Three stars for a couple reasons. Yes, I liked it. If I didn't, I wouldn't finish it and I did. However, the language was blunter and cruder than I'm used to. Thirdly, she was essentially having sex with two guys even though the second guy was the first guy's shadow, which made me feel uncomfortable in that I was both curious and creeped out at the same time. Would I read the subsquent books? Probably. Would I read this one again? More than likely not. Much more heavy romance in this one than I expected. Characters so far likable though two-dimensional. Plot interesting, but the plot thread that gets set up for the rest of the series doesn't appear until the last couple of chapters, making the set up rather obvious and disjointed from the rest of the book. This will be one I finish and forget. I won't be picking up the others in the series, either. I would like to see more world-building involved - there are magicians, wizards and witches, but also interplanetary travel and "technomages" who are, I suppose, scientists and engineers who make the interstellar travel work ... the author tantalizingly mentions a slingshot mechanism that operates through the stars, and then ignores this "technology"... Through the memories of Gray, one of the protagonists, we learn about a very different agricultural planet with a Puritan-esque society, but this is limited to certain scenes from his past.
What do You think about The Flame And The Shadow (2008)?
A man, his shadow and the woman they love. Great story filled with magic, adventure and romance.
—EmilyRikay
