As someone who came into this book without having read book 1, I found that I struggled at first to understand what was happening. With that said, once I had my feet under me, the story moved right along. I enjoyed the characters and the story plot, and since I adore fairy tale retellings, this one met all my criteria for a pleasant read. Myra's magic put her in danger, even with her family, and that dynamic heart my heart as she struggled to find a place where she was wanted and appreciated. I love stories that dig deep and make the reader feel the character through the pages.

* * WARNING - this review contains SPOILERS of previous books in the series * *

It's not many people that can say they hold the fate of the world in their hands. But for Eugenie Markham such proclamations would be true . . . except the fate of humanity rests in her womb.

Eugenie is daughter of the Storm King. Ancient Otherworld prophecies predict that Eugenie's first-born son will bring the human race to its knees and raise the Otherworld atop of the food chain once again.

Five months pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl, Eugenie is starting to feel the weight (figuratively and literally) of her decision to keep the babies. Their father, kitsune Kiyo, is hell-bent on killing his son before he is born. Maiwenn, queen of an Otherworld province, has raised an army to hunt Eugenie down and kill her before her babies are born. And Fairy King Dorian has pledged allegiance to her unborn and will sacrifice anything to see Eugenie and her babies safe.

With assassination attempts and increasing violence plaguing her kingdom, Eugenie makes a difficult decision. To leave the Otherworld and her kingdom behind, and take her chances in the human realm . . .

`Shadow Heir' is the fourth and final book (for the foreseeable future, at least) in Richelle Mead's urban fantasy `Dark Swan' series.

I have been most excited for the conclusion of the `Dark Swan' series for quite some time. Richelle Mead excels at cliff-hangers and nail-biting twists, and that was especially true of her third book `Iron Crowned'. Gauntlets were thrown down, fate kicked into gear and Eugenie's story became intensely twisted. This year has been a big one for Ms Mead, with her `Georgina Kincaid' series coming to a definite conclusion, and her first `Vampire Academy' spin-off book whetting reader's appetites (and, oh yeah, she had a kid to top it all off . . .) so `Shadow Heir' feels like a fitting finale to a fine year.

I must admit, early on in `Shadow Heir' I found myself biting my lip and worried that I wouldn't enjoy this ending ... Because very early on in the book, Eugenie leaves the Otherworld in favour of human medicine and the safety of anonymity to have her children. Eugenie's departure was especially frustrating because it meant few scenes with King Dorian. Now, I have been a BIG Dorian fan since the beginning of `Dark Swan'. He's an egotistical, beautiful red-headed Fairy King who's quick with the one-liners and wickedly deceptive. I love him. But he and Eugenie have had a rocky relationship from the start . . . which was put on permanent hiatus when he tricked her into taking the Iron Crown (and all but beginning the Storm King prophecy!).

At the end of `Iron Crowned', tensions between Dorian and Eugenie were electric. For starters, she is carrying her ex-boyfriend (Kiyo's) children after she ran back into his arms upon learning of Dorian's deception. Kiyo turned out to be an infanticide freak who would do anything to kill his and Eugenie's babies if it meant stopping the Storm King prophecy, which marks Eugenie's first-born son as the destroyer of humanity. Still, Dorian persevered and pledged allegiance to Eugenie and her unborn babies - he even wanted to be a prominent fixture in their lives, regardless of who their natural father is. When `Shadow Heir' begins there is still plenty of crackling chemistry between Eugenie and Dorian, tempered by Eugenie's lingering mistrust and awkward pregnancy situation . . .

I will say that I shouldn't have worried about a potential lack of Dorian in this finale. Sure, he's physically absent for the first half of the book, but he's never far from Eugenie's thoughts. And in the second-half, a very Narnia-like occurrence in the Otherworld means he and Eugenie have to join forces once again. And when they do, Mead gives readers what we have all been hoping for - romantic tension, epic declarations of love and Dorian's signature wit (Thundro - Ha ha!).

This is a Richelle Mead book, and even at the end she likes to pull punches and swipe the rug out from under reader's feet. There is a HUGE double-twist towards the end of the book . . . HUGE, and clever. I didn't see it coming (I mean, I' hoped . . . but I didn't know how it would work). Richelle Mead handles this curveball with utter aplomb, making the race to the finish a complete, surprising pleasure.

Now, as to the ending . . . I will say that I was frustrated. But I think a lot of how the book ends has to do with Eugenie's new outlook as a mother. And, fair enough, that's not necessarily something I can completely comprehend (except in an abstract, round-about kind of way). For some people that ending will dampen the rest of the book, but for me I liked the open-endedness of the book. Because Ms Mead has said she is entirely sure of how many books will be in the `Dark Swan' series, only that the likely number is four. And, to be honest, now that she has a baby of her own (art imitating life indeed!) I would think her big priority would be on family and the new Vampire Academy spin-off series (admittedly, her real money-maker). And that's fine. I actually think it might be nice to revisit Eugenie & co. in a few years time, to make the events and character progress authentic.

The Shadow Hier

This book's cover was stunning, and the description sounded interesting. The Shadow Heir is fast-paced, well written. I enjoyed Mrya's growth throughout this book. I Loved Alvis & Nell's adventures! That said, this wasn't my cup of tea. This was the first book I've read by this author and probably the last. This book was too heavy, and the cruelty towards Mrya, our protagonist, became a turn off really quickly. But the kiss of death, for me, was the cliffhanger ending. It ruined the whole book for me.

Thank you, NetGalley and City Owl Press, for providing me with a digital ARC for an honest review.

The cover made me select this book, me love a nice cover, and the plot seemed interesting. The story grabbed me and I finished quite fast.

3 stars

~ I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own ~

A fun take on classic fairytales weave together to make an interesting and creative world.
This is the second book of the series and I was lucky to receive an arc even though I haven't read the first of the series. It was easy to pick up the story line and become invested in the characters. The twist on the classic fairytale characters along with the addition of magic and different gods made for a fun and easy read.
After reading I will be going back to read book one and will eagerly await book three in this installment to see how it all comes together.

Alvis was introduced in the previous novel, having his betrothed marry his brother. Myra was also introduced, a servant forced to do the workings of an evil queen. Alvis has the power of the sun, Myra, the power of shadows. Both have been hurt by people they cared for and are looking for a fresh start. Myra has many secrets because of her abilities and many fear them. Many blame those abilities for bad things that happen, yet some ask for her help. Myra and Alvis reunite, but not in the way Myra wanted. Myra makes a few friends and some enemies. But their goal is to keep the evil queen from being set free and they need to use their powers to design something that works. Both felt an attraction to each other, but did not think the other felt the same. But a prince cannot marry a servant? And Myra still has her secrets.
I received this novel as an ARC from net gall and the publisher. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

This was a very quick read, that I devoured in a matter of hours on a lazy Monday afternoon. Not knowing the plot of the first book didn't affect my enjoyment much, really, because although I could see there were plot points readers are assumed to already know from the previous installment, this was pretty much a standalone.

Perhaps because it's a second book that picks up characters that were secondary in the first book, we start with the couple already together, in a sharing space sense, so there isn't the same intrigue and curiosity there could be if we hadn't seen them together from the beginning, because it's very obvious that they're meant to be a couple, and it's quite expectable. However, their relationship isn't easy, so what's lost in suspense is gained in build-up: you see Myra and Alvis grow to love each other more and more.

I liked that build-up and the fairy tale elements the most. The overarching story is Cinderella-inspired, but doesn't follow the tale too closely, as there's room for twists and a magical system the heroine wields that's nicely crafted into the overall plot. She works for her prince more than your average cinder girl, that's for sure.

It's an ideal read for a dull day when you just want to escape to worlds far away from mindless chores at the office and treat yourself to a charming little story that'll have you happier by the end.

I have just finished this book and I loved it! It is highly addictive and I couldn't stop turning the pages to find out what happened next between the two main characters!.