Of Shadow Born Book Review

May 18, 2013 / 1 comment

Of Shadow Born Book ReviewOf Shadow Born by Dianne Sylvan
Series: Shadow World #4
Published by Penguin on March 26, 2013
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Format: ebook
Source: Purchased
Purchase @ AMAZON  or  BN
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Rating 

Spread throughout the dark corners of our world lies the Shadow World, a society of vampires who feed off the living. In Austin, Texas, one woman must rise from the ashes of tragedy and confront an ancient evil before it destroys everything she holds dear…

After a heartrending night of loss and blood, Miranda Grey-Solomon, vampire Queen of the South, now stands in the ruins of her life determined to pick up the pieces and move on. David, her husband and Prime, is missing and presumed dead, and Miranda is lost without her soul mate by her side…But she has little time to grieve as enemies both old and new emerge to test her yet again.

Between vampires trying to take advantage of a Queen without a Prime, incursions by a mysterious organization of humans calling themselves the Order of the Morningstar, and the continuing threat from those within the Shadow World who have already tried to destroy her, Miranda and her allies are running out of places to turn. In order to save her territory and the ones she loves, Miranda must look to the ancient past, to the first days of the vampire race, and uncover secrets about the Signets that could change the course of history…

Liezel’s Thoughts:

 

The story continues immediately after book 3 (Shadow’s Fall) which was a major cliff hanger. And believe me, I was quite upset about what happened in the end of that one for weeks. I can still remember the screaming that occurred underneath my pillow while the husband stared at me like I had lost it. If you’ve read Shadow’s Fall you totally would understand. Thinking about it right now that’s why the reviews weren’t that great for that book. But in my opinion, all of that was necessary for the series.

In the end of Shadow’ Fall, we say goodbye to Faith and farewell to David. His signet was shattered and Miranda has gone missing. Deven and Jonathan stay and try to keep Austin quiet while they search for any evidence of Miranda’s whereabouts. Alive or otherwise… but despite their search they come up empty-handed. Not knowing that Miranda was in the company of the witch Stella, recuperating.

As soon as she’s strong enough she goes back home to reclaim her legacy as Queen of Shadows. This doesn’t come easy but Deven and Jonathan stay in Austin to support her emotionally and attempt to ease the transition into leading the Elite. The staff and the rest of the elite remain loyal and supportive. And oddly Deven and Miranda develop an even deeper and unexplainable relationship.


“Till my body is dust and my soul is no more

I will love you…..love you…

David on the other hand, of course, isn’t dead. He resurfaces.. and here we meet Olivia, Jeremy’s second. (think Australia) Olivia temporarily takes him under her wing and was planning to turn him over to the first group of Elite that she sees. But as soon as they leave her apartment he is drawn across town towards Miranda. Miranda being ambushed by a dozen rogue vampires. David finally shows himself and the rest of the rogues simply disappear in fear. Smart on their part!
As the story moves along we find out that David and Miranda’s link was destroyed. They try multiple ways to understand the cause and how to fix it. We find how David was able to escape final death and what he agreed to do for Persephone so he could reunite with Miranda for eternity. Here we discover that there are elves (something new in this series)? Elves? And guess who’s an elf ?… I would have never guessed.
Meanwhile, as they are trying to get their link fixed Jeremy and Olivia are traveling around the world causing havoc amongst their kind. Acting out of revenge for killing Jeremy’s wife and kidnapping and raping his daughter. Olivia joins in on the crusade out of guilt. Guilt from not being able to protect Jeremy’s family from their demise. Their ultimate goal is Hart (New York).
In the end, Miranda and David get their link back through a whole new ritual. They agree to become Persephone’s thirdborn. Hart is finally eliminated. Olivia becomes the Prime of New York (without a known consort – yet). Jeremy gets kidnapped by a human cult named The Order of the Morningstar. And the world is almost happy again.

The Verdict:

rating-4



I love you so much, Miranda. Nothing could keep me away from you, no fate could stop me from finding you. And no god could win my allegiance if you weren’t by my side.”

Why I love this series?

Read book 1 and you would understand. Love how David and Miranda’s relationship started and has evolved over the years. Miranda’s character development over the entire series is also monumental. Despite her turning, she’s been able to maintain her singing career. The supporting characters are interesting. Most especially Deven and Jonathan. I know everyone hated what happened between Deven and David but hey get over it.! I predict that incident was necessary in the future books and story development. I’m saddened by what happened with Faith but I hope that she gets replaced with someone just as awesome. I’m loving how the relationships are continuing to grow and intertwine. And there are just so much more that I need to know.

The question that may rise for the next book…

1) Who is to take Faith’s spot?
I was honestly disappointed that she died in the last book. I loved her character.
No one, in particular, stands out to me. Maybe Ms. Sylvan will add a new loveable character into the mix.
2)What happened to Jeremy?
He obtains Australia’s signet but it gets destroyed by the Morningstar. So does that mean Australia’s no longer his?
I was hoping that Jeremy becomes Olivia’s consort instead. She can’t rule alone now, can she.
3) What is the Morningstar planning?
Of course, it has to be something major otherwise, Persephone would not have brought back David.
What are they planning to do with that stone in the end?
4) How is Olivia’s rule as Prime?
Any new conflicts? Which I doubt since she has the full support of both Devin and David.
Who is going to be her consort? I really want to know!

5) And finally what is going to happen between Deven, fav  forDavid and Miranda?

Jonathan has noticed a major change in Deven over the years, maybe this is what he needs to be happy again. /swoon.
How will Jonathan take this even something happens between them?

Casting:

Authors choice was someone more like Scarlett Johansson but my choices are either Drew Barrymore or Blake Lively as Miranda Grey.  More on Drew because she’s my favorite actresfav for my favorite heroine. Although her body type is more Blake.



amanda

About Dianne Sylvan

Dianne Sylvan, author of the Shadow World novels (Queen of Shadows, Shadowflame, Shadow’s Fall, the forthcoming Of Shadow Born, and at least one more) as well as two books on NeoPagan spirituality (The Circle Within: Creating a Wiccan Spiritual Tradition and The Body Sacred), lives in Austin, Texas, the only sane part of the entire state.

She is an unabashed Mac enthusiast, a froofy iced coffee beverage addict, a chronic Twitterer, a seasoned snark professional, a Spiritual Nomad, a shameless Vampire Diaries (TV) fangirl, a happy herbivore, a bit of a moody Scorpio, a sock junkie, a slightly freaky tattooed postmodern hippie, a cupcake baker extraordinaire, and is prone to hyperbole as well as fits of profanity.



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