Lord of the Abyss

by Nalini Singh

Publisher: Harlequin

 

My Review: 

Lord of the Abyss is the final book in the Royal House of Shadows series, and is the story of the fourth sibling, the youngest brother, Micah.  This story was a bit different from previous books, when the Blood Sorcerer takes over Elden and kills the King and Queen, the Queen casts a protective spell over the four kids.  The difference in The Lord of the Abyss is that instead of the King casting a contradictory spell, the Blood Sorcerer himself casts his own spell on Micah.  The heroine is the Blood Sorcerer’s own daughter, Liliana.  Liliana was beaten and tortured by her father and she wants to help the four children of Elden to defeat him.  Liliana uses her own blood sorcery power to travel to the Abyss and help Micah remember who he is, and convince him to help defeat the Blood Sorcerer.

I loved this installment in the Royal House of Shadows series, Liliana and Micah are very sweet and despite being raised and living with constant evil, they both maintain pure, helpful, and good hearts.  They see to the inside of people, whether the people are good or bad.  Liliana is not a pretty heroine, she is very plain, she has a limp, and a crooked nose, and she was tortured by her father her entire life.  She knows that she is not a beautiful lady, but Micah is able to see who she is inside, a woman who is strong and caring, and doesn’t shy away from danger.  Micah, being pure of heart, was sent to the Abyss, where he slept until he was old enough to become The Lord of the Abyss, the one in charge of escorting evil souls to the abyss.  Since Micah had no one to teach him or guide him into adulthood, he is a very straight forward person, very childlike in manner sometimes.  The result is a romance that is tender, has many ups and downs, but in the end is sweet and strong.

Micah is the final sibling to join in the fight against the Blood Sorcerer.  He is also on a very strict time constraint, at the 20 year point, Elden will die if Micah doesn’t come back to the land and help defeat the sorcerer.  So, Micah and Liliana have far  to travel, and their travel is an adventure.  They face many obstacles and travel by various means to reach the sorcerer.  This part of the book is fast-paced and exciting.  The only complaint I have about the final show down was that there was not a lot about the other siblings and their mates.  The other brothers and the sister are hardly mentioned, and I guess I had thought that all four siblings would be more involved, together, at the end.

Of all the books in the series, The Lord of the Abyss is my favorite.  I was drawn to the characters, because of their backgrounds and their ability to remain good in such a bad world.  With blood sorcery, the Lord of evil souls, an unlikely heroine, and dangerous supernatural monsters, The Lord of the Abyss is an excellent ending to the Royal House of Shadows series.  The romance is charming, the characters sincere, and the action is absorbing.

If you would like to preorder Lord of the Abyss, you can find it at: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository