Reign of Shadows

January 18, 2016
In a fantasy driven by romantic tension, a princess in hiding teams up with a mysterious archer to brave the eclipse that has kept their land in darkness for 17 years. Blind from birth, Luna is fearless, capable, and resourceful, while Fowler is gruff, independent, and reluctant to accept her as a traveling partner. When Luna's tower refuge is discovered by those looking to kill her, she must accompany Fowler on his quest for a mythical island. As they brave the terrifying Black Woods, where monstrous "dark dwellers" hunt human prey, and fight agents of the chancellor who usurped the throne and murdered Luna's parents, the two grow close, eventually falling for each other. Jordan's (Unleashed) somewhat implausible premise (the presumably mystical nature of the eclipse goes unexplained) is mitigated by the growing chemistry between her strong characters; Luna is a memorably competent protagonist whose inability to see barely slows her down. A clichéd late revelation significantly complicates the romance, while building to a cliffhanger ending. Ages 13âup. Agent: Maura Kye-Casella, Don Congdon Associates.

December 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-Luna, an orphaned princess, has been living in a tower with her rescuers since they saved her from an assassin on the day she was born. On that day, her kingdom and all its neighbors were plunged into seemingly eternal darkness thanks to a lunar eclipse. What's worse, enormous flesh-eating creatures (called "Dwellers") came scuttling out of the ground as the endless night fell hard on the land. Now, 17 years after the eclipse, Luna happens to rescue a rugged survivor named Fowler, who agrees to travel with the princess to a fabled island free of Dwellers. What begins as a fast-paced adventure quickly gets bogged down in the quagmire of Luna and Fowler tromping through the forest, fighting with each other, avoiding getting killed, and resisting the urge to fall in love. Luna, who is blind, has heightened senses and has been trained to fight, yet she falls into the damsel-in-distress role much too readily. There are some moments of true suspense, but Luna's characterization is inconsistent. The cliff-hanger ending guarantees more books to come, though readers might not feel compelled to stick around. VERDICT An additional purchase where apocalypse and fantasy novels tinged with tame romance are popular.-Abby Bussen, Cudahy Family Library, WI

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2015
Star-crossed romance smolders in a sunless fairy-tale kingdom of ugliness, horror, and grisly violence. Born on the eve of a now seemingly perpetual eclipse, Luna has spent her 17 years in darkness; alone with two loyal retainers in a remote tower, she hides from both the monstrous "dark dwellers" and the power-mad chancellor who murdered her royal parents. Everything changes after she rescues a few wanderers from Outside, including Fowler, a bitter youth particularly adept at survival. Once her sanctuary is discovered, Luna flees with Fowler, who longs to be rid of her while harboring sinister secrets of his own. Luna and Fowler alternate painfully florid narration of their journey through a far-fetched world where "everything is bleakness and death." Fowler is an archetypical brooding hero; his cynical, callous exterior merely shields a heart bruised by his traumatic past. Luna, while laudably confident and competent (despite the disability she's unaware of till he tells her about it), is also superspecial, flawlessly compassionate, and noble, with senses so implausibly acute that she almost totally compensates for it. Their inevitable romance is swoony, angst-y, and (discreetly) consummated, leading all too predictably to tedious misunderstandings, feckless self-sacrifices, and an abrupt, over-the-top cliffhanger that may inspire eye-rolls from even the most fervent devotees of the genre. All the standard tropes and cliches, only ever-so-much more so. (Dystopian fantasy. 14-18)

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January 1, 2016
Grades 10-1 Luna, the rightful heiress to the kingdom of Relhok, has been living in the top of a safe tower for most of her life, hidden there after an evil chancellor killed her parents 17 years ago. She wants freedom, to experience a life she has missed, and when she happens upon Fowler in the middle of the unnatural darkness, she might just get that chance. The two find themselves on the run from the pretender king, and they have to fight for their lives against an army of men and monsters. And despite their blossoming romance, danger threatens to swallow them both. Luna's story is a riff on Rapunzel, though Luna herself is much less helpless than other iterations. Jordan's background as a romance novelist is particularly apparent here, and some of the scenes are better suited to an older teen audience. This ends on a startling cliff-hanger, but it's probably the ardent romance readers who will stick around for the coming sequels.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)