Bestseller Frank’s intensely emotional and sensual series debut expands the universe of her Nightwalkers series (Noah
, etc.) to include the light-shunning Shadowdwellers. Trace, a Shadowdweller vizier, almost dies in a sword fight with an assassin in Shadowscape, a realm of uninhabited darkness between his world and the human-inhabited Realscape. Human healer Ashla Townsend, whose New York attitude is tempered by fear of persecution over her gifts, saves Trace by drawing his injuries into herself, leaving him wondering why she can enter the Shadowscape and see him. As their mutual attraction develops, Trace realizes they’re Sainted, destined to be mates for life, but cultural differences and the assassination plot threaten their burgeoning relationship. This romantic and strongly sexual story between complicated characters is made even richer by an intriguing secondary cast and efficient world-building that’s familiar without being lazy. (Jan.)
