Shadow Fall

Shadowchasers #3

by Seressia Glass

Truth is the most dangerous weapon of all . . .

Kira Solomon’s life has never been simple. Battling against the Fallen, serving the Egyptian goddess Ma’at, becoming romantically involved with a 4,000-year-old Nubian warrior—these are now everyday realities. But something is changing. Kira’s magic is becoming dangerously unpredictable, tainted by the Shadow she has been trained to destroy.

Matters grow worse when an Atlanta museum exhibit based on the Egyptian Book of the Dead turns out to have truly sinister properties. As the body count rises, even long-trusted allies start to turn against Kira. She can hardly blame them—not when the God of Chaos is stalking her dreams and the shocking truth about her origins is finally coming to light. As one of the good guys, Kira was a force to be reckoned with. But if the only way to stop a terrifying adversary is to fight Shadow with Shadow, then she’s ready to find out just how very bad she can be. . . .

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Gods, Urban

369 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 26, 2011

About the author

Seressia Glass is an award-winning author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance and paranormal romance. Her current series include the Shadowchasers urban fantasy series and the Sons of Anubis paranormal romance series.

Seressia lives south of Atlanta with her guitar-wielding husband and two bulldozer cane corsos and a senior poodle. When not working on her next story, Seressia spends her free time watching way too much anime and Kdramas.

Reviews

[Estara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has Egyptian mythology in the background and a black kick-ass heroine together with a 4000 year old Nubian warrior, both wearing braids - and lots of other fascinating glimpses at various non-European mythologies. I really enjoyed the first two books.

It's set in Atlanta, too - and the love story between Kira and Khefar is as highly charged with minefields of problems as the love story between Kate Daniels and Curran ever was.

----
Okay, so probably people will compare it even more with Kate Daniels, now we get a scene with a clan of were-hyenas. However in this series the various paranormal people all have backgrounds in various folklores - often of Africa or Asia (Ilona Andrews does that too, but not explicitly with the various strains of were-people ruled by Curran).

Also, the big mythology single strand this time was the Egyptian Book of the Dead - we get explanations and some prayer quotes and stuff which I found totally fascinating (but I teach history so take that into consideration). It's not really info-dumped, it's well woven into the show-down with the big bad this time: Set, god of chaos (and his ally Mishael, mistress of the shadows).

There are some very sad developments that were believably set up in the previous book in Kira's relationship with the people who have stood by her so far, on the other hand Khefar and her finally come out and declare their love for each other, Khefar even going so far as to talk about some harrowing experiences in his past and Kira talking about the catastrophic revelations of her personal history that she has just discovered.

I liked the fact that Kira keeps on developing more common sense in her dealing with the Gilead comission and has won the support of its local head - she even manages to broker a temporary truce with a band of paranormals that are not wholly of the light but were also targeted by the Shadow and who want to fight in the big showdown alongside the Gilead troops.

At that point she only has the feeling that she's reaping the rewards of the way she ran her Shadowchasing career beforehand - solitary without working much with the commission but therefore more interested in keeping in balance with the rest of Atlanta. That's why she gets called when things are problematic now, they don't perceive her as rigid as Gilead.

The big action/personal plot is the fact that Kira has to balance the light and shadow side of her power and accept her heritage - and basically leave the path of Light and become a force of Balance - although she would probably call it a force of Truth. And while she's human enough to try avoiding some of the personal truths for herself - as soon as other lives are in danger she goes at it no matter what and accepts what she has to - still snatching victory from the jaws of defeat/compromise along the way.

Personally I think she'll be much more efficient now, but of course she'll have to watch herself like a hawk - then again, she's always done that anyway, because of her touch-reading powers.

This book has a huge proportion of people of colour, so if you don't read it because of that, you're missing out on a really good urban fantasy series. I hope Kira can get some more true allies in the next book, but I'm very gratified that Khefar is even more on her side than ever now.

[Tamye Whitener · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intense Read!

This book has all the feels; Friendship, betrayal, love, family (not just blood), and self-discovery.

There is a lot of action, character growth, and manipulation. Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing, characters that keep you rooting for them, and a storyline that keeps you invested.

For the most part, everything is wrapped up. But the author leaves just enough of a teaser that gives you hope for more stories in this world.

I highly recommend this story and series.

[Bookaholics · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadow Fall by Seressa Glass
Urban Fantasy – July 26th, 2011
4 stars

Shadow Fall is the third book in the Shadow series which incorporates Egyptian mythology.

Kira and her boyfriend, Khefar have finally found a stable relationship. But due to Kira’s powerful heritage, things are about to explode around them. Kira’s mentor, Balm, is the Lady of the Light but the world cannot be in balance only with the Light. When the Lady of Shadow, informs Balm her time with Kira is over and it is her turn to initiate Kira, Balm fears the worst. Kira’s powers could make her a destructive power for the Shadow. In a bid to help Kira, she gifts her with a chest that has clues about her heritage in hopes that it will help her fight against the Lady of Shadow who is already invading Kira’s dreams.

Those who have invested in this series will be glad to know that Kira finally has solid information about her mysterious mother and her relation to Balm. The relationship between Kira and Khefar is satisfying to read. The powerful (and studly) Khefar believes in Kira and is her touchstone. However, I did have one big problem with this story. Kira has asked Balm over and over about her mother and Balm had denied her. When Balm finally gives her the big clue, what does she do? She waits! She doesn’t open the chest immediately. It is not until page 141 that she finally gets the nerve to open it! Kira received the chest very early in the story and I was really frustrated with Kira for waiting so long. Also, the action only really begins after Kira opens the chest but before that point, it is very dull as I kept waiting for her to do something. So a third of the book had me frustrated. Except that section, this was a thrilling and exciting read as Kira must battle unbelievable powers to claim her birthright.

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the second book. A bit slow at times, but the conflict is well-written and I love the developing relationship between Khefar and Kira. And the ending is perfect!

[Aisha Oaktree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally Reviewed on Bewitching Bibliophile

Once again we are back in the world of Kira and the Shadowchasers. Book three is a rollercoaster of a ride, we start with Kira returning to Atlanta after the events of book two and needing to catch up on her 'real world life' she promised to work on a new exhibit which featured the Egyptian Book of the Dead (Or the book of Coming Forth by Dawn which is the real name ) which would be on display in Atlanta's museum. Once she started working it helped her place what was happening in the shadowchaser world in the background for her for a bit. However, not long after the exhibit opens people start getting sick and ending up in the hospital. Now she has to figure out what about the exhibit is hurting people.

I absolutely loved this story, we get a lot about Kria's journey to learning more about herself and her personal history; & this time she's got to deal with this while it appears the bad boy of the Pantheon is awakening and putting his two cents into the battles being waged. I loved that Atlanta's landscape plays a part in the story as this helps to ground the story in our world and makes it a bit more relatable. As with the first two books we are seeing the same well-written side characters, and this time they are being fleshed out, even more, having survived the events of book two a few of the team members are realizing it's not all fun and games like they thought before and it's putting a strain on their relationship with Kira.

We got dual POV, with Kira and Khefar sharing their parts of the journey. With the world-building taking place in the museum and centered on the re-enactment of the scenes from Coming Forth By Dawn it's so good that you feel pulled into the story and feel like you are there.

This time the story has come full circle for Kira, the biggest of the big bad has taken notice of her and has decided that she will be their newest vessel. Kira has a few things to say about that. Once the Gods decide to intervene in her life Kira's world goes off the rails, & secrets from the past are being exposed. With the new knowledge, new experiences and all her allies being stripped from her Kira has to learn to rely on herself and all of her talents and battle shadow on their plane without losing herself. I noticed that her story mirrored that of the Goddess Isis who was stripped of her status, her gifts while trying to get to Osiris and help bring him back. When the dust settles will the Nubian have to fulfill the pledge they made in the battle of book one?? Or will he find a way to help Kira keep her soul??

I absolutely loved that I learned about Candace/Kandake Amanirenas and her battle acumen and how she helped to shape Khefar and give him hope. For me the ending wasn't predictable, while the case has been solved, there are still questions that need to be answered in the next book. For me, this series isn't similar to other novels in the genre, because it relies heavily on Egyptian lore/myths and the Pantheon for the battle of "good/bad".

I have some seriously favorite parts especially when Kira makes the battle plans and the leader of the organization finally backs her instead of asking for written forms in triplicate. I didn't like when Kira was being stripped of her allies/powers and touchstones a friends' pain is placed wrongly at her feet and draws a deeper wound and Kira can barely hang on as it is. I found myself feeling all the emotions when reading this story; I especially felt frustration on Kira's behalf. Everybody claims they down for the cause until the battle comes along and then they have issues with being there. This was very engaging and I absolutely loved it. This story took me through it y'all so many emotions, so many adventures. And I can't wait until we get the next story in the series, it's a novella coming out in November and I for one cannot wait.

★★★★★
Series In Order
Shadow Blade (Shadowchaser #1 )
Shadow Chase (Shadowchaser #2 )

Recommendations

LA Banks Vampire Huntress Series
Alex Archer (the first 7 books at least)
Seressia's Son of Anubis series

I highly recommend the whole series my loves,
Happy Reading my loves,

[JW USA · Rating 3 out of 5]

great but warning series incomplete

I thought this was the final book in the series, sadly it is the last one published but doesn’t end the series. Whilst the plot is resolved much if the main narrative arcs are not. I have no idea why the author abandoned the series. Very disappointing as I really want more.

[Seventhheaven]

Really wonderful twist on the traditional good and evil scenario

The series had new supernatural entities for me and being able to read their details, origins, etc was a wonderful escape from my life.

[Fangs for the Fantasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kira is faced with a lot of revelations in this book. Balm has presented her with a package full of all the answers to the questions she always asked. Who her parents where, why she has her powers, why she was raised by the Gilead – a Pandora’s Box of answers, if Kira feels she can face them. But some truths are hard even for the hand of Ma’at to face.

Even simpler truths abound – such as exactly what she feels for Khefar, the 4,000 year old Nubian warrior who remains the only man she can touch and who is sworn to destroy her if she falls to shadow. And then there’s her friends – and what they feel about her after her many brushes with shadow magic.

But more than that, she has to face a shifting understanding of the world – of the shadow magic inside her, as a part of her and with both the Lady of Balance and the Lady of Shadow having a claim on her as much as the Light did. And if these questions weren’t hard enough, she suddenly finds her advisors silent – Balm, Ma’at and Anansee. What she does have in their place is the Lady of Shadow – and Set, the Egyptian god of Chaos who is also staking his claim on Kira


Story wise, I’m afraid I wasn’t enthralled. A large section of this book is spend with Kira realising she has Shadow magic in her as well as Light magic and that it isn’t infected into her, it’s actually hers through her ancestry. She has to deal with recurring nightmares of Set, the very avatar of chaos in her own pantheon. And this is huge. I mean, after so long believing all things shadow is evil (and for good reason. In fact, brief tangent, if we’re going to talk about “order” and “chaos” and “balance” it would help if the shadow weren’t presented as entirely and utterly evil) and then realising that it makes up part of her ancestry? Believing she has this evil in her blood? Believing she is going to be inexorably pulled towards this evil – something she fears so much that she asked Khefar to not just kill her but unmake her entirely should she succumb? Yes, this is going to disturb Kira. She is going to spend a lot of time very upset about this, very worried about this and spend a lot of time being, well upset and worried.

So I’m not concerned with it being realistic… but it is a lot of the book spent on this. And while it makes sense that she would be rather overwhelmed by it, I just don’t find it a particularly fascinating read – as the turmoil just keeps going on and in great detail. And it doesn’t help that there isn’t a great deal of other plot to balance it or hold it down. It’s ironic really because Kira continually laments how little time she has but doesn’t seem to actually do an awful lot.

We also have a scene were Kira decides to witness the werehyena challenge for succession. Which she does and it’s interesting, gives an insight into a few things and general fun to read but… it adds nothing to the story. It’s just this orphan scene dropped in there for no apparent reason. There are other similar scenes – like the big tense showdown with the banaranjan on the top of the Gilead building. I’m not saying they’re bad scenes – they’re not, they’re good, they’re interesting they add to the world and I enjoyed reading them – and normally I wouldn’t mention them. But these scenes, added to Kira spending so much of the book in self-analysis and worry and general little attention to the main plot line until the end of the book. The plot line, when it arrived, was epic, powerful and full of great climactic scenes of awesomeness – but it was a bit late coming.

Read More

[Paula Stiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kira now stands at a personal crossroads, straddling Light and Shadow. This puts her at odds with her erstwhile employers, Gilead. Her lover, Ancient Nubian warrior Khefar, remains steadfast at her side, but other friends and allies begin to fall away, willingly or unwillingly. Someone is trying to isolate her, but are they working for Light or for Shadow?

The book starts out quietly enough with Kira and her friends back in Atlanta. Kira and Khefar attend the opening of an exhibition on Egyptian mythology, for which Kira was a consultant in her day job as an archaeologist (Khefar's Spike-level snark about the historical accuracy of the exhibition, which ain't great despite Kira's best efforts, is hilarious). Then the exhibits start to get a little too...real.

Kira also is wrestling with some major revelations about her foster mother Balm – namely that Light and Shadow are not the only players in her universe and Balm has counterparts – right about when Balm goes radio silent and those counterparts show up. Even when things are getting gnarly and grim, though, the characters are capable of a sense of humor. My personal favorite line of the entire series so far is Khefar comparing his action wardrobe at one point (when he's arming up for a sidequest involving a gang of were-hyenas) to a “BDSM version of Shaft.”

We also get a lot of backstory for both Balm and Khefar, who continues to hands-down win the award for Best Boyfriend Ever. The book ends up with some major revelations about Kira's origins that result in a cliffhanger of sorts, but those are new questions and there are a lot of satisfying reveals about the old ones that make up for this being (so far, but I hear there will be more books pretty soon) the last in the series.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadow Fall is the first book that I have read by Glass although it is the third book in her Shadowchasers series. Since I hadn't read the previous two books, I was a little confused at first, but Glass did a good job at reminding the reader (or in my case letting a new reader know what had happened previously). I do think that this book can be read on its own although reading the previous two books would have added to the enjoyment. Glass does a great job with her development of Kira who faces some family issues in this book and I liked the character growth that Kira underwent from the beginning of the book to the end when she needs to deal with both sides of her family tree. Khefar is the perfect match for Kira by being the lover, friend, and partner that she so desperately needs as she finds herself being pulled in so many different directions. Glass does a great job with her world building and I really enjoyed the Egyptian angle. Overall this was an enjoyable read.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed reading the trilogy with its excellent storyline and host of characters. The hero converses with her patron deity (Ma'at), is in a relationship with a 4000 year old immortal Nubian warrior and is advised and supported by a West African demi-god!

"Shadow Fall" by Seressia Glass is an exciting story with plenty of action. In this third and final episode Kira Solomon finally learns of her origins. Unfortunately for Kira, Shadowchaser, soldier of light and the hand of Ma'at, what she learns might cause her to fall into shadow and chaos.

Overall Shadowchasers has been an excellent series fusing elements of history, ancient religion and fantasy into the urban setting of the city of Atlanta. It’s a shame to find myself at the end of the series but here’s hoping to see more of Kira and Khefar in the future!

[Anika · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a hard read, I do not think I will continue this series. It about Shadow and Light - bad and evil. I don't know how to explain but another adventure for Kira one of the main characters if not the most important one. She finally finds out about her real parents who they were and along the way trying to maintain herself, not let what she has found out change her. This the third book and the gods they worship or have faith in/ask or assistance have to deal with former/old queens/kings that ruled along time ago in Egypt. So, the book sort of gives you a history lessons whether they are true or not would depend on how familiar you are with them. For me this too did not hold my interest and I know the type of characters she has in the book is what attracted me at one time but now I guess my taste for this particular series has changed. But others might like it.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 3rd of the Shadowchasers series and they all have been good reads. If you are r fascinated by Egyptian history and culture and also like paranormal this is a great series. Kira Solonom and 4000 yr old soldier Khefar are out protecting human and hybrid against the Shadow once again. I drug it out because I didn't want to see the ok end. Goodread!!!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this 3rd title b/c it lets Kira deal with having both good and bad sides. As we all no every one is like this. Too often books have heroes that are only good. Of course, Kira is still amazingly powerful and able to beat everyone and complete the task, but that's ok. I also really like Khefar.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in Seressia Glass's Shadowchaser series and there better be more of them. Some of the best books I've read. A great mix of fast paced danger and a heroine that is so heartbreaking that you just want to weep for her as she finds a piece of happiness with a 4000 year old eternal warrior. I'll be watching and waiting for more adventures for Kira and her Nubian warrior.

[Jaq · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, the third in the series. However it was not as fast paced as the first novel in the series. The pace slackened off, and I did catch myself wondering, how many more pages I had to go before I got to the finale.....

I still enjoy the characters of Kira and Khefar - but I want more from them. So here's to the next book providing that.....

[Ilia Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so glad I made time to reread this series. I’m sad that a fourth book never happen as there were seeds planted and unfinished plots that could still be explored. But I would still recommend the journey because the book does have a satisfying ending.

[Melanie Hartsfield]

Interesting read. Not really a wrap up to the series but enough to satisfy.

[Cf · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was boring. 2 stars because of the last 40 pages which made it bearable.

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

[Lottie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 2 stars are for how little i enjoyed this book, not on how well it was written.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying this series. Not as dark as the last couple, but equally un-put-down-able.

[Mammatess · Rating 4 out of 5]

very exciting book

[Marshall Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid book, the most solid of the series. The only complaint I can register is that I wanted there to be a book four to follow.

[Maryanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE IT TO BITS

[Indyyy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Welp, I'm done skimming these in hopes the author will work the kinks out. Too bad. Lots of races represented y steeped in Egypt.

[Doris Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much jumping around in the story. Too many names that don't really add to the story line.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. I was looking forward to the next one, but it doesn't seem to be in the works.