I will probably read the other books in the series, but it was fairly formulaic. It never quite achieved what it was reaching for, although it was enjoyable enough. The plot was not compelling, so much so that I put it down and completely forgot that I hadn't finished it.

It had its moments, but it definitely feels like a placeholder in between the first and third acts. This was most evident in Josey's chapters which seemed to accomplish little other than getting her into position for the third book and adding a bit of drama to Caim's upcoming choice.

That being said, I still like the series thus far. It is one of the most consistently cheerful "dark" fantasy novels in recent years.

A decent fantasy read with a lot of action.

The pacing I felt was better than in the first book and I ended up enjoying this one more, but the writing still didn't quite wow me. Some of the dialogue is a bit off, and I can't say that I ever fully invested in the story.

Shadow's Lure follows two main characters, Josey and Caim, and while I didn't exactly love either of them I didn't hate them either. My favorite character by far was Kit, and we saw way too little of her in my opinion.

This ended on a cliffhanger, so I'll see if the last book in the series can keep the steady pace or bump it up a notch.

3.5

I was a big fan of “Shadow’s Son”, Jon Sprunk’s debut assassins novel, so when I got the second book, “Shadow’s Lure” and the last part of the trilogy “Shadow’s Master” in the mail, some neighbors might have seen me do an elaborate happy-dance. After finishing “Shadow’s Lure”, I feel even more lucky to have received these from Pyr, so a big thank you is in order here. The second part of Caim’s story was, just as the first one, a joy to read. And here’s why:

Jon Sprunk is a fabulous writer. The writing is clean and compelling, just as it was in the first book. He paints such a vivid image of his characters and their surroundings, it’s easy to lose yourself in this story. This is the kind of book where you keep flipping the pages without even noticing it. Sprunk knows how to pull his audience in and how to make the readers feel like what he’s writing about is happing around them instead of on mere pages.
This is a story about an assassin, so obviously there are a lot of detailed fighting scenes in this book and they are a real treat. I don’t think it’s easy to write a compelling detailed fighting scene. Describing every move, every sword thrust, every step… I’m pretty sure an author needs a certain talent to write these sort of scenes the right way, to make them compelling and not tiresome. Jon Sprunk definitely has that talent. I could vividly image every move Caim made, how the bodies fell, where he struck or how he got injured. It made for some exhilarating action that got my blood pumping.

Sprunk also knows exactly how to bring his main character alive. Caim is flawed and not always a ray of sunshine (well, actually, most of the time he’s rather grumpy), he’s not the most positive person and he has his struggles, but he’s so easy to love. That may sound weird, but Caim is really a character that pulled me in completely. I can’t help but feel for him and fear for his life when he’s got himself into another battle. Sprunk did an amazing job there, because the connection with a character is very important to me and it’s usually the lacking of said connection that makes a book fall flat for me.
As for the other characters, though good, they weren’t as easy to love as Caim. Josey is someone is mostly felt compassion for throughout the book, I feel for her for the ordeal she has to go through, but she lacked some strength for the most part of the book. Not that she can’t stand her ground when she has to, she just made a vulnerable impression on me in this book, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’m more of a “strong-women” fan. She made up for it in the end though.

The story itself was more of a build-up towards the final book, but nonetheless very entertaining to read. The thing that intrigued me most in the first book, was Caim’s past. There’s a veil of mystery there. After “Shadow’s Son” we know some bits and pieces about what happened, but in this installment we discover a lot more about the tragic event when Caim goes back to his roots in the North to find out what happened that night.
Meanwhile, Josey has to struggle through her first weeks as the new Empress of Nimea. Not an easy position, as she almost immediately has to face danger and uprisings.
We also get a glimpse of Kit’s side of the story, which I thought was really great. It was nice getting to know her better and finding out where she came from and how she got where she is now.
The struggle between church and state for authority and power is still an interesting subject and is a well-chosen background for the struggles of one of our main characters. Little mentions of it keep popping up in other storylines too, which weaves them together at some level.
The use of magic and sorcery is rather dark and grim in this trilogy, but that puts it in an interesting light, it’s definitely not a bad thing. It’s also not overwhelming. I like how the author went a bit further in this book and explored Caim’s powers and the possibilities/consequences of it.

“Shadow’s Lure” was definitely on the same high level as the first book was. It’s not better, but equal to it. After reading two books in the trilogy, I wouldn’t put them on my top shelve, but definitely not far below it. These are good, solid Fantasy books, not masterpieces, but they are among the better Fantasy I’ve read so far.
I’m hoping the third book, “Shadow’s Master”, will make a satisfying ending to what has been a magnificent story so far.

Caim's traveling to the snow covered rebellious North to see if he can find "her" or more about "her" as Levictus mentioned at the end of Shadow's Son she was up North somewhere. The land he left when he was eight after that horrid night that haunts Caim's dreams still. Caim travels light, with his usual weapons, the dark sword that was waiting for him at Kas's cabin, and the personal journal of Arch-priest Vassili. Caim finds himself fighting with untrained men at his back, yet still alone as Kit disappears. Yet what Kit has to learn could come in handy as well.

Josey has come into the seat of Empress as her blood right is, but is still learning and tending with the reminder of how she got here. With the Church over thrown and the new order short on funds some Nobles have started to take advantage of a weakened moment and harass each other along with banditry increasing. Josey seems to be sitting as a figure head, but she speaks up with a solution to problems and starts to take control for her subjects. There is a creature sent to assassinate Josey and has her running around to stay alive and find the assassin along with who sent it.

Quickly in the first Chapter we are reminded of the character strength in Caim. Although we get a small feeling he is tired and a little run down. In these moments we get the reminder of things and people important in his life. Wonderful start off the bat here. I remember where things left off as this refreshes easily and opens doors to more possibilities simultaneously. Makes me want to know more.

We follow two basic story lines in this book. One of Caim in the north fighting with the rebels against the duke and his witch, then with Josey as she fights for her life and tries to find her would be assassin. I enjoy both lines greatly! Josey's story line shows to me how greatly in strength her character grows. There is a great amount going on in both story lines and in the end start to tie together. In doing this we do follow a few different point of views. This is well done with Caim and Josey. Even Kit has her own view point in this book as well.

Then we meet our new characters in the series. We do follow a view point from the witch Sybelle as well. Which really starts to give us a view into the Shadows side of things. There is many interesting things to learn here. And many North clan men make the roaster as well. A few seem to become bigger players in the end. And I look forward to see where all the characters, new and old, go with Caim in the next book.

The world created here expands in this book. We get to see more from the broken Northern side, the crumbling of Othir, and new worlds that seem to be of a fey type origin. We have Kit's world and the Shadow world. I like these glimpses and still want more.

Oh, I'll be watching for the third installment of this series to come along. I WANT to read more of what is hidden in the shadows for Caim, Kit, Josey, and many others.

I hate the POV switching. Caim's is exciting, but Josey is dumb, spoiled, helpless, and foolish.

It's been a few days since I finished this one. I couldn't quite put my finger on the thing that bothered me. Now I think a know. It's still a good story, fast, full of actions which is good. The characters are not bad but there are a few things I don't understand. First of all why does Caim and Kit fall in love with each other?? Why?? I mean I like both of them, it's just not logical. They were together for more than 20 years, why now? And why did he fall in love with Josey in the first place? It maddens me, really. I still think about reading the third book, but I don't know.