Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop

This is the second book in the Black Jewel Trilogy by Anne Bishop following on from Daughter of the Blood.

Dreams Made Flesh

The Blood have waited centuries for the coming of Witch, the living embodiment of magic. But Jaenelle, the young girl prophecy spoke of, is haunted by the cruel battles fought over her future power.. for not all the Blood await her as saviour. Some dismiss her as myth. Some refuse to believe. And some would use her, making her a puppet to their whims.

Only time, and the love of her guardians have healed Jaenelle's physical wounds. But her mind is still fragile, amnesia providing a shield from the terrors of her childhood. Nothing, however, can shield her from her destiny. And soon the day of reckoning will come. When her memories return. When her magic matures. When she is forced to accept her fate.

And on that day, the dark Realms will know what it means to be ruled by Witch.

THIS is the book I read while I was on holidays!! Which is kind of funny I guess because it wouldn't be my normal kind of vacation read - mainly because it is a book that I had to think about as I read it, particularly in the beginning parts.

This book takes up where the first book begins, so there may be a few spoilers for Daughter of the Blood in this review.

Jaenelle's body is healing but her spirit is still wandering in the abyss following on from the traumatic events at the end of the last book. This book is really the story of her gradual recovery, both physically and mentally, her gradual rebuilding of her friendships with the other young queens in the realms that will eventually help form her power base and also her realisations about what really happened to her, and who saved her life.

Lucivar plays more of the starring role in this book, and Daemon is much less present (and I missed him). It enable Jaenelle and Lucivar to form a stronger relationship that I am sure will be an important element of the next book. I do however really hope that Lucivar gets to find a mate in the next book.

I think that reading this book has really helped get my head around the world that Bishop has created. I think I said in my review of Daughter of the Blood that there were things that I found confusing in relation to the world building in the first book. In this book because there was actually less world building as opposed to just living in the created world it was much easier to follow the intricate webs between worlds and different levels and things within the realms. I am glad that I didn't leave too much time between reading the two books.

There was still plenty of tensions within the story as some tried to get to Jaenelle to destroy her and stop her from reaching her fated position of Witch. The stage is set for a fantastic third book, for Daemon to reenter the story, Jaenelle ready to be who she is fated to be and the world ready for the show down between good and evil.

Rating 4.5/5


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