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cassandrat's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
A fast and engaging read. My younger, ancient Egypt obsessed self loved all the Egypt references and mythology. There is also a delightful splash of West African lore.
The novel is a somew at standard archeologist/historian vs supernaturals and demons. You've got your special protagonist with childhood issues and her ragtag group of friends and the hotty.
The romance is pretty nice. I like a sweet romance. It is very tame and not at all smutty - which I like. People are adults - also a bonus for me.
Overall this was exactly the fun read that I need on vacation, and I am excited to start the sequel.
The novel is a somew at standard archeologist/historian vs supernaturals and demons. You've got your special protagonist with childhood issues and her ragtag group of friends and the hotty.
The romance is pretty nice. I like a sweet romance. It is very tame and not at all smutty - which I like. People are adults - also a bonus for me.
Overall this was exactly the fun read that I need on vacation, and I am excited to start the sequel.
theverysleepygirl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
💬: “By the Light, the dagger really was four thousand years old, and possessed of so much magic that it was almost sentient. That knowledge wasn’t the cause of the sudden cold in the pit of her stomach. The dagger’s owner, the dark warrior with the baritone voice, was still . . . somehow . . . alive. And looking for his blade."
Glass, Seressia. Shadow Blade (Shadowchasers Book 1) (p. 20). Pocket Books. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: paranormal action, magic, urban fantasy, fantasy, Egyptian mythology
📚Page Count: 345
🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 05min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 3.5/5
----
TW -injury, injury detail, blood, death, cursing, grief, violence,
Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass is a paranormal/urban fantasy. The story is about Kira, who is a shadow hunter (beings who fight demons and creatures with chaos energy.) Kira is a shadow hunter by night and an artifact appraiser by day. Her friend brings her an especially rare blade, one that's thousands of years old. Soon the original owner of the blade comes looking for it, and Kira needs to decide if she's going to work alongside them to keep dark forces off of the blade, or if she's going to keep the blade for herself to keep the dark forces at bay, alone.
The beginning of the book held my attention because it was interesting and action packed. Unfortunately, the middle of the book was very flat. Not much happened in the middle of the book and that caused all the initial steam, from the beginning of the book, to blow out. By the time the end of the book came along, the action scenes picked back up but because the middle had been so slow, I found myself uninterested in the rest of the book.
Another thing I didn't like was that the antagonist didn't show up until 68% of the way through the book. The main characters talks about the evil forces at work against her and her companions but, I repeat, the antagonist doesn't show up until 68% of the way through the book.
There was sexual tension, other than that, this book has no intimate scenes in it. I'm giving it zero chilies -🌶️ out of five chilies
I really wanted to love this book but I didn't. I only kind of liked this book, which is disappointing. When this has the action going and everything is exciting, it's good. When this book dials down the excitement for quieter moments, it falls flat. I will continue to read the series until I've completed it. Overall the story was okay, it was disappointing that there wasn't an intimate scene in there. I'm giving this 3.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 3.5/5
Glass, Seressia. Shadow Blade (Shadowchasers Book 1) (p. 20). Pocket Books. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: paranormal action, magic, urban fantasy, fantasy, Egyptian mythology
📚Page Count: 345
🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 05min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 3.5/5
----
TW -
Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass is a paranormal/urban fantasy. The story is about Kira, who is a shadow hunter (beings who fight demons and creatures with chaos energy.) Kira is a shadow hunter by night and an artifact appraiser by day. Her friend brings her an especially rare blade, one that's thousands of years old. Soon the original owner of the blade comes looking for it, and Kira needs to decide if she's going to work alongside them to keep dark forces off of the blade, or if she's going to keep the blade for herself to keep the dark forces at bay, alone.
The beginning of the book held my attention because it was interesting and action packed. Unfortunately, the middle of the book was very flat. Not much happened in the middle of the book and that caused all the initial steam, from the beginning of the book, to blow out. By the time the end of the book came along, the action scenes picked back up but because the middle had been so slow, I found myself uninterested in the rest of the book.
Another thing I didn't like was that the antagonist didn't show up until 68% of the way through the book. The main characters talks about the evil forces at work against her and her companions but, I repeat, the antagonist doesn't show up until 68% of the way through the book.
There was sexual tension, other than that, this book has no intimate scenes in it. I'm giving it zero chilies -🌶️ out of five chilies
I really wanted to love this book but I didn't. I only kind of liked this book, which is disappointing. When this has the action going and everything is exciting, it's good. When this book dials down the excitement for quieter moments, it falls flat. I will continue to read the series until I've completed it. Overall the story was okay, it was disappointing that there wasn't an intimate scene in there. I'm giving this 3.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 3.5/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Kidnapping, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Murder, and Violence
beastreader's review against another edition
4.0
Kira Solomon is a Shadowchaser. She was born with great powers. Kira thought her gift was a curse; especially when her father took her to Santa Costa, home of Gilead and left her. As Kira grew up, she came to embrace her powers. Kira emanates magic from her body that if someone touches her, they will be killed instantly.
Kira’s mentor and good friend, Bernie Comstock has come back from a dig for ancient artifacts. He brought back with him a dagger known as the “Dagger of Kheferatum. This dagger is both special and dangerous. Whoever possesses the dagger gains special powers. Plus the dagger with one slice can kill anyone. The dagger’s true owner, Khefar wants the dagger back. Bernie gets killed by a demon. Kira thinks about getting rid of the dagger but it calls to her. Can Kira resist the dagger’s control?
Shadow Blade is the first to start of a new series by author, Seressia Glass. This is the first book I have read by this author. I liked the heroine, Kira. She could kick some demon butt. I liked that this book was more on the darker spectrum of the urban genre. This book started out a little slow but this quickly faded and the story picked up speed fast. I can’t wait to see what new challenges Kira faces in the next book.
Kira’s mentor and good friend, Bernie Comstock has come back from a dig for ancient artifacts. He brought back with him a dagger known as the “Dagger of Kheferatum. This dagger is both special and dangerous. Whoever possesses the dagger gains special powers. Plus the dagger with one slice can kill anyone. The dagger’s true owner, Khefar wants the dagger back. Bernie gets killed by a demon. Kira thinks about getting rid of the dagger but it calls to her. Can Kira resist the dagger’s control?
Shadow Blade is the first to start of a new series by author, Seressia Glass. This is the first book I have read by this author. I liked the heroine, Kira. She could kick some demon butt. I liked that this book was more on the darker spectrum of the urban genre. This book started out a little slow but this quickly faded and the story picked up speed fast. I can’t wait to see what new challenges Kira faces in the next book.
wildfaeriecaps's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so much fun! It was everything I love about urban fantasy and monster hunting. I can't wait to read the rest of the series. Wow!
xvicesx's review against another edition
3.0
A pretty solid fantasy novel, with good world building and rather peculiar characters. Very enjoyable, though it did not entirely conquer me enough to warrant a rating of 4 or 5 stars. I'd put the blame for this more with myself than the book itself because it's very well written and there's plenty of mystery, even plenty of character development and the plot was intricately put together, if only a bit too straightforward.
Might come back to this series and see if the next book builds positively on this foundation.
Might come back to this series and see if the next book builds positively on this foundation.
megatsunami's review against another edition
3.0
Very enjoyable urban fantasy, with the added interest of featuring main characters of color and being Egyptian-Pagan. I was never in doubt about who would win or who would live/die, but the book kept me reading nonetheless.
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
Below is my review from 2010. It still holds true. I don't often re-read books but this one has stuck with me for the longest time. I was glad to re-read as an audiobook.
I can still definitely recommend this book, series and author.
*********
I found this book thanks to Dark Faerie Tales and the Debut Urban Fantasy Author Challenge that's going on. So very glad I found the challenge and this book. The challenge has led me to some fab UF and this books is definitely in that group.
The premise of SHADOW BLADE was a new one to me, Kira has abilities to read items by placing her bare skin on the object. Sadly, this also means no close contact with people unless she wants them in a coma or dead. She's kept people at a distance all of her life, except for a trusted few and even they are kept sheltered from her touch and some emotional attachment. Kira has trained herself to be this way, for their sake and hers, but finds herself wanting to see what it would be like to touch one person...the Nubian, Khefar, owner of the ancient dagger she is protecting.
Khefar is tasked with a mission of protecting lives after an early lifetime of being a killing machine. The dagger was given to him by the Pharaoh and it's never been out of his sight until now and he will do what it takes to get it back.
Khefar has a 'sidekick', though Nansee would be appalled to find himself called such. I think he was my favorite character in the book. He appeared as needed or as he felt compelled to appear in the guise of an old man, albeit an old man who could kick ass in the kitchen and in the fight.
I enjoyed the parts of the book where Kira has to deal with all of the paperwork after a Shadow attack. Bureaucracy is bureaucracy no matter if it's in the 'real' world or in the UF world and the author does a good job of showing Kira's disgust with that fact.
I am very pleased that this blend of ancient Egyptian mysticism and urban fantasy is the beginning of a series. There is definitely a story that needs telling and finishing. A story of good (Light) versus evil (Shadow). Shadow is definitely truly horrendous and Kira needs her wits and her allies around her to fight the darker side. This dark side also wants Kira to work for them and are doing all they can to make that so. And she is doing all she can to keep on the right side of Light.
Five sparkly Light diamonds.....
I can still definitely recommend this book, series and author.
*********
I found this book thanks to Dark Faerie Tales and the Debut Urban Fantasy Author Challenge that's going on. So very glad I found the challenge and this book. The challenge has led me to some fab UF and this books is definitely in that group.
The premise of SHADOW BLADE was a new one to me, Kira has abilities to read items by placing her bare skin on the object. Sadly, this also means no close contact with people unless she wants them in a coma or dead. She's kept people at a distance all of her life, except for a trusted few and even they are kept sheltered from her touch and some emotional attachment. Kira has trained herself to be this way, for their sake and hers, but finds herself wanting to see what it would be like to touch one person...the Nubian, Khefar, owner of the ancient dagger she is protecting.
Khefar is tasked with a mission of protecting lives after an early lifetime of being a killing machine. The dagger was given to him by the Pharaoh and it's never been out of his sight until now and he will do what it takes to get it back.
Khefar has a 'sidekick', though Nansee would be appalled to find himself called such. I think he was my favorite character in the book. He appeared as needed or as he felt compelled to appear in the guise of an old man, albeit an old man who could kick ass in the kitchen and in the fight.
I enjoyed the parts of the book where Kira has to deal with all of the paperwork after a Shadow attack. Bureaucracy is bureaucracy no matter if it's in the 'real' world or in the UF world and the author does a good job of showing Kira's disgust with that fact.
I am very pleased that this blend of ancient Egyptian mysticism and urban fantasy is the beginning of a series. There is definitely a story that needs telling and finishing. A story of good (Light) versus evil (Shadow). Shadow is definitely truly horrendous and Kira needs her wits and her allies around her to fight the darker side. This dark side also wants Kira to work for them and are doing all they can to make that so. And she is doing all she can to keep on the right side of Light.
Five sparkly Light diamonds.....
loveisthething's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m conflicted about this book because on one hand it’s a well written urban fantasy, but I also didn’t feel like the characters were developed all that much. As someone who struggles with fantasy in general, this one was difficult for me to get through.
lynseyisreading's review against another edition
3.0
This was a very promising start to a new series, and while this book on its own didn't completely blow my mind, it has set the scene nicely for more adventures to come.
Quite a substantial part of the book was devoted to establishing the world-building and the magic in use, as well as some background on the mythology, which in this series is Egyptian and African in origin. I really enjoyed this aspect. I haven't seen a book featuring Egyptian mythology since the Otherkin series by Eve Silver. It baffles me why this is so little seen in urban fantasy, when we see such an abundance of others such as Norse, Celtic and Greek. Also refreshing was that the main character, Kira, was a 5'9" black woman with blue and black braids who rides a suped up motorcycle, carries a light blade and can kill people just by touching them. How cool is that?
The only real negative for me was a slight problem with the story telling. I got the impression the author wanted to show me a lot of stuff all in this one book, rather than pacing herself and concentrating on a few specific areas of the world-building, or leaving out some of the mythology to spend more time getting to know Kira and her friends or the potential love interest character a little more. It left me with a feeling of, on the one hand being slightly overwhelmed by information, and on the other hand, being slightly underwhelmed with the amount of action. For a Shadowchaser she didn't do a whole lot of chasing. The plot was fairly gentle and there was never much tension created, either by the Big Bad or of the sexual variety.
“Children, please, As entertaining as this conversation is, can you not wait until after breakfast? A demigod likes to know he’s at least appreciated, if not worshipped.”
However, before I make it seem like I am picking it to pieces I will go back and repeat my initial comment, that this was a great start and has laid a good foundation for more. Especially with the potential for a new team dynamic in the next books and a promotion of sorts for Kira.
One last thing of note: Kira's ability to learn an object (or a person's) history through touch is a very interesting trait for a main character to have. And I am glad to know there are exceptions to the gift/curse in the form of 4,000 year old Nubian warrior Khefar, who was a great addition to the story, and who I look forward to learning much more about in subsequent books.
3.5 Stars! ★★★
Quite a substantial part of the book was devoted to establishing the world-building and the magic in use, as well as some background on the mythology, which in this series is Egyptian and African in origin. I really enjoyed this aspect. I haven't seen a book featuring Egyptian mythology since the Otherkin series by Eve Silver. It baffles me why this is so little seen in urban fantasy, when we see such an abundance of others such as Norse, Celtic and Greek. Also refreshing was that the main character, Kira, was a 5'9" black woman with blue and black braids who rides a suped up motorcycle, carries a light blade and can kill people just by touching them. How cool is that?
The only real negative for me was a slight problem with the story telling. I got the impression the author wanted to show me a lot of stuff all in this one book, rather than pacing herself and concentrating on a few specific areas of the world-building, or leaving out some of the mythology to spend more time getting to know Kira and her friends or the potential love interest character a little more. It left me with a feeling of, on the one hand being slightly overwhelmed by information, and on the other hand, being slightly underwhelmed with the amount of action. For a Shadowchaser she didn't do a whole lot of chasing. The plot was fairly gentle and there was never much tension created, either by the Big Bad or of the sexual variety.
“Children, please, As entertaining as this conversation is, can you not wait until after breakfast? A demigod likes to know he’s at least appreciated, if not worshipped.”
However, before I make it seem like I am picking it to pieces I will go back and repeat my initial comment, that this was a great start and has laid a good foundation for more. Especially with the potential for a new team dynamic in the next books and a promotion of sorts for Kira.
One last thing of note: Kira's ability to learn an object (or a person's) history through touch is a very interesting trait for a main character to have. And I am glad to know there are exceptions to the gift/curse in the form of 4,000 year old Nubian warrior Khefar, who was a great addition to the story, and who I look forward to learning much more about in subsequent books.
3.5 Stars! ★★★