Shadowspell, by Jenna Black (Faeriewalker #2)

Dana has had nothing but excitement during her time in Avalon, and everything is about to get a little bit crazier. After her aunt's attempted murder on her life, Dana's father locked Dana up in a safe house to protect her from everyone who would like to kill/use Dana's unique fairiewalker talents. Unfortunately, that's a lot of people. When the mysterious Erlking, a fairie hit-man of sorts, comes to Avalon on a mysterious mission, Dana's dad gets extra terrified for Dana's safety. The Erlking and his minions, the Wild Hunt, want something from Dana and he's willing to resort to the most disturbing of tactics to get it from her.

Most of the time I love the first book, hate the second, and am somewhat ambivalent about the third, but Shadowspell and Glimmerglass were exceptions. I only somewhat liked Glimmerglass, but I gave Shadowspell a chance because the ending was cut off in a way that was solid, yet left me desperate for more. I'm surprised I even bothered with Shadowspell, but I'm happy I did. Glimmerglass was more of an introduction, while Shadowspell actually got the story started, and Sirensong will complete it.

I don't have much to say about Shadowspell because anything I had to say I probably said by Glimmerglass's review, but I will acknowledge two things I appreciated. The first is that the novel was filled with twists and turns. There were multiple climaxes and I liked how everything kept moving. The second was how Dana was a real teenager. She was extremely smart and sensible at times, and extremely stupid and self-centered at other times. She managed to keep cool during crises, yet she insisted on leaving her safe house while the Erlking was around. Though the latter made me want to yell at her, I have to admit that it was nice to read about a heroine who seems mildly realistic.

5 stars.

 On top of spending most of her time in a bunkerlike safe house and having her dates hijacked by a formidable Fae bodyguard, Faeriewalker Dana Hathaway is in for some more bad news: the Erlking and his pack of murderous minions known as the Wild Hunt have descended upon Avalon. With his homicidal appetite and immortal powers, the Erlking has long been the nightmare of the Fae realm.

A fragile treaty with the Faerie Queen, sealed with a mysterious spell, is the one thing that keeps him from hunting unchecked in Avalon, the only place on Earth where humans and Fae live together. Which means Dana’s in trouble, since it’s common knowledge that the Faerie Queen wants her – and her rare Faeriewalker powers – dead. The smoldering, sexy Erlking’s got his sights set on Dana, but does he only seek to kill her, or does he have something much darker in mind?