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149 reviews for:
The Black Jewels Trilogy: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness
Anne Bishop
4.2 AVERAGE
149 reviews for:
The Black Jewels Trilogy: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness
Anne Bishop
4.2 AVERAGE
This dude just got SAed by his mom and there’s way too much talk of the 12 yr old girl. I’m DNFing. I dunno why this book is so highly rated. There’s a difference between dark and saying crazy stuff for shock factor
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture
I have an omnibus edition, so I guess I'll write a review for each book as I get to it.
I am embarrassed by how long this is, but here is the third and final piece of the never-ending book review. See the end:
[b:Daughter of the Blood|47956|Daughter of the Blood (The Black Jewels, #1)|Anne Bishop|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512M-5qRn4L._SL75_.jpg|353853]--4.5 stars
In a society that seems to be loosely based on the habits of black widow spiders, the strong females have eliminated all but the weakest males and females, leaving only a few strong males to strengthen their bloodlines. This has been going on for centuries. But the coming of a female with power that has never even been imagined has been foretold. Daemon and his brother, Lucivar, have endured slavery and unimaginable cruelty by holding onto the hope that they would one day get to serve this Witch. Saetan has endured centuries of a half-life ruling over Hell, holding onto the hope that this Witch, the daughter of his soul, will come to him. She finally appears, and nothing will ever be the same for any of them.
I loved this. It took me a little while to get into it because I have a very low tolerance for learning a whole new culture just to read a fantasy book. My limits were pushed at the beginning, but I got through it, and I'm so glad I did. Little Jaenelle, Daemon, Surreal, Tersa, Lucivar, and even Saetan were complex, likable characters. Yes, you read that right--Saetan was likable. Think of him as being more like Hades, god of a shadowy underworld, than like Satan, Prince of Darkness and ruler of the fire-and-brimstone-eternal-damnation Hell. And, oh my goodnes, Daemon. What can I say about Daemon? He's hot as hell, and I think I have the beginnings of a full-fledged book crush. *Fanning myself*
Okay, moving on. Once I got into the story, I truly could not stop reading, and once I finished, I was exhausted. The plot just kept building and building, and I got more and more tense, waiting to see what was going to happen next. I would recommend having the next book handy so you can keep reading. The ending of this one was a cliffhanger, so you will probably want to keep going. I would have been pretty disappointed if I had read this when it first came out, knowing that I would have to wait years to find out what happens.
What bothered me a little bit, and kept me from giving this a full five stars, is that, other than the main characters, everyone else was very flat. They were evil *itches, whose sole reason for existence seemed to be to have sex with the hot males they kept around as toys. I know it's hard to flesh out secondary characters without bogging down the story, but it would have been nice to have a little more depth to them.
Overall, I highly recommend this to fantasy fans who aren't going to be bothered by reading about Saetan and Hell. Girls--you will love the men. I promise you.
************Spoilers if you haven't read the first book*************
[b:Heir to the Shadows|47957|Heir to the Shadows (The Black Jewels, #2)|Anne Bishop|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170349026s/47957.jpg|2510727]--4 stars
At the end of the first book, Jaenelle is broken and Daemon isn't in much better shape. Jaenelle has to heal in this book and come to terms with what she is. Luckily, she's surrounded by caring friends who are willing to protect her and push her as needed.
I truly wanted to give this one 5 stars. Again, it grabbed me and just did not let go. But there were a few more things that I couldn't overlook. To start with, I was a little more aware in this book that the writing could have been more polished. I can't think of an example, so you'll just have to take my word for it. Also, this one felt more like a young adult book. The focus of the first book was mostly Daemon, a grown man. The focus of this one is a teenage Jaenelle, so the tone has gone backwards a little bit. As happens sometimes in trilogies, this second book felt like filler. The author wrapped up a few threads from the first book and set up the conflict for the third book, but there wasn't a whole lot of actual new, necessary stuff going on in this book. The big thing was that the book felt very episodic. There wasn't a great flow. I would finish one chapter/story, and in the next chapter, two years had passed and another little story was being told. It would take me a page or two to figure out when the story was happening.
That was the bad stuff, but there was still lots of good things going on. I love these main characters. Daemon wasn't seen as much in this one, but we did get to see more of Lucivar. I do really like him, but I can't wait to see more of Daemon in the third book. Saetan is still filling in as the long-suffering father-figure and I love him. He's just great. Another cool thing is that we finally get to see some of Jaenelle's far-flung friends that she only alludes to in the first book.
Overall, this was a decent second-book-in-a-trilogy, but I hope the third one lives up to the promise of the first. I'll definitely keep reading though.
***********Probable spoilers if you haven't read the first two**********
[b:Queen of the Darkness|47959|Queen of the Darkness (The Black Jewels, #3)|Anne Bishop|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170349027s/47959.jpg|1725813]--4 stars
The evil queens, Dorothea and Hekatah, are trying to force a war and so gain control of Jaenelle. But they have no idea how strong she is or the lengths she is willing to go to in order to protect her people. Or of the lengths her people will go to try to protect Jaenelle.
Either these aren't quite living up to the promise of the first book, or I'm not quite as enchanted by this new system of magic and these characters, but I'm not quite as in love with this series now. Don't get me wrong--I still read this 400 page brick in a matter of hours, frantically turning pages, and eager to see what happens next. But somehow Daemon wasn't the same sexy unknown that he was in the first volume, Jaenelle isn't quite as charming as queen, and there wasn't much of Saetan, whom I adore. But there was more of Surreal, and I loved reading about her.
Jaenelle doesn't put in an appearance for several chapters, and once she finally did, I remembered a peeve of mine from the other books--the phrase "midnight voice." Oh my gosh, I'm irritated just repeating it! It's used to show when she means business as queen, but a more creative author could surely find another way to do that without beating that phrase to death. And then there's Karla's "kiss kiss." Ugh. My husband stumbled onto that phrase as I was reading this and never even saw what hit him coming. What a coy, pretentious, fake, supercilious little habit!
But, really, I do love these books and the characters and look forward to reading more of them. Which reminds me of something else--Why is my omnibus edition called The Black Jewels Trilogy when it's obvious that more are coming? Anyway, I still highly recommend the series.
I am embarrassed by how long this is, but here is the third and final piece of the never-ending book review. See the end:
[b:Daughter of the Blood|47956|Daughter of the Blood (The Black Jewels, #1)|Anne Bishop|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512M-5qRn4L._SL75_.jpg|353853]--4.5 stars
In a society that seems to be loosely based on the habits of black widow spiders, the strong females have eliminated all but the weakest males and females, leaving only a few strong males to strengthen their bloodlines. This has been going on for centuries. But the coming of a female with power that has never even been imagined has been foretold. Daemon and his brother, Lucivar, have endured slavery and unimaginable cruelty by holding onto the hope that they would one day get to serve this Witch. Saetan has endured centuries of a half-life ruling over Hell, holding onto the hope that this Witch, the daughter of his soul, will come to him. She finally appears, and nothing will ever be the same for any of them.
I loved this. It took me a little while to get into it because I have a very low tolerance for learning a whole new culture just to read a fantasy book. My limits were pushed at the beginning, but I got through it, and I'm so glad I did. Little Jaenelle, Daemon, Surreal, Tersa, Lucivar, and even Saetan were complex, likable characters. Yes, you read that right--Saetan was likable. Think of him as being more like Hades, god of a shadowy underworld, than like Satan, Prince of Darkness and ruler of the fire-and-brimstone-eternal-damnation Hell. And, oh my goodnes, Daemon. What can I say about Daemon? He's hot as hell, and I think I have the beginnings of a full-fledged book crush. *Fanning myself*
Okay, moving on. Once I got into the story, I truly could not stop reading, and once I finished, I was exhausted. The plot just kept building and building, and I got more and more tense, waiting to see what was going to happen next. I would recommend having the next book handy so you can keep reading. The ending of this one was a cliffhanger, so you will probably want to keep going. I would have been pretty disappointed if I had read this when it first came out, knowing that I would have to wait years to find out what happens.
What bothered me a little bit, and kept me from giving this a full five stars, is that, other than the main characters, everyone else was very flat. They were evil *itches, whose sole reason for existence seemed to be to have sex with the hot males they kept around as toys. I know it's hard to flesh out secondary characters without bogging down the story, but it would have been nice to have a little more depth to them.
Overall, I highly recommend this to fantasy fans who aren't going to be bothered by reading about Saetan and Hell. Girls--you will love the men. I promise you.
************Spoilers if you haven't read the first book*************
[b:Heir to the Shadows|47957|Heir to the Shadows (The Black Jewels, #2)|Anne Bishop|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170349026s/47957.jpg|2510727]--4 stars
At the end of the first book, Jaenelle is broken and Daemon isn't in much better shape. Jaenelle has to heal in this book and come to terms with what she is. Luckily, she's surrounded by caring friends who are willing to protect her and push her as needed.
I truly wanted to give this one 5 stars. Again, it grabbed me and just did not let go. But there were a few more things that I couldn't overlook. To start with, I was a little more aware in this book that the writing could have been more polished. I can't think of an example, so you'll just have to take my word for it. Also, this one felt more like a young adult book. The focus of the first book was mostly Daemon, a grown man. The focus of this one is a teenage Jaenelle, so the tone has gone backwards a little bit. As happens sometimes in trilogies, this second book felt like filler. The author wrapped up a few threads from the first book and set up the conflict for the third book, but there wasn't a whole lot of actual new, necessary stuff going on in this book. The big thing was that the book felt very episodic. There wasn't a great flow. I would finish one chapter/story, and in the next chapter, two years had passed and another little story was being told. It would take me a page or two to figure out when the story was happening.
That was the bad stuff, but there was still lots of good things going on. I love these main characters. Daemon wasn't seen as much in this one, but we did get to see more of Lucivar. I do really like him, but I can't wait to see more of Daemon in the third book. Saetan is still filling in as the long-suffering father-figure and I love him. He's just great. Another cool thing is that we finally get to see some of Jaenelle's far-flung friends that she only alludes to in the first book.
Overall, this was a decent second-book-in-a-trilogy, but I hope the third one lives up to the promise of the first. I'll definitely keep reading though.
***********Probable spoilers if you haven't read the first two**********
[b:Queen of the Darkness|47959|Queen of the Darkness (The Black Jewels, #3)|Anne Bishop|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170349027s/47959.jpg|1725813]--4 stars
The evil queens, Dorothea and Hekatah, are trying to force a war and so gain control of Jaenelle. But they have no idea how strong she is or the lengths she is willing to go to in order to protect her people. Or of the lengths her people will go to try to protect Jaenelle.
Either these aren't quite living up to the promise of the first book, or I'm not quite as enchanted by this new system of magic and these characters, but I'm not quite as in love with this series now. Don't get me wrong--I still read this 400 page brick in a matter of hours, frantically turning pages, and eager to see what happens next. But somehow Daemon wasn't the same sexy unknown that he was in the first volume, Jaenelle isn't quite as charming as queen, and there wasn't much of Saetan, whom I adore. But there was more of Surreal, and I loved reading about her.
Jaenelle doesn't put in an appearance for several chapters, and once she finally did, I remembered a peeve of mine from the other books--the phrase "midnight voice." Oh my gosh, I'm irritated just repeating it! It's used to show when she means business as queen, but a more creative author could surely find another way to do that without beating that phrase to death. And then there's Karla's "kiss kiss." Ugh. My husband stumbled onto that phrase as I was reading this and never even saw what hit him coming. What a coy, pretentious, fake, supercilious little habit!
But, really, I do love these books and the characters and look forward to reading more of them. Which reminds me of something else--Why is my omnibus edition called The Black Jewels Trilogy when it's obvious that more are coming? Anyway, I still highly recommend the series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Remember this was 3 books in one so that's why it took me almost 2 weeks to read it. Started November 28th~
"Finished the first book, Daughter of the Blood. Beautiful but sad. Now I'm reading the 2nd book, Heir to the Shadows." on Dec. 2nd
"I finished Heir to the Shadows and have started Queen of Darkness. This book is going in my PC." on Dec. 6th
This series of books is going on my all time favorites!
I cried so much at the end of this book. I'm still sniffling a little. on Dec. 9th
Janelle is Dreams Made Flesh. She is WITCH. She is daughter, sister, lover and Queen.
I don't read a lot of fantasy novels. Okay I read some Urban Fantasies but that's set in the modern world. This book wasn't as romantic as I though it was going to be by reading other reviews. It was dark but it was for a reason. Can you imagine Saetan being the good guy? Well he is in this world. Yes the names aren't always original or the ideas but will everything but together to make the Dark Jewels realm make it unique.
I'd recommend this to others that like urban fantasy, fantasy, historical fiction, and yes even romance. Although it isn't mushy, thank goodness.
"Finished the first book, Daughter of the Blood. Beautiful but sad. Now I'm reading the 2nd book, Heir to the Shadows." on Dec. 2nd
"I finished Heir to the Shadows and have started Queen of Darkness. This book is going in my PC." on Dec. 6th
This series of books is going on my all time favorites!
I cried so much at the end of this book. I'm still sniffling a little. on Dec. 9th
Janelle is Dreams Made Flesh. She is WITCH. She is daughter, sister, lover and Queen.
I don't read a lot of fantasy novels. Okay I read some Urban Fantasies but that's set in the modern world. This book wasn't as romantic as I though it was going to be by reading other reviews. It was dark but it was for a reason. Can you imagine Saetan being the good guy? Well he is in this world. Yes the names aren't always original or the ideas but will everything but together to make the Dark Jewels realm make it unique.
I'd recommend this to others that like urban fantasy, fantasy, historical fiction, and yes even romance. Although it isn't mushy, thank goodness.
Let me just start off by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. thou I had to work through it's childish and perverse nature (odd combination) I can still say that it was a great read. I will keep my eye out for more work by Anne Bishop
This book I read very quickly. I highly enjoyed this one.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was great. I am really getting into this author right now!
I think the trilogy took me less than 3 weeks to get through. The start of the first book is a little slow - but I think its only because you don't know all the characters yet and you are getting the background story. Halfway through the first book it all clicked. The end of the first book -- wow -- if you are troubled by dark stuff this series might not be for you. If you aren't continue on!
The 2nd book - fantastic. Better than the first in my opinion.
3rd Book - probably the best in my opinion but I think its because I love revenge so much. There is nothing like sweet sweet revenge!
There was only one moment in this book where I was like REALLY? Would he really do that? I guess it had to happen for the plot to go the way it did but I just thought Saetan as a character would be smarter than that.
The 2nd book - fantastic. Better than the first in my opinion.
3rd Book - probably the best in my opinion but I think its because I love revenge so much. There is nothing like sweet sweet revenge!
There was only one moment in this book where I was like REALLY? Would he really do that? I guess it had to happen for the plot to go the way it did but I just thought Saetan as a character would be smarter than that.