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Shadow Curse Alexa Egan 9781451672923 Books

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Shadow Curse Alexa Egan 9781451672923 Books

I really enjoyed Alexa Egan's first in this series, Demon's Curse, but I think Shadow's Curse tops that one for excitement and romance. Definitely enjoyed the story, and her world building skills are amazing. There's nothing more satisfying than getting so caught up in a story and the characters that you believe this world exists, that the situation really happened just the way it's written. I definitely recommend this series, including the first novella that sets up the world so well, Awaken the Curse. I'm looking forward to Warrior's Curse, coming next.


Tags : Shadow's Curse [Alexa Egan] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <B>The second novel in the dark and sexy Imnada Brotherhood trilogy featuring shape- shifters in Regency-era England. </B><BR><BR><B >Can the magic of desire defeat the powers of darkness?</B><BR> <BR>Forced by her half brother to use her dark gift of necromancy for profit,Alexa Egan,Shadow's Curse,Pocket Books,1451672926,Romance - Historical - Regency,Romance - Paranormal - General,Paranormal romance stories.,Regency fiction.,Shapeshifting;Fiction.,American Light Romantic Fiction,American Science Fiction And Fantasy,FICTION General,FICTION Romance General,FICTION Romance Paranormal General,Fantasy romance,Fiction,Fiction - Romance,Fiction Romance Historical Regency,Paranormal romance stories,Regency fiction,Romance - General,Romance - Paranormal,Shapeshifting,best historical romance; best historical paranormal romance; best paranormal romance; shapeshifters; shapeshifter romance; best regency romance; fae romance; Kresley Cole; J.R. Ward; Karen Marie Moning; Sherrilyn Kenyon; Christine Feehan

Shadow Curse Alexa Egan 9781451672923 Books Reviews

Lupe's Review

There was so much Harlequin Romance, I could hardly stand it. I think partly because I am not a HUGE fan of romance novels. I used to be. I think I read too many and now they all sound the same. Only now, they add a bit of the supernatural.

Callista is a Fey-blood necromancer who is used to her step-brother's whims for money. He is in so much debt to the top shark, Victor Corey, that he decides to repay it with her hand to Corey. Callista is desperate to escape.

David, a shapeshifter, prowls the nights in a rage, seeking out murderers and thieves in his wolf form after being renounced by his own kind, the Imnada. One night as he is out, he stumbles upon Callista in one of her failed attempts to flee her brother and Corey for good. Since she knows she can not escape without help, she offers the shapshifter a bargain he can't refuse.

As they travel, they find first friendship then passion with each other. But will it be enough to stop the forces of evil that are gathering?

I think the only part of this story that I didn't care for was that it was so predictable. Literally the same format that every romance novel takes Heroine in trouble with villain, dashing hero with face of scalawag, they escape together (hero and heroine), some type of disagreement with them sends one packing only to have heroine taken by villain, must make crazy choice to save them both, villain dies, hero and heroine stay together in a happy ever after. Seriously. I can't take it. I just wish there were more variety. This book especially, though, frustrated me, because at one point, the author just stops, point blank, talking about Corey and his plans, then POW here he is again. Same thing with Beskin and David. I guess I had to read the first one in the series, also, because I was completely at a loss as to what the war was even about. I just felt kind of let down because there was so much that went unanswered and I think it was mostly a romance novel with some suspense added in. Too cheesy for my taste. But as far as the writing and such, it was good, which is why I gave it three stars in my Goodreads review.

*A physical copy of the book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty Two people from warring races/species come together in order to safely travel to Scotland. Along the way, they have to fight their feelings for each other as they try and escape those pursuing them. Will they be able to continue to fight their attraction?

Opening Sentence The man stood over his victim, knife flashing in the dim light of Silmith’s round yellow moon.

The Review

I really wanted to like this one. I thought the concept sounded interesting. I really like stories that involve the Fae, so I thought that was a plus as well. Unfortunately, despite some positives here and there, by and large, this book just didn’t work for me for a variety of reasons.

David is Imnada, a shapeshifter who can transform into a wolf. Long ago, he and his friends were placed under a curse, one that is slowly killing each of them. There is a “cure” that keeps the curse at bay, but it also does its own damage. David’s resigned himself to a slow death and fills his time with drinking and prowling the streets looking for people up to no good, so he can put the fear of God into them while in his wolf form.

Callista is a necromancer, one who can walk the paths of the realm of Death and contact the spirits who live there. Her opportunistic brother has made a living off of her skills and has now arranged a marriage with the king of the London underworld, one who wants to use Callista’s powers for himself. After a couple unsuccessful attempts to escape her brother and travel to Scotland to find her aunt, Callista tries one last escape attempt. This attempt brings her directly into contact with David, who eventually agrees to help her reach Scotland despite the fact that his race has been at war with hers for eons. They embark on a journey that is fraught with danger, fighting their feelings for each other all the while. Will they make it to Scotland before Callista’s fiancé finds them?

As I said early, I had multiple issues with this book. The biggest, as is often the case for me, has to do with the fact that I really had no feelings whatsoever for either Callista or David. There didn’t seem to be much character development, to the point where I had no idea who these people were in terms of their personalities. At times, David would come off as flippant and almost fun-loving, and then his frequent drinking and moodiness would get brought up, and it would seem like he was a completely different person. In the same way, I never got a very good feel for Callista as a character. At one point, David is mentally listing the things he loves about her, and everything mentioned was completely new information to me.

There was also a lot of jumping around with regards to the narration, usually with no warning. One moment, we’ll be with Callista. Then, all of a sudden, we’re in David’s head. After that, we jump back to Callista, but it’s a few hours later, and we’re being brought up to speed on events that transpired outside of the narrative. There was a lot of telling here, but no showing, and that combined with the jumping all over the place made for a very confused reader.

On the positive side, I found the realm of Death fascinating. I would have loved to spend more time there and learn more about what necromancers actually do. The Fae characters that were introduced were also intriguing, and I wish they had shown up sooner in the story. All in all though, I just could not get into this book. I didn’t have any characters to root for, I was constantly feeling confused, and the story itself just didn’t work for me. It was a very interesting concept, but it just fell flat.

Notable Scene

“Are you mad?” she hissed. “You scared me to death.”

He put a finger to his lips. “Shhh. They’ve found us.” David’s words hit her like a punch to the stomach.

“I didn’t expect Corey’s thugs to be so skilled, but even a rabid hound can track a scent once in a while.”

“You saw them?”

“Four men. London accents. Weapons out of sight, but close to hand. They just rode in. There’s few people awake yet. It’s early. But soon the tap will be full and the maids up and about. It won’t take these chaps long to find someone willing to trade our whereabouts for a purse full of coins.”

“I thought you’d left me.”

“I should have. It seems I really am a gentleman. Who knew?”

Gentleman was hardly the sobriquet she would have used. His shirt was wrinkled and smelled like horse, his breeches were the same, and his boots bore a bog’s worth of thick black mud. She gave a surreptitious sniff. No smell of alcohol on him, and his eyes shone clear and bright, without a drunkard’s stare. In fact, not just clear and bright but glittering with wide-eyed excitement.

“Prove your gallantry.” She swung her feet onto the floor, dragging the sheet with her. “Turn your back.”

“Excuse me?”

“Turn your back while I dress. I can’t very well escape in nothing but a chemise.”

“Is that all you have on under that sheet? I’m not that much of a gentleman.”

FTC Advisory Pocket/Simon and Schuster provided me with a copy of Shadow’s Curse. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Enjoyed every page.
I should have known I was too OCD to simply drop this series,frustrating as it may be. Once again a useful glossary---at the end of the book!! I'm understanding a bit more as I read more, and there's only one more. This one was a easier to follow, but a bit more graphic and gory. Still I liked it, even if the reader was kept guessing till the last paragraph.
I really enjoyed Alexa Egan's first in this series, Demon's Curse, but I think Shadow's Curse tops that one for excitement and romance. Definitely enjoyed the story, and her world building skills are amazing. There's nothing more satisfying than getting so caught up in a story and the characters that you believe this world exists, that the situation really happened just the way it's written. I definitely recommend this series, including the first novella that sets up the world so well, Awaken the Curse. I'm looking forward to Warrior's Curse, coming next.