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08 November 2011

Lord of the Abyss - Advance Review + GIVEAWAY




Lord of the Abyss (Royal House of Shadows #4) by Nalini Singh
Publication date: 22 November 2011 by Harlequin Nocturne
ISBN 10/13: 0373837755 | 978-0373837755

Category: Adult Paranormal Romance
Keywords: Parnormal, romance, revenge, magic
Format: Mass market paperback, eBook


From goodreads:

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…

As the dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy.

Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who’d cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden.

Thuy’s review:

Lord of the Abyss is the fourth book and conclusion to the Royal House of Shadows series. This is the story of Micah, the youngest Elden prince, who has no memory of his life before becoming the Lord of the Abyss. Liliana, the daughter of the Blood Sorcerer, endeavors to find him and bring back his memory before time runs out and Elden is lost forever.

This is the book I had been waiting for - the whole reason I started the Royal Book of Shadows series. I admit that I had high expectations for this book and Nalini Singh did not disappoint. I loved, loved, loved the story of Micah and Liliana. Lord of the Abyss is a take on Beauty and the Beast but, in this case, it’s Liliana who is the Beast to Micah’s Beauty, at least on the surface. Born with a hooked nose, straw-like hair and a limping gait, Liliana is no beautiful maiden. Micah, on the other hand, looks like the prince he is. But though she is not beautiful on the outside, Liliana shines with beauty from within. It is her pure and good heart, her generous nature and intelligence that are able to capture Micah’s interest and tame the wildness in him.

Micah and Liliana are such rich and unique characters. Romance novels are often rife with cliches but this was delightfully not so with these characters. Neither has had an easy life. Liliana has been the target of the Blood Sorcerer’s cruel games and punishments since she was a child. But instead of becoming dark and twisted like him, she’s developed an inner strength that would rival that of any warrior. Lilian is willing to risk everything to right the evil that her father has committed. People make cruel jokes about her looks and whisper behind her back. It hurts but Liliana knows that outer beauty does not equal inner beauty. She is kind to all of the creatures and people of the castle, and isn’t afraid to stand up to Micah’s autocratic ways. And Micah, oh Micah. Big and handsome and covered in armor, a shield for both his body and his heart. He never had a chance to be a child, the spell his parents cast flinging him to the bowels of the Black Castle, in a sleep state until he was old enough to take over as Guardian of the Abyss. All he has ever known is the castle and his grim role of Guardian. Used to getting his way, Micah is demanding and sometimes a little spoiled. But he is also very generous and fair. Naive about the ways of the world outside of the castle Micah has an air of innocence about him. Neither Liliana nor Micah has ever had any real friends and both lead a lonely existence. An unlikely pair of kindred spirits, they are able to see something good and beautiful in the other that no one else does.

The halls and grounds of the Black Castle really come alive in this book. Singh has created a vivid world in which to set Liliana and Micah’s love story. All of the books have been different in their setting and Singh did a great job of creating the unique and believable world of the Black Castle. From the dark stairways and dungeons to Jissa and Bard - all of these elements came together to form a new and interesting world. For the final journey to Elden, Singh conjured up a whole host of dangerous creatures for Liliana and Micah to battle. Some are scarier in looks than personality but all of them are strange and different and add to the rich landscape.

The only slight, very slight, criticism that I have for the book is that the ending seemed a little rushed. Because all of the books had been leading up to this battle with the Blood Sorcerer, I was expecting an all out epic fight. What happens is still satisfying but isn’t as grand as I was expecting. I also thought that the siblings would play a larger part in the battle. It ends up being Micah’s fight though they all lend their powers to defeat the Blood Sorcerer. This is a very minor complaint, as the ending is still awesome and everything wraps up nicely. This is easily my favorite book of the series and I still sigh a small sigh when I think about Micah and Liliana.

Lord of the Abyss is a great book and fitting end to the tale of the royal heirs of Elden. It’s a unconventional fairy tale that is sweet and passionate and utterly captivating. It’s a story that makes me believe in happy endings and I know that I will be coming back to it again and again.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book. 


GIVEAWAY

Because I love this book and want to share the love, I am going to give away a copy to one lucky winner. I will even spring for the fancy version that includes a copy of Desert Warrior. 

CONTEST RULES:

1. Please do not enter any personal information in the comments section - the Rafflecopter widget collects that, so don't forget to fill it out!
2. The contest runs from November 8 to November 22, 2011 (the book's release date)
3. You must be 18 or older to participate in this contest.
4. If you are selected as a winner, I will notify you by e-mail. If you do not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner.
5. This contest is open INTERNATIONALLY, as long as book depository will ship this book to your country, so please check. 
6. MANDATORY ENTRY: Comment on this post--what's your favorite fairy tale and why?

All the other entries are optional. The winner will be chosen on Nov. 22. Good luck!






Visit the author online at www.nalinisingh.com and follow @NaliniSingh on Twitter

25 comments:

  1. This book sounds cool and the cover is awesome. Thanks for the chance.

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  2. Sorry forgot the question. My favorite fairytale would be beauty and the beast. I love how beauty could see through to who the beast really was.

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  3. Mine is red riding hood.... cause you have a great begining for a super tale you could take a whole bunch of places!!

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  4. My favorite fairy tale is The Little Mermaid. Probably have to think Disney for that, but I just love the idea of mermaids. :)
    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  5. i liked the children of lir (an old irish tale), children turned into swans, evil step mother... whats not to like

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  6. Nalani Singh is my favorite author so thanks for the review.
    Favorite fairy tale is Beauty & the Beast. Great lesson learned at a young age.

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  7. My favorite fairytale is sleeping Beauty. Because that my first book, and with that i know other fairytale.

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  8. I like beauty & the beast, i love the story when the prince not perfect like the beast

    Thanks for giveaways

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  9. hi,

    it seems almost all the member that comment here like the same fav fairytale with me :)
    i love beauty and the beast. it's because belle love books so much as i do. she was so brave, so smart, and beautiful just to be herself. and also i love when beast finally found his true love.
    oh, don't forget about the library with soooo many books in his castle ^^

    thank you for the giveaway..

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  10. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale because it is such a beautiful love story.

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  11. Awesome giveaway...the story sounds great and luv the cover also.

    My favorite fairytale is Cinderella, no doubt. I grew up with the story. Cinderella makes me believe, everything is gonna be alright at the end. No matter how, there's always a perfect shoes for you^^

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  12. My favorite is Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and you can blame Disney for that.

    I have always loved those dwarves ever since I first saw the movie many yeas ago.

    Can you name all seven correctly ?

    THanks for the giveaway.

    Carol T

    buddytho {at} gmail DOT com

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  13. I like Beauty and the Beast (thank you Disney).
    I just love books and she is a bookworm person who found her prince. Gives me hope that I can too.

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. Beauty and the Beast eversince!
    I een bought the newly released Dvd !
    Ask me to sing all the songs there and i will sing them for you! LOL!
    Thanks for this giveaway!

    --buffy

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  16. I too love Beauty and The Beast. It's about true, deep love from within.She loves the man inside. I think it's just beautiful.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

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  17. Beauty and the Beast... I've loved that movie forever it seems =D I like the fact that Belle sees through Beasts' gruff demeanor and falls for him

    emilytardy@yahoo DOT com

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  18. Can't say which one is my favorite, but the one which sprang to mind is "The Emperor’s New Suit" by Hans Christian Andersen.

    I like it because it's very pure - noone sees the world as it is truly is like a child, grown-ups see it through their prejudices or expectations.

    And thanks for the chance to win a book. I came across Nalini Singh's book not long ago and I like them immensely!

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  19. Thank you so much for the chance to win!
    Mine is Beauty and the Beast :)

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  20. i would say beauty and the beast ^^ ( very popular it seems)

    thanks you for this opportunity to win

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  21. I like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.

    Thank you for the giveaway.

    Christine D

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  22. Oh its so hard to pick, I love them all. I guess I will just pick the one thats my favorite right now. Little red ridding hood. It reminds me of my boyfriend, I think because he loves wolfs.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  23. I always like Snow White, mostly because of the Magic Mirror & the Wicked Queen.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  24. My favourite is Rapunzel, maybe because the movie is still so fresh in my mind.

    tamsyn5(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  25. I've always liked Cinderella, I'm pretty sure it was the first Disney movie I saw as a child.

    cwilliams127 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete

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