New Fiendish Review: Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan

Book:                     Queen of Shadows

Author:                  Dianne Sylvan

Publisher:              Ace

ISBN/ASIN:           9780441019250

Release Date:       Out now!!

Rating:                   4.5 Stars

Find out more about Dianne Sylvan.

Read an excerpt of Queen of Shadows

Queen of Shadows is a mesmerizing urban fantasy thriller by newcomer Dianne Sylvan about a not-so-perfect heroine…one that has been broken, on the edge of death, barely realizing her worth and rising from the ashes.

It’s not an instantaneously “vixen-from-the-box” urban fantasy. Miranda Grey does not have a prophecy to fulfill; she doesn’t have a sidecar entourage, or a cache of magical weaponry at arm’s length. What she does have is a curse; a talent inherited from her mother…an empathic telepathy that can control others and their emotions. Slowly it is burning her soul and mind from the inside out. The only way to get a handle on it is to channel it through music, but that method is faltering.

Barely subsisting in Austin, playing at a few bars where she has a following, Sylvan has meshed the incomparable beauty of music with vampire lore that is not sappy but strong, and utterly believable.

In fact, Queen of Shadows is pretty far from the urban fantasy template. Sylvan has taken her character, stripped her bare in body and soul and begun the complicated process of building her up. This is why readers are so heavily invested in this story, its personal, moving, and genuine.

This change up is refreshing. And Sylvan takes risks devolving Miranda early on, pushing her into the quagmire and watching her crawl her way out with sexy David Soloman to lend a hand. Sylvan is patient, and the texture is rich and sultry unfolding like an approaching storm, not peppered with creating a show. It’s filled with honest, ardent feelings, and the developing story between David and Miranda Grey is rending, and powerful.

Soloman, the ninth Prime of the Southern United States did not get to his position by being soft. His control over his Shadow World territory is absolute. But his territory will soon begin to face an attack on all sides, and he will need Miranda in ways he had not thought possible…

I loved Queen of Shadows. Rarely does a debut execute such supple footing but Sylvan has knocked it out of the park with this one. I don’t doubt a bevy of fans will be clamoring for the next book.

A Fiendishly Bookish Review