Synopses & Reviews
National bestselling author Sharon Shinn presents a passionate, heart-wrenching story of secrets and the lengths we’ll go to, to protect those we love... Melanie Landon and her half-sister share a unique bond. For her entire life, Melanie has hidden the fact that Ann is a shape-shifter. The never-ending deception is a heavy weight to bear, but Melanie is determined to keep Ann’s secret and protect her from a world that simply wouldn’t understand.
For months, Melanie hasn’t seen or heard from Ann, in either of her forms. When a man shows up saying he’s there about her sister, Melanie fears the worst. But Brody Westerbrook doesn’t have information about Ann—he’s in search of it.
A freelance writer, Brody intends to include Ann in a book he’s writing about the existence of shape-shifters. While Melanie is immediately drawn to the stranger on her doorstep, she denies his claims, knowing that trusting him isn’t an option.
But when Ann finally appears looking thin and sick, Melanie realizes exposure is the least of their worries. Protecting her sister has always been such an enormous part of Melanie’s life, but as Ann’s health rapidly deteriorates, Melanie must come to grips with the fact that saving her may mean letting go…
Review
Praise for the novels of Sharon Shinn:
“Filled with vivid details of everyday life, a strong and admirable heroine, and a plot with as many twists and turns as the mighty river that threads through the story.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“[A] rousing sword-and-sorcery romance.” —Publishers Weekly
“A chocolate truffle of a novel: richly indulgent, darkly sweet, and utterly satisfying.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Shinn is a strong literary writer [and is] especially good at writing realistic characters.” —SFRevu
Review
“A triumphant tale of love and loss…The everyday relationships—the love shared by siblings, friends, and romantic partners—shine with even more wonder than the magic…This series is not to be missed.”—
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An incredibly poignant and bittersweet story of love, loss, and family. As always, Shinns calm yet powerful voice tugs at readers heartstrings…Smoothly written and emotionally charged, this story takes us beyond the horror and carnage normally found in paranormal stories and instead focuses on the humanity of those who straddle the line between the human and immortal worlds—and those who love them.”—RT Book Reviews (4 ½ stars, top pick)
Synopsis
The final confrontation is here: the fourth book in the stunning fantasy series. In a world of secret sorceries and forbidden desires, the mystic Cammon must put aside his personal feelings for Princess Amalie and help her find a suitor, until he discovers that he needs to protect her from her own powers.
Synopsis
National bestselling author Sharon Shinn introduces a rich new fantasy world, one in which people believe that five essential elements rule all things and guide their lives.
Synopsis
The author of the Twelve Hours series welcomes readers to a new fantasy world, where the elements rule. Zoe Ardelay receives astonishing and unwelcome news: she has been chosen to become the king's fifth wife. Forced to go to the royal city, she manages to slip away and hide on the shores of the mighty river.
It's there that Zoe realizes she is a coru prime ruled by the elemental sign of water. She must return to the palace, not as an unwilling bride for the king, but a woman with power in her own right. But as Zoe unlocks more of the mysteries of her bloodand the secrets of the royal familyshe must decide how to use her great power to rise above the deceptions and intrigue of the royal court.
Synopsis
Plagued by guilt for failing to protect her king, Rider Wren has fled the city of Gilengaria and given herself the penance of a life of wandering, helping strangers in need. But when chance brings her to the great estate known as Fortune, Wren will find her fate, and finally confront the ghosts of her past.
Synopsis
For fifteen years Maria Devane has been desperately, passionately in love with Dante Romano. But despite loving him with all of her heart and soul, Maria knows that Dante can never give all of himself back-at least not all the time.
Every month, Dante shifts shape, becoming a wild animal. During those times, he wanders far and wide, leaving Maria alone. He can't choose when he shifts, the transition is often abrupt and, as he gets older, the time he spends in human form is gradually decreasing. But Maria, who loves him without hesitation, wouldn't trade their unusual relationship for anything.
Since the beginning, she has kept his secret, knowing that their love is worth the danger. But when a string of brutal attacks occur in local parks during the times when Dante is in animal form, Maria is forced to consider whether the lies she's been telling about her life have turned into lies she's telling herself...
Synopsis
The third Novel of the Twelve Houses from the national bestselling author.
In this story of hidden magic and forbidden love, the King's Rider Justin befriends Ellynor, a young novice at a convent-only to discover that she is a mystic being manipulated by the fanatical Daughters of the Pale Moon into hunting down and killing other mystics.
Synopsis
Gillengaria seethes with unrest. In the south, hostility toward magic and its users has risen to a dangerous level, though King Baryn has ordered that such mystics are to be tolerated. It is whispered that he issued the decree because his new wife used her magic powers to ensnare him…
The King knows there are those in the noble Twelve Houses who could use this growing dissent to overthrow him. So he dispatches the mystic Senneth to assess the threat throughout the realm. Accompanying her is a motley band of magic-users and warriors including Tayse, first among the King’s Riders—who holds a hard view of mystics in general, and Senneth in particular.
But as the unlikely allies venture farther into the south, they will face death in a land under the sway of a fanatical cult that would purge Gillengaria of all magic users. And they will come to realize that their only hope of survival lies in standing together…
Synopsis
Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses books have fascinated readers and critics alike with their irresistible blend of fantasy, romance, and adventure. Now in
Quatrain, she weaves compelling stories in four of the worlds that readers love in
Fight, Blood, Gold, and
Flame.
Synopsis
The author of the Twelve Hours series welcomes readers to a new fantasy world, where the elements rule. Zoe Ardelay receives astonishing and unwelcome news: she has been chosen to become the king's fifth wife. Forced to go to the royal city, she manages to slip away and hide on the shores of the mighty river.
It's there that Zoe realizes she is a coru prime ruled by the elemental sign of water. She must return to the palace, not as an unwilling bride for the king, but a woman with power in her own right. But as Zoe unlocks more of the mysteries of her bloodand the secrets of the royal familyshe must decide how to use her great power to rise above the deceptions and intrigue of the royal court.
About the Author
Sharon Shinn is a journalist who works for a trade magazine. Her first novel, The Shape-Changer’s Wife, was selected by Locus as Best First Fantasy Novel of 1995. She has won the William L. Crawford Award for Outstanding New Fantasy Writer, and was twice nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. She has also received a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award and won the 2010 Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the Science Fiction-Fantasy category. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has lived in the Midwest most of her life.