| "Shattered Mirror" Book Review |
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| Synopsis from the jacket of “Shattered Mirror” To the casual observer, Christopher Ravena and Sara Vida look like normal high school students-there’s nothing to clue their classmates in to their real identities. He’s a vampire who has sworn off human blood; she’s a witch, a daughter of the most powerful vampire-hunting dynasty in history. Although Sarah recognizes Christopher as her enemy form the moment she see him, he is too weak to sense her witch aura and keep his distance. In fact, he’s attracted to her, and he pursues her. Slowly, without meaning to, Sarah finds herself won over by his sensitivity, his gentleness, his kindness. When they’re together, she forgets that he’s a vampire. unfortunately, when they’re apart, it’s all she can remember. According to Vida law, no hunter can befriend a vampire without facing unimaginable consequences. But when Sarah finally decides to reveal herself and end their friendship, she discovers that Christopher has secrets too. His past and her future collide as they both get tangled up with Nikolas, one of the most reviled vampires ever. Suddenly a world where right and wrong were once as clear as black and white leaves room for little more then shades of gray. ******* The third of so far, four books. Shattere Mirror is the story of Sarah Vida. The daughter of the famed Domnique Vida who’s world turns upside down when she meets Christopher, a weak vampire, the twin brother of her arch enemy Nikolas. No longer does her world hold only black and white images, but now she sees the gray. Shattered Mirror was amazing. Amelia again lets us into the hearts of creatures we have always thought to be evil and hatefull. The love and hatred of family are a major theme throught out this book. Whether it be the hatred the Vida line shares for vampires or the honor and trust Nissa, Nikolas and Christopher share. We also see again into the world of the witches of Amelia’s world through Sarah. We finally get to understand their world and in some intances why they do the things they do. For me this book was a large step up from Demon In My Veiw and a great treat. The words have been uped a notch and the depth that Amelia goes into the characters psychies is wonderfull. We get to see what makes these characters tick, so to say. Now for our characters. The main character is Sarah Vida. She is the second daughter of Dominique Vida, the vampire hunter. And of course just like her mother, Sarah has taken up her clans call and taken to vampire hunting. In the beginning it’s easy to see that this is Sarah’s life, and that she’s pretty hardcore about it. But as the book goes on and Sarah meets our other characters her thoughts on how her family deals with vampires begin to change. She begins to no longer see certain ones as evil and see the shades of gray between her world of black and white. I love how Amelia has developed this character in particular and how she lets them grow. The next character is Christopher. A handsome vampire who has sworn off of human blood to help his sister Nissa. Christopher is another of the main characters and very disservingly so. The level of this kind yet powerfull vampire is amazing and I’m sure I’m not the only one who has taken to liking him a lot. His character is so much deeper then what we’ve seen since Aubrey that it’s almost refreshing. Finally a character with past angst that we can disolve and disect. Then there is Nissa, Christopher and Nikolas’s older sister. To me she seems like the type that gives into her emotions. Defiantly more then others. She was changed because of her love for her brothers and swore off human blood for her sense of her own humanity. I’m not saying that she’s a weak character, just one that gives into her emotions. Not bad not good. Then we have our new favorite bad guy, Nikolas. Personally other then Jaguar, (Midnight Predator) Nikolas has got to be my favorite characters in Amelia’s books. Though we see him as an evil evil person in the beginning he has something of a sweet nature to him. He doesn’t do what he does out of hatred or spite but for his family. And as the book goes on we see this more and more. We even see his love for his brother, an emotional scene that seems almost impossible for vampires. They’re supposed to be blood sucking minions of Satan right? Well not in this case. I love Nikolas and his ways of thinking. Amelia sure out did herself with this character that’s for sure. Now unlike the other books we don’t see as much of a connection with this book to the other two. The first two had connections through Aburey and Jessica, though we never heard from Risika again. But this book shows us even less of a connection to the vampire’s world. Of course our main connection is Dominique Vida but she is so little of a major (only apearing in the end of Demon In My View) that the connection is almost missed. Then we also have a slight camoe mentioning of Caryn and Single Earth that most miss it. I’ll admit I had to struggle to connect the two to the other book at all. But this is all fine and dandy. It wouldn’t be as interesting as it is if Amelia had brought in a major character from one of the other books. It gives us more of a chance to experience other lives in the vampire world then just three or four major characters. A breath of fresh air for the fantasy and science fiction genre to me. Shattered Mirror was an amazing book. It had everything all Amelia’s fans were looking for in a sequel. This is definate must read for all who enjoy her books and a deffinate keeper for anyone’s book collection. Also recommended: In The Forests Of The Night Demon In My View Shattered Mirror *Midnight Predator Click on the picture of the book to go back to the main page! CLik |