Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

Kira had never been a normal child, but until the night when she almost killed her beloved adopted-sister after accidentally touching her she had never truly been alone. No ready to deal with a teen with Kira's 'problems' her foster-parents left under under the care of the mysterious Gilead commission who later taught Kira to not only control her 'gift' but to fight in the long-standing battle between Light and Shadow. Years later, Kira has become one of the few deadly ShadowChasers, men and women who are specifically trained to take out the biggest and baddest of the Shadows. Exceptionally brave men and women who don't tend to make it past age 40. Or 30 even.

Dangerous as her job may be, Kira happens to be quite good at what she does and has carved out a small, happy existence in Atlanta with a few trusted friends to rely on. That is until Kira's world is turned upside-down after learning that her much admired handler and mentor was killed by a vicious Seeker Demon searching for a centuries old blood thirsty knife that her handler had previously passed onto Kira for authentication. Hurting and not sure of whom to trust, Kira is forced to join forces with the dagger's previous owner Khefar - a Nubian warrior almost as old as the dagger itself - who has his own agenda where the knife is concerned. Though the pair constantly but heads, they agree that the demon and its guide must be stopped before it can loose more destruction on the unsuspecting city. And if Kira happens to take a little vengeance in the course of things, so much the better.

Although Shadow Blade started out fairly slow, I quickly fell into the rhythm of Kira's intense narrative. I usually really enjoy it when an author plops me firmly into their story, forcing me to find my way around, but I sort of floundered around until I felt I had a good grasp on Kira's background. Once I began to understand her motives, her history - her thoughts and feelings became much more relate-able and quite believable. Kira and Khefar also had some nice moments together. I've said it before, but I really appreciate an author who knows how to take their time developing relationships. Seressia Glass does an admirable job of slowly building tension between Kira and Khefar without neglecting the story itself. Always a good thing in my book. Additionally, the layered mythology and Kira's fascination for antiquities laid a very solid foundation for Ms. Glass' tough leading lady. Not all of Kira's many secrets were revealed and her relationship with Khefar was far from resolved, leaving Ms. Glass plenty of room for her likable characters to maneuver around in the next ShadowChasers novel, Shadow Chase.

series reading order:
~ Shadow Blade
~ Shadow Chase (July 2010)

blog tour participants:
All Things Urban Fantasy review
Drey's Library review
Jeanne's Ramblings review  
The Neverending Shelf
Pick of the Literate review
The Wayfaring Writer review

book source: provided by the publisher, Pocket Books