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Synopsis (Found on
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Vance Ehecatl was
raised with every luxury he could imagine in a beautiful greenhouse within the
powerful empire of Midnight. Vampires are the only guardians Vance has ever
known since he was abandoned by his shapeshifter family as a baby quetzal, and
he is grateful to them for generously providing for all of his needs. When an
act of violence forces Vance from his sheltered home, he is startled to meet
Malachi Obsidian, a fellow shapeshifter with conflicting ideas about Midnight
and its leader, Mistress Jeshickah.
Malachi claims Vance is a bloodwitch, who Jeshickah and her trainers, Jaguar and Taro, are trying to control. Vance doesn't know anything about the rare and destructive magic Malachi says he possesses, and he can't believe Jeshickah would use it to hurt others. But when his friends begin falling ill, Vance starts to realize his perfect world may not be as flawless as it seems. Now Vance must decide who to trust—the vampires he's always relied upon, or the shapeshifters who despise them.
Malachi claims Vance is a bloodwitch, who Jeshickah and her trainers, Jaguar and Taro, are trying to control. Vance doesn't know anything about the rare and destructive magic Malachi says he possesses, and he can't believe Jeshickah would use it to hurt others. But when his friends begin falling ill, Vance starts to realize his perfect world may not be as flawless as it seems. Now Vance must decide who to trust—the vampires he's always relied upon, or the shapeshifters who despise them.
Amelia Atwater
Rhodes is one of my favorite authors. I was so excited when I found out she was
writing another series. I love her "Den of Shadows" and
"Kiesha'ra" series. The "Den of Shadows" series concerns
vampires, humans and witches while her "Kiesha'ra" series is about
shapeshifters. This new trilogy "The Maeve'ra trilogy combines all of
these supernaturals and humans together.
The one thing I loved about this book is that characters from both of her previous series make an appearance. Some more than others are secondary characters who are involved in the plot. I loved seeing these characters that I knew from the previous books in another time, place and situation. Some have changed from the original character that I met in the previous books while I saw similarities of other characters as they were in previous books. There were also introductions to new characters as well.
One thing that did confuse me about the book was the whole time frame in regards to the other series and the station of some of the characters. The "Den of Shadows" series takes place in the present time, while the "Kiesha'ra" seems to take place in the past (based on some descriptions of the area and how people lived). This book takes place in 1803. The main thing I was trying to figure out is how this book and events take place in regards to the "Kiesha'ra" series. Based on what the characters in that series say, their ancestors had been alive a long time ago and that the war that wages in that series went on for hundreds of years. Yet both of the ancestors in question from that series are alive in this book in 1803, when the "Kiesha'ra" books say both of them died. Also if the war in the "Kiesha'ra" series has been going on for hundreds of years then when did that series take place? Its very confusing and hurt my head when I thought about it too much. I'd like to ask Ms. Rhodes about that, if I ever get the opportunity to do so, which is probably never. haha
Anyway this book's main character is Vance and he is a quetzal shapeshifter. He was supposedly abandoned by birth and taken in by Jeshickah, a vampire, to be raised in her kingdom of Midnight. In addition to being a shapeshifter he is also a bloodwitch with magic in him. It is believed that that the vampires of Midnight want to tap into his power to control the rest of the world that is not under their power already. Enters the half falcon, half white viper shapeshifter Malachi who tries to free Vance from the vampires. Vance however loves and trusts the vampires and thinks that Malachi is crazy for thinking that Midnight is evil. So now its up to Vance to discover for himself whether Malachi is right and Midnight's vampires are evil or that he himself is right and that his love/trust for the vampires was not misplaced.
I liked Vance well enough. He lived a sheltered like in Midnight and was not exposed to the outside world for his entire childhood. Once he comes into contact with the outside world and meets Malachi, he starts to question everything he has ever known. Sometimes he is extremely ignorant and doesn't believe a thing Malachi says, even when he witnesses the vampires brutality first hand. For the most part he believes that he is completely safe with the vampires and continues to live with them. He does admit that he is somewhat useless in terms of fighting and magic since he has had no training at either. He is basically a slave without the term slave being used to describe him. In Midnight he is better than the human slaves but nowhere near the status of the vampires. He can be beaten and thrown out just like any slave or freeborn person. He just doesn't realize it for most of the book.
Malachi is ok. He is a shapeshifter with magic because of his Falcon father. He tries very hard to get Vance to open his eyes and really see what's going on but he doesn't do so well in that area. He is a freeborn which means he can travel in Midnight safely. He is against Midnight and sees its evil. He had a vision when he was younger that he is actively working for to become reality. He tries very hard to save Vance who will have none of it.
I loved the vampire Jaguar. He was in one of the "Den of Shadow" books called Midnight Predator and I was really happy to see him in this book. In this book he trains human slaves and Vance becomes his charge to take care of (not as a slave, more like a mentor). He is funny, sarcastic and mischievous. Of course as a vampire he doesn't care about the brutality of his kingdom. That is one aspect where he is different in "Midnight Predator." In that book he is kind and does not like his work as a trainer. In this book he is passive about the cruelty, although he is always nice to Vance.
I also liked Jeshickah. I guess she is a character I love to hate. She is very vicious and brutal. She also makes appearance in a few of the "Den of Shadows" books. In this book she is the creator and leader of Midnight. She controls everyone even her vampire trainers, especially since she made a few of them. In the "Den of Shadow" books however she is not the ruler of Midnight but her personality is the same as this book. She is doesn't care about killing anyone if it suits her needs.
Anyway the plot of the book moves at a good pace and as usual I love the world building it it. I love reading about the different shifters, witches and vampires in Rhodes' books. Each group has a different history and we find out piece by piece what it is. I can't wait for the second book in the trilogy.
The one thing I loved about this book is that characters from both of her previous series make an appearance. Some more than others are secondary characters who are involved in the plot. I loved seeing these characters that I knew from the previous books in another time, place and situation. Some have changed from the original character that I met in the previous books while I saw similarities of other characters as they were in previous books. There were also introductions to new characters as well.
One thing that did confuse me about the book was the whole time frame in regards to the other series and the station of some of the characters. The "Den of Shadows" series takes place in the present time, while the "Kiesha'ra" seems to take place in the past (based on some descriptions of the area and how people lived). This book takes place in 1803. The main thing I was trying to figure out is how this book and events take place in regards to the "Kiesha'ra" series. Based on what the characters in that series say, their ancestors had been alive a long time ago and that the war that wages in that series went on for hundreds of years. Yet both of the ancestors in question from that series are alive in this book in 1803, when the "Kiesha'ra" books say both of them died. Also if the war in the "Kiesha'ra" series has been going on for hundreds of years then when did that series take place? Its very confusing and hurt my head when I thought about it too much. I'd like to ask Ms. Rhodes about that, if I ever get the opportunity to do so, which is probably never. haha
Anyway this book's main character is Vance and he is a quetzal shapeshifter. He was supposedly abandoned by birth and taken in by Jeshickah, a vampire, to be raised in her kingdom of Midnight. In addition to being a shapeshifter he is also a bloodwitch with magic in him. It is believed that that the vampires of Midnight want to tap into his power to control the rest of the world that is not under their power already. Enters the half falcon, half white viper shapeshifter Malachi who tries to free Vance from the vampires. Vance however loves and trusts the vampires and thinks that Malachi is crazy for thinking that Midnight is evil. So now its up to Vance to discover for himself whether Malachi is right and Midnight's vampires are evil or that he himself is right and that his love/trust for the vampires was not misplaced.
I liked Vance well enough. He lived a sheltered like in Midnight and was not exposed to the outside world for his entire childhood. Once he comes into contact with the outside world and meets Malachi, he starts to question everything he has ever known. Sometimes he is extremely ignorant and doesn't believe a thing Malachi says, even when he witnesses the vampires brutality first hand. For the most part he believes that he is completely safe with the vampires and continues to live with them. He does admit that he is somewhat useless in terms of fighting and magic since he has had no training at either. He is basically a slave without the term slave being used to describe him. In Midnight he is better than the human slaves but nowhere near the status of the vampires. He can be beaten and thrown out just like any slave or freeborn person. He just doesn't realize it for most of the book.
Malachi is ok. He is a shapeshifter with magic because of his Falcon father. He tries very hard to get Vance to open his eyes and really see what's going on but he doesn't do so well in that area. He is a freeborn which means he can travel in Midnight safely. He is against Midnight and sees its evil. He had a vision when he was younger that he is actively working for to become reality. He tries very hard to save Vance who will have none of it.
I loved the vampire Jaguar. He was in one of the "Den of Shadow" books called Midnight Predator and I was really happy to see him in this book. In this book he trains human slaves and Vance becomes his charge to take care of (not as a slave, more like a mentor). He is funny, sarcastic and mischievous. Of course as a vampire he doesn't care about the brutality of his kingdom. That is one aspect where he is different in "Midnight Predator." In that book he is kind and does not like his work as a trainer. In this book he is passive about the cruelty, although he is always nice to Vance.
I also liked Jeshickah. I guess she is a character I love to hate. She is very vicious and brutal. She also makes appearance in a few of the "Den of Shadows" books. In this book she is the creator and leader of Midnight. She controls everyone even her vampire trainers, especially since she made a few of them. In the "Den of Shadow" books however she is not the ruler of Midnight but her personality is the same as this book. She is doesn't care about killing anyone if it suits her needs.
Anyway the plot of the book moves at a good pace and as usual I love the world building it it. I love reading about the different shifters, witches and vampires in Rhodes' books. Each group has a different history and we find out piece by piece what it is. I can't wait for the second book in the trilogy.
Rating:
A
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