Shadowfae (The Shadowfae Chronicles, #1) in Aussie Readers

Sep 27, 2010 Cathleen Ross rated it it was amazing

Fairies on smack.It's brilliantly written but a tough read because the heroine is trapped in such a miserable world. ...more

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Apr 15, 2010 Jesse Dixon rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: australian

I didn't enjoy this book all that much. When I decided to read it I thought it was going to be a mixture of romance and traditional fantasy i.e. fairies, trolls, maybe even a dwarf or seven, but wasn't I in for a shock. It turns out that the book has more of an erotic genre, with a fantasy twist. It was about Jade, a succubus, who has to have sex to survive, who is enslaved by a demon lord. In other words she has a sex addiction to rival Tiger Woods'. She meets and falls in love with a man who h ...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Sally added it · review of another edition

I really enjoyed Shadowfae.

I love Melbourne and the descriptions of Melbourne in Shadowfae bring elements of it's overall character to life beautifully, evocatively and in vivid colour.

It also was true to the character of Melbourne's seedy underbelly (which has existed since it was first settled. That's what happens when a city is built on gold weath). However in this Melbourne, supernatural creatures, predominantly carefree, drug pushing fae and very nasty vampires, populate the underworld.

I ...more

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Sep 27, 2010 Quinn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-book, urban-fantasy, paranormal-romance

Shadowfae is the debut novel from Australian author Erica Hayes, and I see potential.

Hayes has created a complex and detailed world where fae, demons and vampires run amok in Melbourne, largely unbeknown to mortals due to their glamour. Her descriptions of these creatures were not unnecessarily detailed, but sufficient to spark your imagination, particularly the colourful, half-mad fairies with their quivering wings and magick potions available for the cost of a memory.

But this is not a happy wo Shadowfae is the debut novel from Australian author Erica Hayes, and I see potential.

Hayes has created a complex and detailed world where fae, demons and vampires run amok in Melbourne, largely unbeknown to mortals due to their glamour. Her descriptions of these creatures were not unnecessarily detailed, but sufficient to spark your imagination, particularly the colourful, half-mad fairies with their quivering wings and magick potions available for the cost of a memory.

But this is not a happy world for any of the inhabitants, nor for the reader. It is dog-eat-dog (or vampire-eat-fae, as the case may be), where only the cruel and devious survive.

Jade is a succubus, 140 years into her thousand year thrall to demon lord Kane. Her life is misery incarnate. Even the compulsive pleasure she gains from fulfilling her needs through rapture - seduction and sex - is brief, clouded and overcome by self-loathing and resentment.

What has always been a necessary evil becomes unbearable when Jade meets incubus Rajah, who shares the same bleak fate as Jade - compelled to follow the wishes of Kane by seducing on his order and stealing souls through climax. For the first time in 140 years, Jade feels genuine attraction toward the sweet and kind Rajah. How can she continue life as a succubus under Kane's rule now that she has seen the potential of love.

Jade and Rajah are both desperate for freedom. There may be a way, but it will be difficult, and the method is such that only one of them can achieve it...

I felt like a dispassionate observer for the most part while reading this novel. The writing is spare and compelling to suit the dark world of the author's creation, but it was never able to move me to enough to engage on an emotional level. I couldn't even say that the novel was depressing, because I just didn't care enough to find it so.

Rajah was a wonderful character, however Jade lacked insight and self-awareness. She was, for the most part, weak and I didn't find her worthy of Rajah's attention. The villains were dastardly but often one-dimensional, never quite fully realising their potential for compelling evilness.

The character I most enjoyed was Luna. Even though he was one of the 'bad guys', he had a complex and engaging personality and I would have liked to learn more about him.

I enjoyed reading a novel set in modern day Melbourne, where I knew all the locations mentioned and could easily visualise the settings - the Italian restaurants on Lygon St, trams rattling down Swanston St, the murky brown water of the Yarra River and the blue neon light on the Arts Centre spire. However, for a reader like me who often likes their stories on the darker side, Shadowfae was just too cold for my taste and I am not likely to read further in the series. ...more

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Feb 12, 2010 Amanda-Lee (StoryWings) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2010

Shadowfae was as interesting as it was hot.

Jade is your perfect gritty character. She was a nun who has pretty much turned into a paranormal crack-whore. To live she needs to feed off the energy of a person’s climax and the energy of her demon master, Kane.

Our story is set in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne is infamous for it’s dangerous night life and gang land wars. According to Hayes, a lot of the side gangs and drug runners are supernatural beings. We see their stories unfold in the Chronicl Shadowfae was as interesting as it was hot.

Jade is your perfect gritty character. She was a nun who has pretty much turned into a paranormal crack-whore. To live she needs to feed off the energy of a person’s climax and the energy of her demon master, Kane.

Our story is set in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne is infamous for it’s dangerous night life and gang land wars. According to Hayes, a lot of the side gangs and drug runners are supernatural beings. We see their stories unfold in the Chronicles to come. But for now it’s focused on Jade the succubus.

As soon as Kane wills her to do something, she must do it because of the bands that circle her arms, she is indebted to Kane for a thousand years, after which, she will die. For Jade it is a lonely existence because she hates Kane for his part in what she has become.

Enter Rajah, her sexy rival who is an incubus, for Jade to be free Rajah must die, but can she kill the man she is beginning to love? Rajah is sought after by nearly as many who want Jade as he himself wants her.

Together they embark on a journey to freedom and also to each other. Only they know what it feels like to be indebted to Kane and so they find solace with eachother.

Shadowfae was a hot read, the intimate scenese between Jade and her patrons had an edge of darkness to them, whilst her and Rajah made the pages steam with the intensity of their joining.

I love how the book flowed smoothly, even though we were constanly changing characters between Rajah, Jade and Kane. For Kane being such a bad guy, i started to like him aswell, with his vulnerability and soft-spot for Jade.

The trip into the Supernatural underworld that lies beneath the lights of Melbourne was intriguing, it’s like a paranormal Underbelly, but better. The scenery was vivid and detailed without taking time out from the story, everything just flowed together and it was an intense read.

I will definitely be picking up Shadowglass as I would love to read the next chapter in the life of Melbournes supernatural crime.

Find this review at storywings.blogspot.com ...more

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Mar 17, 2010 Sally rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed Shadowfae.

I love Melbourne and the descriptions of Melbourne in Shadowfae bring elements of it's overall character to life beautifully, evocatively and in vivid colour.

It also was true to the character of Melbourne's seedy underbelly (which has existed since it was first settled. That's what happens when a city is built on gold weath). However in this Melbourne, supernatural creatures, predominantly carefree, drug pushing fae and very nasty vampires, populate the underworld.

I fo ...more

Like · see review