Daraja won't sit at home and wait for a man to follow the
river to her clan and marry her. She wants to do her own
walking. Danger lurks in the forest however, and a pack of
wild canids proves the least of her worries....
A CAST OF SHADOWS links the stories of Daraja, from a clan
who can weave silk from spinnerets in their fingers, and
Brynmer, an insubstantial spirit tied to the body and mind
of an alpha canid. The fisher girl is noticed following the
river but only when a canid is found dead and with its head
and paws removed, does the pack regard her as a danger.
Brynmer used to live in the nearest city, which is now
teeming with plague victims, and he tries to persuade his
canid partner that hunters from the city might be
responsible. Daraja spots two men taking trophies from
another dead animal, and realises that the items are sold
as charms to ward off the plague - to no avail.
Daraja doesn't understand at first that Brynmer is using
strength from his partner to appear in living form to her,
as they are at first opposed and then have to work
together. He had a sad past life with sins which he cannot
let go, and the brave young woman reminds him of what it
was like to talk to people rather than animals. Gradually
he shares his story and she starts to wonder if she has
walked far enough and found her match - but when she saves
a pup's life and then has to choose between the hunters and
the canids in a battle, a ghost is all she has for support.
I enjoyed A CAST OF SHADOWS which is part of a series by
Hailey Edwards called 'Araneae Nation', and I liked the
descriptions of the canids and the forest. However I would
have liked to see a contrast, a glimpse of the city or a
travelling barge of entertainers perhaps, and if Daraja had
been walking alone for months it seems there are very few
people following the river. I also doubted that she would
leave her spears behind at one point when they had already
proved vital to her survival. She was an independent young
woman and had no intention of settling down without seeing
a little of the world, so many readers will identify with
this character.
Daraja has grown up watching her brothers journey down the
river on the traditional Deinopidae rite of passage. Each
returned with riches from their travels, and lovers with
whom to share their lives.
Now she has reached the age where she would strike out on
her own to seek her fortune—if she were male. Instead, she
is expected to sit patiently, weave her nets and wait for
the river to bring a husband to her.
Patience, however, has never been her strong suit.
Brynmor haunts the forest surrounding the city of Cathis,
his disembodied spirit inextricably bound to the wild canis
roaming his lands. Until the day he stumbles across a brazen
trespasser in his woods.
Compelled to step in when the canis suspect her of poaching
one of their own, Brynmor fears he has lost a piece of his
ragged soul to the feisty, adventure-seeking female. And
when the canis confront the real poachers, he is forced to
choose which life to sacrifice. Hers…or his own.
Warning: This book contains one heroine with a knack for
weaving nets and one hero who relishes getting caught.
Expect singing, some howling, ghostly shenanigans, and the
start of a love that transcends death.
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