The Shadow Queen

January 12, 2009
Bishop's capable seventh Black Jewels fantasy soap opera installment (after 2008's Tangled Webs
) surges with spellcraft and engaging romance. The former queen of Bhak is now just plain Lady Cassidy from Dharo, since her entire court resigned to go serve prettier, better-connected Lady Kermilla. Warlord Prince Theran Grayhaven seeks a partner to help him restore his family's land after a violent uprising. With the help of the High Prince of Hell, he finds Cassidy, whose friends encourage her to accept his proposal and return to being a queen. All seems well until the pair run into compatibility problems, and Cassidy meets a mysterious gardener who calls to her heart. Bishop's epic has a complex history and will best be appreciated by readers familiar with earlier books.

March 15, 2009
The land of Dena Nehele was defiled and nearly destroyed under corrupt queens. A true queen is needed to rebuild it, and Theran, last lord of his line, must find one who knows protocol and lives by the old ways. Lady Cassidy, banished from her former realm, doesnt expect to rule again, but, sent to Dena Nehele, she must convince bitter, desperate, maimed men to serve her. The story is straightforward, more readable than some others in the Black Jewels series, and you come to care about what happens to the characters. Some sex scenes need trimming, but, on the whole, charming.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)