Even as Ellysetta Baristani prepares for her wedding to her soul mate Rain, the shape-shifting King of the Fey, dark forces continue to move against her. The Shadow Man of her childhood nightmares is using Azrahn, the dark soul magic forbidden to the Fey but commonly used by the Mages, to haunt Ellie's dreams. Her magic continues to assert itself and though she tries to keep it under control, the magic often overwhelms and escapes. Ellie's power, long-denied, can no longer be hidden from those who want to use it for their own dark ends.

Rain's warning of the Eld's return and Mage-claimed are ignored by mortal men who, in their arrogance, dismiss Rain's caution and in so doing may condemn themselves. Ignored, the Eld make their move. But even the vicious Eld have no idea how strong Ellie is and in their condescending distain, put her to the test. Ellie rises above it and comes into her own in a terrifying and empowering conclusion.

Wow! Original and exciting, LADY OF LIGHT AND SHADOWS picks up right where LORD OF THE FADING LANDS left off and hits the ground running. I love it when a book continually surprises me. Ellie is so much more than a fairy tale Cinderella. She's equal to her prince in every way, something he's tried to tell her all along. The girl's got game and she comes into her own power in LADY OF LIGHT AND SHADOWS. I hate that these two books are being marketed as "paranormal romance." Nothing against the romance genre -- I love it -- but putting "romance" on the books' spines will keep a lot of male readers away, as well as a lot of female fantasy fans who get tired of too much romance in the genre. The relationship between the characters is always what drives a good story, but there is so much more going on here and plot takes precedence over hugs and kisses in this series.