The Brunette Librarian: "Shadow's Claim" By: Kresley Cole Review

Shadow's Claim

By: Kresley Cole

Synopsis from Goodreads
HE WON’T BE DENIED

Trehan Daciano, known as the Prince of Shadows, has spent his life serving his people—striking in the night, quietly executing any threat to their realm. The coldly disciplined swordsman has never desired anything for himself—until he beholds Bettina, the sheltered ward of two of the Lore’s most fearsome villains.

SHE’S BOUND TO ANOTHER

Desperate to earn her guardians’ approval after a life-shattering mistake, young Bettina has no choice but to marry whichever suitor prevails—even though she’s lost her heart to another. Yet one lethal competitor, a mysterious cloaked swordsman, invades her dreams, tempting her with forbidden pleasure.

A BATTLE FOR HER BODY AND SOUL

Even if Trehan can survive the punishing contests to claim her as his wife, the true battle for Bettina’s heart is yet to come. And unleashing a millennium’s worth of savage need will either frighten his Bride away—or stoke Bettina’s own desires to a fever pitch. . .

My copy...Did a little dance when I received it in the mail

My Thoughts

     I have made no secret that when it comes to paranormal romance, Kresley Cole is a queen. Simply amazing, with slightly crazy and wildly funny characters, sweeping romance, and heartstopping action make her books absolute must reads in my house. In January, when Lothaire came out I actually took a vacation day simply to stay at home and read. It was divine and I didn’t have that pesky problem of having to actually work when I was jonesing for my Kresley fix.
     Shadow’s Claim is the beginning of a new series (The Dacians) but fits somewhat into the Immortals After Dark world that she has created. Trehan, our hero, first shows up in Lothaire as a cousin to the Enemy of Old. He’s mysterious, deadly, and likes to lurk in the shadows. Not the best hero material, but my goodness was I wrong.
     One of the things Cole does best is the layering of her books. I may be saying it wrong, but the events of one book bleed into another. As you read her various titles, you have huge overlaps in time, space, and characters which makes it such a rich series. Huge payoffs for readers and I have to say the same of this book. While I was reading so many of the things from Lothaire were mentioned I just kept going, oh yeah! Yeah, I remember that too! Triple love that soooo much.
    Anyway, back to the book...We’ve met Trehan before but our heroine Bettina was new. Bettina, a half sorceri/half demon child of royalty, is young and poised on the precipice of gaining her power as Queen. However, just shortly before gaining immortality she is attacked and nearly killed by her family’s mortal enemies. In an effort to protect her and ultimately her future kingdom, a fight to the death is arranged for worthy males to help her find her husband.
    Where does our unhappy assassin fit into that dynamic? On a mission to kill a demon who had entered the mysterious land of shadows, Trehan encounters Bettina. As you can imagine, he is shocked when he finds out she is his bride (mate). So what happens when a sheltered princess, who by the way may or may not already be in love with a different demon who is totally unworthy of her, falls for a mysterious assassin vampire who has never loved in his life?? Shadow’s Claim delves into all of that and so much more.

As I said before, this title has it all. A handsome and complex hero, a strong heroine coming into her own powers and being, a tumultuous romance, heart stopping action and a completely satisfying ending all come together to create a wonderful start to a new series and add new dimensions to the already diverse IAD universe. All I can say is that I’m already counting down the days until the next release.

Oh oh oh! On a side note, I forgot to mention for fans...Nix, Lothaire, Morgana, Sabine and all of your other favorites make an appearance. Did you hear Dirty Jobs (Nix's FAVORITE show) was cancelled?? Sad sad day, but as Kresley said, maybe it is the sign of the Accession??