Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780505525253
ISBN number: 0505525259
Label: Love Spell
Manufacturer: Love Spell
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 326
Printing Date: 2004-02
Publishing house: Love Spell
Sale Popularity Level: 475853
Studio: Love Spell
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Brief Book Summary:
Think Pink and blue feathers come together as the irascible courtesan Lani returns to instruct a savage Leor warlord on how to woo his Shielder bride in SHADOW FIRES, book five in Catherine Spangler’s award-winning Shielder series. Jenna dan Aron, a Shielder with psychic abilities, finds herself reluctantly married to Arion of Saura, a Leor who seems more beast than man, and who has no place in his life for softness or emotion. She finds life in the Leor settlement barbaric and beyond her experience. Her fierce warrior husband is her only buffer and her only lifeline, yet she finds herself challenging him and the ways of the Leors. In turn, he tries to resist the unfamiliar, protective urges his soft human mate raises in him, while they're both stunned by the sensual attraction that rages between them. And in the relentless heat of the wild Sauran desert, Jenna and Arion wage a battle of wills—until they discover that the heart is mightier than any weapon, and l! ove can forge shadow and fire together.
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Rated by buyers 
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This book had real potential, but unfortunately it just didn't deliver on it. First, the positive. The author did a pretty good job with the main characters. They were both likeable and didn't spend a lot of time 'hating' each other, something I don't like in a romance novel. The hero was actually very kind to the heroine and supported her numerous times. She did an interesting job in creating the Leor world (looks, their home, their traditions, etc) and were unique in what I've read in other sci-fi romances. I give her points for originiality. But....to start off with, the author must have a lot of causes because she kept pounding them into the story. We got (repeated) remarks on: (1) vegetarianism-you must be a barbarian if you kill a 'helpless' animal and eat it's meat. They didn't hunt for 'fun', but to eat and survive and they dedicated each kill to their Goddess in thanks. still, she kept equating meat with barbarianism. (2) don't have 'false modesty' by not exposing yourself to anyone and everyone who wants to see you. For some reason, what the Leors wore creeped me out. Basically men and women wear nothing but a loincloth-and go topless. By the middle of the book, I was tempted to count just how many times the heroine was told not to have 'false modesty' becuase she was uncomfortable going topless. It just disturbed me that everyone basically walked around naked. (3) Prostitution is a modern, freeing practice for women. Okay, that may be a little harsh, but that did seem to be the message. One of the secondary characters (a woman from a different novel)wore nothing but a blue feathered loincloth and spike heels. Her description reminded me of a porn vegas show. And, it was revealed later that she was a madam and sold instructional videos on 'mating' practices. One of the things I really liked about the Leors was the fact that both men and women were discouraged from having sex before marriage. It just seemed really refreshing to me to find that in a modern romance book. Of course, the author used it as another excuse for calling them barbarians as this is, of course, an outdated value. (4) androids can be very, very raunchy. This disturbed me as well. Not sure why, but robots taking 'samples' from the leor men just grossed me out. There were also some very cheesy and raunchy comments made by the androids. It was just weird. And finally, the author seemed to dislike pretty much everything about the species she had created. by the end of the book, I wasn't sure why she chose one of them to be the hero of her book instead of the villains and actually ended the book by having one of their leaders state that many of their laws and practices would need to be changed. Because of this constant conflict of beliefs and practices between the hero and heroine's cultures, it made it difficult to believe that they were really falling in love-especially since almost every chapter ending with her thinking or stating she was 'mated to a monster'. I found it strange that neither of them bothered to research the other's culture and beliefs in any detail before agreeing to the mating. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed with my very first reading of this author and I probably won't give her another shot.
Rated by buyers 
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SHADOW FIRES was the very first book I've read by this author, and wow, was I sorry I'd waited so long! I read the book in one unstoppable sitting, and it stayed with me for days. In fact, I will be re-reading this keeper very soon!
The author is a master of emotional scenes and truly makes you feel the couple's alienness to each other...and then unravels their barriers with beautiful, tender lyricism. This novel is unlike any other I've read in the genre, and I can't say enough good things about it.
If you've never read this one, rush to buy it! You won't be disappointed! Highly recommended.
Rated by buyers -
Arion, Comdar of Saura, must take a mate outside his species to expand the gene pool and thus ensure the survival of their Leor race. Knowing his duty, Arion reluctantly arranges a union between himself and a Shielder female. In exchange for a virgin bride capable of bearing children, he agrees to transport two colonies in danger from the Controllers. At first, the Shielder leader, Jarek san Ranul, refuses. While he desperately wants to save the members of the two colonies, he won't barter away an innocent woman's life to the alien warrior. The Leors are a barbaric people who still maintain slaves, something the Shielders have fought too long and hard to free themselves from, sacrificing many lives in the process. Locked in a stalemate, with neither willing to back down, a volunteer steps forward and agrees to go with the Leor leader, changing his life forever.
Shunned due to her clairvoyant abilities, Jenna dan Aron has never fit in with her own people. Jenna has foreseen her destiny with the powerful Leor male. Though frightened of leaving all she has known for an uncertain future, Jenna can't allow her anxiety to stand in the way of saving the two colonies. Hoping for the best, but fearing the worst, Jenna never dreams that she will fall for her new husband or that he might come to care for her as well. When the far-reaching tentacles of the Controllers later threaten their world, will their love be their salvation...or the downfall of their people?
From beginning to end, Catherine Spangler captures readers' imagination with her superb world-building skill. She gives enough detail to create a clear visual image, but not so much that it becomes tedious, dry, or like a guided tour.
Initially, I had trouble connecting to Arion. The Leors are tough, bred to fight from early childhood, and their notion of justice can sometimes be quite cold and cruel. Arion doesn't display much emotion and is used to commanding without question, so he orders Jenna around without regard for her feelings in the beginning. Also, he considers the delicate human female inferior to his own race. While his actions and attitude were consistent and appropriate given his background, and added to the readers' empathy for Jenna in dealing with surroundings, people and a culture not her own, in the early portion of the book, I couldn't help wanting to slap Arion -- frequently. Added to this, the Leors are part reptile. Arion has no hair anywhere on his body and his skin must be oiled nightly. I had problems dealing with a hero whom I wasn't sure I found all that attractive. Sure he's built, but completely hairless and with somewhat reptilian skin? I wasn't sure I'd get past it, even for an author I auto-buy. But as the story progressed, and his feelings toward Jenna changed, I began to see him through her eyes instead of my own, and I could understand her attraction to him. Arion gradually and believably transforms from a cold, alien male to a loving soulmate. In the end, I thought him incredibly romantic and a wonderful hero.
Jenna, on the other hand, was easy to like. Her strength of character and will, her positive attitude and concern for others make her an admirable heroine. Throughout the book, readers will feel her emotions, from loneliness and fear to love, pain and joy, pulling them further into the story. Secondary characters add to the feeling of experiencing the ups and downs of everyday life on another world and deepen readers' investment in the outcome, especially when an unknown traitor brings danger to their doorstep.
In her latest book, SHADOW FIRES, Catherine Spangler masterfully utilizes the tools of her trade -- plot, pace, dialogue, descriptive narrative, and characterization -- to transport readers to a fascinating alien world and lead them on an adventure which will fire the imagination and touch the heart.
Rated by buyers 
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* Spoiler Alert* From the Author of THE SHIELDER, Catherine Spangler, comes another sci-fi romance in SHADOW FIRES: The mind-destroying Controllers are back. They are still tormenting the Shielders, but they have extended their galactic wrath to another unlikely race, the Leors. "Up until now," Spangler writes, "they had given the Leors a wide berth. Like the Shielders, the Leors were immune to the psionic brain waves the Controllers used to dominate the majority of the cultures in their quadrant."
There is a striking resemblance between the heroine of THE SHIELDER and the female lead of SHADOW FIRES, Jenna dan Aaron. When the Leor leader demands a bride in return for Leor assistance in transporting "two newly uncovered Shielder settlements from the grasp of the Controllers[]", Jenna (another outcast like Leoness dan Ranul) compromises her freedom for her thankless people. Likewise, upon not-so-careful examination, there is much that the Shielder and Leor culture share in common. Shielders can sense each other. Leors can see auras. Both cultures have cold-hearted laws that they adhere to mercilessly, and yet only the Leors are thought to be barbarians. Search me.
The best thing about SHADOW FIRES is the introduction of the serpentine hero, Arion. I wouldn't have believed that anyone could make a part-man/part-reptile sexy! He is incredibly strong, dominant, disciplined and brave. The Leors are such an interesting race and Spangler's creativity and imagination really shows in this book because of them.
There were at least three big problems with SHADOW FIRES:
First, there is no small amount of time spent chasing down the storyline of why the Controllers are attacking the Leor--that would be, because they want to control the galaxy and everything in it--and how they are attacking the Leor--that would be, with the help of one or more Leor traitors-and why anyone would break the laws through such treachery--that would be, because of greed and discontent. It seems to this reviewer like Spangler is taking readers on a circular adventure, where the destination is where they began. That is, this angle is not complicated, just over-talked, so that the reader will think there is more to it than it appears at very first blush.
Second, Jenna dan Aaron's seemingly endless fear of Arion, Comdar of Saura was very irritating, because it continued past the time that was reasonable and believable. Additionally, Jenna's fears could have been put to rest very early on if one of her innumerable questions had addressed the very things that were bothering her most-did Arion cut the slaves' vocal chords--?--why did he kill animals and bring them to the goddess (although, it is hard for me to believe that Jenna had never heard of a blood sacrifice acting as a tribute to the gods)? Moreover, Jenna's repulsion regarding some of Arion's decisions as Comdar made her a complete hypocrite. When Arion followed Leor law and sentenced a man to death for an accidental killing, Jenna found the laws and Arion both "barbaric". And yet, "Shielders had put people to death--innocent people, whose only crime was that they were too sick or too old to work." Hmmm....
And finally, though the ending was a bit better in SHADOW FIRES than in SHIELDERS (see my review), I declare that Spangler has a problem with resolving her books in a way that is not abrupt, incredible or bad for my blood sugar.
Don't Expect Too Much, Or You Might Get Burned.
Rated by buyers -
One of the previous reviewers listed all of the problems with the book so I won't repeat them. I will say that the book becomes satisfying when you see how the Leors want to change. They are very interested in not staying a warlike race. I really liked how Jenna realized her mistake and was willing to take responibility for it. You won't be disappointed by the end. Don't mistake me -this isn't the greatest book ever written but I think it was a good introduction to Spangler's work.
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