The beginning of this book was quite confusing. It did not give a solid "lead" into the actual story. It took me reading it a few times too just ignore the first few pages and continue reading. It isn't until the very end it somewhat connects. As I continued to read, the plot began taking form. It continued to improve as I got deeper into the actual story.

There were several key characters but primarily King of Albion; his new queen, Laylah;" the royal dog", Rex; the king's loyal subjects, Page, Captain Jack Timmons, Ben Finn, and Shan from Samarkand. Of special interest is also Jasper, devoted servant; Reaver , a villain/hero & Barrow, the butler. Other key characters are added toward the end of the book.

After a vicious battle, the king and hero rules Albion. He takes a bride. On their wedding day following the ceremony, Shan from Samakand arrives, exhausted, with a warning the greatly feared "Dark Shadows" are coming. It is deiced the king and his army will have to go to Samakand to fight there before the enemy can penetrate the border of Albion. Within days. the king, Ben. and his army leave on their journey to war. Laylah is left with Page, Jack and Rex. To say much more would ruin the story. Needless to say the rest of the book "danced" between the two groups.

There is plenty of action and adventure. Both groups encounters many challenges. The reader experiences emotions of frustration, incredulousness, sentimentality, outrage, curiosity...just to mention a few.

There is romance, love, hate, loyalty, deceit, betrayal, cunning, violence, monsters, evil, good, etc.

While inexperienced Laylah tries to valiantly run the kingdom of Albion, she finds it much more difficult than she believed. She makes blunders and good choices, as well. The king and his group runs into many severe and unexpected challenges. In the end, the reader is left with great anticipation for the next book of the series. I highly recommend you have the next book ready to read.

The cover is a great visual addition to the story. The depiction of it becomes clear later in the book and is a super "lead" into the next of the series.

I feel this is a little too mature for elementary age. It is very violent at times, and could be quite frightening for young children. There are also references to "the wedding night" that is a little advanced for children... or should be. It is recommended for Middle-School age students and HS age. Especially toward the last half of the book, it emphasizes some important qualities and teaching tools that could be discussed with youth or in book clubs. These are also made into a video game collection.

This was generously donated by Christie Golden requesting an honest book review of which I am giving.

My review of this book offers a weak Four Stars rating. Weak because of the beginning and a few unclear parts of the story. Four Stars due to the adventure, action, and literary value in the last two-thirds of the book, which was very well written. It was also cleanly written, so parents - except for the violence - feel at ease with your youth reading this. ( )