I went crazy when I first got Shalador’s Lady and read about something happening to Falonar, about him failing as Lucivar’s second in command and Daemon doing something about it. It was all over the conversation between Daemon and Lucivar, Daemon and Surreal. I thought I missed a novella or a story or maybe it was mentioned in The Shadow Queen and I just didn’t pick up on it. But there was nothing (and believe me I know since I’ve reread the 2 Dena Nehele books more than 5 times). Only after a few months did I find out that Falonar’s story will come out in a collection of short stories entitled Twilight’s Dawn. As expected, I got angsty waiting for it.
I read the excerpts so I knew that what Im really looking forward to was Shades of Honor and The Highlord’s daughter. I believe that a lot of fans had a misconception with the title of the latter– thinking it’ll be Daemon and Jaenelle’s daughter. But from what little I read about the synopsis, I had this inkling it wasn’t the case. And I was right. But more on that later.
When I finally got the book (here at work), I started reading Shades of Honor first. Sometimes I wonder if Anne Bishop just decided to change Falonar’s character once she thought of making short stories. Well, it’s her characters so she can do whatever she wants with them and it was possible that Falonar was just hiding who he really was and that Lucivar finally realized the reason behind having Warlord Princes from Terreille serve 5 years instead of just 2 years for everyone else. Still, reading about Falonar in Dreams made flesh made me think that his character did a 180 degree turn. Storywise, it was everything I expected it to be. And having Chaosti show up added more to my glee hehe. Though I would be happier if the rest of the coven and the boyos made a cameo appearance but we cant always get what we want, can we?
After reading Shades of Honor, I went back to the first story in the anthology then went straight to the 3rd one. Winsol gifts made me cry (the scene between Lucivar and Tersa was really touching). I’m always glad to see more glimpses of Lucivar and Daemon’s childhood. And the ordinary interaction of their family and extended family members. In Family, I loved Tersa ‘Janelle doesn’t cook how did she know it’s just like deboning chicken?’ part. It just goes to show, like it was revealed in Tangled webs, that Daemon didn’t inherit his personality just from his father. These scenes were both light but serious, heavy but uplifting. Truly, the war has been won but life goes on and small battles still had to be fought, victories and pains still felt. This way of thinking/writing is one of the reasons why the Black Jewels series is one of my all time favorite series and Anne Bishop one of my favorite authors.
Now for The Highlord's daughter. Honestly, I was dreading to read it. I knew that with the difference on their life spans, Janelle and Daemon's separation was imminent. I was torn between wanting and not wanting to know how Daemon can go on after that. At first I thought that Daemon will end up adopting a kid - I dont why but I've always felt he and Janelle wont have any kids. And I've always known he'll be next High Lord of Hell once Saetan decides to follow his Queen to the abyss (since she was the only reason he stayed in the realms anyways). And there was a foreshadowing about Surreal's relationship with Sadi, even from the original trilogy. The hints werent obvious, and things could go either way but I've always felt that if Janelle's not in the picture, Surreal was the only other female he would be interested in. But even with all of these running in my head, I didnt think the author would go ahead with it. I was aghast the first time I finished it. But I couldnt stop thinking about it so I've re-read it a few more times and lo and behold, The Highlord's daughter ended up being my favorite among the 4 stories. I was grateful the author didnt introduce a new character to help Daemon heal his heart. Surreal was really the best candidate for the job and I was relieved it was her and not some new, random character. I think it was a fitting end though I hope Anne Bishop still write stories that happened in between or with other characters in that world.
After reading Shades of Honor, I went back to the first story in the anthology then went straight to the 3rd one. Winsol gifts made me cry (the scene between Lucivar and Tersa was really touching). I’m always glad to see more glimpses of Lucivar and Daemon’s childhood. And the ordinary interaction of their family and extended family members. In Family, I loved Tersa ‘Janelle doesn’t cook how did she know it’s just like deboning chicken?’ part. It just goes to show, like it was revealed in Tangled webs, that Daemon didn’t inherit his personality just from his father. These scenes were both light but serious, heavy but uplifting. Truly, the war has been won but life goes on and small battles still had to be fought, victories and pains still felt. This way of thinking/writing is one of the reasons why the Black Jewels series is one of my all time favorite series and Anne Bishop one of my favorite authors.
Now for The Highlord's daughter. Honestly, I was dreading to read it. I knew that with the difference on their life spans, Janelle and Daemon's separation was imminent. I was torn between wanting and not wanting to know how Daemon can go on after that. At first I thought that Daemon will end up adopting a kid - I dont why but I've always felt he and Janelle wont have any kids. And I've always known he'll be next High Lord of Hell once Saetan decides to follow his Queen to the abyss (since she was the only reason he stayed in the realms anyways). And there was a foreshadowing about Surreal's relationship with Sadi, even from the original trilogy. The hints werent obvious, and things could go either way but I've always felt that if Janelle's not in the picture, Surreal was the only other female he would be interested in. But even with all of these running in my head, I didnt think the author would go ahead with it. I was aghast the first time I finished it. But I couldnt stop thinking about it so I've re-read it a few more times and lo and behold, The Highlord's daughter ended up being my favorite among the 4 stories. I was grateful the author didnt introduce a new character to help Daemon heal his heart. Surreal was really the best candidate for the job and I was relieved it was her and not some new, random character. I think it was a fitting end though I hope Anne Bishop still write stories that happened in between or with other characters in that world.
