each other as "love" and "my sweet" didn't work for me, as I don't think anyone refers to their other half in this way, do they? It certainly sounded awkward to me. Anyway, I realise that probably sounds quite petty but I think it's why I didn't feel particularly invested in their relationship. I wonder whether I would feel the same if I had read the previous books first?

There are a whole host of other characters, not just the D'Artigo sisters themselves, and one of the stand-outs for me was Carter, half-demon, half-Titan, and Leader of the Demonica Vacana Society. But there really is such a mix of characters that I imagine everyone will have someone different that spikes their interest.

And finally, just as with Night Seeker, I can't review this book without mentioning the sex scene with a bitter-sweet ending between Mennolly, Nerissa and Roman. Although to be honest, I am more interested to see how the relationships will evolve now that Mennolly has ties to Blood Wyne herself, and not just Roman.

Overall, and I know I said this last time, I can honestly say I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely read more from Yasmine Galenorn.

 

Read this if: ... you've read the previous books in the Otherworld series, you like your fantasy with more than just vampires and werewolves, and you like stories which include a strong family dynamic

Don't read this if ... you object to same-sex/polygamous relationships, or if you like a more light-hearted form of fantasy.

NIGHT SEEKER (Indigo Court #3)
by Yasmine Galenorn

PUBLISHER: Berkley - US

RELEASE DATE: 06 September 2012

GENRE: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Eons ago, vampires tried to turn the dark Fae in order to harness their magic, only to create a demonic enemy more powerful than they could have imagined. Now, the Vampiric Fae are on the move, hunting anyone in their path. As the war with the vampires ratchets up, Myst, Queen of the Indigo Court, enshrouds New Firest in her chilling grasp.

Cicely Waters, owl shifter and Wind Witch, has rescued the Fae Prince Grieve, at a great cost. Their reunion has lost them the allegiance of the Summer Queen, Lainule - and the tolerance of the vampires. In desperation, they turn to the Consortium - the preeminent magical guild - for help. Now, to regain the goodwill of Lainule, they must dare to enter the heart of Myst's realm. But as Cicely and Grieve embark on their search for the heartstone of Summer, Myst, the Queen of Winter, is already wreaking her terrifying revenge.

I've never read any of the Indigo Court novels before and was slightly worried that jumping into the middle of this series would prove to be a mistake. Fortunately, Night Seeker can be read as a stand-alone book; however, I wouldn't be surprised if, like me, you then end up wanting to read the first 2 in order to find out what you've missed!

 

It is such a refreshing change to read a book that focuses predominantly on the Fae. Most of the books I read tend to be about vampires/werewolves/zombies so I really enjoyed learning some new supernatural lore.

 

There weren't any characters that seemed superficially drawn or out of place and whilst I may have found myself questionning some of their names ("Chatter", really?), I was able to suspend my disbelief and immerse myself in their adventure.

 

I can easily imagine the author writing a spin-off novel for each character and if there was one about Ysandra Petros, an uber powerful member of the Consortium or Kaylin Chen, a dreamwalker with a night veil demon merged into his soul, I'd definitely read it. I can imagine there's a lot of people who'd definitely read one based on the hedonistic vampire, Lannan Altos!

 

The story unfolded at a decent pace and although the main revelation was, for me, slightly anti-climactic, as I guessed it quite early on from the clues given by the author, this didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book and, in fact, I felt the story unravelled in a very natural way.

 

I don't want to spoil the series for anyone that hasn't read this book yet by talking about precisely what happens in it but I don't think you'll be disappointed and the ending will certainly leave you wondering what will happen next. It's definitely not a happy-ever-after situation.

 

And finally, I can't review this book without mentionning the sexual tension within it. And not forgetting some sizzling sex scenes as well! It will be very interesting to see how the relationships between the characters develop and potentially change in the next book in the series.

 

Overall, I can honestly say I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely read more from Yasmine Galenorn.

 

The previous Indigo Court novels are:

 

Night Myst (Indigo Court #1)

Night Veil (Indigo Court #2)