Queen of Shadows (Shadow World, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Nov 10, 2010 AH rated it really liked it

Shelves: sos-bookshelf-bingo, urban-fantasy, vampires, first-in-series, zzread-may2011

Queen of Shadows began as an intense read for me. It was dark and it had a rather traumatic event right at the start of the novel. I actually contemplated setting the book aside and looking for a lighter read. I’m glad I stuck with it because it quickly became a compelling read.

Our heroine Miranda Grey is an empath spiraling on the brink of a mental breakdown. One of the few things that keep Miranda grounded is her music. She is known for the ability to elicit emotion from her audience. David So ...more

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Oct 28, 2010 Vivian rated it really liked it

Shelves: first-in-series, read-2011

4.5 stars

I really, really enjoyed this. It starts off really dark and intense, and kinda lightens up with a heavy romantic presence. I don't like straight up PNR but this romance works for me since time is taken to develop a relationship and their characters are developed as individuals more than as a couple.

Miranda is a powerful empath who doesn't know how to control her gift. When we meet her, she has pretty much withdrawn from the world and is a shell of her former self. After a traumatic ev 4.5 stars

I really, really enjoyed this. It starts off really dark and intense, and kinda lightens up with a heavy romantic presence. I don't like straight up PNR but this romance works for me since time is taken to develop a relationship and their characters are developed as individuals more than as a couple.

Miranda is a powerful empath who doesn't know how to control her gift. When we meet her, she has pretty much withdrawn from the world and is a shell of her former self. After a traumatic event, she meets David, a powerful vampire/tech-savvy geek, who takes care of her and helps her develop and control her powers. Over the course of the book, Miranda grows into a strong, tough character you don't want to mess with. I loved the transformation and found it quite believable.

Side note, I love a nerdy tough guy. All the techie gadgets David created just made him studlier to me. As for other characters, I think there's a pretty great cast. For a book that I would call a Dark UF, the vampires have kept a lot of their humanity. I expected the vampires to be more evil, but nonetheless, Sylvan creates some very likable characters. (view spoiler)

Like I mentioned earlier, there is a heavy emphasis on David and Miranda's relationship: meeting -> falling -> pining -> HEA. But that's all right, because there are so many other things going on. Miranda is a powerful chick and it was really interesting to read about her learning how to control and use her gifts. The book is full of non-stop action, witty dialogue, is well-written and flows nicely.

My only complaint would be the final climactic scene was a little cheesy for me, with a little stupidity thrown in beforehand.

(view spoiler)

...more

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Mar 24, 2011 Diane ~Firefly~ rated it liked it

Shelves: paranormal, magic, uf, vampires

It was an interesting read, but it seemed incomplete with the world-building, for example - if you are a vampire and not part of the Elite, what do you do? Or (view spoiler)

What I enjoyed:
* Austin location
* Mira claiming her life back
* The piano
* Faith and Sophie. I love when small, innocent looking women are really warriors.
* The fact that David was a geek.

What could have been better:
* I wan ...more

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Sep 11, 2010 Vered rated it really liked it

Shelves: uf

Good story. I felt the writing was not even at times, some of the dialogs lacked some of the edginess/sharpness I love so much in UF books.
But I really liked the characters, the pace - not too fast not too slow, the development of the story and of the characters. No use of "misunderstandings" which I really dislike, and too many writers of the genre seem to think is imperative.
By the end of it I was really emotionally involve, the romantic scenes were done very realistically (well, we are talk ...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Daffodil rated it it was amazing

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Great read. Sylvan did a wonderful job of painting Miranda as tough, yet damaged at the same time. She's survived by learning fast and employing tricks to handle her gift, but Miranda is only hanging on by a thin thread when she meets David. Again, the characterization is wonderfully worked out. David is an interesting mix of ancient and modern, a vampire from the past who has pushed himself to change with the times. The vampire society itself is complex and interesting. I'm definitely looking f ...more

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Dec 14, 2010 Lili rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 20, 2010 Alyssa marked it as to-read

Shelves: currently-next, a-z-titles-2011-vampire-lovers

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Sep 21, 2010 Sharon marked it as to-read

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Oct 19, 2010 Gus marked it as to-read

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Nov 03, 2010 Socrate marked it as to-read

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Nov 09, 2010 Haessly marked it as to-read

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Dec 11, 2010 Ashley ~twisted_illusions~ marked it as to-read

Shelves: series-to-read, vampires-to-read, 1st-in-ongoing-series, urban-fantasy, series-starting-with-s, cover-love, fantasy, paranormal, adult, magic

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