Shadows of Destiny

The Ilduin #3

by Rachel Lee

They have liberated Anahar, but for Tess Birdsong and Archer Blackcloak the war has only begun. Anari slaves are rebelling in Bozandar, and the streets of that sparkling city are wet with blood.

Tess and Archer must forge a peace between the warring races, for only together will their combined armies have the strength to move against the dark forces gathering to the west.

As the scars of old wounds are ripped open, pitting brother against brother and the Ilduin sisterhood against itself, Tess and Archer march into a battle that will determine the world's fate. Guided by snow wolves, moving under the dark cloud of a bitter prophecy, they ready themselves to strike at the enemy's seat of power, a mountain fortress that has never been taken.

But their greatest danger comes from within, for Archer carries a dark secret that may doom them all....

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Fantasy Romance

392 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Rachel Lee is a New York Times best-selling author and the winner of Six Romantic Times magazine Reviewers' Choice Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a five-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America's RITA® Award. She has penned a wide variety of novels in several genres including fantasy, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy. She resides in Tampa, Florida.

Reviews

[Abbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shadows of Destiny is the third and final book in the Ilduin Trilogy by Rachel Lee. It follows Tess and her friends in a continued journey to find and battle the dark presence that plagues their world.
I really struggled to get into this book. The descriptions were wonderful and I felt like I walked with the characters. The characters remained likeable and vivid.
However I felt like a lot of the events in the book followed a similar pattern to events in the previous 2 books. While they were different events the themes seemed almost too similar.
I found the ending confusing and unsatisfying
Overall it was a nice story, but I'm not sure if I would read it again. 3 stars.

[Laurla2]

"we grieve not for those who have passed. no, we grieve for ourselves, for the holes that are left in our own lives by the passing of those whom we loved."
"it is as if a piece of flesh has been cut from one's arm. we do not feel the pain of the flesh which is gone. we feel the pain from the flesh that remains, raw and open and torn. until the body can repair it, the pain remains. but it is never fully repaired, for the scar we build is not the same as the flesh it replaces."
"you are saying that ratha needs time to build a scar over the hole that giri's death has left."


"you walk in memories. Do not. there is no surer way to defeat than to refight the last battle."

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was extremely disappointed in this book--to appropriate the concepts of slavery and mirror our own world (light vs dark skinned people) so exactly and then to treat slavery so lightly was abominable. You may be asking how I can say this--the entire book is a 400 page explanation of why slavery and war are bad. The 'bad' reasons, however, are so superficial they are insulting. And as soon as the folks realize the error of their ways and put themselves into purgatory, they are immediately lifted out by precisely the people they've trod on. This is possible and potentially even lovely but the treatment in this novel is pathetic and surface-level. Beyond my distaste for the themes, the writing was amateur, focused on telling to the point where I was not aware of the setting or ever cared about any of the characters. The characters themselves were two-dimensional in the extreme. The plot was thin, repetitive, and predictable and seasoned heavily with lengthy diatribes about the wrongness of wrong and the evilness of evil. Overall I'm just glad I spent three dollars on this book at a used bookstore.

[Randi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have had this book for a long time and I did read the first two in the trilogy. This one, I was thinking OMG, hurry up! I couldn't just "not read" it because it was the third and final in the trilogy.

I'm glad that it was over but it did answer some questions I had in the first two books so... finally! I can't believe that it took me like about 7 to 9 years to finally complete the trilogy - I wasn't that enthused to complete it.

Rachel Lee did superb writing but I wasn't able to get into it as I hoped. So that's why I gave it a 2 stars.

[Jacqueline Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was nothing but a disappointment. The first half was strong, but it was all down hill from there. The romance protion of the plot had all but completely over taken the larger story arch which was disappointing because it was the more interesting plot. The end was pathetic at best. I was flabbergasted. I recommend that you don't waste your time with the final book. Really, read the first two and burn this one. Its a waster of paper.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got lost a bit in the plot as I read the first in this series eons ago. I did enjoy it once I figured out who the characters were. I loved the surprise ending.

Would probably make more sense if read in order but still a good read.

[Erotic Horizon]

Shadows Of Destiny by Rachel Lee (2007)

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good series. Unexpected suprises.

[Carol]

good book.