The Library of Light and Shadow by MJ Rose is a tale of an artist's journey, haunted by scandal and tragedy, as she returns to the south of France, seeking redemption and embracing her gifts amidst the shadows of the past.

I quit reading this book at 42%. This is the third book I have read by this author, but it has been a while since I read the other two. I gave them 3 star reviews. I think that perhaps I am not the right audience for this author. Thank you for the opportunity though. I will not post a review online because I don't like to post negative reviews.

Absolutely adore M.J. Rose's novels. I do believe this is the third or fourth novel I have read by her? She spins the greatest tales into amazing novels. I love how she often brings history and modernity together in a novel. Her novels often deal with the mystical or magical as well. I usually am not a huge fan of the WWI or WWII eras, but her writing and storytelling was able to draw me in, as always. She also writes from the perspective of a female heroine, which is one of the number one things that draws me to historical fiction. History is told from the male perspective, so when I read a historical fiction novel, it's much more interesting to hear and learn about it from the female perspective. Her main characters are always strong, but still feminine. Delphine, in this novel, is no different. She possesses a mystical talent which she uses in her paintings. Paintings that help her gain notoriety. She means to use her talents are basically a simple "party trick" that allows her to make a living, but when her strange talent leads to devastating consequences for a family, she decides that she must quit. Once she renounces her gift, things begin to change in ways that she cannot control, and her life begins to spin out of control; leading her to question everything and everyone in her life.

This is one of those books I should’ve found out more about before requesting because it is a third in a series. I attempted to get into the story but it was difficult seeing as I didn’t really care for any of the characters. I might give the series a shot from the beginning, but I don’t think this was for me. Maybe if I had started with the first book I would’ve felt differently.

M.J. Rose always delivers an entertaining read. Her third book in the Daughters of La Lune series is a page turner, although it kind of fizzled out for me towards the end. The climatic ending seemed all rather abrupt. Still, I love the magic-supernatural elements that Rose is so good at creating, even better when combined with historical fiction. The series covers a specific Daughter of La Lune, a family of beautiful witches who live with a curse and a gift. Each woman must discover, hone, and understand her magical talents. All of this takes place in the enchanted world of art, when Matisse and Picasso were at the height of their craft. Rose has a descriptive style of writing; one smells, sees, and tastes every word. Colorful characters with unique qualities. Brava.



* Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a DRC. Opinions are my own.

This was such a wonderful conclusion to the Daughters of La Lune series.Initially I attempted to read this book before the other two books in the series as I had received an ARC from Netgalley and I'm so glad that I decided to start from the beginning to truly get an understanding of what's going on. It was well worth waiting for! I would like to note that getting an ARC didn't influence my thoughts or feelings.

Delphine and her twin brother Sebastian have always had a special bond though because Sebastien is a male, he wasn't able to inherit the talents that Delphine and her sisters did which has always been a sore point.

Delphine grew up being aware that she is a descendant of La Lune, that she has special gifts because of it, and that she is destined to only ever love one man. When she meets Mathieu purely by chance in her early 20s, she knows that he's the one and that her life will be forever changed. When she learns that she could very well be the cause of his death, she makes the painful decision to break things off and flee to New York in the hopes that will keep him safe.

Five years later, she is an artist who is able to draw Shadow Portraits which means she puts on a blind fold and can paint what she sees in the shadows which turn out to be what people are hiding as secrets. Sometimes these secrets are seen as something to laugh about and others can reveal secrets that usually cause quite the dramatic reactions despite Delphine warning that sometimes when she draws, it can reveal things best left in the dark.

When one of those portraits reveals a woman's affair with her brother-in-law while at a party in New York, it contributes to a tragic death, a broken engagement and has Delphine feeling that her gift is in fact something that shouldn't be used. She spends close to a month hidden away in her studio, having a friend of the family check on her from time to time and it's not long before her brother shows up to rescue her and convinces Delphine to come back home to Cannes, France where she can be surrounded by her family including her Mother who is a witch and her charismatic Father.

Delphine spends many months trying to heal, find out what she really wants to do and wondering if she'll ever pick up a paint brush again. Her Mother offers what advice she can, distracts her with sporadic shopping trips, helps soothe her with various remedies and is generally a wonderful source of support.

Her brother Sebastian has become her Manager and pushes for Delphine to get back into painting Shadow Portraits though Delphine resists for quite some time. When a woman is willing to paint handsomely for a Shadow Portrait to be done on an old home, Delphine is understandably reluctant until her brother reveals that he's in quite a bit of debt and how that money would help him to pay back his debts, particularly to some dangerous people.

Sebastian and Delphine travel to a beautiful old estate that was once owned by the great Nicholas Flamel and has its own secrets that haven't seen the light of day for quite some time. Delphine struggles to unearth the secrets that her benefactress is searching for though it drawn deeper into the mystery and often encounters scenes that took place quite some years in the past. When guests start arriving for a party, Delphine is even more conflicted especially when Mathieu is among them and she does her best to stay away from him partly to resist temptation and partly to hopefully keep him safe.

Then one terrible night, some secrets are revealed that involve a certain house guest from her past, her brother confesses to some things that he shouldn't have done, her ex lover Mathieu gets involved in an altercation and Delphine learns that sometimes what is glimpsed in a vision, isn't always going to play out quite as terribly as it would appear. Just when things start to settle down from the drama of the altercation, Sebastian is in danger and Delphine will have to overcome one of her deepest fears if she hopes to save him and just maybe learn the truth of what happened to Nicholas Flamel.

Full of mystery, magic, family, the roaring 20s, the power of love and friendship, this book had quite the interesting twists. I really hope that a certain character will get his own story some day!

Though I liked the book, I made the decision at the time I finished not to review it on my site. Maybe in the future I will include it in a book list post or another article.

I like M. J. Rose and usually enjoy reading her novels. For some inexplicable reason, I wasn't able to finish this novel. I didn't care for the characters and didn't enjoy reading the story. I purchased the book, and plan on reattempting to read over the summer.

Love this author and read everything she has. They are always a great change from the YA drama I read for my job.

I can’t. I’ve tried so hard, but I won’t spend any more time trying to read this book. Reached 37% hoping it will get better, but got lost in too many little détails, a dragging story... it’s BORING.
A pity, because I’ve received it from NetGalley in exchange of my opinion.

"Where did Nicholai Flamel tell you where the book was?"
He said, 'The book is in the library of light and shadow. But..," she paused as if remembering
"But?" I prompted.
"He told us that, only someone who could see in the shadows would be able to find the book."

The Library of Light and Shadow is the final installment in the Daughters of La Lune trilogy. This riveting series spins a tale that spans over centuries, through generations of descendants of a French courtesan, later known by the name, La Lune.

Delphine Duplessi, the second daughter to Sandrine (the main character in The Witch of Painted Sorrows) finds her artistic niche through sketching portraits of wealthy New Yorkers at upscale parties. These sketches are procured in anything but the norm, as Delphine blindfolds herself and draws "shadow portraits." Thanks to her second-sight, she's able to procure facts about people that lie beneath the capacities of the naked eye. These drawings reveal the deepest, and sometimes darkest secrets of the sitter, which eventually causes problems for Delphine as the scandalous drawing of one woman ends in a man's murder.

Distraught by the event, Delphine gives up sketching, and returns to her home in France where she meets another renowned artist, Pablo Picasso. Despite her attempts in leaving her special portraits in her past, Delphine's brother Sebastian coerces her back into her craft with a mysterious project: to make drawings of a famous opera singer's home in attempt to uncover a secret treasure.

Invited to the singer's chateau to begin her drawings, Delphine discovers that one of the other guests is none other than her past love--the man she fled from after drawing a disturbing sketch of his future, one that revealed herself as being his demise. Frightened by the experience, and hoping to keep her loved one safe from the tragedy to befall him, she left France for America.

Forced to face her past and her fears, Delphine must uncover secrets more than the ones of the old chateau, but about the residents themselves to discover the true treasure within.

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Things that I liked:

#1 The overall eloquence to the writing and style. It's easy to feel the grandeur of Manhattan post World War I---not that the war was beautiful, but people in that era had a way about creating mesmerizing social scenes. The way this story is written reflects this very quality due to the description and details given.

#2 The presence of explicit scenes were fewer and further between. While I have never been thrilled with the erotic side of these stories, I did appreciate that this installment seemed to have less of an emphasis on this topic. (I wish it had been ruled out completely, and just had a non-descriptive romance instead, but we can't always get what we want.)

#3 I appreciate how the author included small details here and there that carried throughout the entire series. These tidbits weren't necessarily pivotal, but they helped to create a sense of fluidity that spanned across all three books.

Things that I didn't like:

#1 The way in which the story was told, made it difficult for the reader to follow in time and location. Frequently, I was confused with where the main character was (between France and New York) and at which particular time. Much of Delphine's story is told through flashbacks, which I don't necessarily mind. However, the amount that this technique was utilized made for a choppy read.

#2 Unlike her predecessors, I had a difficult time forming an attachment to Delphine. In ways, she reminded me of her mother, Sandrine (whom I more-or-less despised). Other than that, her character fell flat. Despite her constant ruminations about her relationship with Mathieu, the fact that she had once been blind, and her twin-connection to her brother Sebastian, little more is revealed about who she is.

#3 Even though its presence was less, I still wish there was no erotic factor in this book. The storyline doesn't need it.

Overall, I enjoyed the art-related themes within this book. It's been one of my favorite (if not my favorite) aspects of this series that kept me reading it. If not for the erotic nature, I would rate it higher, but I just can't. For me, the eroticism simply retracts from the plot. Instead of character relationship building, the men and women are just thrown together into a bed and WALA! Relationship made.

Yes, there are some gems of true relationship building here and there. However, since so much of this story surrounds the topic of that evasive "one true love," I wanted to see more behind why Delphine and Mathieu fell for one another.

It's a decent story, but I simply had a difficult time cementing to it.

Vulgarity: None that I recall.
Sexual content: This is an erotica. Although, I felt it was toned down more from the previous two. There are several descriptive scenes.
Violence: Minimal.

"Make of the blood, a sight. Make of the sight, a symbol. Make of the symbol life, everlasting."

2.5 stars.

A big thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!

OMG!! Love love love!! I really wish that it didn't have to end!! A definite must read!!

I wasn't sure of reading this book but now I regret not reading it before.

The story was awesome, I can't imagine a better way to finish this serie. I loved the story but I was surprised for the character of the history, Delphine Duplessi. This woman is strong and intelligent.
I liked so much the romance of the book between Delphine and Mathieu. Delphine created a double story with her memories and I just loved it. The gotic's elements was good and I liked that too.

The book is great and I recommend it. You just have to read it.

**Note: I received a free ebook copy of The Library of Light and Shadow from NetGalley, in exchange for a review.**
**Spoilers**

M.J. Rose's novels are always a pleasure -- almost, but not quite, a guilty pleasure. :) I have enjoyed every one of Rose's saga of Sandrine Salome and her daughters. The Library of Light and Shadow tells the tale of Sandrine's daughter Delphine. Delphine paints for a living -- specifically, other people's secrets, which she can divine. When the story begins, she has fled from France to New York, to escape a fearful secret that she has learned about herself through her own painting. Her twin brother brings her back to France so that she may heal emotionally -- and draws her into an exciting mystery of sorts. It's the perfect balance of escapism and gorgeous, truly skilled writing.
Several things that I love about M.J. Rose's writing: She writes about both love and passion beautifully and realistically. Many readers, myself included, will enjoy this. I also enjoy reading about how artists of all sorts perform their work. All of the books in this saga provide gorgeous details on the arts that the women in Delphine's family practice. In Delphine's case, this means a fascinating and emotional immersion in the world of painting.
One ongoing theme in M.J. Rose's books -- one that always intrigues (and, to some degree, irritates) me -- is that of sibling relationships. A number of her books feature sibling pairs that are over-reliant to each other, to a bizarre degree. Just when that theme was starting to bother me in this novel, however, it took a turn...
Well worth reading! For anyone who enjoys a lush piece of historical fiction, or who wants to feel immersed in painting...and mystery...give The Library of Light and Shadow a try!

When I requested this novel, I hadn’t realised it was the third instalment in a series; however, it turned out you can read it even without having read the previous ones, since the narrator does summarise well enough what her family is about, and that’s what you mostly need to know as far as background is concerned.

I liked the premise—Delphine’s gift and how it can turn out badly, the family with witchcraft gifts... I also liked how most characters felt like they had a life of their own: they definitely weren’t just plot devices, but had relationships, past experiences (sometimes together, sometimes not), and generally breathed and lived.

A lot of descriptions, too, were vivid, and allowed me to picture the places and scenes quite clearly. I’m definitely not sure about all of the fine details, though (avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt in Paris in 1920... uhm, it was avenue Victor-Emmanuel III, but even without knowing that it doesn’t make sense), so I advise not getting into that with a historian’s mind. Unless those were corrected in the final copy, that is. Anyway, the prose does have its charm, and whether New York, Paris or Southern France in the mid-twentied, it conjures the needed images easily.

I had more trouble with the pacing. For a good half, Delphine doesn’t do that much, to be honest, apart from being depressed because of her gift (which she probably wouldn’t have been if she hadn’t been such a doormat to her brother) and remembering her love story. I don’t know about the format it was told in (a diary), background info was needed here, yet on the other hand, it felt disjointed from the story. Moreover, while in terms of relationships the characters had a life, indeed, their actions and decisions were at times... silly. I could guess the turns and twists, and seriously, Delphine, that vision you had, that made you run away to the other side of the world... it was so obviously opened to many interpretations that it being a misunderstanding was a given here.

The story picked up after the characters arrived at the castle, but at that point I wasn’t ‘in’ it anymore.

Still, I may try the first book, because the parents’ story could be interesting (there’s a duel and a bargain with the spirit of a dead witch, apparently?).

Delphine Duplessi is an artist who paints “shadow” portraits while blindfolded showing her subjects darkest secrets. After an accident involving one of her portraits, Delphine returns home to France vowing to never paint shadow portraits again. Her twin brother and manager Sebastian tries to get her into painting again and manages to cajole her into accepting a commission to search for a book about alchemy hidden in a mysterious château.

It’s been too long since I read the previous books since I’ve forgotten so much about those. In this book were many characters that I just know we’ve encountered before but have no recollection where or how.

I liked Delphine but at times I wished she would stand up to her brother who was so manipulative. They’re twins so of course she sees only the good in him, especially since Sebastian saved her life when they were children, but I thought he was just selfish.

I thought the ending was bit abrupt leaving more questions than answers. We see Mathieu mostly through diary of a kind and I would have liked to see him more in the present. I felt I didn’t really know him and that he forgave Delphine way too easily for leaving him.

This was a really quick read and I wanted to know what happens next. I really hope there will be a book about the 3rd Duplessi sister!

I loved the continuing story. The suspenseful writing of M J keeps me on edge waiting for the next book in the series to come out. I think the series would make an excellent mini series!

A very colorful journey through a long ago time with captivating characters and a bit of magic.

Her powers are more illicit than the people around this psychic artist know: she sees their secrets as she portrays them blindfolded. It causes tragedies, and indeed that insight separated her in damaging ways from the only true love of her life, the stunning man she had to let go. It's a bit breathless at times, and stock situations (which are however executed vividly) they are deployed to help solve plot issues (the avuncular neighbor picking up the pieces after another debacle in her life, etc).. and then there is the somewhat rapacious twin brother whose motives we wonder abt although she does not. Thoroughly enjoyable right up until satisfying ending. Really good!

The Library of Light and Shadow is the third book in the Daughters of La Lune series. I had not read any of the prior books in the series before picking up this book. I didn't feel too lost because the author provided sufficient backstory. This story follows Delphine, a young artist with the gift to unlock her subject's innermost secrets or see future events through her shadow portraits. This gift comes with benefits and risks and eventually winds up costing her the man she loves. The book begins with events following this immense loss with Delphine living her life in 1920s New York with her new fiance. Again, her gift winds up causing inadvertent turmoil which eventually results in her losing her fiance. She spends a majority of the book recovering from these losses and trying to rediscover herself and understand her purpose in light of the gift she has been bestowed. Parts of the book include her journal entries which provide personal, intimate details of her relationship with her first love. Readers are introduced to a multitude of famous artists that Delphine encounters through her personal journey. The author provided good historical detail and threw in some supernatural elements as well. Pace was a little slow at times. In the end, Delphine learns a valuable lesson in not believing everything you see. Overall, I liked the mix of historical fiction, the supernatural, and romance and would be interested in reading other books in the series.