The Flame and the Shadow [Mass Market Paperback]

Denise Rossetti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2008

A sizzling new fantasy series from a hot new talent.

Some are drawn to the light. Some are drawn to the dark. Some desire both…

Grayson of Concordia, known on countless worlds as the Duke of Ombra, is a mercenary, a sorcerer of shadows—a man whose soul is consumed by darkness. For Gray, the bleak savagery in his heart is manifest in an entity he calls Shad. He has long resisted Shad’s enticements, but when he is hired to kidnap a fire witch, he seizes the chance to restore his soul—no matter the cost.

Cenda’s heart is ash. Since the death of her precious baby daughter, life has lost all meaning for the fire witch. Slowly, she has worked to master her powers and go on living. But when she encounters Gray, her will is no match for her desire. But her love may not survive the terrible discovery of Gray’s betrayal…

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Denise Rossetti is a stunning new voice in futuristic romance. She hits the scene with a thrilling view into a magical world of fantasy, magic and intrigue….I’ve not read anything like it….I’ve put Denise Rossetti on my list of authors to follow as I expect to see new and out of the box literary greatness from her.”
–Night Owl Romance

“Should appeal to fans of Storm Constantine and Laurel K. Hamilton.”
–Library Journal

“Denise Rossetti has taken the fantasy genre by storm with her print debut. THE FLAME AND THE SHADOW bursts with action, mystery and passion. Rossetti has a beautiful writing style, apparent in her descriptions of the world, her realistic dialogue and her highly developed characters who have weaknesses, learn lessons and grow as we turn the pages…. She has an extraordinary gift of language as if the words themselves create magical patterns on the page as they flow one into another so seamlessly…. I highly recommend this novel to fans of erotic romance and fantasy alike and can’t wait to get my hands on the next installment.”
–Romance Junkies

“Denise Rossetti transports readers of her romantic science fiction novel, THE FLAME AND THE SHADOW, to the five-mooned planet called Sybaris where an almost past- her-prime, seriously clumsy and not what anyone would call beautiful witch grieves the death of her only child. Maybe as recompense for the death, maybe something more sinister, The Lord and Lady of the afterlife endowed her with a new gift as they took Cenda's daughter during last winter's ague— the power of fire. She's the only fire witch and she's still very inept and naïve to think that it is just a run-of-the-mill ability. There are those who want her and her power and they are willing to pay. As well, there are those who will do anything to betray Cenda for their own ambition, money, power, greed, or well-being. She has no idea that she can trust nobody, least of all Grayson, Duke of Ombra, a troubadour harpist with a shadowy secret that he has come to hate. A secret shadow, that is…. THE FLAME AND THE SHADOW is the perfect blend of science fiction and erotic fantasy romance.”
–Romance Readers at Heart, Top Pick

“A witch whose gift of flame is born from heartbreaking loss. A man whose burden is carried from innocent boyhood, through desperate youth, to besmirched adult. These people come together for very different reasons…. Ms Rossetti opens her fantasy series with a fascinating story. Set on a pleasure planet called Sybaris, it is a world where magic and technology both exist but not contentedly. Readers will delight in the author's rich imagination as they are caught up between the dilemmas of the main characters, the fight for power between the magic wielding Pures and the Technomages, and a thorough fall into love…. One of the pleasures of reading is to find characters that so completely capture our attention. These are people who have known happiness, suffered greatly and now have some chance of joy in their lives, again. They are emotionally wounded, imperfect, and are lovable in spite of that.”
–Love Romance & More

“This erotica is suitable only for mature audiences, but quite pleasurable for those who enjoy spectacularly sexual romance.”
–SFRevu

“Captivating start to an erotic, mystical, futuristic world full of excitement and intrigue…. Denise Rossetti creates an erotic, mystical, futuristic world full of excitement and intrigue, promising even more adventure in the next book in this thrilling series. This is a great read!”
–Fresh Fiction
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

When Denise Rossetti was very small, she had an aunt who would tell her the most wonderful fairy tales - all original. Denise grew up, as little girls do, but the magic of story still dazzles and enthralls her. On the good days, she likes to think of herself as Scheherezade's sister. On the bad days - not so much.

She remains an incurable romantic who loves happy endings, heart-pounding adventure and the eventual triumph of good over evil. All hail the guys in the white hats - unless the ones wearing black are more...um...interesting?

Denise lives in a comfortable, messy old house in the Australian suburbs. She's small, noisy and tends to wave her hands around a lot, which can be unfortunate if the tale she's telling happens to have explosions in it.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Ace Trade (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441016340
• ISBN-13: 978-0441016341
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,990,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When I was very small, I had an aunt who would tell me the most wonderful fairy tales - all original. I grew up, as little girls do, but the magic of story still dazzles and enthralls me. On the good days, I like to think of myself as Scheherazade's sister. On the bad days - not so much.

I remain an incurable romantic who loves happy endings, heart-pounding adventure and the eventual triumph of good over evil. All hail the guys in the white hats - unless the ones wearing black are more...um...interesting?

I live in a comfortable, messy old house in the Australian suburbs. I'm small, noisy and tend to wave my hands around a lot, which can be unfortunate if the tale I'm telling happens to have explosions in it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Erotic Shadow Love (B- Grade), November 10, 2008

By 

K. Garrabrant "Katiebabs" (Bloomfield, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Flame and the Shadow (Mass Market Paperback)

Denise Rossetti's The Flame and the Shadow is also an erotic romance where the shadow gets the same amount of loving just like his human counterparts. The shadow even has a name, called Shad, given to him by Grayson, the Duke of Ombra. Grayson is a very tortured hero and blames all his woes on Shad. If not for Shad, Gray would still be welcome at home, but since his shadow is thought to be a demon, and Gray possessed by it, Gray was disowned and ran away. But Shad loves Gray and shows him how much by giving Gray a helping hand when it comes to self love.

Gray thinks Shad is an abomination and finally has a way to rids himself of his shadow. All Gray has to do is kidnap Cenda, a fire witch, and bring her to the magician that can help him. Cenda is recovering from a sickness that almost killed her, but ended the life of her baby daughter, Elke. Cenda is inconsolable over the loss of her daughter, even though through this tragedy, her magic has grown, where now she can make fire at will.

Gray and Cenda meet, and Gray is able to seduce Cenda because he is quite talented in bed. At first, Gray only thinks of Cenda as a means to an end, but as he gets to know her better, he begins to feel for her pain. He helps her to feel, mainly through sex, that she is worthy of love and is beautiful. As Gray becomes more emotionally attached to Cenda, so does Shad. But instead of Cenda running away in fear from Shad, she welcomes him to join Gray and she when they have sex. Whenever Cenda is too overcome with emotion, she can't control her fire power and can burn Gray. But with Shad joining both of them while they make love, he balances the heat, since he is cool. That is where the ménage a trios comes into play. And when Shad joins in with Gray and Cenda, anything goes. Gray hates that Shad makes him feel so good, but even though his mind is saying, no, is body is telling him the opposite. Plus, Cenda becomes a bit more aggressive and open to new things with Gray if Shad plays along with them.

If you can open your mind to some interesting and out of this world sex that Denise Rossetti has come up with, than I would recommend The Flame and the Shadow. I am just wondering what else will be up for grabs in the books I read, now that a person's shadow can have some love also.

The song, Me and My Shadow now has a whole new meaning

Katiebabs

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gray and Cenda and Shad, March 17, 2009

By 

T. Patterson (usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Flame and the Shadow (Mass Market Paperback)

Gray believes he is damned, cursed with a shadow that has a mind of its own...Gray even gave his shadow a name, Shad. While searching for a method to rid himself of his shadowy seductive demon he finds someone willing to get rid of Shad, if Gray can capture and deliver the one and only fire witch in existence, Cenda. When Gray sees Cenda he sets out to seduce her but finds himself falling completely under her spell.
Cenda has been working on her majic skills nonstop since the death of her daughter Elke. When she is told she is a fire witch she sinks deeper into despair, feeling more alone than ever...but then Gray shows up, with his beautiful seduction, and the darkness in Cenda's soul starts to lighten...she even fully accepts and develops a deep fondness for Shad. Gray, having despised Shad for years, is astounded at her acceptance of his shadow and decides he wants to keep Cenda and Shad, but when they are captured by the very people that hired Gray and Cenda learns that Gray intended to turn her over her heart breaks and she turns to Shad, but there can be no Shad without Gray. Can Cenda overlook the past and give Gray and Shad a chance? Or will the greed of some destroy them?

***As a huge fan of GIFT OF THE GODDESS I have been highly anticipating this book. Denise paints a vivid picture with her words but this book was too sci-fi for my tastes, with witches and wizards and other planets it became hard to imagine the scene Denise is trying to create. This is a fabulous story with indepth, endearing characters that was wasted in a poor setting, even though Gray, Cenda and Shad could really steam up the pages...although I would have enjoyed this book much better if Gray and Shad had become even more intimate. I also really did not like the ending, but I will not spoil it for anyone thinking to read this book. For romance/erotica I would give this book 5 stars, but put the whole picture together and the final score is down to 3 starts. I would recommend this book to romance/erotica fans that can handle some out of this realm adventure. Side note: with a 3 way relationship you will need to expect some m/m and m/m/f relations.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Fantasy Romance, March 29, 2009

By 

Amy C (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Flame and the Shadow (Mass Market Paperback)

Wow...This was quite a unique fantasy romance, but then again most fantasies are quite unique. Another author with an amazing way with words.

Cenda, the leading female protagonist finds herself mourning the loss of her baby, but with that loss she was given a most unique "gift"...the gift of fire. Once a witch who possessed nothing but a tall skinny form, a plain and forgettable woman, now she finds herself fleeing from people who want her so they can control her gift of fire, an extremely rare talent among witches.

Grayson, also known as the Duke of Ombra, has a secret. His shadow, otherwise known as Shad, is alive and of a separate mind from him. Once a mercenary, Gray is now a musician with the Unearthly Oprah. He sings most seductively, entrancing his audience. Hired by a technomage, his mission is to abduct Cenda and hand her over to her. But a wizard promises Gray that if he brings the fire witch to him he can restore his soul, relieving him of Shad, his once best friend, now his most hated, disgusting secret. Gray will do anything to eliminate the abomination that is Shad. His plan...seduce Cenda, hopefully to cause her to willingly accompany him to the wizard.

But what Gray does not realize is that Cenda holds the power to heal him in a way none other ever could. As his seduction of her intensifies he realizes that she is more to him than he ever bargained for.

Gray is a most complex character. His past, his relationship with Shad and the heartache and shame it has caused him, is gripping and engrossing. Denise Rossetti put together a fascinating story, rich with detail and well developed, multifaceted characters.

Speaking of characters. There is a boy, Slop is his name. He's maybe ten. Dirty, a beggar. His favorite thing to say is, "Fookin' 'ell". It's rather comical. Cenda asks him to come and stay with her. He asks if he would have to stay clean. She says yes and of course his reply is "Fookin' 'ell". It was a nice little touch of lightness to mix in with all the darkness of Cenda's and Gray's past.

The scenes were incredibly well written between Cenda and Gray. The role that Shad plays was an added bonus to the uniqueness of this story. The world had kind of a futuristic feel with mentions of otherworldly traveling but also had a historical feel as well. The two blended together, creating a fresh new world.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely keep my eye on the lookout for the next books to follow. An intense and well satisfying read! A for sure keeper.