Book 2), Heir to the Shadows (Black Jewels

Anne Bishop is a modern cross between Virginia Woolf and Margaret Mead. She explores the bonds between men and women in an alternate universe where men serve and women rule as nurturers to maintain a balance of power between the sexes. This trilogy is a brilliant study in cultural anthropology and of the different forms of good and evil cloaked in a riveting story.

Again, this series is DARK and discusses difficult topics most readers avoid. I definitely recommend this series to a more mature reading audience not only because of the sex and violence, but the other "landmine" topics discussed (abuse, torture, rape, slavery, etc.). Unfortunately, I ended up not loving this book as well as the first. Book 1 faces a brutal tragedy and I was left wishing this book would pick up the pieces and mend the tortured characters. Instead this book begins with a huge plot twist and throws the characters apart both physically and mentally. Eventually the characters do come back together, but it lacks the joy of doing so because of the emotional damage (to even the reader) from the events at the beginning of the book. I was also frustrated with the jumps in timeline in this book. Ultimately, I began to wish Bishop would have strung out the series highlihting the main characters' lives instead of cramming Jaenelle's life into just three books.

On the plus side, Bishop continues developing her magical new world that has sucked in so many readers. The main characters by now have been developed into comples ones; yet the secondary and terciary character lists grow. It's almost too much to keep track of, yet I can understand why she has added so many important pieces to the overall story. By far Bishop's main characters are some of my favorites of any series. The humor is also superb and breaks up the severity of many of the difficult topics discussed. Overall, I still highly recommend the series, and if this book is difficult to read like it was for me, keep pushing through it because in the end this is a great series with many enlightening pieces to it.

Blinded by emotions Lucivar cannot see what he should remember about his brother Daemon. It costs both of them time; time hating each other when they should be helping each other; time away from Jaenelle, time they could use to watch her grow, protect her, and be a part of her life; time to get to know their father Saetan. They spend years believing a lie and it costs them both much pain; physically, emotionally and mentally.
Jaenelle also is in anguish slowly recovering from the attack that nearly took her life and broke her mind at the end of the first book. She is struggling to trust again, to love again, to hold friends dear again. Her adoptive father Saetan helps her with this; his unconditional love and statement of surrender to her allows her start to feel safe again. He trusts her instincts when her relatives she had lived with in the first book had brutalized her instincts and told her things she knew were real were not real, were only figments of her ill mind. They didn't understand her and didn't want to understand, but now she is with the family and friends who understand and least to some degree, want to understand her, and they love and protect her. She will gain strength from them and when she is ready she will remember the man who loves her with all his being.

Anne Bishop is one of my favorite authors. Her characterizations are so unique, clear, and dramatic that it’s impossible to mistake one character for another. Her dialogue is witty and sharp, fresh and entertaining. Her prose brings every detail to life, so you can see, hear, and even taste her world.

One of the fascinating things about the world of the Black Jewels Trilogy is its odd system of gender politics. For thousands of years the Blood survived on a complex system of mutual respect that put Queens in charge, but instituted checks and balances that required them to, for example, keep any promise made to a Warlord Prince in their court. The system of protocol and emotional and societal bonds was complex, but it kept things balanced.

Once one side pushed things out of balance, trying to take more and more power away from the other gender, it spiraled out of control. Each gender became convinced by the excesses of the other that they were the ones who needed to be in charge, with the other side held subservient. Now perhaps the only hope for the realm is that the old systems of protocol can be reinstated–but now that each side has had a taste of power, neither wants to give it up again. It’s never as simple to heal a system as to break it.

Ms. Bishop never shies away from tough topics or hard choices. She doesn’t make things easy on her characters, but neither does she pile on meaningless obstacles that have no place in the story. I never once stopped caring for her characters (or hating them, depending on the character) and feeling what they felt. Her writing is fast-paced and immersive, and although these are not small books, I finished each of them in less than a day because I simply couldn’t put them down–even on the second reading. The world is very complex and detailed, and in this book I did start to lose track of some of Jaenelle’s many friends, but not so much that it detracted from the story.

As with the first book in the series, this book deals with topics ranging from death and torture to sex, rape and molestation. These subjects are dealt with in an appropriately serious manner and are never used to titillate, but not everyone will be comfortable reading about them. Ms. Bishop is not one to flinch away from an appropriately gruesome description.

In many trilogies the second book is the weakest; it lacks the excitement of the beginning, as well as the explosive climax of the ending. But in this case the second book is every bit as good as the first and third, with the writing quality as high, and the tension as deep.

Daughter of the Blood may have been an incredibly dark and at times shocking story but I loved every minute of it so although I had to brace myself beforehand I couldn't wait to continue reading Jaenelle's story in Heir to the Shadows. I was expecting an intense read when I picked up this book and I wasn't wrong but I was also pleasantly surprised to find it isn't quite as dark and disturbing as the first book. Although this sequel wasn't quite as painful to read it does still contain scenes of mental and physical torture so I should probably warn anyone new to the series that you need to prepare yourself for the worst. I'm not trying to put anyone off because it's a FANTASTIC series but if you don't know what to expect you'll end up getting quite a shock! You also need to make sure you read this series in order, the world building is detailed and complex, there are a lot of different characters to keep track of and they have all had significant growth just in the first two books. You'll be completely lost if you pick up the books at this point and I would hate to see people to ruin the series for themselves.

As much as I enjoyed Daughter of the Blood I loved Heir to the Shadows even more, I can't tell you how grateful I am to already have my hands on the next book because as soon as I've finished writing this review I'm diving straight back into the world Anne Bishop has created! I just can't wait any longer to discover what happens to all of my favourite characters next. I don't think I have it in me to write a review that will fully explain what an amazing book Heir to the Shadows is or just how much I adore this series but I'm going to do my best in the hope of convincing you to read it for yourself.

At the end of the previous book we saw Jaenelle suffer the worst kind of physical and mental torture imaginable, it actually hurt my heart thinking about everything she went through and it's the kind of thing that no woman should ever have to deal with - let alone a 12 year old child. It was hard to see how Jaenelle would survive, let alone come out of the ordeal mentally stable but I had underestimated the amount of love and faith her friends and adopted family have and they pulled together to help her through. It takes 2 years for her mind to heal enough to return to her body but Saetan never loses faith in her. She has blocked the memory of the event that nearly killed her but she is still a very different girl to the Witch we met in the beginning. She is much more wary and finds it hard to fully trust even the people she was closest to before, she is also angry and has much less control over her temper. It takes a long time and the help of some very close friends before she starts to emerge as the fun loving and friendly girl she used to be but even then there will always be lasting effects from her trauma.

I absolutely loved meeting some of the friends that she'd spoken of in the previous book but that we hadn't been introduced to. We knew she visited lots of people besides Saetan, Daemon and Lucivar but now we get to meet her Kindred friends for ourselves along with the other young witches and warlords she has met over the years. Jaenelle draws both people and animals to her, they feel her power and know that she is the longed for Witch who has the ability to bring peace to the realms but that isn't the only reason they care for her. Jaenelle has no intention of setting up a court or taking over the duties of running a territory but she is still incredibly protective of the people she cares about and will use the power she was born with to keep them safe no matter what it costs her.

One of the characters who nearly broke my heart in the first book was Lucivar, every time we saw him he was either being tortured or being forced to watch someone else suffer and his POV made for some uncomfortable reading. I badly wanted to see him escape and find some happiness so I was absolutely thrilled with how things progressed for him in this book. He is finally reunited with his father Saetan and he is at Jaenelle's side like the protective older brother he's always wanted to be. Jaenelle needed men around her who had no interest in her sexually and I loved her interactions with both Lucivar and her adopted father Saetan. Their family dynamics are difficult at times because they all have reasons to distrust each other but there is such a sense of love between them and that really shines through in every conversation.

The one person missing from the family reunion is Daemon and although I understood his absence I'll admit I missed him because he doesn't play such a big role in this part of the story. Daemon is the one who saved Jaenelle's life but mentally throwing himself into the abyss to reach her cost him dearly and now he's paying the price. Daemon's memories of what happened to Jaenelle are vague and now he's not even sure if she's dead or alive. Worse still, he can't remember what caused her injuries and he is terrified that he did something to hurt her. His anguish over her possible death and the role he may have played in it have caused him to lose his mind and now he is walking in the Twisted Kingdom completely lost and alone. The only person who has the power to reach Daemon and bring him back is Jaenelle but when she blocked the memories of what happened to her she also blocked out the time she spent with Daemon. The most important question is will she remember who he is in time to save his life?

I've already said that this story isn't quite as dark as the first one but that doesn't mean things are all plain sailing and there are still plenty of enemies out out there making plots against Jaenelle and her family. I was glad we see some people start to get what they deserve but others like Hekatah and Dorothea are still plotting and getting ready to cause more trouble. In a lot ways the focus of this story is Jaenelle's recovery and seeing her build a network of close friends and allies that I think she will need on her side in the next book though. This instalment almost feels like the calm before the storm and I have a feeling things are going to go downhill fast for our favourite characters as the series continues in Queen of Darkness. I just hope Jaenelle and her allies are strong enough to face whatever is about to be thrown at them.

Publication Date: Available now from Jo Fletcher.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy.

Enough time has passed for the young girl Jaenelle, heir to the magical Darkness, for her physical wounds to heal, while amnesia keeps her frightening memories at bay. But with Saetan–a Black-Jewelled Warlord Prince and Jaenelle’s foster-father–to protect her, she will continue to grow. Her magic will mature. Her memories will return. And Jaenelle will face her destiny.

Well the first book in this trilogy ” Daughter of the Blood” was a deeply strange and enthralling read so I came to Book 2 with much excitement and it did not disappoint – if anything it was superior, probably due to the depth the author manages to give her weirdly wonderful characters and the fact that you know them now and are more than ready to find out what is next.

At the end of Book One things were not going well for Jaenelle, now she is in recovery under the watchful eye of Saetan (my absolute favourite of ALL the characters, boy was I pleased to see him again) As she suffers the aftermath and struggles to regain her emotional equilibrium, her amnesia protects her from the horror she suffered. Meanwhile Daemon Sadi is suffering a breakdown due to the lies he has been told and believed and his injury sustained during Jaenelle’s rescue.

Whilst the rich imagery and beautiful prose from the first novel remains intact, the sexual content and violence is toned down somewhat, which is very fitting for the portion of the tale being told – the bridge if you like between start and finish – we already know how darkly disturbing some of the living conditions are - and here we learn more about the lavish and extravagant world the author has created.

It really is stunning in its complexity, so wonderful to read, as far as dark fantasy goes you won’t find much better than this that is for sure. The end of the book had me absolutely on the edge of my seat and I simply cannot wait to find out what is going to happen in the finale. You see here one happy reader.

So Queen of the Darkness up next then. As soon as I can possibly get around to it. Certainly the first 2 books in the Black Jewels Trilogy come highly recommended from me.

Happy Reading Folks!

really can't even explain how much this trilogy means to me. It was gifted to me when I was 19 and hadn't yet acquired my passion for reading, but after reading these, I was hooked!! It came to me a point in life where I really needed an escape, and boy does Anne Bishop deliver! The imagery, imagination, passion and rawness of these books will make it EXTREMELY hard to put down! If you enjoy fantasy i highly recommend :) Happy reading!
Makena

This series continues to impress me. I love the rich culture of the world created by Bishop. I'm fascinated by what goes on in each of the Realms and how they've changed yet still echo what they were created to be. And the characters--I find myself drawn to them, again and again, as if they're old friends already.

I'm amazed by how fast the books are moving. Thankfully Bishop doesn't feel the need to explain every last moment of Jaenelle's life. Sometimes whole years are acknowledged in mere sentences. It's rather refreshing after reading so many books that seem to detail every crumb the main character ate for breakfast; skipping through years that occurred but which didn't need to be talked about extensively is a nice surprise. After all, we're getting older in increments--it isn't the minutes that count, it's the years.

This second book focuses on Jaenelle after the events of Daughter of the Blood. Roughly two years have passed. This book got off to a rousing start with one of my favorite characters, Saetan Daemon SaDiablo. Demon-dead, Guardian, the High Priest of Hell itself petitions the Council for parental rights to Jaenelle. And we get to see a taste of Saetan's power. Not that we didn't know how powerful he was in the first book--he is the High Lord of Hell after all--but this is a very public, very ... emphatic show of power.

In this book we also meet many of the friends Jaenelle talked about in Daughter of the Blood. Each of them are as amusing as Jaenelle and they keep Saetan on his toes even more than just Jaenelle did.

The ending is one I know I'm going to want to read again and again. In fact I've read it a few times already. It is lushly and powerfully written allowing us to see that Jaenelle is a match for her adopted father's power.

I really read this through fast. It was so involving and gripping, I did not want it to end but I really wanted to know what happens on the next page - both these attributes are rare, and I thank Anne Bishop for writing books that offer both.
And - and this makes Anne Bishop outstanding for me - she manages this with quite a number of flaws in her story: Jaenelle's friends are not quite fleshed out (such a lot of names, such a lot of alliances between them and none of it told, all of it just mentioned in passing - I had no chance of even remembering who is who), there are a lot of jumps in her story where transitions are sketchy and a few sentences thrown in are supposed to explain a battle or disaster scene of many pages, the emotional growth of Jaenelle (respect for her body, e.g.) just happens in a page or so, Sadi is "forgotten" by everyone for endless amounts of time and the justifications for that are sketchy, Jaenelle's marriage just happens in passing.
So, yes, I had a lot of criticism after thinking it over, or even while reading. But, and that is why this book gets five stars, I still wanted to read it, I enjoyed it, it kept me hooked and completely distracted from all else. I hope that Anne Bishop's writing gets even better, but even if it never does, I will wait for each of her books and look forward to them with anticipation - and have pleasure from reading them.
Finally, to respond to other comments: I found the violence and the sex all necessary to the story and not excessive at all - it fit into her dark tale very well.

Review of first two books ‘Daughter of the Blood’ and ‘Heir to the Shadows’

I don’t read much high-fantasy. About the highest I’ve ever got with my fantasy was Melina Marchetta’s masterful ‘Lumatere Chronicles’ series, which I probably owe a great deal of thanks to for broadening my reading habits enough to give Anne Bishop’s award-winning ‘Black Jewels’ trilogy a try. Of course the other reason I wanted to read Bishop’s much-raved about first series is the fact that I’m so in love with her latest serial, ‘The Others’.

So, because I don’t read much high-fantasy (although the ‘Black Jewels’ is more dark fantasy) I want to say that I’m terrible at writing about the setting/universe in this series. I’ve tried, but I can’t quite find it in me to properly explain the mechanics, in’s and out’s – and that’s nothing against Anne Bishop as a writer – it’s just me as a reader not used to such intricate and complex world-building that’s so out of my comfort zone. So: allow me a terrible summation when I say the ‘Black Jewels’ trilogy is set in a land where Queens rule, according to the colour of their jewels (black being the most powerful). Warlord Princes freely serve these Queens, but there are some who are turned servant at the will of particularly nasty Queens – these Warlords are often given the ring of obedience, and made to submit to a Queen’s every sexual desire.

Seven hundred years ago, a Black Widow witch called Tersa saw an ancient prophecy – a Queen and Witch who will wield more power than any who have come before her.

When first book ‘Daughter of the Blood’ begins, Lucivar Yaslana (SaDiablo) is an enslaved male – a half-Eyrien being with bat-like wings, he serves at the court of evil Queen Dorothea. But one night he meets a small child – a girl – who speaks cryptically but who Lucivar is drawn to. He nicknames her Cat, and promises they will meet again, some day.

The next to meet this mysterious young girl is the High Lord of Hell himself (and Lucivar’s estranged father) Saetan. When he meets the twelve-year-old girl, he feels the power within her that marks her already as Queen and Witch – as the prophecy stated. But he also feels a pull to her, a paternal instinct and he knows she is the daughter of his heart. Her name is Jaenelle – and she will change their world.

•••
Jaenelle plopped on air, spraddle-legged. “I know it,” she muttered, crossing her arms. “I knew it was written in male.”
Saetan vanished his glasses. “I beg your pardon?”
“It’s gibberish. Geoffrey understands it but can’t explain it so that it makes sense, and you understand it. Therefore, it’s written in male – only comprehensible to a mind attached to a cock and balls.”

—‘Heir to the Shadows’
•••

The last to meet Jaenelle is Daemon Sadi (SaDiablo) – half brother to Lucivar, unknown son of Saetan and the Black Widow Tersa (who has since been lost to madness, ‘The Twisted Kingdom’, since speaking prophecy). Daemon meets Jaenelle at her country estate, where he has been banished after displeasing his Queen Dorothea with unspeakable violence. Daemon is another captive male who wears the Ring of Obedience; he is nicknamed ‘The Sadist’ for his cruel bedroom play, and because his hatred of Queens and his having to submit to them is well known. He dreams of one day finding a Queen whose bed he can share, who he truly loves and will follow anywhere.

The first two books in the ‘Black Jewels’ trilogy introduce us to this world where Queens rule and Warlords scheme. Saetan rules Hell and finds it thrown into chaos and upheaval when the daughter of his heart enters his Kingdom.

The central focus of the first book is on Jaenelle’s relationship with her adoptive father, Saetan and later her growing friendship with the much older Daemon, who has come to stay with her family and give Dorothea time to cool down. But while Saetan teaches his daughter how to harness her incredible power, Daemon starts to uncover the truth about Jaenelle’s blood family – and what they’ve done to her. Believing she has little to no power, and talks lies about meeting dragons and travelling to different realms, Jaenelle’s family have been sending her to a place called Briarwood since she was a little girl …

A lot happens in the first two books: A. LOT. We first meet Jaenelle when she’s twelve-years old, and by the end of the second book she’s 19 (I think. There’s one paragraph that explains a time-leap of two years but if you blink and miss it, you’ll be wholly confused from there on in). One really curious thing about the ‘Black Jewels’ trilogy that took me a while to adjust to is that it’s told in third person, but following certain character’s journeys … except for Jaenelle’s. She is the protagonist and pivot-point of the whole series, but we never see things from her perspective – she’s always being observed by others, and that’s how readers get to know her – once removed. This is a bit disarming, and takes some time to get used to. It does work, Bishop keeps Jaenelle as a mysterious entity successfully because we are never in her head, never seeing things through her eyes. But because the books are focused on Jaenelle’s timeline, not seeing things from her worldview means I always took some time to catch-up when she did have a leap in age.

Another reason the lack of protagonist perspective might be hard to swallow for some is in relation to the ‘romance’ – though I use this term very, very loosely when speaking of the first two books. Daemon feels he is destined to be the lover of the prophesised Queen and Witch – but he’s, understandably, shocked when he meets a twelve-year-old Jaenelle and feels she is the Queen of his destiny. Shocked, because she’s still prepubescent (around about here I had terrible flashback to Jacob and Renesmee in ‘Breaking Dawn’ – but it’s not that bad. I promise!) This is actually a real conflict for Daemon, who settles into the role as Jaenelle’s confidant and only friend while he’s staying at her estate – and I’ve got to hand it to Anne Bishop, what could have very easily become a creepy storyline (see: Stephenie Meyer) retains all its complexity, but she turns Daemon into a softer character when he decides to become young Jaenelle’s protector and companion. This is a character referred to as ‘The Sadist’ by other women in the series, so it was interesting to read how he changes for Jaenelle’s sake – part of being a Queen’s Warlord Prince is being what they need, and when he meets Jaenelle she desperately needs a friend and someone she cant trust, so that’s what Daemon becomes.

•••
Ladies like to seem mysterious.
Not Lady Jaenelle Benedict. She didn’t try to be mysterious, she simply was. She walked in full sunlight shrouded in a midnight mist that swirled around her, hiding, revealing, tantalizing, frightening. Her honesty had been blunted by punishment. Perhaps that was for the best. She was good at dissembling, had some understanding about her family’s reaction if they learned some of the truths about her, and yet she couldn’t dissemble enough because she cared.
How many people knew about her? Daemon wondered as he brushed his hair. How many people looked upon her as their secret?

— ‘Daughter of the Blood’
•••

But I am also hesitant to attach the word ‘romance’ to the first two books because something so awful happens to Jaenelle in book one, and it’s explored at length in book two … Bishop never forgets that her protagonist is a young girl, who has been through something so horrendous. On the one hand; Bishop writes this part of the story with stark horror, but she also deals with the ramifications with the utmost tenderness for all involved, and that’s highly-commendable.

I’m also quite surprised that while Bishop does explore this gory, awful storyline, the ‘Black Jewels’ trilogy also seems to be about gender-flipping. This is a world in which Queens rule and make erotic servants of men, and Warlord Princes want to kneel before worthy Queens.

•••
Jaenelle opened her arms.
He stepped into them and held tight. “I don’t think you’ve ever realized how strong, how necessary the bond is between Warlord Princes and Queens. We need you to stay whole. That’s why we serve. That’s why all Blood males serve.”
“But it’s always seemed so unfair that a Queen can lay claim to a man and control every aspect of his life if she chooses to without him having any say in the matter.”
Saetan laughed. “Who says a man has no choice? Haven’t you ever noticed how many men who are invited to serve in a court decline the privilege? No, perhaps you haven’t. You’ve had too many other things occupying your time, and that sort of thing is done very quietly.” He paused and shook his head, smiling. “Let me tell you an open secret, my darling little witch. You don’t choose us. We choose you.”

—‘Heir to the Shadows’
•••

I really enjoyed the first book, ‘Daughter of the Blood’. And a big part of that enjoyment came from the Daemo/Jaenelle partnership. Daemon was the character that most intrigued me, so when second book ‘Heir to the Shadows’ began with him wandering the Twisted Kingdom, I was seriously disappointed. Jaenelle (now aged 14, after another aforementioned confusing time-leap) spends most of ‘Heir to the Shadows’ with no memory of her friend Daemon, and he appears only sporadically and not in his right mind. The second book was a lot more boring to me, mostly because Bishop keeps this character and relationship that she dedicated a lot of the first book to, just out-of-reach and on the periphery.

I’m about to start the third and final book (side note: although ‘Black Jewels’ is a trilogy, there are six additional ‘Black Jewels’ novels, some of which can be read as stand-alones … Oh, the serial confusion of high-fantasy!) and where ‘Heir to the Shadows’ left off, I think I’ll be a lot happier going into ‘Queen of the Darkness’ – but I shall wait and see.

I still don’t really know where I stand with high-fantasy. At times reading the first two books in the ‘Black Jewels’ trilogy was just exhausting – between the multiple character perspectives (but never the protagonists!), sudden age-leaps, the complicated jewel hierarchy system and different realms to keep track of … I think it’s a genre I need to read sparingly. But Anne Bishop made this high-fantasy very enjoyable. It’s certainly nothing like her ‘The Others’ series (stay away if you’re hoping for a same-same reading filler!) but I enjoyed her writing such a complex female protagonist who’s so strong but has been so terribly abused in her life, and how she copes with that. The beginnings of a romance are unlike anything I’ve ever read (I’m scrubbing my memory of Jacob/Renesmee, okay?) and it’s been particularly wonderful to read Daemon’s character transformation.

3.5/5

Daemon doesn't know what to believe when his brother accuses him of rape and murder of Jeanelle, Witch, a 12-year-old girl that he loves. He can't remember that night, only certain words that haunt him and torment him, driving him insane. It leads to him wandering the Twisted Kingdom, going deeper and deeper into it, with each step promising no return. And he knows one thing...
That Jaenelle is dead.
Saeton SaDiablo is the High Lord of Hell, and he has Jaenelle's body in his keep, waiting for the body to heal so he can bring the daughter of his soul back into it. So Jaenelle can be alive again. It takes two years... and he gets his chance, and brings back Witch.
Jaenelle is awake again, back inside her body. She can't remember the months before she had been 'hurt' and she does not know that she was raped. She has to get use to being a 15-year-old instead of being 12--which is a hard thing to do. There are people trying to get rid of her, like Heketah, and she must survive all the attempts untill she is old enough to make the Offering, and to claim a court, and her throne.
Surreal, the assassin, has been looking out for Daemon as much as possible, and is the only one that has seen him in the 8 years hes been gone. But he keeps dissappearing, and she thinks Jaenelle is dead, and Daemon has no hope.
Lucivar knows he must get out of the salt mines because his dream is dead. There was no reason left for him to keep on surviving. So he decides to escape, try to commit suicide, and it brings himself face-to-face with the girl whom is Dreams Made Flesh, Witch.

Heir to the Shadows, the second of the Black Jewels trilogy, successful sequel to Daughter of the Blood. In some ways it improves upon the first book. Highly enjoyable to any lover of fantasy books.
This second installment takes place just after the events of the first book. After escaping the "uncles," everyone is weary and battered from the ordeal, especially Jaenelle. The book revolves around Saetan, his sons, and Jaenelle�s friends from all over Kaeleer trying to help Jaenelle recover from her emotional trauma and get her ready to take her place as Queen.
This, in and of itself, causes some problems. Firstly, there is never a sense that the plot is going anywhere, just day-to-day life of Jaenelle's adopted family with little direction. The SaDiablo household, however, is far from ordinary, and that alone makes things interesting. One major complaint of mine are the villains. Hekatah in particular is one of the cheesiest villains I've seen. In nearly every scene she's in, she flirts with some male conspirator or other, spilling out the latest version of her "master plan" to overthrow her arch nemesis (Saetan) and gain control of the realms. I swear, all she needs is a sinister evil cackle and a trite phrase like "the world will soon be mine" and she could be in a comic book.
Most of the conflicts in the book are the result of Hekatah carrying out her evil schemes---after giving you every last detail of it in a previous chapter---and Jaenelle and her friends dealing with the aftermath of said schemes. It feels like Bishop writes these "villain scenes" just to remind you that her villains are still in the book and to throw some conflict into an otherwise conflict-deprived story.
Aside from that, there are some improvements in this book over the last one. Firstly, Heir to the Shadows is easier to get into that Daughter of the Blood due to less back story about the characters and more tame subject matter. The book retains its dark, sensual edge. It just employs less shock value than before. There are lots of lighter moments in this book too. I truly watching the various characters interact with Jaenelle. It comes to the point that whenever Jaenelle walks into the room (and is in a good mood), you know she's going to say something incredible and you'll be treated to some delightfully light-hearted dialogue.
All in all, Heir to the Shadows is a worthy continuation of the Black Jewels trilogy, though not without faults. Lack of direction, poor villains, and blatant abuse of the "destiny" plot device drags the book down, but it is so well written that I doubt you'll mind too much.

Very little happened to move the plot forward. Anne Bishop’s books aren’t action packed, and I don’t expect them to be. I do expect something interesting to happen. Most of this book rehashed the same problems from Daughter of the Blood. This covered Jaenelle's teenage years, which were relatively uneventful. She recovered from the traumatic events in the prior book, hung out with her friends, and learned how to hone her craft. *yawn*

Hekatah hatched a few pathetic plans to destroy Jaenelle’s chances of coming into power as a queen. Hekatah was spoken about as if she is some extremely deceptive, manipulative person. Her actions indicated that she attempted to be those things but failed. Her plans were weak and desperate nor did they involve much intelligence or plotting. She doesn’t stand a chance. Frankly I wish she’d be killed off because I don’t want to waste my time reading about her since she is insignificant.

Lucivar’s role in the first book was small. His role in this was much bigger, but he went from being interesting, intelligent, and strong to a fool. He followed Jaenelle around like a lost puppy, and I desperately wish she would have told him to get lost. Also he is one or two thousand years old but he acted like a teenager.

The majority of this was told from Saetan’s perspective since Jaenelle was with him most of the time. He is the lamest character ever! He is long lived and the High Lord, so he should stop acting like some driveling idiot! Saetan should be supremely evil, but instead he is the kindest, fairest ruler of them all. He s so intent on following the rules that he sacrificed his two sons to horrible fates all because of protocol. Instead of being a strong, feared leader, all Saetan did was think about Jaenelle to the degree that he was blind to anything else going on in his realm including threats to Jaenelle. He is a horrible leader. He would be a loyal friend but is way too weak to be an effective leader. He’s also a bad father to Jaenelle. He took great care of her but didn’t give her any direction. When she wanted something to be a certain way, she got her way.

Daemon was barely in this, and he is the most interesting character in the series by far. His absence deeply impacted the book and not in a good way. There was a point to it, but so many other inconsequential things didn’t need to be focused on in his abscence. He sacrificed almost everything for Jaenelle in Daughter of the Blood, but did anybody care about what he sacrificed for her? Nooooooo. He was expendable, but apparently Jaenelle was not. She was the only one that cared about him at all, but she failed to show the outrage I wanted to see from her.

I’m still going to read the next one, but my expectations aren’t as high as they were when I started this book.

Heir to the Shadows would be worth reading, I think, entirley for the scene when all of Jaenelle's friends from the various places she's traveled show up on her birthday. Anne Bishop has an extraordinary talent for creating supporting characters. All of them have a personality all thier own, and it is utterly charming.
The book takes up three years after Daughter of the Blood left off, although not much has changed. Fortunatly, quite near the beginning of the book, Jaenelle pulls out of the Twisted Kingdom, and Lucivar is reunited with Saetan. The confrontations between the male characters are fascinating. Bishop has drawn the characters of Saetan, Daemon, and Lucivar with such grace, it is painfully clear that they are family, but each is so distinctive.
Jaenelle continues to expand as a character as well, and she only grows more interesting with age. The relationship that develops between her and her family is humourous and heartbreaking as all our relationships with our parents and siblings are.
Heir to the Shadows was a lovingly written book, it is engrossing, funny, tragic, and it will twist your heart and make you laugh all in one page.

Before the screaming hordes descend on me, I want to say that I did enjoy this book.
Just not as much as the first one.
If you've read my review for 'Daughter of the Blood,' you might guess this is because of lack of Daemon. Not entirely, although it's a factor. He was developed so well in the first book that, I think, he became intertwined with the plot, and 'Heir to the Shadows' was supposedly a continuation of that same plot. Without him in it, it felt flatter.
Actually, I did come to love Lucivar, the main male character in this book. It was fascinating to see him develop a different relationship with Jaenelle, neither lover nor father. Well-evoked brother-sister relationships are rare in fantasy, but this, I think, is one of them. Lucivar obviously loves Jaenelle, but he doesn't hesitate to tell her when she's being an idiot.
Well, then, if I liked Lucivar so much, why give the book only three stars?
Lack of the story from Jaenelle's point of view continues to be a problem. I think Anne Bishop has undertaken a daring project in not giving the supposed hero of the story a voice, but the other characters around her- and, ultimately, her opposition- need to be interesting enough to make up for that. They're not. The intrigues in this book are represented as threatening, but Jaenelle defeats them by a relatively simple strategem at the end. Many of her friends, other than Saetan and Lucivar, display no more depth or interest than most teenagers. And there are too many of them, introduced all at once in a chapter I had to keep referring to because I kept forgetting who was related to who.
Finally...
And, really, I hate to say this, because it's so much a part of fantasy that the genre wouldn't be what it is without it...
I am perishing of Destiny-sickness.
The best fantasies I've read use either minimal prophecies or prophecies that are so obscure they don't automatically point to the hero. Then they take their main characters through the process of transformation so that by the time they assume the throne, if they really must assume the throne, they are worthy of rule. Martin, Kay, Williams, Cooper, and others do this. It can be done!
Everyone in 'Heir to the Shadows' knows that Jaenelle is Witch, destined to rule. This makes them invest every act she undertakes with almost religious awe. Yet without that aura surrounding her, would anyone look twice? She doesn't strike me as developed enough or transformed enough to earn the regard on her own; her destiny earns it for her.
I would really like to see a book where the hero knows he's laboring under a Destiny and suffers anxiety from not rising to its standards, but most destiny-ridden heroines or heroes aren't like that. They're blithely confident. Everyone honors or hates them, no one regards them with indifference, and they win in the end.
So. Two stars for Lucivar and his relationship with Jaenelle, and one for the origin story of the Blood, which is quite interesting. This book kept me reading, but it was a letdown after 'Daughter of the Blood.'

I just wanted to write this not because my opinion has any weight, but because I wanted to express how very impressed I was with this book. I normally don't read any fantasy books, but I was told that Daughter of the Blood was such a good book. At first I wasn't so convinced of its reputation as a great book, but I slowly came to believe it as I read further and further into this dark world that Anne Bishop has so amazingly put together.
The very next week after I finally finished Daughter of the Blood I went out and bought the sequel, Heir to the Shadows. I found that book to be even better. I couldn't put it down and I have just finished it today. I just stumbled over this web site looking for the next book and well I thought I would write and just express how very happy I was with the two novels that Anne Bishop has written, and I am eagerly awaiting the third book of the Black Jewel trilogy!!!

The continuation of the Black Jewels Trilogy keeps up with the promise Bishop seems to make with the reader in the first novel - a highly readable, enjoyable, unrelenting view of the world she created. Even more so than the first, I could not put this book down. When I did, it's because I was so tired my brain could no longer comprehend the idea of "sentences" and "words." Again, there are a few apparent flaws that need to be discussed in an honest appraisal of the book:

(1) The descriptions of characters can get repetitive. You can only read that Jaenelle does something no one has ever done before in all of history so many times before you're like "alright already, I get it!" And you'll read the description "membranous wings" more times than you care to.

(2) Some phrases are repeated ad nauseum to make dramatic points. "Briarwood is the pretty poison" and something along the lines of "Everyone pays the price" are constantly inserted between paragraphs or after a particular event for dramatic effect, but again, it's a case of "enough already" the fourth or fifth time.

(3) As more characters are introduced (which many are in this book), they become more stereotypical and progressively less interesting. And the introduction of intelligent animals (members of the Blood called "Kindred") made me roll my eyes a bit, but overall they worked out. Definitely wasn't "Lassie" or "Flipper" even if it seemed a bit corny at first.

(4) The jumps in years seem a bit awkward at times. In this book, Jaenelle ages about 10 years. It's a little aggravating that Bishop introduces this evil little plot by the antagonists, and then when you go to the next part, it's two years later. What happened in that time??? Granted, if she did fill in those details, this trilogy would probably be drawn out like the Wheel of Time saga or the Song of Ice and Fire series.

Despite my criticisms of her style, however, Bishop's creative energy and constantly-moving plot kept me firmly embraced by her characters, her plot, and her world, and sets the reader up well for a gripping finale. I highly recommend it.

Have you ever noticed that the "second" in any series is usually not as good as either the "first" or the "third"? It is the same with this series by Anne Bishop. The negativity of the society, the hostility between men and women, all of this is cranked up in the second book. The characters seem more disjointed, more confused -- and well they could be given what has happened and is happening to them. I just didn't get as into the characters as the first or third book enticed me to be. The third book however will make little sense without the second so you should read it if you are a fan of the series. Indeed if you plan to read "The Invisible Ring" I recommend the trilogy first because it will explain the culture better and allow you to be more a part of that adverture.

Heir to the Shadows definately did not appeal to me. Although Daughter of the Blood was one of the most enthralling books I have ever read, Book 2 of the Black Jewel Trilogy definately does not retain the reputation of Book 1. Heir to the Shadows definately lost the dark edge that Daughter of the Blood has. One of the main characters, the Sadist, is barely mentioned. I think Anne Bishop should have included him in the story more. The only true villans in the story aren't even powerful enough to cause any trouble longer then two pages. They pose no real threat to Jaenelle . Any attempt they make is automatically thrawrted. Where is the Suspense!!!!! Anne Bishop's comical side is definately shown . It would of been better if that was a side unseen by the readers.But what reallyconfuses me is how Jaenelle heals one person and is exhausted yet she is able to destroy an army of 6,000 men in a matter of seconds and just stomp angrily off . The whole book is about Jaenelle coming of age and doesn't get interesting until the last ten or so pages. I just hope that Queen of the Darkness is a lot more interesting.

In this second novel we get to see Jannielle grow from the young girl in the first book to the powerful young Queen she will be for her life to come. She shows that with love, compassion, & power that the Blood finally have the Queen, Witch, dress made flesh among them.

...but the book was brilliant, all the same. After all, what else would you expect from Anne Bishop?

The only major flaw? Easy: they don't mention Daemon enough. Like, 5 or 6 times in the whole book is soooooo not enough. But we got more of his half-brother, Lucivar. Daemon for Lucivar isn't my definition for fair, but it'll do. For one book...oh, to Hell with it, I just wish there were more mentions of the Sadist. No BJT book feels right without the Sadist. But there was some mention of him, which is why it still got 4 stars.

But still, the plot was superb. Up to her usual standard. Although I only no so much about Karla and Kary, I still luv them both. Jaenelle's just...Jaenelle, I suppose. I mean, she might be the Queen and all, but something from her is missing. Hey, don't get me wrong, I luv her, but she's just...herself.

Despite its problems, it is a must read for all BJT fans like myself. But for all fans of Daemon, just remember: you might be...well... A Little Dissappointed.

Anne Bishop is a very good storyteller; she knows how to keep you shocked and turning the page. I know I read Daughter of the Blood well into the night in order to finish it. Unfortunately her flaws seem to have caught up with her in Heir to the Shadows.

Bishop has created a very dark world of power play between males and females and masters and slaves. This is a matriarchal world where men serve the more magically powerful women. Unfortunately the Queens have taken advantage of their power and enslaved many of the men and force them to serve them both in and out of the bedroom. Jaenelle was born to be Queen over all of the Blood, those who have magic, and her future lover Daeman, his half brother Lucivar and their father Saetan have sworn to serve her.

Heir to the Shadows takes up where Daughter of the Blood ends. Saetan has taken custody of Jaenelle, who has selective amnesia of her rape, Daeman is mostly insane and Lucivar has managed to get himself thrown into the Salt Mines. This all makes up for a very promising storyline, but unfortunately the book's strengths are far outweighed by its weaknesses.

The setting is not well described or very detailed. We are still given little to no detail about the world itself and only somewhat more detail about how the magic works. It sometimes seems like rape and/or sex is thrown in simply for the sake of having rape and/or sex in there, which makes it sometimes feel like little more than a dark erotica novel.

The plot itself has serious flaws. For instance we are consistently bludgeoned over the head by the narrator, and by the characters themselves, by the fact that Jaenelle, Daemon, Lucivar, and Saetan are incredibly powerful. More powerful than any of their enemies. So why do they they take so long to stop their enemies? If Lucivar has killed queens with such ease before why did it take so long for him to escape the mines, where he was clearly in serious danger? Also, Lucivar has apparently been having sex with women for centuries, and as far as we know none of them got pregnant. If that's supposed to be the reason why all the witches want to have sex with him, why doesn't anyone think that he's sterile, and thus useless?

Saetan is supposed to be the most powerful person around until Jaenelle comes but for vague, not clearly explained reasons, he doesn't bother to free either of his sons from slavery, and although he knows that Hekatah is a threat and that he is much more powerful than her he never does anything about it. I can sort of understand him not wanting to kill her, but he couldn't have imprisoned her, or at least kept a closer eye on her activities? Especially when he already knows that she's killing people? For that instance, he couldn't he have at least kept a closer eye on his sons? After all this I'm really supposed to believe that he doesn't want his sons to be hurt? Obviously he doesn't care enough to actually stop their tormentors. I can forgive Jaenelle for not being very good at dispatching enemies because she is young, but it seems as if even though the reader is told several times in Heir to the Shadows and Daughter of the blood that each of the main characters are incredibly powerful, when it came to the actual events in the book, half the time you were supposed to forget that.

I was willing to accept that Jaenelle was unable to stop her own rape despite being told that she is ridiculously powerful. I was willing to accept that most of the people in this world seem to think of little except sex. I was even willing to accept that Bishop is frustratingly vague about what their magic is actually capable of and that I have no idea what most of the world is like. What I am not so willing to forgive is that Bishop is a weak writer who is unable to make her character's actions match up with her descriptions of those characters.

Unless Anne Bishop drastically improves her writing I will not be reading any more of her books.

After much anticipation, I've finally gotten my hot little hands on this book. And folks, it's not good, it's Fantastic!!!! Beyond words. This second installment picks up right Jaenelle's brush with death and continues on until...that's right, she came into her full glorious power as Witch. Along the way, I laughted, cried, and laughted as Ms. Bishop took us through a fasinating journey. All of those friends in the Forbidden Territory that was refered to in the first novel comes to light. And you will love them. But beware, you will cry for Daemon and others...just as surely you will feel the tenticles of hope at the end of this book and desperately wish that the third book would come out right away. I just spent 6 continuous hours reading this book and it felt like minutes...ah well, I guess I must somehow wait for the third installment...but Ms. Bishop, HURRY!!!

I absolutely love this sequel! Though I originally said that the first book is the best of the series, after re-reading this one (again!), I think that this is actually the strongest in the series. I just love so many of the new characters added - particularly the kindred characters who add even more richness to the story.

The continuation of the plot and the arc of the characters' lives is quite perfect and in a way this one is even sadder than the first. I am quite excited to keep reading and even more excited for the newest book in the series!

And so the saga continues. What was begun in Daughter of the Blood grows to maturity in this second stunning chapter in the web of Story. As engrossing as the first book, Heir to the Shadows will wrap its dark wings around your heart and become a part of you. No one who has read this book and truly experienced all it has to offer remains unchanged by that contact. It sings to one's soul and touches the deepest parts of the human psyche with understanding while simultaneously racing toward the triumph of Witch and the return of love and honor to a world that desperately needs their touch again. The characters live again in this story, almost more real than reality itself. Laughing and crying with them, one feels as if one is a part of their world, separate from the mundane details of this terrestrial orb. Jaenelle, Daemon, and all the rest will become members of your family, in spirit and in your heart. Do you believe in Witch?

I am VERY disappointed. I hadn't been expecting a book equal to the first one- I've read too much so-called "great sequels" to be so naive- but I didn't think that it could be so HORRIBLE! I mean, the first book WAS great. I thought that the second book would at least be GOOD. But no, that is not the case. It is one of the MOST PRETENTIOUS book that I've read. NOTHING sounds real. I absolutely HATED the characters. How could the author mess them up so much? If the first book hadn't made them so life-like and interesting, I wouldn't have hated them so much, but the changed SO MUCH! It's like Anne Bishop crushed them and changed them back to flat letters that they really are. And the plot. Where has the plot gone to? Is this a NOVEL? Hey, but what EXACTLY happend in the book? The whole entire book could have been compressed into about two chapters or so, and it should have been. And you can't really believe the story. The part of the story about Jaenelle's mind being healed and stuff, well, gosh. My final words: I wish I hadn't read this. It totally messed up the beautiful vision I'd gotten from the first book.

Dark, rich, sensual, touching are but a few of the epithets I would use when refering to "The Black Jewels Trilogy'. I've read a few pages on the store and i was hooked. A witch of words telling the story of a witch of darkness. What can be more seductive?
I'm hoplessly in love with all the characters: Jaenelle, the most powerfull witch ever, but still vulnerable, still easy to hurt; Saetan - The High Lord of Hell, A 50.000 year old Guardian who is just, kind and obeys the rules of the Blood; Lucivar and Daemon, sons of Saetan, Warlord Princes brutally tortured by cruel queens for more than 700 year - both in love with Jaenelle, but only Daemon destined to be her Consort. (i won't say more as i don't want to spoil the fun of reading the books).
All I can say is if you love books where everything is upside down, where demons are good and humans are bad; if you love book with a touck of supernatural then read Mrs Bishop's books. You're in for a big treat. But, a piece of advice: start with the first book 'Daughter of the Blood", otherwise you'll not understand much!

WARNING: Oodles of strong sexual content. And yet, very little actual sex. Just a lot of very explicit and demeaning talk of sex slaves that really has nothing to do with the plot and does nothing to enrich the story. Without that irrelevant and unnecessary element, this would easily be a 5 star series among the most original and most addictive trilogies out there.

The Black Jewels Trilogy continues in this amazing book. It is just as memorable as the first, and isn't just a segue between the first and third books like so many trilogies today. The characters continue to develop in new ways and the setting is as vivid as ever. Bishop is a very talented writer, and this book makes that very clear with her meticulous details and storytelling ability. A very good read.

I thouroughly enjoyed this book, and although it is rather overshadowed by Daughter, it is nevertheless a near-masterpiece. Mrs. Bishop's caste of characters, who are sympathetic without being composed of the classic hero combination of "sweetness and light" are an absolute delight to get to know. I would have liked for Daemon to play a greater role in the plot, but the substitution of Lucivar is more than acceptable. If Queen is up to the standard of these two books, we can surely expect to be seeing Anne Bishop's new works on all of our "Favorite Books" lists!