Black Jewel
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Oh, but there's a little snag for poor Daemon - he's stuck wearing one of those cock rings that I mentioned earlier, and is forced to be a pleasure slave. But, do you want to know the truth? I freaking loved Daemon. Seriously, I don't know. We get to enjoy Daemon in the first book, but then his role is pretty much neutered for the rest of the series. Then, in the second book, we get to spend a lot of time with Lucivar, Daemon's half-brother.
Hmmm, okay, well I like Lucivar as well How about you devote some time to view spoiler [introducing that relationship rather than throwing in some character in the third book that we've never met before with an "oh by the way, Lucivar's married now. Then of course, there's Jaenelle, the protagonist. When we are first introduced to Jaenelle in book one, she's nothing more than a child. She goes through some ordeals, to say the least, and you can't help but find yourself rooting for her, with your heart breaking for her at times, even though she's mostly of the Mary-Sueish variety.
But, once she gets older, you really start to see and feel the "Mary Sue" in Jaenelle, and she's just not interesting enough on her own to hold up the series once Daemon is out of the picture. I also got really frustrated with Jaenelle at times. For example, view spoiler [when Daemon disappears after the first book I won't spoil it by telling you the details , one of the reasons Jaenelle doesn't go after him is because all of her trauma has forced her to forget him hey, we have to let some time go by so that she can grow up, or else the romance would be gross, right?
Once she eventually remembers him, I couldn't help but think, "Finally! Go and find your man, Jaenelle. While I enjoyed the first book in the trilogy I'd give 3. They reminded me of a poorly written fan-fictions that take the author's world and introduce 8, characters, most with hardly any character development, that you just don't care about. Not only do you not care about them, but you get frustrated in them taking book time away from the characters you actually DO like.
Then, of course, there's the problem of books two and three being very unfocused and with pretty crappy plots. It was like Bishop tried to coast on the world she created in the first book in books two and three, but it's not like the world she created was super awesome to begin with. I found myself eventually skimming through pages just to get through this trilogy, because it was just getting painful to read.
A strange, dark world, a handful of compelling characters, and an intriguing romance that somehow managed to escape the "ick" factor even though the heroine was only a child in the first book. Had Bishop focused on these promising aspects throughout the series, and created a strong story to accompany them, my lasting impression of The Black Jewels would have been much different. Well, nope, sorry, that didn't happen - at least not for me.
Nov 20, Nanu rated it it was amazing. I have read and re-read all the stories in Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series, several times, and I love it! I love the different perspectives that were created for this world: I just loved it all! Considering the reviews here on Goodreads. To the wanna-be literary critics I say: This is more like "Calvin and Hobbes". And you are on Goodreads for goodness sake, not the New Yorker! Your comprehensive analysis of the societal structure, it's resultant practical ramifications and your in-depth search for the psychological motivations of a character's actions in a story woven for mass consumption is absolutely silly!
Personally, I'm not one for romance novels I rarely read them. But I find this story is much more than that. It's action and adventure, intrigue and suspense, violence and drama, loss and redemption It does have some strong, sexually violent scenes, which while not particularly interesting to me, is part of the story as written and what the author felt was the history of the characters- what created them and how they react to the world after having lived it.
If you're not a fan, or aren't as invested in the story, you'd probably enjoy reading just these first three volumes and Dreams Made Flesh , which ties them together. Or you could read one of the short stories of Dreams Made Flesh and see if it's your cup of tea before investing the time in the main story. Regarding the series as a whole, some of the stories are better than others- yes. The stories that came after these were a bit lackadaisical. It seemed more like the author was filling a publishing contract rather than building a tale.
In that sense, I can agree with those who wanted to see more world building. With the realms, people and creatures Bishop created for this series, I think there is much more of interest to explore than a spooky house; The Dea al Mon People, for example. These characters play supportive roles and Surreal, in particular, is quite prominent, so they were written with some measure of substance. Gabrielle, one of Janelle's best friends and member of the First Circle in the Dark Court, is "one of the few born with the triple gift"; Chatosi, Gabrielle's mate and also First Circle in Janelle's Court, could make a Prince's blood rise to the killing edge by just walking into the room; Titian, Surreal's mother, became Queen of the Harpies after her death; and Surreal, Dea al Mon via her mother's line, was groomed by Janelle herself to be her replacement as Sadi's wife!
These aren't superfluous characters, and yet, we haven't been given much information about them, where they come from or what their values are. Writing about them further; cultural background, customs and traditions, would have piqued my interest. Might as well just call them elves and get it over with. I hope you do, too: I really got into this series pretty much immediately, the first few pages just sucked me in.
For me, it's a bit difficult to review this book because it's all over the place in terms of what's going on. There are a bunch of different characters and smaller side stories that are pertinent to the main storyline, and yaa. I just lack the words to describe this,lol. Ironically, even though the book sounds like it's all scattered, it's pretty easy to follow and everything comes together.
Your not ju I really got into this series pretty much immediately, the first few pages just sucked me in. Your not just dangling in the wind wondering what's going on. What you need to know: If you like dark fantasy reads then this book is probably for you. If you're willing to try this series, it honestly is best if you just read the trilogy instead of trying to get each book. It's so much easier and flows a lot better when all the books are put together as one. If your a squeamish reader or faint of heart, you will not like this and you'll probably be horrified.
View all 4 comments. Jan 22, Tracy rated it it was ok Shelves: I gave this book a chance but decided not to finish it. I'm not saying that other people won't like it, but I did not get into it. The author's writing skills were there. Characters, dialogue, and scene-setting were all well done, but narrative flow and explanation of plot were not apparent to me.
I just could not entirely figure out what was going on. The book made me wonder if I was a lack-wit because I was lost and unaware of where things were heading. Another turnoff for the book was that it I gave this book a chance but decided not to finish it. Another turnoff for the book was that it was mostly a string of sadistic sex scenes.
I am not against sex, erotica, or violence in books. I've often found such elements quite compelling, but in this book the torture scenes just sickened me and there were no characters that I could care about. So, there it is. This book was not my cup of tea. Aug 26, Regina rated it did not like it Shelves: You've hit the top and wrote the sickest shit I've ever had to read. The book is a pain full of rape and pedophilia. At the beginning, I thought there would be an actually interesting story with world building and a magic system, but I realized Bishop likely had the basic ideas for the plot and never bothered to explore and expland them since she completely lost her thread in rape porn.
- Petits Haïkus Français (French Edition).
- The Black Jewels Trilogy: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness.
- Notes to Walter?
- The Forever Initiative.
Rape, forced angst and inconsential banter scenes between Bishop's obviou Congratulations, Ms. Rape, forced angst and inconsential banter scenes between Bishop's obviously favourite characters eat up any shred of plot. Even if you consider that rape gets called out at times, you can't take it serious when you have to read about rape on every third page while you see no depiction of healthy and consensual sex between mutually loving partners. That's not calling out, that's fetishization.
And the way one main character tries to convince himself his attraction isn't pedophilic while it totally is pedophilic, is embarrassing and disgusting to read since it means Bishop tries to deplore and excuse pedophilia at the same time. This is also one of the most misogynistic series I've encountered, since every female character is either a tyrant, incompetent, a sex worker, a rapist, raped or dead and none of them is allowed to ever disagree to a man, behave like a man, or not to listen to a man.
And this in a supposedly matriarchal setting, mind you.
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This matriarchy is ridiculous. We're told women have stronger magic, but we never see them use it, which goes hand in hand with the unexplained magic system. Even when the female main character finds herself in danger, she can't defense or save herself although she can fly and teleport and do magic like no other character; she has to suffer for the plot to work. The depiction of her mental struggles with abuse isn't believable.
The women are completetly dependant on the men and you'd wonder how the matriarchy ever came to be. Why is there the idea a queen is essential when we never see her do anything? Why does none of them handle politics? All they do is shop, rape men and boys and mistreat other women. They're in power but they wield no power unrelated to rape and are served by men for no logical reason.
The world building constantly undermines itself. Also, this general fixation on sex by everyone makes no sense. Apparently female witches are weakened by sex, especially during their first time which is a catastrophic idea to being with, virginity is a construct , so why let the matriarchy such a rape culture develop when it damages its rulers? They should be interested in abolishing it or in avoiding sex, but all they do is support it as if a woman can't exist without sex. Granted, one tyrant witch wants to destroy other powerful witches, but it seems like this rape culture has always been a thing, not only after the villain came into power.
There're a ton of other disturbing things, but I can't list them all without writing myself into a rage. One interesting thing is that by not using the POV of the female main character, Bishop makes her mysterious and exciting and thus avoids to fall into the Mary Sue trap immediately although the female protagonist is clearly a Mary Sue. Her lack of a POV shows that the story is really about the hot and dark male characters while the female characters are only plot devices.
I read the first featured book fully and skimmed through the other two volumes. Apparently the worst stuff is in the first part, but this is too disturbing to spend more time on it than I already did. Although I wonder why this volume is called a "trilogy" since there're more books in the series and this ending offers no kind of closure. The strongest witch is not a witch but "Witch". I don't know whether I should find this lack of creativity plain awful or hilarious.
Aug 30, Rhy Moore rated it did not like it Shelves: This series kind of drove me batty when I read it and the effect was later emphasized because its fans used words I found very inaccurate to describe it. Specifically, it's not in the least "original" and there is nothing "unique" about the world, the magic system, or the society. Bishop's general schtick here is reversing the aesthetic of fantasy's traditional struggle between good and evil.
This is potentially a fun twist, yes. In certain years making your good guys look like bad guys is unusu This series kind of drove me batty when I read it and the effect was later emphasized because its fans used words I found very inaccurate to describe it. In certain years making your good guys look like bad guys is unusual, although hardly unheard-of. But "first time I encountered something" isn't the same thing as "original". The specifics, as far as they are played out a major issue I'll cover later , are almost entirely analogous to the subterranean Dark Elves of classic fantasy.
The culture is heavily matriarchal. Men are mostly slaves. Magic power comes from Darkness. The religion oh, please seems to feature a kind of night goddess--and spiderwebs are even involved. That was , folks, and wasn't new even then. Laying aside that hyperbole, the main issue with this series is that it doesn't live up to the promises made by its premises.
Let's cover a few of those things from the perspective of the black bloody shadowy darkness readers are given to expect. Dark Culture The males and, yes, this is one of those books that nearly always uses the word "male" instead of "man" are frequently enslaved. There's a lot of classism as well. But that's about all we get. It's not clear how any of the dynamics of evil or amorality or anything dark play out sociologically, or even within the families we follow. Slavery is inarguably horrible, but in these books it seems to be the result of bad people being in charge and the good characters would never do such a thing , so I'm not really registering how "dark" the society is in general--because it's clearly more a case of "dark times for now.
There's a total failure to credibly establish a reversed aesthetic culture. Even the matriarchy not innately dark, unless you're a misogynist, but an obvious hallmark of whatever culture Bishop is trying to build is flubbed.
Dark Magic One thing that is explored in some detail is the magic system Magic users have jewels the color of which corresponds to their power level--this sounds like a video game from the 80's to me. But, okay, the darker the jewel, the more powerful the magic user. That's about all we get, other than some later suggestions about spider webs and teleportation sure, I dig, spiders are dark.
Beyond that, well, Bishop doesn't really explain much, just doles out random plot-serving bits that don't hold together. Even the details we do get are kind of "huh? The overall result is a kindergarten art project magic system--meriting a head pat because, you know, children, but sloppy execution. Dark Religion Who even knows. There's a huge, obvious problem of ontology, too. Apparently , the dead live there. But so do the living, obviously. The afterlife is a nice place to raise a family, which means it's never really clear what the difference would be if the main characters straight up died.
Dark Characters Characters might have saved this thing. You might guess by my rating, that didn't happen. Some characters sort of whiff of intriguing personalities, but Bishop forgets the cardinal rule: He's more like Santa Claus than Satan. The text suggests that maybe he used to be scary, but as far as we see he's just a totally sweet grandpa that lets his ex walk all over him. Oh, sure, Saetan and Daemon "snarl" constantly, but it's like I shall protect her with my life! Take out the word snarl and you might as well be in a Regency.
Regencies are not black bloody shadowy dark books. Dark Plot The main Bad is a lady who is in charge and shouldn't be; she is cruel. The main Good is a girl who is destined to be in charge; she is kind. And not to belabor, but what makes super nice girl a Queen of Darkness rather than Lightness? Some bad stuff happens in the books, but It's kind of banal.
Extreme but cliche bad things happen and rarely does the resulting pathos rise above the feeling that the characters are stiffly reading their angst off a teleprompter. It's melodramatic, but missing something vital, so none of it has much impact. As far as whether the plots are exciting or interesting Potentially interesting scenarios started to get set up several times, but ultimately failed to follow through. Those hints are more often than not entirely dropped or contradicted. And not in a successful red herring way, in a "Ooh, this could be cool!
Of course it's not. God dammit, why am I still reading this?! It doesn't help that we basically entirely depart where most of the bad things are happening where we assume our action will play out, where needed redemption should occur for other locations after the first book, never to effectively return. Why did we start there in the first place, then?
The writing style suffers from similar collapses. It's occasionally absorbing, but primarily juvenile. Conclusion "Inconsistent and superficial" would be my summary of this series. The treatment of each concept lacks any sense of subtlety or depth, making the entire series into an apparently unintentional parody of itself. Since I originally read them, there have been a bunch more released. Now that Bishop has more experience, they may be much improved. I'm really not in a hurry to try to them out, though. Jan 11, Sarah rated it did not like it Recommends it for: I tend to be very forgiving when it comes to fantasy novels.
Since it is my favorite genre, I can overlook plot holes, weak characterization, and other flaws that would cause me to ridicule non-fantasy books. So when I read bad reviews of Black Jewels, I didn't take them that seriously because, as I said before, I tend to overlook those problems.
That was a regrettable decision on my part. The main character, Jaenelle, reads as the sort of wish fulfillment character you see newcomers create in ro I tend to be very forgiving when it comes to fantasy novels. The main character, Jaenelle, reads as the sort of wish fulfillment character you see newcomers create in role-playing games. Remember the magic system I described? Well that applies to everyone else. Jaenelle is so special that Lorn, the mythical consort of the first dragon who gave magic to humanity gave her every shade of jewel and thirteen black jewels for her birthright jewels.
Every other mere mortal and some immortals have to make do with simply one jewel. Not only is Jaenelle powerful, but she has a "unique beauty". Her "sapphire eyes" and "midnight voice" are referenced routinely throughout the story. Every good character in the book loves her immediately in fact, many have been waiting thousands of years for her. They all want nothing more than to serve and love her chastely, with the one exception of her lover. If someone doesn't love Jaenelle, it is a big clue that this is a bad character.
Not only do humans love Jaenelle, but sentient animals do too. She even finds unicorns, thought by many to be myth. It turns out that Jaenelle is the witch that not only humans, but all creatures with magic, have long awaited. Alas, the flaws do not end with Jaenelle. The villains of the piece are comical.
Although they constantly plot and scheme, their plans never get anywhere because Jaenelle is an unimaginably powerful witch. Happily her concern is resolved in a couple paragraphs when her lover finds a book that tells her how to shield the good guys. In addition to being incompetent, the villains all seem to be preoccupied with sex. They force two of the main characters to be sex slaves, whoring them out to various witch queens. By the end of the third book, the two main villains are grotesquely ugly and have to resort to seduction spells.
In short, at the end of this book I was left wondering if it was all a joke that I was too obtuse to get. Oct 29, Patrick Burgess rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Sensual, Dark, Complexly Imaginative It seems like people either absolutely love the Black Jewels books or they if not hate them are supremely unaffected by them. I'm one of the former. Generally, I find excessive eroticism and romance in fantasy or science fiction distracting from the main plot because, come on, be honest, sex, hormones, and emotions are always very distracting in any context.
In the case of the Black Jewels, Anne Bishop has expertly woven the erotic with the unusual, the dist Sensual, Dark, Complexly Imaginative It seems like people either absolutely love the Black Jewels books or they if not hate them are supremely unaffected by them.
The Black Jewels
In the case of the Black Jewels, Anne Bishop has expertly woven the erotic with the unusual, the disturbing with the intriguing, and the unconventional with the original, creating a fascinating, complex story. Gender roles have been flipped so that men are the weaker and more subservient but willingly gender in terms of Power, which is indicated by the color of a person's Jewels, gems that give them access to the Darkness, a psychic soulscape from which spiritual and magical essences originate.
Women serve as the conduits of the most volatile of the Darkness' energies, the lands separated into three parallel Realms ruled by females who are born genetic Queens of races gifted with the ability to wield the Craft. The races are referred to collectively as the Blood. But as human fallibility leads to the corruption of even the most honorable of the Blood, the Darkness calls from the Blood itself a Queen, one whose arrival has been prophesied by those who weave dreams in tangled webs and blood, women of the Hourglass Coven, the Black Widows.
Witch herself, embodiment of all the dreams of the Blood, human and non-human, whose Jewels are darker even than the rare Black, most powerful Jewels of all. But what if Witch has already come, what if she is less than expected, but more, so much more than could have been imagined? What if Witch is still a child, who can't even perform the most basic Craft, but has the Power to bring kingdoms to their knees? What if Witch can be killed before she becomes Queen?
Amazing world-building from the dark dreams of Anne Bishop, the Black Jewels is a fantastic, original tale of justice, family, and magic. Look beneath the skin Jun 14, Lisa Harmonybites rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: The story drew me in from the start. I was intrigued by the magical matriarchal society, with a shifting power dynamic determined by caste, rank and class depending greatly on magical power--and the title heroine, Jaenelle, long prophesied and awaited, throwing a joker into this deck.
The Black Jewels Series
Bishop is adept at making the child protagonist of the first novel intriguing and yet act her age, in creating a winning group of peers for her in the second novel about her adolescence, and drawing it all into a sa The story drew me in from the start. Bishop is adept at making the child protagonist of the first novel intriguing and yet act her age, in creating a winning group of peers for her in the second novel about her adolescence, and drawing it all into a satisfying conclusion in the final novel with her as a young woman.
And though this trilogy is rightly described as a "dark fantasy" there is a great deal of leavening humor in the novels. I like Bishop's inversion of the demonic, and Saetan, Lucifar and Daemon are well-drawn, endearing characters. I could pick some holes in plot; I have style issues particularly some pet phrases that I could wish she'd use more sparingly like "midnight voice" and I think Daemon's arc isn't as strong as Saetan's or Lucifar's; I think because for him it's too much all about Jaenelle.
But I do give this novel and the overall trilogy five stars because for me this is a standout among the fantasy novels I've read in terms of a unique and intriguing world, characters I care about, and the ability to move me to laughter or near tears. There are disturbing elements in the novels, particularly the first; depictions of child abuse are an integral part of Daughter of the Blood, but I was entranced by a magical world unlike any other I've encountered in fiction. Jan 20, Furio rated it did not like it. Ms Bishop writes well, even though she indulges in some stereotyped phrases she repeats too often: Her dialogues can be witty and she can sketch personalities and physical details vividly enough; her main characters are easy to like.
A young, extraordinarily gifted girl, misunderstood by her own family, gets some powerful friends and becomes a most powerful queen. This is the basic plot stret Praises first: This is the basic plot stretched to a pages length. Ms Bishop is not gifted enough to make such a long read worthwhile; in this trilogy few things actually happen, the rest made up by dialogues and superficial depictions of emotions, hatred and depravity.
Her main characters are strong and vivid at first but they hardly evolve; her side characters are often left to themselves and become little more than shadows. Setting is striking, at first: Last but not least, there are typos and inconsistencies. I think you might enjoy this novel if you have your mind set on reading a romance; fantasy readers will be disturbed by some very good basic ideas put to very bad use. Mar 10, Lisa Janda rated it did not like it. Another book taking up valuable space on my shelf. You want dark, slightly sadistic sex scenes?
You want convoluted names that will make your eyes bleed? You want part of your life back after suffering through this? Other people have liked this, obviously, as the writing is not terrible and it has its good points, but they are either lost on me or I'm too numb to mention them.
Not to my liking but hopefully the library is in need of a copy. Jun 21, Karen Healey rated it it was amazing. I feel it incumbent upon me to note that my rating reflects how much I enjoyed a book, not how good it was. I love this trilogy like little else, but the reasons that I love it have little to do with coherency of plot or style or character development and everything to do with talking unicorns!! Jun 13, Siobhan rated it really liked it Shelves: Dark adult fantasy about feminine power set in a declining matriarichal society.
Some big ideas--the universe is upside-down: The tale is spun so well and characters are so compelling that this trilogy is un-put-downable. Mar 02, Barb Lie rated it it was amazing. However, if anyone buys the complete set, this is the combined review of all three books. This trilogy is one of my favorite series.
I loved this trilogy, the characters we come to love, and the secondary characters and legendary animals, we love almost as much. This is a super trilogy, but the first book, which Bishop introduces us to this world, and to the characters, has a lot of darkness in it. Daughter of the Blood — book 1 Daughter of the Blood was totally not what I expected. Bishop has created a world unlike anything I have seen yet. It was a complex world, and totally different. Her writing, how she creates characters that are dark, and in time makes you fall in love with them at least some of them , was superb.
In the beginning, I was trying to absorb the worlds, the introductions of the characters, and the existence that made up of this world.
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One thing that Bishop does with Black Jewels, is change the concept of most fantasies. In this series, the women rule the worlds. The Queen leads the matriarchy, with other queens or witches ruling men under them. Also in this book, many of the powerful men are enslaved, become pleasure slaves, and are forced into obedience in an unusual way.
The women ruling these worlds have become corrupt over the years, and are cruel. This is just the background, and as you get past trying to understand what this world is about, the story begins to unfold. The three male protagonists you at first do not like, begins to change immediately, as you meet a 7 year old girl, who is destined to become a very powerful witch. But you fall in love with this young girl…Jaenelle, and those men, some who you think have no heart, and strike fear into others because of their torture , see into this young girl something they have been waiting for centuries, that will change their lives in the future…if they can keep her alive.
The effect she has, a mere child, on them is wonderful and you totally feel it too. The great thing about this book is that you find yourself falling in love or adoring some of those, who you expected to be totally bad, and make no mistake, they are capable of being horrific. Sure this book had dark parts, but also has some funny parts, and most amazingly in this type of book…..
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Wheras, the dark parts can be horrific, such as the concept for young witches children still to suffer through virgin night, which could drive them into madness, child rapes, but unlike other fantasy books, you technically do not see this, therefore you do not suffer to read it. The cruel men, who enjoy those games, and the Queens who enjoy the suffering they bestow on the men they enslave for their enjoyment, are the dark of this story.
Lol This amazing ride takes you into the dark, then gets you emotionally involved, then the tension builds as you become invested in trying to save Jaenelle, who is the only one to be able change things for the better in the future, if she survives, as the Queen and the High Priestess want her dead. Heir to the Shadows — Book 2 Heir to the Shadows picks up pretty much where the first book left off. There were such great characters in Daughter of the Blood, but this book introduces even more great characters whom you will come to enjoy. You will marvel at her powers, that even shock Saetan, who is one of the most powerful, if not the most.
The beginning finally brings together Saetan, with the daughter of his soul, as he becomes her father…by choice. As Jaenelle continues to heal, her friends come forth to spend the summer with her. The friends you never saw her visiting secretly in the first book, but knew she was meeting them all. Meeting them the coven was a joy, that made this book so special, and an incredible trip.
The more you read, the more you became absorbed with the feelings, and thoughts of each character. Bravo, Anne Bishop for bringing a range of emotion throughout this book. Finally, almost midway, Lucivar comes forth and becomes a major part in the book. Daemon has a small role in this book, but we know somehow, someway he will return in the next one.
Where the first book was more dark and much torture, this book lightens up a lot, though again it must have its cruel events, and dark villains, it is still an easier and great read. Sometimes second books of trilogies are not as good as the first, but this one to me continued the storyline and growth of Jaenelle so well, it surpassed the first book, and leads to the last book. Saetan is such a wonderful character, watching him love Janelle, laugh at her, worry about her, and fear losing her, take the teasing from her friends or Lucivar, and he is the High Lord of Hell.
What a joy to read such great characters. Part 1 brings you back into the story, meeting all the wonderful people you became so attached to in the previous two books, as well as some new characters. It also brings the major pieces together, such as Daemon and Surreal to the family, and sets things up for the exciting Part 2, where choices have to made, to face the forthcoming battle against evil. Anne Bishop not only creates such wonderful leading characters, her secondary characters are just as lovable.
Upon finishing the Black Jewels trilogy, these wonderful characters that I have come to love, will stay with me: Jaenelle- whom you meet at 7 years old, and know she is destined for greatness. You will love her immediately and watch her mature from a child, to a young adult, to a young woman, and to WITCH.
Saetan — He is the High Lord of Hell, as I said before, nothing like you would have imagined him to be. He is a joy to watch throughout the entire series. He is fun, humorous, and at the same time can be lethal. But his love for the daughter of his soul, Jaenelle, and later on for his sons, his family, and her friends is so wonderful to be part of. Lucivar — So strong, funny, tough, a leader and loyal to his sister. He knew early on that this child he briefly met would be someone in the future who will change his life forever. Daemon — He should go down as one of the best leading male characters in fiction.
He is strong, beautiful, and highly sexual. He has a very cruel side due to his horrific early days , and the wonderful emotional loving side after he meets Jaenelle. A very emotional ride throughout for him. The four of them complete each other. But there are so many other characters you also come to care deeply about; Surreal, Andulvar, Karla, Prothvar, Ladvarian, Kaelas, Graysfang, and of course the rest of her coven and their warlords.
You know you are in trouble, when you find yourself falling in love with Lord Ladvarian.. The last third of the book was very exciting and tense, as Anne Bishop pulled everything out of her imagination to play with your emotions…hatred for those evil bitches, for what they were doing; sadness and tears for the sacrifices to be made to save the them all.
Surreal trying to teach Jaenelle how to kiss Daemon. Then later came my Ladvarian…. If I had to pick one thing that I would have changed.. Though it was a good ending, I would have liked to have enhanced it more with an epilogue or another chapter bringing some of them together as a group. But that is me, I like those mushy endings. The last story in the book, picks up after the end of Queen of the Darkness, and we get our answers.
I am totally in awe of Anne Bishop, who took her time in telling us her story, and bringing us these wonderful characters, whom we were able to live through them. She has created a heart rendering, beautiful story of a young child coming to greatness, and the devoted men and friends, who stood beside her against the evil. Bravo… Bravo Anne Bishop. Mar 31, Jenn rated it really liked it Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
I go to bed extremely early, but I stayed wide awake last night finishing the last half of Heir to the Shadows and the entirety of Queen of the Darkness. I wouldn't call this book inspiring literature, but I love a good story, and this was one hell of a story! I admit that it took some time to get into the world and its characters, but once it took me, it had me.
I loved the blindness of denial portrayed by Jaenelle's relations in Chaillot. While it is safe to argue that the sincerely bad Baddies and the sincerely good Goodies were somewhat one-note although definitly not one-dimensional , I felt the Angellines, although somewhat secondary until Queen of Darkness, portrayed a good combination of both good and evil I also loved Geoffrey and Draca I would like to see a "prequel" about Lorn and Draca. The violence didn't bother me. It was a little on the not-too-subtle side, but Dorothea was not supposed to be subtle Briarwood was a little much for me That trauma had to give Witch her edge though, and boy what a trauma!
Heir to the Shadows was my least favorite by far. There were times when I really thought I was reading a coven version of Twilight. And the fact that all of Jaenelle's friends coupled up so nicely with the exception of Karla and Morton, which made it obvious that they were going to be red-shirts sci fi I know It all seemed so Sweet Valley High. I realize Jeanelle was a teenager, but she is still Witch, as we are constantly reminded, and they are in Saetan's household for crying out loud!! Also - as is inevitable with a romantic trilogy, the protaganists are separated for the entire novel, which, in this case, is completely fine since it fleshes out Lucivar, who is definitely a favorite, and introduces the awesome Kindred.
Although I do love me some Daemon. Queen of the Darkness is what kept me from getting my much needed sleep last night. It was really good I especially love the deception of Daemon to save his family, although it was a little too convenient that they all figured him out in the nick of time. If Lucivar was able to reason, within the span of a couple of days, that Daemon was playing a game after he witnessed with his own eyes the mutilation and death of his beloved wife and son, how am I supposed to believe that he held steadfast to the belief, for so long in those salt mines, that Daemon raped and killed Jaenelle, just from the word of Hekata??
No matter - it was still a delicious read. I wanted more from the Dark Queen though. Dorothea's death, at Daemon's hand, was ok, but I wanted Saetan to mutilate Hekata. It's a shame she had the same demise as all of the other tainted blood and not one specially designed for her crimes.
My favorite characters are definitely Tersa and Titian. Without them, no one, not even Jeanelle, would have survived. Read this is if you are patient with learning a new world and new lingo, as well as with the word "snarl", "Witch", "Saetan", and "midnight voice", if you like fantasy, and if you are not sensitive to violence, especially against children. It's a really good story. Those don't come along that often I can ignore little nitpicks when they do!
Nov 09, Andi rated it liked it. I enjoyed reading this book but I did have a few problems with it. Instead it was almost like no jewels mattered except for the black and the realms and races were just mentioned in passing. Also, why have 12 jewels if you aren't really going to do anything with I enjoyed reading this book but I did have a few problems with it. Also, why have 12 jewels if you aren't really going to do anything with them? Basically there were light jewels, darker jewels and black, and nothing else mattered. Additionally, I think so many people like it because it kind of gives you everything you want.
Where most books cause you pain, make you sweat, these books just give you what you wanted, but it kind of makes it bittersweet. Finally, I felt that it ended up just being a "girls dream" or perhaps the authors dream. A group of young, best friend female witches all fiercely independent and powerful, who just sit around and gossip all day while their men "fuss" over them. Then the men go off and talk about the girls and "fuss" in private as though they have nothing better to do.