A Cast of Shadows by Haleigh Edwards-a review

Book 2.5 in the Araneae Nation Series

About the book: Released February 12, 2013

Daraja has grown up watching her brothers journey down the river on the traditional Deinopidae rite of passage. Each returned with riches from their travels, and lovers with whom to share their lives.
Now she has reached the age where she would strike out on her own to seek her fortune—if she were male. Instead, she is expected to sit patiently, weave her nets and wait for the river to bring a husband to her.
Patience, however, has never been her strong suit.
Brynmor haunts the forest surrounding the city of Cathis, his disembodied spirit inextricably bound to the wild canis roaming his lands. Until the day he stumbles across a brazen trespasser in his woods.
Compelled to step in when the canis suspect her of poaching one of their own, Brynmor fears he has lost a piece of his ragged soul to the feisty, adventure-seeking female. And when the canis confront the real poachers, he is forced to choose which life to sacrifice. Hers…or his own.

Review:

We met Brynmor in the previous book, A Feast of Souls, and I was immediately intrigued by his character. And, I have to tell you, when I saw that his book was next, I was like “how’s that going to work?”. Well, it worked out just fine.

Once Brynmor runs across Daraja, he knows his life will never be the same. Daraja sets out to follow the river, not as the women of their people do, but as the men do. She’s tired of being alone and strikes out to see what lies beyond their village. And once she encounters a mysterious stranger, she doesn’t know if she should welcome him or be scared. One thing she knows for sure is that she is intrigued. But, once she discovers exactly what Brynmor is, or isn’t as the case may be, will they be able to overcome their differences, or will Brynmor once again miss out on love?

I’m glad that Haleigh Edwards wrote A Cast of Shadows. Brynmor’s story broke my heart in the previous book. Edwards cleverly crafts her worlds in this wonderful series and gave Brynmor something to look forward to, rather than looking back on what he lost. If you haven’t read any of the Araneae Nation Series, I highly recommend it as it is a departure from the types of books that are flooding the market at present. I hope you enjoy getting to know the characters as much as I have, and I look so forward to the next installment.

ORDER LINKS: Amazon / Barnes and Noble /

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Vickie M.