Memory in Shadow

Title: Memory in Shadow

Author: CJ Black

Publisher: Liquid Silver Books

Publisher’s URL: http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com

ISBN/BIN:  9781595789792

Genre: {M/M}, Paranormal, Sequel

Rating: 4.5 Nymphs

Literary Nymph Reviewer: Critter Nymph

While Dane and Vanlyn are still away recuperating, the war between the humans and fiends continues.  Although many are working towards a compromise that would allow the two factions to live in peace, others are working to destroy everything.   Lahn struggles to hold everything together while his friends are away, but things seem to be taking a turn for the worse.  Then Rasleigh shows up and Lahn wonders if the young man is ready to accept his fate.

Memory in Shadow is the sequel to Illusion of Night.  This new story starts not long after the end of book one.  Many of the fiends continue to cross the veil between the human world and their own.  In order to fully understand just who and what the fiends are, as well as the reason for the war, it is important to read the stories in order. 

Many of the secondary characters that peppered Illusion of Night also show up in Memory in Shadow, although not all are who they seem to be; and while Memory in Shadow is full of interesting characters, the story centers around Rasleigh and Lahn.  Rasleigh is one of those characters that, in the first book, was easy to dislike.  Now as readers begin to really know Rasleigh, it is easy to see the many layers that make this character up. Rasleigh has a hard time reconciling who he was with whom he is now and I found myself feeling for Rasleigh.  It is easy to understand why he forgot his past, due to the loss he sustained, but I also wondered if he was getting ready to repeat some of his past mistakes.

Lahn is a fiend struggling to carry out the wishes of his friend.  As the war drags on, the fiend finds himself under a lot of stress and the fact that some of his allies seem to be turning against him doesn’t help either.  Lahn is a strong, dominate character. I liked him in the first book and was happy to see him get his own story.  Although I had forgotten about the connection between Lahn and Rasleigh I was looking forward to their reunion and wanted it to bring some relief to the fiend, but it soon became apparent that that was not going to happen, at least not for a while.

The attraction between the two men is very strong, yet, at times, their physical relationship borders on dubious consent.   This aspect of the story may be difficult for some readers but the situations ring true to the nature of the characters. 

The author makes sure she holds the reader’s attention with the many twists and turns peppered throughout the story.  Not only is the war heating up but new rifts and creatures turn up causing issues for all involved.  There are a few unexpected surprises that had me on the edge of my chair and at one time had me worrying about the state of our heroes.

This was a great follow up story that also leaves the door open for many return trips by the author and readers.