For me, THE SHADOW GAME was disappointment cake with disappointment frosting and I know a lot of that comes from what I look for in the books I read and what I specifically like to avoid.

Basically, if you want an interesting fantasy concept but are REALLY here for brooding and complicated romances, THE SHADOW GAME is the book for you. This was a theme I sensed in the first book as well, but it really took root in book two. I find this series has the opportunity for some really intricate, fascinating world building but instead chooses to fill the pages with love triangles and love against the odds and awkward interactions with old flames. If you look too closely at the fantasy world, it falls apart. The obstacles in the plot are side-stepped too easily. These are the things I look for in books - the magic and the adventure. Because these elements are cultivated less carefully than the romance... it didn't work for me.

I can see why a certain type of reader would love this - I really can! I took a chance on this series by continuing in and I'm more resolute now than ever that this series is not for me.

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This follow up to "The Girl at Midnight" did not disappoint! Echo and her diverse crew may have survived their quest to discover the firebird, but the promised peace is a distant promise at best. Hidden away in a London safe house, they’ve escaped the detection of the two warring races (the Avicen and Drakharin) who covet the firebird and consider them traitors. They cannot stay concealed indefinitely, and Echo’s unease regarding a possible connection between the release of the firebird and mysterious volcanic activity half a world away is increasingly difficult to suppress. The firebird was believed to be a force to bring peace, but what if it unleashes destruction instead? "The Shadow Hour" does not miss a beat as it provides a new formidable adversary. There’s the reigning Dragon Prince spoiling for a fight also. The story diverges more regularly from Echo’s point-of-view, but the staunchly loyal, ever-snarky, and increasingly conflicted Echo remains at the story’s center. There’s interesting character combinations, particularly as Avicen characters (re-)enter the mix, and the supporting characters gain additional depth as relationships get more complicated. There’s action, heart-stopping emotion, and more than a bit of magic, and I think you’ll enjoy the journey. (This is the second book in a planned trilogy, so be sure to read "The Girl at Midnight" first if you haven’t already.) I listened to the audiobook, which I highly recommend. Fans of books by Holly Black and Laini Taylor, as well as the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, are likely to enjoy this book.

Rachel H. / Marathon County Public Library
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"The world is changing, and we either change with it or we perish."

I had a hard time feeling any sort of excitement about this book. I had zero interest in Echo's love struggles and mostly wanted to skim until I get to chapters about Jasper, Dorian, and Ivy (finally an Ivy perspective!!). No strong feelings either way. There were aspects that I really enjoyed, such as secondary character development through their own chapters, but much of it I just felt sort of ambivalent towards.

The Shadow Hour picks up where The Girl at Midnight left off. Our rebels are in hiding from both the Avicen and Drakharin following Echo's rebirth as the firebird. However, a devastating attack on the Avicen headquarters that leaves many dead confirms that with the firebird's transformation, a great and sinister evil was unleashed. With this, our merry misfits are again plunged into a quest to find the source of the darkness and obtain the peace they all long for. Half of the book is agonizing angst as Echo alternates making out with her assorted boyfriends. However, if you can get past that, there's adventure and action and much anticipated 5-star character development for Dorian, Jasper, and Ivy. ( )

ORIGINALLY POSTED: https://bibliomantics.com/2016/07/17/through-the-fire-and-the-flames-cassie-la-c...

Melissa Grey's The Shadow Hour -- the thrilling follow-up to The Girl at Midnight -- continues the story of Echo, a runaway thief who is torn between two warring races of magical creatures: the feather-covered Avicen and the scaMelissa Grey's The Shadow Hour -- the thrilling follow-up to The Girl at Midnight -- continues the story of Echo, a runaway thief who is torn between two warring races of magical creatures: the feather-covered Avicen and the scale-laden Drakharin.

The story picks up right where The Girl at Midnight left off, with Echo and her gang dealing with their discovery of the firebird, the alleged key to ending the centuries long fight between the Avicen and the Drakharin.

Unfortunately for them, the rise of the firebird also means the creation of an equally ancient creature known as the kucedra. Where the firebird is a creature of flame, the kucedra is one of shadow, the evil to the firebird's good. It also mean's dragon in Albanian, so Grey is really playing with a lot of fun dichotomies in this book.

While the firebird is prophecized to end the war, I have a feeling it will be the kucedra who finally brings the Avicen and Drakharin together in the third and final book. You know, because when you have two immortal races in an eternal war of hate you can't just wait for all the racist ones to die out. See, sometimes death can be a good thing!

But let's be honest, all this plot stuff is really secondary to Grey's stellar writing and amazing characters, including everyone's favorite eventual couple Dorian and Jasper who steal the entire book, a brand new bisexual warlock character named Quinn who is simultaneously the best and worst, and Caius' sister Tanith who is killing it in the villain category. Amazing clothing, pithy one liners and a redemption arc? Yas queen!

Avicen healer Ivy also gets a really great scene in the novel that I will not spoil (not to mention a potential new love interest), but suffice it to say it gave me some serious Vampire Willow feels.

As for Echo, Caius and Rowan? Let's just say they're all bad at relationshipping and need to get their ridiculous love triangle in order.

Dear Echo, this is young adult fiction. Both of the boys you are in love with are definitely sexy, but let's be honest, the dragon people are definitely sexier than the bird people -- not that I can really envision what either group looks like without making them look absolutely ridiculous.

Anyway, sexy humanoid creatures aside, while I found The Shadow Hour to be stronger than its predecessor, due to the machinations of the plot and the spot on character development, the story is definitely not as fun and light-hearted as the original, with more of a focus on plot and much less on world building.

Here's hoping book three is a combination of all the things I love about the first two novels rolled into one!

THE GOOD
-Full of Grey's beautiful writing (as per usual)
-No sequel slump here
-Jasper and Dorian are everything
-I need more of Tanith and I need it right now

THE BAD
-Sad to lose the fun moments and the focus on a hidden magical New York ( )