Veena’s review of Lord of the Abyss (Royal House of Shadows, Book 4) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance published by Harlequin Nocturne 15 Nov 11

The Royal House of Shadows is the story of the “Elden” kingdom, which sounds like paradise ruled by a good and wise king and a beautiful queen with four beautiful and highly magical children.  They came to the notice of a terrible blood sorcerer who coveted this piece of heaven and conquered, then killed the King and Queen. At the final moment the Queen was able to perform magic that scattered and hid the four children in different corners of the world until it was time to re-claim the kingdom from the sorcerer.

Lord of the Abyss is the story of Micah, the youngest child who was 5 at the time of these events. At that time when the Queen cast her spell, the sorcerer also cast a counter-spell  which caused Micah to forget who he is, even his name.  He ended up in the realm between the living and dead and guardian of the Abyss where evildoers are cast into the abyss.  He is a fearful creature who is almost entirely encased in black armor, but his heart and mind retains the honor, goodness, and purity which was instilled in him during his five years with his family.

Liliana is the daughter of the blood sorcerer and who has a core of goodness which no evil act of her father has been able to erase. She has been raised on stories of the Elden family and wants to find Micah to help him regain his memories, restore the Royal House, and rid the Elden Kingdom of the evil that her father has perpetrated.  She manages to make her way to the realm which Micah rules and romances him with stories about his childhood to restore his memories. Micah falls in love with Liliana since she has the ability to see beyond the beast to the prince.

Nalini Singh’s imagination creates some fantastical creatures both on the good and evil side as Micah and Lily rebuff attacks by the sorcerer and make their way to Elden by midnight of the 20th year to reclaim the kingdom for good.  Each sibling’s story is written by different authors, and I have not read the other three, but since this is the final book in the series, I feel that the story would have been enhanced by having the siblings together at the end reclaiming their kingdom together and celebrating their reunion.

Grade: B+

Summary:

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.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: