Reviews for Radiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely Series #4)

The average rating for Radiant Shadows (Wicked Lovely Series #4) based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-05-30 00:00:00 John Baker Rating Clarification: 2.5 Stars Radiant Shadows is my least favorite book of the series, and I'm sorry to say I've been feeling a decline in its allure since Fragile Eternity. I plowed through FE in the hopes that it was the catalyst that would shift the storyline and bring the major players to an endgame of explosive proportions, but I felt I was back to square one with Radiant Shadows. The first 100 pages or so were a HUGE borefest. I kept nodding off as I trudged through a few pages at a time. It wasn't until page 275, that I felt the storyline was finally moving along at a decent pace. This book included characters I cared nothing about when all I wanted was a glimpse of my fave of all the fae Keenan, Seth, Aislinn and Donia. Seth was the only one that appeared for a few scenes here and there hanging around in the hallway, putting a blanket over a sleeping Devlin, standing behind Devlin in a fight, resting his hand on Sorcha's throne etc. And all I got on Keenan was that the Summer King was missing. WT??!! I plowed through the entire book searching frantically for some answers on Keenan's disappearance and nothing else was mentioned. Very frustrating. For those Wicked Lovely fans that are reading these books for Seth fixes and squee moments, save your money and time. The only Seth, lip ring, tongue roll action you get is in the last 15 pages. For those wanting Keenan lurves, don't bother with this book, because you won't get it. I'll give you the rundown so you don't have to labor through this chore of a book. One more thing Spoiler Alert Okay, here goes... Devlin is introduced into the storyline. We got a glimpse of him in Fragile Eternity as he was the fairie that almost killed Seth before Sorcha decided to make Seth her plaything. Devlin was created by Sorcha (order) and Bananach (discord), as they are his mother-sisters and he requires their blood to survive… quite bizarre, but that's how it's described. He is bound by loyalty to Sorcha where he is her High Court Assassin. Fourteen years prior, Sorcha ordered Devlin to kill Ani, who is a hound (halfling) and part of the Dark Court, but he secretly defied Sorcha's orders and kept her alive. About 50 pages summed up for you there. A little more about Ani. She is a Hound that's part of the Dark Court. Hounds are born of the Wild Hunt and are creatures that ride the earth drawing out terror, exacting vengeance and unrestrained order and are bound by the Dark Court and their leader Gabriel. The Hounds need touch and not emotion to sustain. The Dark Court fairies are nourished by swallowing dark emotions caused by the Hunt, as they require emotions and not touch to sustain. A little hidden secret though is that Ani, a halfling Hound, needs physical touch and dark emotion as nourishment, which is supposedly not possible, but ultimately can be useful. Therefore, Irial begins to experiment on her blood to find a way to sustain the Dark Court fairies in order to replace his Ink Exchange experiment. So basically... Ani was targeted by Sorcha, but Devlin secretly kept her alive, she's a hound and her blood holds some power and works in mysterious ways. That took about half the book to reveal BTW, and there you have it in a short paragraph. Shift in storyline... Seth returns to the mortal world as part of his deal with Sorcha and in his absence, she wants him back... in a bad way. She goes into a depression-like state sending Devlin to watch over him and she obsesses over Seth's every move. I find Sorcha's obsession with Seth twisted to tell you the truth, but that's neither here nor there. Anywho... during a dream, she comes across Rae, who is a ghost-like incorporeal being hidden in Sorcha's Fairie world by Devlin, another secret he kept from Sorcha. Using Rae, Sorcha finds she can see Seth in the mortal world through a dreamscape and decides to sleep and dream about Seth until his return, which ultimately begins the decline of the High Court Fairie world. Are you shaking your head in disbelief? Funny thing that, so was I. When Devlin is sent to the mortal world by Sorcha to watch over Seth, he comes across Ani and in their encounter, he gets a taste of Ani's blood and finds it has a sustaining power and hold over him. So basically, Sorcha is distracted and sleepy, thus allowing Bananach to make her move, all the while Devlin is keyed into Ani's blood power. Saved you another 100 pages of bore. Bananach encounters Ani and commissions her to kill Seth and Niall and when she's done with that, Ani must return to Bananach to give her powerful and mysterious blood so she can control the Fairie world. Devlin wants to protect Ani, so they take off on a 6-day road trip, where they finally come to a motel, both fall asleep and have a dream invaded by Rae telling Dev they need to head back to Huntsdale and bring Seth back to the Fairie world so Sleeping Beauty Sorcha can wake up. The most exciting thing they accomplished on that road trip was that Ani named her steed Barry. Woo hoo! Here's when the story becomes mildly interesting... about page 275... Back at Huntsdale, they find out Bananch killed Ani's sister Tish and now Ani wants Bananach dead, but unfortunately if Bananach dies, BIG REVEALso does Sorcha because they balance each other and as a result, all of the fairie world dies along with. So, Devlin vows to protect Ani at the risk of going against his mother-sisters. Huge spoiler coming Bananch raids Irial's house for Ani, Devlin declares his allegiance and willingness to sacrifice his life to save Ani and Irial is attacked in the crossfire all in a short span of a few pages. *head spin* At the end of this madness, Ani and Devlin form another court to oppose Sorcha's High Court and they have a three-way with Rae. So now we've got that Shadow Court, a possible love triangle, and I'm still wondering what the HALE happened to Keenan, why is he missing and is Seth's snake being fed while Seth is away. Overall, I found most of Radiant Shadows boring and drawn out and I'm ready for this series to shift back to the Wicked Lovely storyline. I hope Marr is done tinkering with the different courts and causing contrived strife. She's overdeveloped the fairie lore, as well as introduced lackluster twists that are suppose to serve as intriguing events. I've got enough information that could have actually been chopped in half, so hopefully she'll bring the storyline back to what originally captivated me.... Keenan, Aislinn, Donia and Seth. I'm just glad there is only one more book, anymore than that, and I'd be throwing in the towel. *yawn*

Review # 2 was written on 2017-09-19 00:00:00 David Ficocelli So, Radiant Shadows was better than Fragile Eternity. Just when I thought all the new elements of this faery world had been revealed, Marr presents a bunch of additional characters with new and interesting abilities. It really reinvigorated the story and pulled together some pieces I think are going to be important in the final book. Take my conservative rating with a grain of salt. The fact that I'm still even reading this series when I abandoned 20+ YA recently because of a mood change says something about the merit I think it has. Compared to other YA, the Wicked Lovely series is strong. Compared to my personal tastes atm and the broad array of robust fantasy novels I'm reading, it's a little too angsty. I'm looking forward to seeing how the series ends and imagine it will continue with good quality writing, interesting world, and broody characters. Recommendations: Since I said what I meant in the last review, here's a repeat: this highly character-driven YA Paranormal Romance is something I wish I'd continued shortly after reading (and loving) the first two books. Wicked Lovely is one of the strongest in the genre and I still recommend it with gusto to older teens (and up). If you're in the mood for a YA story as lovely as it is unique, this is the series for you. Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com Other books you might like: