Shadowflame (A Novel of the Shadow World) [Mass Market Paperback]

Dianne Sylvan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 26, 2011 | Series: A Novel of the Shadow World (Book 2)

It's been three months since musician Miranda Grey became a vampire and married David Solomon. But when a powerful force from David's past appears, Miranda begins to realize how little she really knows about her husband.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dianne Sylvan is the author of The Circle Within and The Body Sacred. She resides in Austin, Texas, with two neurotic cats.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Ace; Original edition (July 26, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441020658
• ISBN-13: 978-0441020652
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dianne Sylvan (1977-) was born and raised in Texas, and currently lives in Austin. She is the author of The Circle Within: Creating a Wiccan Spiritual Tradition, and The Body Sacred. Her forthcoming novels, the Shadow World series, begin with Queen of Shadows which will be released in September 2010 by Berkley/Ace.

Sylvan has also written numerous articles and essays for various calendars and almanacs; she keeps a blog at http://diannesylvan.com, and also writes an ongoing web fiction series called The Agency.

She is in the midst of writing the second Shadow World novel, and hopes to get to work on a third nonfiction book in the months to come.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 123 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars God, I hated this book (SPOILERS) August 4, 2011

By AmLou

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

COMPLETELY agree with Kitty Kat. Even without the bizarre cheating/David is bisexual/undying love for someone not his soulmate plotline, I would not have cared for the book, but the cheating pushed me over the edge to completely hating it. The main points that pissed me off:

1. The cheating, of course. Honestly, David/Deven cheating debacle was so unbelievable and forced (not to mention unnecessary) that I can only assume that the author was trying to work through some similar relationship issues of her own while writing this and we readers were just dragged along for the ride. After the first book, I would have believed that given how Miranda and David's "soulmate" relationship was "destined" and orchestrated by some magical necklaces, cheating would not even be an issue, but now in light of Deven and David's relationship, it kind of seems like the Signet "soulmate" selections are less about love and more about politics, what is up with that?

2. Perhaps more important than the far-fetched and galling nature of the cheating itself though is the question: what the hell was the point of it anyways? David betraying Miranda had absolutely no effect whatsoever on the rest of the storyline except maybe to introduce a little more tension in the relationship between Miranda and Deven which would have been sufficiently tense given his and David's past.

3. The abrupt introduction of David's weaknesses. In the first book David was smart, charming and tough, in this one all of the sudden he's this unlikeable, self-pitying, self-loathing philanderer with no self-control - after cheating on his soulmate wife and nearly losing her first emotionally and then physically, he still can't help but profess his undying love for Deven and kiss him goodbye at the end of the book, wtf. I felt similarly about Miranda's abrupt transformation from broken victim to avenging vampire queen, but to a lesser degree at least.

4. And then to top it all off, the writing was just subpar overall. Mainly regarding the dialogue, I felt like I was being forcefully pushed towards the writer's own beliefs via the characters' interactions. Johnathan is a really good example of that - throughout the entire book he was all but preaching about his alternative views on relationships. He didn't even seem like a real character but rather a mouthpiece for open relationships and it chafed me. Even had I agreed with that particular idea, I would still have found the conveyance of that message patronizing.

To conclude (sorry this went on for a while), this book has convinced me not to continue following the series and probably not to read any of Diane Sylvan's other books either and I definitely would not recommend it.

121 of 147 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I'm sorry..what??!! July 27, 2011

By Kitty Kat

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed reading "Queen of Shadows" and I pre-ordered this book on my Kindle with the anticipation that it was going to be a great sequel to the first. I was so so wrong. Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD.....

Here are my thoughts in bullet points:

- I don't like cheating in any manner in books. It doesn't entertain me. So when David cheated on Miranda, I was pretty pissed.
- I'm not sure how I feel about David's sexuality. To find out that he was bisexual and is still in love with Deven really threw me. How is this necessary to the plot??
- Why did Miranda take him back after he cheated on her and admitted that he'll always love another man? Seriously??
- Too many different plot lines. I think if the author wanted throw us a doozy, like David's bisexuality - she should've made Cora's, Kat's, and Deven's plotlines not take up too much storytime in the book.
- The flow of the story wasn't as seamless as the first. It was almost like the author was trying to put too much in the book to build up for the next one.
- David was a real strong hero in the first book. In this book, he was a simpering mess. Miranda seemed like part of the supporting cast. This seemed like David and Deven's book; and their unrequited love for each other.

In all, I think I pretty much skimmed through the rest of the book after David and Deven had sex. I would've been happier if the author completely skipped this aspect of David's personality from the story. Also, Miranda's acceptance of his infidelity was kind of upsetting. I really want her to break up with David. I think that would be the only reason I would even pick up her next book. I can say with all honesty that I am really disappointed in this one. I've completely lost interest in both characters.

42 of 51 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars The reviews made me curious enough to read it anyway... August 4, 2011

By GC

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I read some of the initial reviews before buying this book, but I got curious enough to try it anyway. The free preview sampler is actually great because it shows Miranda growing in "kick-assery" as the new Queen. I thought, the writing still seems pretty good, maybe some of the more positive reviews will be right and the author pulls off the upsetting parts with excellent storytelling?

In summary, I'm more bothered by the speed of progression in this book. Honestly, I thought the first book dragged on in the middle when David and Miranda lived apart for months. Get over it and see each other already, but we're getting another description of more computer work or music gigs... In this book, events happen with more lightning speed... Near death experience! Cheating! Bam! Forgiveness! Boom! More near death experiences! Etc.! The slower progression seems much more believable and builds the tension in the first book, while I reeled in the second book as very emotional experiences got much less attention. For example, I don't want to read about one conversation between Miranda and Jonathan that helps her get over it, then have the author mention they talked a few more times. It's the "show not tell" criticism.

Dropped clues for the mystery also seemed lacking enough depth and buildup... Oooo.... Red Shadow! The what?? Oh, the Red Shadow is... Bam! OMG RED SHADOW ALPHA?!? Really? I felt it came out of nowhere after the first half of the book dismissed the Red Shadow rumor completely, then finally explained it, and finally hit me over the head with the big revelation. In addition, the end of the book left me with a huh? feeling more than excitement to see what happens next given the details mentioned earlier.

The inconsistencies mentioned by others in the lore about Signets also bothered me. Soulmates can sleep with other people? And feel when their soulmate has sex and orgasms with others? Ok, weird........ The "I like women 99% of the time but the 1% completely head over heels in love with a man" thing? Um... does this happen? (I feel it's not very plausible, but don't know and don't mean to start any controversy about homosexuality.) The Cora storyline seemed thrown in as reminiscent of the first book's handling of women in bad situations than a substantial part for Miranda's development. Would we really doubt she wouldn't stand up for another woman and let politics happen? We barely see Cora around and then Bam! Happy ending for Cora!

Overall, I expected more from an author that could handle a gang rape scene and recovery so well in the first book. She dealt with the emotional dimensions in Miranda's recovery and falling in love with David with a delicate touch that felt much more believable than the hurried events in this second book. Forgiveness takes much more time that appeared alloted in this second book while the first book's events stretched more realistically out over many months.