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kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
Thirteenth in the Jane Yellowrock urban fantasy series and revolving around the ever-evolving Jane, Cherokee skinwalker, Dark Queen, and vampire-killing bounty hunter now based outside Asheville, North Carolina.
My Take
Phew, I had worried that Hunter was ending the series after Dark Queen, 12, and I'm relieved, after reading Shattered Bonds, that the series will be continuing.
It's pretty exciting with lots happening in view of Jane retreating from the world, as she hopes for a cure. But I gotta say I'm confused about who is meant to be emperor: Grégoire or Ed.
It's fair that Jane is out of sight, out of the game. She's dying. It could be fatal if any unfriendlies knew she was weak. And yet, I gotta go with Wrassler's anger over Jane retreating as she did. She dumped everybody. Never set up any protocols or "chiefs". She upended the vampire world and ran.
Now the underlying conflict in all this, at least in Janie's opinion, is that everyone is ignoring her. Things are happening, decisions are being made, and she's left out of the loop. It does give Jane time to learn more about her abilities, including the truth about her becoming the Dark Queen. And all this knowledge is proferred up by the first person protagonist point-of-view from Jane's perspective.
It all contributes to Jane's evolution in her character arc when she realizes how often she runs away. Beast's wants are another conflict, and Jane is figuring out that Beast has some underlying motives, particularly with regard to mating and kits. Then there's Jane's Cherokee family. The ones she intends to ignore for as long as they ignored her, although Eli has his own perspective on how Jane should treat her family.
To keep the cancer from growing, Jane has to spend most of her time as Beast, and Hunter ensures we know which soul is in charge in Jane's body, using an abbreviated speech/thought form for Beast's dialogue.
Jane confronts Bruiser about his grief over Leo and gets an unexpected answer — all part of Bruiser's character arc that evolves even more later on.
Oh, lord, Hunter is setting us up to wonder about Shaddock — his character arc?, and if he's a greater threat than we knew. Jane also discovers he's a lot more involved with the Everharts than she could ever have suspected. On a more positive note, one of the new characters, Savannah Walkingstick, has her own character arc in this story. That'll keep things interesting on a spiritual level, oy.
I do like how Hunter keeps it human...it's those ice balls that keep mucking up Jane's toes. The kids' reactions to Jane's Halloween costume. Mucking about in the kitchen. That dog bed of Jane's.
And we're learning more about Judas Iscariot's "resurrection"...and why it didn't work along with some revelations about the arcenciels and the Sons of Darkness! Ick.
There are a few paragraphs that explain Leo's strategy in not feeding Bruiser or the Roberes, and I'm confused about that fame vexatum diet plan where Hunter states "but who starved themselves in return for mental and mesmeric abilities." Is that the vampires starving themselves or the Onorios?
There are other niggles that are confusing the heck out of me. And it may just be that it's been too long since I read Dark Queen. How is it that Jane is queen of the arcenciels? Where does Jane get the idea that Brute and Hayyel have been manipulating her for months? Which name is Soul's now? She Who Claims the Rift or She Who Seeks Peace? Is the latter the original name? Or is She Who Seeks Peace a different arcenciel? I'm confused about Jane's concern about "giving" Soul those three deaths: Leo, Titus, and Joses Bar-Judas. How is this bad?
Who'd've thunk? It seems that Shimon has his insecurities.
And Hell hath frozen over. Big Evan apologized for his past behavior to Jane.
The funny thing is, with all this tension and drama, what with all these enemy vampires swarming everywhere and laying siege to Clan Yellowrock and the Everharts, the hideousness of Shimon, Edmund's kidnapping and torture, it's not really that tense. Oh, sure, I'm anxious to know where things are going, and if everyone will be safe, but I'm not feeling it.
The Story
It's an existence for all of Jane's people, as they hover, waiting to see if Jane dies and Europe erupts in war. Then the blizzard hits, and Clan Yellowrock is under siege by vampires, including the terrifying younger Son of Darkness.
Jane is seeing the future in the droplets, and there is war on too many fronts. Definitely war against all who go against the Dark Queen.
Unfortunately, time always wins when pitted against magic.
The Characters
A more inclusive character list can be found at KD Did It after 4 November 2019.
Jane "Legs" Yellowrock has a patchwork history of her early life as a Cherokee skinwalker and rogue vampire hunter who has become the Dark Queen of all vampires. Beast is her other soul, a mountain lion, sharing her body. Dudley is what Jane names her tumor. Edoda means father, Jane's murdered father. The Glob drains magic, especially magic used against Jane. Le breloque is the Dark Queen's crown with its own powers. Uni Lisi, Hayalasti Sixmankiller, is Jane's grandmother, many times back.
Yellowrock Clan Home is...
...a newly purchased vineyard and inn in the Appalachian Mountains near Asheville, also known as the Official Winter Court of the Dark Queen of the Mithrans. Bruiser is George Dumas, an Onorio who had been Leo Pellissier's prime blood servant for over 100 years.
Eli, a former Ranger, and Alex "The Kid" Younger (who is brilliant with computers) are brothers who have become family with Jane. They're also part of Yellowrock Securities.
Brute is a white werewolf forced to stay wolf by Hayyel. Pea is a grindylow, tasked with ensuring no wolf will bite a human. Girrard "Gee" DiMercy, an Anzu, is a Mercy Blade, one who gives mercy to young vampires who don't make it through the change. He's also Jane's personal Enforcer. Longfellow is a new pet, a striped, scarlet-winged lizard.
Savannah Walkingstick of the Long Hair Clan is a Cherokee Elder and Jane's new mentor here in North Carolina. She is prejudiced against skinwalkers and any tribe not her own. Chala is Savannah's daughter who was raped.
The Everhart-Truebloods are...
...a witch family who are friends with Jane. Molly Everhart, Jane's best friend, is a witch with death magic who is married to Big Evan Trueblood, an air witch who uses a flute and is still in hiding. They have three children now. Angie is a powerful young witch. Her little brother, Little Evan, a.k.a., Evan Junior or EJ, is another warlock whose power is emerging too early, and Cassie is the baby, yet a third witch whose magic is too early. Elizabeth "Liz", a stone witch, and Boadicea "Cia" Everhart, a moon witch, are Molly's twin sisters. Regan and Amelia are Molly's human sisters. All the sisters run the Seven Sassy Sisters, a family restaurant. Bedelia Everhart is the girls' mom. Shiloh Everhart Stone is Molly's niece, a witch and a vampire, who's gone missing. Cia is dating Ray Conyers, a country singer.
The Shookers are weak witches who are the Everhart-Truebloods' neighbors. Stacey Shooker is a teenaged witchling.
Vampires can be...
...divided into two types: Naturaleza, who adhere to the old way of terrifying and then drinking down humans, and Mithran, who have embraced a new way of holding back and sipping from humans.
The Master of the City of Asheville is...
...Lincoln Shaddock, an ally of Jane's. His day job is as chief chef in his BBQ joint. Amy Lynn Brown is a vampire treasure. Kojo and Thema, ton-tigi, are itinerant vampires who lost their clan and hunting grounds around 1350 in Mali.
The City of New Orleans is...
...home base for the Mithran Council Chambers where Wrassler is holding the fort. Edmund Hartley is the vampire MOC of New Orleans and Jane’s primo.
Derek Lee, an ex-marine and Enforcer for the vampires, is missing. Some of Leo's master vampires (who are Jane's people now) include "Tex" Cooper, who does security for the council, and Koun, who will become Acting Enforcer for Janie and chief strategist for Clan Yellowrock.
Ronald Roland, the heir of Clan Bouvier, is missing. Sabina is the outclan priestess of the US Mithrans. Bethany had been a not-quite-sane priestess. Lachish Dutillet had been the head of the New Orleans coven.
Aggie One Feather is a Cherokee Elder and Jane's mentor in New Orleans.
New Orleans PD
Sloan Rosen and Jodi Richoux work the WooWoo room.
The European Vampires
Grégoire “Blondie” of Clan Arceneau had been Leo's heir. Now he's dueling all over Europe as the proxy of the emperor and the Dark Queen. Brandon (a lawyer) and Brian Robere are twin brothers and Onorios in Europe with Ed and Grégoire.
Clan Fonteneau is one of Gregoire's longtime allies. Clan Roquefort, who has a history of betrayal against Leo; Clan Andre; and, Clan Leclerc are the enemy. Klaus is a sixty-two-year-old East German vamp Jane captures.
Melker, a.k.a., "Lego" or "Legolas", had been turned in 1602 and was the MOC of Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, and Helsinki.
There is a younger Son of Darkness, Shimon Bar-Ioudas, a.k.a., Flayer of Mithrans, plus, plus. Monique Giovanni is an Onorio. A former nun, Aurelia Flamma Scintilla is an outclan priestess with a gift for pyrotechnics and a senza onore, a dark form of Onorio.
The other Son of Darkness is/was Joses Santana, Joseph Santana, Joses son of Judas, and Yosace Bar-Ioudas, and was Shimon's older brother. Black witches, they tried to bring their father, Judas Iscariot, back from the dead.
Psychometric Law Enforcement Division of Homeland Security (Psy-LED)...
...polices paranormals. Soul is assistant director and an arcenciel renamed She Who Claims the Rift. (She's also called She Who Seeks Peace??) Agent Rick LaFleur is another of Jane's former boyfriends, an ex-cop-turned-shifter. Special Agent-in-Charge Ayatas FireWind is another skinwalker, Jane's younger brother.
The Arcenciels are...
...rainbow dragons, once worshipped as gods by primitive humans whom they taught much, and who are determined to go back in time to destroy the Sons of Darkness. There is a Conseil d'Arcenciels. Storm is appointed emissary to the Dark Queen's court.
Hayyel was the angel who "interfered" in Raven Cursed, 4, giving Jane the ability to timewalk; Jane refers to it as bubbling time. It occurs in the Gray Between, where Jane goes to shapeshift; it's killing her.
Anzu are minor Sumerian storm gods who look like dragons. Anzu do have a lethal allergy to iron. Nomad had been Jane's first boyfriend who had taught her how to hunt vampires. The Sangre Duello was a blood duel to the death in Dark Queen, 12. Makers is an ancient name for the Sons of Darkness.
The Cover and Title
The cover is the chill of blues and whites with a crouching Jane, her long braid swinging behind her, leaning over a rock-lined pond in which Beast is reflected. All around Jane are snow-covered rocks forming the background for the author's name in a grayed blue at the top, an info blurb beneath it. The title is a font shattered in a darker blue with flecks of white just above Jane's head. Off to the left side is the series info, and at the bottom left is a testimonial in white. The left edge of the cover is a grayed blue and white border of stylized bats and scrolls.
The title refers to those Shattered Bonds between Edmund and Jane...and Edmund and Angie Baby.
My Take
Phew, I had worried that Hunter was ending the series after Dark Queen, 12, and I'm relieved, after reading Shattered Bonds, that the series will be continuing.
It's pretty exciting with lots happening in view of Jane retreating from the world, as she hopes for a cure. But I gotta say I'm confused about who is meant to be emperor: Grégoire or Ed.
It's fair that Jane is out of sight, out of the game. She's dying. It could be fatal if any unfriendlies knew she was weak. And yet, I gotta go with Wrassler's anger over Jane retreating as she did. She dumped everybody. Never set up any protocols or "chiefs". She upended the vampire world and ran.
Now the underlying conflict in all this, at least in Janie's opinion, is that everyone is ignoring her. Things are happening, decisions are being made, and she's left out of the loop. It does give Jane time to learn more about her abilities, including the truth about her becoming the Dark Queen. And all this knowledge is proferred up by the first person protagonist point-of-view from Jane's perspective.
It all contributes to Jane's evolution in her character arc when she realizes how often she runs away. Beast's wants are another conflict, and Jane is figuring out that Beast has some underlying motives, particularly with regard to mating and kits. Then there's Jane's Cherokee family. The ones she intends to ignore for as long as they ignored her, although Eli has his own perspective on how Jane should treat her family.
To keep the cancer from growing, Jane has to spend most of her time as Beast, and Hunter ensures we know which soul is in charge in Jane's body, using an abbreviated speech/thought form for Beast's dialogue.
Jane confronts Bruiser about his grief over Leo and gets an unexpected answer — all part of Bruiser's character arc that evolves even more later on.
Oh, lord, Hunter is setting us up to wonder about Shaddock — his character arc?, and if he's a greater threat than we knew. Jane also discovers he's a lot more involved with the Everharts than she could ever have suspected. On a more positive note, one of the new characters, Savannah Walkingstick, has her own character arc in this story. That'll keep things interesting on a spiritual level, oy.
I do like how Hunter keeps it human...it's those ice balls that keep mucking up Jane's toes. The kids' reactions to Jane's Halloween costume. Mucking about in the kitchen. That dog bed of Jane's.
And we're learning more about Judas Iscariot's "resurrection"...and why it didn't work along with some revelations about the arcenciels and the Sons of Darkness! Ick.
There are a few paragraphs that explain Leo's strategy in not feeding Bruiser or the Roberes, and I'm confused about that fame vexatum diet plan where Hunter states "but who starved themselves in return for mental and mesmeric abilities." Is that the vampires starving themselves or the Onorios?
There are other niggles that are confusing the heck out of me. And it may just be that it's been too long since I read Dark Queen. How is it that Jane is queen of the arcenciels? Where does Jane get the idea that Brute and Hayyel have been manipulating her for months? Which name is Soul's now? She Who Claims the Rift or She Who Seeks Peace? Is the latter the original name? Or is She Who Seeks Peace a different arcenciel? I'm confused about Jane's concern about "giving" Soul those three deaths: Leo, Titus, and Joses Bar-Judas. How is this bad?
Who'd've thunk? It seems that Shimon has his insecurities.
And Hell hath frozen over. Big Evan apologized for his past behavior to Jane.
The funny thing is, with all this tension and drama, what with all these enemy vampires swarming everywhere and laying siege to Clan Yellowrock and the Everharts, the hideousness of Shimon, Edmund's kidnapping and torture, it's not really that tense. Oh, sure, I'm anxious to know where things are going, and if everyone will be safe, but I'm not feeling it.
The Story
It's an existence for all of Jane's people, as they hover, waiting to see if Jane dies and Europe erupts in war. Then the blizzard hits, and Clan Yellowrock is under siege by vampires, including the terrifying younger Son of Darkness.
Jane is seeing the future in the droplets, and there is war on too many fronts. Definitely war against all who go against the Dark Queen.
Unfortunately, time always wins when pitted against magic.
The Characters
A more inclusive character list can be found at KD Did It after 4 November 2019.
Jane "Legs" Yellowrock has a patchwork history of her early life as a Cherokee skinwalker and rogue vampire hunter who has become the Dark Queen of all vampires. Beast is her other soul, a mountain lion, sharing her body. Dudley is what Jane names her tumor. Edoda means father, Jane's murdered father. The Glob drains magic, especially magic used against Jane. Le breloque is the Dark Queen's crown with its own powers. Uni Lisi, Hayalasti Sixmankiller, is Jane's grandmother, many times back.
Yellowrock Clan Home is...
...a newly purchased vineyard and inn in the Appalachian Mountains near Asheville, also known as the Official Winter Court of the Dark Queen of the Mithrans. Bruiser is George Dumas, an Onorio who had been Leo Pellissier's prime blood servant for over 100 years.
Eli, a former Ranger, and Alex "The Kid" Younger (who is brilliant with computers) are brothers who have become family with Jane. They're also part of Yellowrock Securities.
Brute is a white werewolf forced to stay wolf by Hayyel. Pea is a grindylow, tasked with ensuring no wolf will bite a human. Girrard "Gee" DiMercy, an Anzu, is a Mercy Blade, one who gives mercy to young vampires who don't make it through the change. He's also Jane's personal Enforcer. Longfellow is a new pet, a striped, scarlet-winged lizard.
Savannah Walkingstick of the Long Hair Clan is a Cherokee Elder and Jane's new mentor here in North Carolina. She is prejudiced against skinwalkers and any tribe not her own. Chala is Savannah's daughter who was raped.
The Everhart-Truebloods are...
...a witch family who are friends with Jane. Molly Everhart, Jane's best friend, is a witch with death magic who is married to Big Evan Trueblood, an air witch who uses a flute and is still in hiding. They have three children now. Angie is a powerful young witch. Her little brother, Little Evan, a.k.a., Evan Junior or EJ, is another warlock whose power is emerging too early, and Cassie is the baby, yet a third witch whose magic is too early. Elizabeth "Liz", a stone witch, and Boadicea "Cia" Everhart, a moon witch, are Molly's twin sisters. Regan and Amelia are Molly's human sisters. All the sisters run the Seven Sassy Sisters, a family restaurant. Bedelia Everhart is the girls' mom. Shiloh Everhart Stone is Molly's niece, a witch and a vampire, who's gone missing. Cia is dating Ray Conyers, a country singer.
The Shookers are weak witches who are the Everhart-Truebloods' neighbors. Stacey Shooker is a teenaged witchling.
Vampires can be...
...divided into two types: Naturaleza, who adhere to the old way of terrifying and then drinking down humans, and Mithran, who have embraced a new way of holding back and sipping from humans.
The Master of the City of Asheville is...
...Lincoln Shaddock, an ally of Jane's. His day job is as chief chef in his BBQ joint. Amy Lynn Brown is a vampire treasure. Kojo and Thema, ton-tigi, are itinerant vampires who lost their clan and hunting grounds around 1350 in Mali.
The City of New Orleans is...
...home base for the Mithran Council Chambers where Wrassler is holding the fort. Edmund Hartley is the vampire MOC of New Orleans and Jane’s primo.
Derek Lee, an ex-marine and Enforcer for the vampires, is missing. Some of Leo's master vampires (who are Jane's people now) include "Tex" Cooper, who does security for the council, and Koun, who will become Acting Enforcer for Janie and chief strategist for Clan Yellowrock.
Ronald Roland, the heir of Clan Bouvier, is missing. Sabina is the outclan priestess of the US Mithrans. Bethany had been a not-quite-sane priestess. Lachish Dutillet had been the head of the New Orleans coven.
Aggie One Feather is a Cherokee Elder and Jane's mentor in New Orleans.
New Orleans PD
Sloan Rosen and Jodi Richoux work the WooWoo room.
The European Vampires
Grégoire “Blondie” of Clan Arceneau had been Leo's heir. Now he's dueling all over Europe as the proxy of the emperor and the Dark Queen. Brandon (a lawyer) and Brian Robere are twin brothers and Onorios in Europe with Ed and Grégoire.
Clan Fonteneau is one of Gregoire's longtime allies. Clan Roquefort, who has a history of betrayal against Leo; Clan Andre; and, Clan Leclerc are the enemy. Klaus is a sixty-two-year-old East German vamp Jane captures.
Melker, a.k.a., "Lego" or "Legolas", had been turned in 1602 and was the MOC of Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, and Helsinki.
There is a younger Son of Darkness, Shimon Bar-Ioudas, a.k.a., Flayer of Mithrans, plus, plus. Monique Giovanni is an Onorio. A former nun, Aurelia Flamma Scintilla is an outclan priestess with a gift for pyrotechnics and a senza onore, a dark form of Onorio.
The other Son of Darkness is/was Joses Santana, Joseph Santana, Joses son of Judas, and Yosace Bar-Ioudas, and was Shimon's older brother. Black witches, they tried to bring their father, Judas Iscariot, back from the dead.
Psychometric Law Enforcement Division of Homeland Security (Psy-LED)...
...polices paranormals. Soul is assistant director and an arcenciel renamed She Who Claims the Rift. (She's also called She Who Seeks Peace??) Agent Rick LaFleur is another of Jane's former boyfriends, an ex-cop-turned-shifter. Special Agent-in-Charge Ayatas FireWind is another skinwalker, Jane's younger brother.
The Arcenciels are...
...rainbow dragons, once worshipped as gods by primitive humans whom they taught much, and who are determined to go back in time to destroy the Sons of Darkness. There is a Conseil d'Arcenciels. Storm is appointed emissary to the Dark Queen's court.
Hayyel was the angel who "interfered" in Raven Cursed, 4, giving Jane the ability to timewalk; Jane refers to it as bubbling time. It occurs in the Gray Between, where Jane goes to shapeshift; it's killing her.
Anzu are minor Sumerian storm gods who look like dragons. Anzu do have a lethal allergy to iron. Nomad had been Jane's first boyfriend who had taught her how to hunt vampires. The Sangre Duello was a blood duel to the death in Dark Queen, 12. Makers is an ancient name for the Sons of Darkness.
The Cover and Title
The cover is the chill of blues and whites with a crouching Jane, her long braid swinging behind her, leaning over a rock-lined pond in which Beast is reflected. All around Jane are snow-covered rocks forming the background for the author's name in a grayed blue at the top, an info blurb beneath it. The title is a font shattered in a darker blue with flecks of white just above Jane's head. Off to the left side is the series info, and at the bottom left is a testimonial in white. The left edge of the cover is a grayed blue and white border of stylized bats and scrolls.
The title refers to those Shattered Bonds between Edmund and Jane...and Edmund and Angie Baby.
bhookjunkhie's review against another edition
5.0
Ghaa! That ending!..I wonder where in the world this will go next?? Wherever it goes..I’ll be reading it❤️
spellboundbybooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
crochetchrisie's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars... points for making me tear up but it was a little less engrossing than the previous books. Not sure why, maybe as Jane pulled away the narration also pulled away. I suppose it was a good representation of how someone who is dying would react... sad, distant, maudlin (especially the sentimental part of that). Could also be that I was reading really fast. I find the JY books really dense and when I don't try to slow down maybe I miss falling into the story more.
Also Beast 4eva.
Also Beast 4eva.
inezs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
cjay1957's review against another edition
5.0
I'm crushed. I've finished this series! How can I ever read anything else? Of course, I will. This is not the first time I've finished a series with such love and attachment.
The Jane Yellowrock series is incredible. Jane is absolutely lovely as the biggest bad-ass you ever encountered yet being all soft and vulnerable so you begin to feel protective. And BEAST! Oh my word, Beast. Being a cat person anyway, I instantly fell in love with Beast and being inside the mind of a big cat for 13 books was a side bonus to the main storyline.
About vamps, about werewolves, witches and other incredible paranormals. The cast that surrounds Jane will become like your own family. Eli, Alex, Bruiser, Molly and so many more.
I was reluctant at one point in the first book to continue and I'm SO glad I persisted.
An enthusiastic two thumbs up from me on this series and every single story within it.
The Jane Yellowrock series is incredible. Jane is absolutely lovely as the biggest bad-ass you ever encountered yet being all soft and vulnerable so you begin to feel protective. And BEAST! Oh my word, Beast. Being a cat person anyway, I instantly fell in love with Beast and being inside the mind of a big cat for 13 books was a side bonus to the main storyline.
About vamps, about werewolves, witches and other incredible paranormals. The cast that surrounds Jane will become like your own family. Eli, Alex, Bruiser, Molly and so many more.
I was reluctant at one point in the first book to continue and I'm SO glad I persisted.
An enthusiastic two thumbs up from me on this series and every single story within it.