Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

Shattered Bonds is the thirteenth novel in the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter. And in case you were wondering, the series is still going strong. Jane Yellowrock is a vampire hunter turned Dark Queen for those who haven’t heard of the series. She is also a skinwalker and, thus, a very powerful being to mess with.

Following the events of Dark Queen, Jane and her crew have taken to the mountains to recover and find a cure for the magical cancer that has burrowed into Jane’s body. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a vacation when you’re the Dark Queen. Especially not if you care about protecting those you hold dear.

Jane thought she was done dealing with the Son of Darkness, but it turns out that he has a little brother. And said little brother is more dangerous and even less stable than his elder, which is saying something. And he isn’t pleased about what happened to his dear old brother.

This series is perfect for urban fantasy fans or fans looking for a longer-running series focused on the supernatural. It depicts a world full of magic, vampires, werewolves, and interspecies politics. And I’ll confess my bias here; this is one of my favorite series. So take that as a recommendation if you feel so inclined.

Writing

Shattered Bonds was an intense and brilliant read. Faith Hunter does know how to weave a tale for her readers. I wasn’t sure how she would top Dark Queen, but she managed to do so.

This novel was down to earth and emotional in all the ways we needed it to be. While Jane wasn’t given a chance to breathe after the events that followed, this was the novel the fans needed to see. It wrapped up a lot of important plot points while giving us a chance to grieve and recover from what we had just finished reading.

But it also pushed Jane’s character further, balancing her recovery with a battle against a new foe. One that, in many ways, was the most personal battle we’ve had to see her take on yet. Where Dark Queen was the culmination of several books of work, Shattered Bonds was a new beginning.

The character reactions were a personal highlight in this novel. And I don’t just mean Jane here. Every character we’ve grown fond of over the past few years had an appearance here, or so it felt like. And seeing their reactions to these events…it felt oddly emotional and yet so perfect simultaneously.

Development

Shattered Bonds was a carefully paced novel. It required some ups and downs in the pacing, as Jane truly did have a lot to deal with in this novel. Here, a complicated juggling act began. The balance of her health and recovery, vampire politics, friendships, and a new foe all came into play. And that feels like a shallow summary of what went on in these pages.

The introduction of a new antagonist was somewhat unexpected, despite the description on the back of the book. For some reason, I thought the entire focus of this novel would be on Jane and trying to find a magical solution to her cancer. And I was wrong, but I’m incredibly happy about that.

The younger Son of Darkness wasn’t introduced in the same way as his brother (obviously). What I liked about him was that his threat differed from his brother. He was less animalistic yet more brutal in many ways. It was an interesting balance, but it also fit well around the novel’s other plots.

Shattered Bonds went by in what felt like a blink of an eye. But really, I just couldn’t put the book down. I ended up reading the entire thing in one or two sittings, and that was because I was too anxious to see what happened next.

Consider yourself warned: while carefully paced, this novel will take no time throwing you into the thick of things. So be ready to sit down and read for a good chunk of time.

Conclusion

Shattered Bonds was a novel that I’ve been looking forward to ever since Dark Queen came out. And I can safely and honestly tell you that it lived up to my expectations – and then some. This was, in many ways, the novel we needed to see following the dramatic and heartbreaking events of the previous book.

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.

Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks | Quirky Cat’s Comics | The Book Review Crew | Monkeys Fighting Robots | Storygraph | Bookhype | Bookstagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Reedsy