Shadowspell by Jenna Black

Summary:

After it's discovered that Dana is a Faeriewalker, one who can bring magic into the human world and human technology into the Faerie world, she is the target of both assasins and abductors. Her father, an important Fae politician, keeps her under lock and key, and she can't go anywhere without a bodyguard. Naturally, however, Dana still manages to get into trouble, which culminates when she meets the Erlking and his Huntsmen. The Erlking, whose pleasure in life is to hunt mortals and Faeries, wants Dana's powers and will do anything to get them. Will Dana be able to outwit the Erlking or will she just be another pawn in this game of politics and court intrigue?

Review:

I was so excited to get my hands on Shadowspell because I absolutely adored its predecessor, Glimmerglass. I'm not a big fan of fantasy, and I even didn't like Glimmerglass in the beginning, but I changed my mind very quickly. This series is really good and I hope it's longer than a trilogy.

This is the third book I've read in a row that deals with faeries. It's really funny because I haven't read a lot of Faerie books but it's fun to see the similarities and differences nonetheless. I think I like the Faeriewalker Books better than the Wicked Lovely series but that's just my preferance.

I love Dana as the main character. She is very well-written, including her actions, her thoughts and her dialogue. She's sarcastic like any teenager but really wants to save the day and take control of her own life. Even though she is mostly human in that she can't do magic, she is still a very strong and courageous character.

Dana is hilarious because she is the one who would get into a heap of trouble and has a 24 hour a day bodyguard. A lot of the mayhem involves a new character, the Erlking. I really liked the parts with him because he is evil but actually seems pretty nice sometimes. It is an interesting dichotomy. Dana has to promise him something ... interesting, and we'll just leave it at that.

A book isn't complete without some romance, and our leading lady has two good choices. There's the obvious one, Ethan, because they are sort of together but not. And then there's Keane, who is teaching Dana self-defense. The author makes it apparent that he kind of likes Dana, but she is woefully unaware of his feelings which should be fun in the future. And I honestly don't know who I like better. So we'll see what happens in the next book, Sirensong.

All in all, I really enjoyed Shadowspell and I think all fans of fantasy will agree. I'm also excited to see what happens to Dana in the next book, Sirensong.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

FTC: reviewed through Flaminget Review Program.

2010/St. Martin's Griffin/295 pages.