Shades of War by Sarah-Jane Lehoux: Review by AimeeKay

Sometimes the past can't be forgotten. Sometimes the truth refuses to be buried. And sometimes the dead won't stay dead.It began as a simple request: Journey to the Northern Jungles and bring a wayward son back to the safety of his farm and family before the racial tension that is building between humans and dark elves erupts into civil war. But life is never simple for Sevy, and she soon finds herself entangled in a bloody battle of good versus evil, love versus hate.Old friends and enemies reunite, familial bonds are broken, and loyalty is tested. And in the midst of the steamy, sultry jungles, the ghosts of a serial killer's victims come out to play. Sevy, as petulant and irascible as ever, must overcome her personal demons in order to expose a madman and bring peace back to the kingdom. But just how much of her sanity must she sacrifice to help her friends? And how can she save anyone when she can't even save her own soul?

So just finished reading Shades of War, Sarah-Jane Lehoux’s second novel chronicling the adventures of Sevy as she travels through her world. Seriously in love with the world she has created. In my review of Thief I had stated that I hoped to be able to explore more of her world, and in Shades I wasn’t disappointed.

Again, Sevy is still my favorite character, but I really enjoyed getting to know Revik and his wife as well. I really liked some of the new characters and got a kick out of finding out what had happened to ones from Thief as well. Also, as with Thief, the story is told from multiple characters points of view. I think it really let me step into their heads, so to speak, and figure out where they were coming from. It made them seem more solid and believable.

I really enjoyed the story too. Some things I suspected earlier on. Other parts completely took me by surprise and the book had me hooked until the final page. As with Thief, some aspects were bittersweet, but they just added so much to the story. (That’s the closest to a spoiler you’re getting on these two books.) Although I will say that finding out more about what happened to Sevy before she came to Eloria and also about Revik’s past was very interesting and enlightening.

While it is the second book, and there are references to incidents in the first book, I wasn’t lost as to what was going on in the story. But I still think that if you have the opportunity to read them in order you do just that. Because if you read Shades first it will pretty much give away the ending to Thief.

If you’re looking for a new series or just a good book or two to curl up with as the weather gets colder, I definitely recommend these two.

Til Next Time

Melissa's note:

To see the post by Melissa of My World in Words and Pages go HERE! To enter for the giveaway you can enter on that post or just enter in the rafflecopter form below. The giveaway is for both books in pdf format.

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