Lord Of The Abyss (Royal House Of Shadows #4) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance
November 15, 2011
Harlequin
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “There will be a new Lord. There will never be another Liliana.”
Lord Of The Abyss is the fourth book and conclusion to the Royal House of Shadow series. Each book in the four book series is based on one sibling who finds their soul mate and their way back to their rightful destiny. I did not read the first three in this series; however that did not deflect in any way my enjoyment of this story. I’m convinced everything Ms. Singh writes is dipped in gold and sprinkled with unicorn dust so this did not disappoint. While some background is given to link it to the other three in the series, this one revolves around one couple and one main conflict so that allows it to be comfortably read as a stand alone.
Our heroine Liliana has suffered greatly at her father’s hands; the Blood Sorcerer. Tortured endlessly by him, she secretly hones her own magic until she is able to locate the fourth royal heir to the Elden kingdom. If she can locate him and force him to remember his past, she can use him to destroy her father once and for all. Using her blood magic, she casts herself into the Abyss only to find herself thrown in the dungeon by the Lord himself. The Lord of the Abyss, Micah, is the fourth royal heir yet remembers nothing about his past. At first he is very suspicious of Liliana, but she soon charms him through her cooking and compassion. As they spend more time together, they begin to form a romantic attachment that is both heartwarming and funny. Both of them are innocent in the ways of love and while Liliana has some knowledge of courting, Micah does not so he is charmingly blunt about how he feels and what he wants.
The dialogue between them makes for some entertaining reading when you realize that Micah is dead serious in his demands.
“I don’t normally cry.”
“You will never do it.”
“Well, I’m afraid I may sometimes. Women need to cry.”
“How many times in a year?”
“Maybe five or six.”
“I will permit you to cry four times a year.”
I love that this story isn’t written in the usual fairytale fashion; Liliana is not a beautiful heroine and Micah is not sexually experienced. They both see beyond the trappings of their human skins and see the beauty and honor that lies beneath. Micah sees a beautiful courageous woman who does not fear him and Liliana sees an honorable man beneath the cold impenetrable armor. The romance that blooms between them is more rewarding for the fact it happens naturally, each receiving and giving what the other needs. The love scenes between them are quite steamy but have an air of ingénue to them that only adds to the overall enjoyment.
This rich and full bodied story balances well between the main conflict and the romance. Neither overpowers the other. Wonderful secondary characters add depth to the storyline and provide insight into Micah’s personality and life in the Abyss. The ending is a whirl wind of intense emotions and action. As we watch out lovers battle against tenuous odds to beat the deadline, Ms. Singh gives no quarter and keeps you right on the edge till the very end. A short epilogue wraps up the lives of the four siblings and their mates and gives you a very nice goodbye to this series.
Rating: B+
Recent Reviews:
The Book Pushers – C
Dear Author – B
Smitten with Reading – A
Badass Book Reviews – A
Goodreads
Author’s Website l Series Listing
Oooooh….this looks good. Virgin hero win! :)
It’s full of virgin goodness. :)
This sounds great! I have yet to read a Nalini Singh book but from the sound of your review, I need to remedy that! Plus, virgin hero FTW! ;)
You haven’t read Nalini Singh? OMG-get thy to the bookstore ASAP!
K, I just skipped down to the end for your rating cause I just picked this up and hope to read soon! I can’t wait! And I am in total agreement that Nalini can do no wrong, evah!
It’s really good.
Hi,
I read this book yesterday and this review is spot on. The book is really good. Scary villain, amazing secondary characters and a very natural love story – no power games in great Nalini Singh style.
Afterwards I wanted to read the other 3 books in this series ( one by Showalter). Checking around, from the reviews , it doesn’t look like they are as good.
I see here that the reviewer hasn’t read the others either.
Has anyone read the other books? Are they worth buying?
I’d appreciate any input,
Thx,
T
Thank you. Have you checked Goodreads for reviews? I’ve heard some loved and some didn’t love the first 3. I’ll be honest-I just wanted to read Singh. lol
I may have missed this, but Tori… did you just read this book? Because I only wanted to read Nalini, but since it was 4th in series, didn’t pick it up.
No, I did not read the other 3. I tried the first one and it wasn’t for me. I read the reviews of books 2 & 3 and decided they too weren’t for me. Each book can be read as a stand alone.
Hi,
Thanks for the quick response. I did check amazon – it was like you said. Some loved them and some didn’t. I’ll check out Goodreads.
I read this book cos of the author too:) . She’s hooked me now and I want to explore the world further , but I’m scared of being disappointed.
Thx,
T
Tori,
Thanks for the review. I love Nalini Singh but was REALLY afraid to read this one after the First in the series…..
Downloading to my kindle as I type. :-)
“I will permit you to cry four times a year.” – How generous of him:-).
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