Rapture – The Shadowdwellers
Magnus is a man of contradictions – a spiritual leader in a warrior's body. To him, laws are for enforcing and visions must be followed – even if that means freeing a beautiful slave and making her his reluctant handmaiden. Betrayed once before, Magnus can barely bring himself to trust another woman. Yet Daenaira's fiery innocence is drawing them both into a reckless inferno of desire. Daenaira grew up hearing tales of a fearsome priest who seemed more myth than reality. But Magnus is very real – every inch of him – and so is the treachery surrounding them. Beneath Sanctuary's calm surface, an enemy is scheming to unleash havoc on the Shadowdwellers, unless Magnus trusts in a union ordained by fate, and sealed by unending bliss.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Getting Better!…
I gave the first one (Ecstasy) 3 1/2 stars and this one's up a half a star from that, so it's gradually improving! I was far more interested in these characters than the last ones. This book concentrated much more on the relationship between h/h than did the last book. I liked Magnus. He was sexy, strong, powerful, but had been celibate by choice for a couple centuries. Interesting premise! Then along comes Dae. I liked her at first. Tough, fiery, and badly damaged due to her stint as a slave. But as the book goes on she starts getting on my nerves. She gets very shrewish and is constantly harping at Magnus, who obviously has the patience of a saint. I get very tired of the old, typical female routine of "If you don't know I'm not gonna tell you!" And that's kind-of where it went with her. She's constantly saying mean hurtful things to him, but watch out if he even unintentionally says something she finds offensive! She was very prickly and always flying into tantrums. Got old after awhile. But JF still manages to create good chemistry between them. The love-scenes where hot, but went on too long and got tedious. Thus the loss of one star. This author tends to go on too long with certain scenes. Not even just the love-scenes. The scene at the end where Dae was trying get Magnus to lose his srict self-control went on forever, and she came off sounding like a total witch! Oh well, she does somewhat redeem herself at the end. I was actually surprised by how well this book kept me interested. I ended up getting through it very quickly, and didn't have long periods of time where I put it down. There were some very intriguing twists and turns in regards to the baddies. Although, if you've read the Demon books, I'm thinking JF might be getting a little formulaic. There was a healthy dose of voyeurism in this book, what with the classes and secret passages behind all the so-called private chambers. Luckily the perversion was limited to the bad guys. I'm looking forward to Sagan's story, but not really Guin and Malaya's. For being a warrior queen she seems awfully petulant and childish. I think Guin deserves better! But, in the end, this was a fast, entertaining read. Looking forward to the next one!
4 Stars Rapture
I really like this series. The story line is interesting and easy to follow. I can't wait for the next book!
4 Stars Romantic and Interesting
Rapture is the second book in Jacquelyn Frank's Shadowdwellers series, which is a spin-off of her Nightwalkers series. I think the experiance of reading these is enhanced if you've read in order right from the beginning (Jacob) but they can stand alone also. At the very least, you really have to have read Ecstacy (Shadowdwellers Bk 1) to grasp some of the fine plot points of this book. Ecstacy was not all that great in my oppinion, but getting through it was worth the struggle so that I could read this book. In my oppinion this is a much more sophisticated and interesting love story.
Magnus is a penance priest, the top ranking member of the spiritual and educational sect of the Shadowdeller world. As you will know if you read Ecstacy, he has recently lost his handmaiden (wife/partner/servent) to unexpected betrayal. He has visions that tell him to take a new handmaiden, a woman who has spent the last decade or so of her life as a slave. The woman, Daenaira, is naturally weary of Magnus even after he frees her from he bonds and begins to teach her the ways of peace. However, she adapts quickly to her new elevated role at his side and, despite the unrest and menace brewing around them, they begin to find love in one another.
What I liked best about this book was it's simplicity–no jumping back and forth between relms constantly, fighting evil every other page, or anything to distract too much from the main couple. Their's a nice build up of sexual and emotional tension that culminates in their falling in love. I appreciated the fact that Daenaira is a strong, fighting female character rather then a meek doormat as you might expect. It was a bit unrealistic, but fit the context of the story. Magnus is suprisingly romantic. Certain parts of the book were a bit slow. I also noticed that Frank tends to repeat certain plot lines (for example, the unexpected pregnancy of Ashla in Esctacy echoes Isabella's in Jacob). But, overall, it was an excellent story.
3 Stars Rapture
This is the 2nd book of the "Shadowdwellers" series, and a slight improvement over the first in that it gives a more in-depth view of the people. The Shadowdwellers live in a different dimension from ours, a dark version of our world that tolerates no light. The society is a theocracy based on a strict religion with gods that represent dark and light and supervised by warrior priests that punish sinners while still giving them a chance to repent. Sexual behavior is fairly open, but within certain guidelines. The priests supervise sex education classes for young people starting in their teenage years.
The two main characters are Magnus, the head priest and his "handmaiden" (spouse/servant) Dae. Dae has no sex or religious education before coming to the main city, Sanctuary, to be Magnus' handmaiden, so she begins her classes as the book begins. Classes consists of "models" who are volunteers demonstrating sexual activity while a priest explains in clinical detail what they are doing while students take notes and ask questions ("Killian, would you please stop moving for a moment, Henry has a question. Yes, Henry . . ."). People who are respectable citizens apparently do this to get a thrill at the voyeurism (think "Kinsey"). Magnus and Dae participate in some fairly innocuous such activity. I found the idea of a class taking notes of people have sex while a priest explains the action, to be a real turn-off. There are also private classes with an instructor/priest and a teenager who is taught to masturbate. I found the idea of an older priest and a young person in such a situation to be seriously creepy, rather than titillating. To each his own. If this is your cup of tea you should enjoy the book.
5 Stars Rapture is Jacquelyn Frank's best.
Jacquelyn Frank's books can be hit or miss for me. I enjoyed her Nightwalker series; hated one but loved others. Ecstasy was also enjoyable but Rapture is freakin' awesome; it is Frank's best book. It's a perfect blend of the type of romance I love to read. Tastefully erotic with hints of dom/sub sexuality but with a story that pulls you in; Magnus and Daenaria work to remove the evil seeking to twist the Shadowdwellers' religious order.
The focus of the novel is development of the emotional relationship between Magnus and Daenaria. They both must overcome emotional barriers and build trust but they are perfect for one another; the chemistry between the two feels true.
Frank creates a perfect tension between the characters and also the storyline but the tension and twists are NOT NOT pulled to the extreme where you want to scream or throw the book. I'm a fan of they type of romance novels that is heavy on emotional and physical development with a good storyline to move it along. Rapture is a wonderful romance novel!
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