Re-read Review ~ Heir to the Shadow by Anne Bishop

*New review posted in Purple*
TITLE: Heir to the Shadow
AUTHOR: Anne Bishop
COPYRIGHT: 1999
TYPE: Fantasy
PAGES; 496
SERIES: Yes this is the 2nd in the trilogy
My review: Daughter of the Blood

REASON FOR READING: Loved the first one couldn’t pass on the 2nd

SUMMARY: {From Goodreads}
In Heir to the Shadows, Jaenelle's vampiric, adoptive father, Saetan, and her foster-family of demons shelter her. To restore her memory and emotional balance, they move to Kaeleer, where Jaenelle befriends the kindred--animals with magical and communicative powers--and gathers a circle of young Queens. She also heals Lucivar, Daemon's half-brother, who offers a brother's love and a warrior's fealty. As she recovers strength and memory, Jaenelle resolves to restore Daemon and cleanse Terreille.
Bishop subverts readers' expectations; the "darkest" powers reside in virtuous characters, demons and vampires are kindly, and Jaenelle's adolescence is more comically normal than horrific. Her vibrant characters and descriptions will keep readers hooked, anxiously awaiting what promises to be a riveting conclusion.
THOUGHTS/OPINION:This book was just as dark as the first and had a little more story line that was easier to follow. We know that Daemon has gone mad and thinks that he’s the one that rapped Jaenelle. *FYI I really hate that 8 years of his life was wasted the thing that sucks the most is his own brother sent him down the spiral path by listening to what an evil corrupt queen told him and taking it as truth. OMG I wanted to throttle him!! We learn that this isn’t true. Everyone is treating Jaenelle with kid gloves b/c of the rape and she knows something happened but can’t remember which equals that she can’t remember Daemon either so he goes on lost in the Twisted Kingdom (madness) for a couple of years. I understand the need to protect the one you love but really you waited almost 8 years to let her discover the truth on her own? SERIOUSLY?!?! Did you think that would be better for her? To know that this whole time the one person she loved the most was lost all because she wasn't around to help?

Also it takes Jaenelle about 2 years to come back herself from the Twisted Kingdom during which she fixes the part of her that is broken. Also in this book we learn that Lucivar is alive and eventually comes to serve the woman he has always thought of as Queen. *Wow can I just say how emotionally wrenching this was to read. Lucivar thinks that his Queen is dead by his own brother's hand no less and decides its time to break free. But why does he want to break free to destroy himself on the final run for all warriors. And boy does he and let us not forget the fact Jaenelle healed him completely which had to have taken a lot out of her! That just went to prove how much of Witch was in this little girl.
We also learn that a lot of Jaenelle’s friends that she made as a child are very powerful witches and warlords which will come in handy at the end. Without giving too much away for a second book I thought this was just as good as the first if not better. It answer a lot of questions. Gives a better look at our characters and shows us where the story is heading. Everything a good 2nd book should do. *this is a basic 2nd book in a fantasy trilogy which means we set everything up for the final. The hero or in this case the heroine has face one great obstacle only to discover many more lined up for her*

Things I enjoyed:I really enjoy watching Jaenelle come into her own. She was violated as a child and survived and *the sheer fact that Ms. Bishop showed all of the horror only to show us the good was reassuring* Ms. Bishop showed it wasn’t easy, it isn’t easy and she is still trying to cope with what was done. She still gets angry enough to destroy, she still hurts, she still has nightmares but most importantly she isn’t giving up on herself or her powers. Jaenelle is becoming the woman we all want her to be in this book and I think that it shows a nice balance between her pain and her love for those around her. *seeing Jaenelle fight through this was heart-wrenching, I was crying, laughing and at times angry with her. Everything she had to deal with up to the point of defending those she loved and then to turn around and be tricked once again by the very people she should trust shows how strong of a character she was. She did it all and not just b/c she was witch but because she was Jaenelle!*

I also love how Ms. Bishop made sure to give Jaenelle a nice group of friends and support system that a lot of people don’t normally receive. Because of this Jaenelle is able to move on and learn how to cope with all the horrible things that are happening around her. *Jaenelle was surrounded by strong men who loved her but didn't treat her as just a mere child. She had strong females that didn't allow her to wallow or go to far and she had a strong Father figure that kept her grounded when she needed to be. This entire combo made Jaenelle into a woman you could respect and admire. I really think had I lived in this world Jaenelle would be one I would serve willingly and one I would want to be friends with.
Another thing I enjoy is the fact that Ms. Bishop has made Jaenelle this unlimited power but hasn’t made her power hungry and the reason she isn’t is b/c of all the horrors she witnessed as a child. This is good. Usually this would be unbelievable b/c as they say absolute power corrupts absolutely but this time I can believe it didn’t. *Jaenelle or witch had the chance to disappear within herself and that choice was tricked out of her by D in the last book. And yet when she finally came too she didn't want to destroy everyone in fact she did just the opposed and continued to help those in need. Like the kindred who really did need a champion to step up and defend them from the corrupt Queens. Seriously that part in the story was HORRIBLE I almost died I was crying so hard. Those poor animals.
Things I didn’t care for:There are very few things I didn’t care for in this book. One of those is the world building that I have grown to love. Ms. Bishop has made such a complex world that its hard to keep up with all the different creatures and people. *Second time around and I still couldn't keep straight the 3 Queens and their males and who all come from different parts of the world and they all look different. I think that a good dictionary or encyclopedia would be helpful LOL* In this book alone we are introduced to the court that Jaenelle will pick and that’s 12 people/creatures with names and different cultures. Then add to it you are being introduced to more and more and more it’s just hard to focus on the story and the rich world all at once.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping *Yes still keeping it and will re-read yet again!*