Helpful Score: 5
Rapture is the second book in Jacquelyn Frank's Shadowdwellers series, which is a spin-off of her Nightwalkers series. I think the experiance of reading these is enhanced if you've read in order right from the beginning (Jacob) but they can stand alone also. At the very least, you really have to have read Ecstacy (Shadowdwellers Bk 1) to grasp some of the fine plot points of this book. Ecstacy was not all that great in my oppinion, but getting through it was worth the struggle so that I could read this book. In my oppinion this is a much more sophisticated and interesting love story.
Magnus is a penance priest, the top ranking member of the spiritual and educational sect of the Shadowdeller world. As you will know if you read Ecstacy, he has recently lost his handmaiden (wife/partner/servent) to unexpected betrayal. He has visions that tell him to take a new handmaiden, a woman who has spent the last decade or so of her life as a slave. The woman, Daenaira, is naturally weary of Magnus even after he frees her from he bonds and begins to teach her the ways of peace. However, she adapts quickly to her new elevated role at his side and, despite the unrest and menace brewing around them, they begin to find love in one another.
What I liked best about this book was it's simplicity--no jumping back and forth between relms constantly, fighting evil every other page, or anything to distract too much from the main couple. Their's a nice build up of sexual and emotional tension that culminates in their falling in love. I appreciated the fact that Daenaira is a strong, fighting female character rather then a meek doormat as you might expect. It was a bit unrealistic, but fit the context of the story. Magnus is suprisingly romantic. Certain parts of the book were a bit slow. I also noticed that Frank tends to repeat certain plot lines (for example, the unexpected pregnancy of Ashla in Esctacy echoes Isabella's in Jacob). But, overall, it was an excellent story.
Magnus is a penance priest, the top ranking member of the spiritual and educational sect of the Shadowdeller world. As you will know if you read Ecstacy, he has recently lost his handmaiden (wife/partner/servent) to unexpected betrayal. He has visions that tell him to take a new handmaiden, a woman who has spent the last decade or so of her life as a slave. The woman, Daenaira, is naturally weary of Magnus even after he frees her from he bonds and begins to teach her the ways of peace. However, she adapts quickly to her new elevated role at his side and, despite the unrest and menace brewing around them, they begin to find love in one another.
What I liked best about this book was it's simplicity--no jumping back and forth between relms constantly, fighting evil every other page, or anything to distract too much from the main couple. Their's a nice build up of sexual and emotional tension that culminates in their falling in love. I appreciated the fact that Daenaira is a strong, fighting female character rather then a meek doormat as you might expect. It was a bit unrealistic, but fit the context of the story. Magnus is suprisingly romantic. Certain parts of the book were a bit slow. I also noticed that Frank tends to repeat certain plot lines (for example, the unexpected pregnancy of Ashla in Esctacy echoes Isabella's in Jacob). But, overall, it was an excellent story.
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