Blog Tour Book Review: A Cast of Shadows by Hailey Edwards & Giveaway

Author: Hailey Edwards
Series: Araneae Nation #2.5
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: February 12th 2013
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: copy offered in exchange for an honest review
Blurb (from Goodreads):

"The strongest net is no match for destiny. "

An "Araneae Nation" Story

Daraja has grown up watching her brothers journey down the river on the traditional Deinopidae rite of passage. Each returned with riches from their travels, and lovers with whom to share their lives.

Now she has reached the age where she would strike out on her own to seek her fortune-if she were male. Instead, she is expected to sit patiently, weave her nets and wait for the river to bring a husband to her.

Patience, however, has never been her strong suit.

Brynmor haunts the forest surrounding the city of Cathis, his disembodied spirit inextricably bound to the wild canis roaming his lands. Until the day he stumbles across a brazen trespasser in his woods.

Compelled to step in when the canis suspect her of poaching one of their own, Brynmor fears he has lost a piece of his ragged soul to the feisty, adventure-seeking female. And when the canis confront the real poachers, he is forced to choose which life to sacrifice. Hers...or his own.

Warning: This book contains one heroine with a knack for weaving nets and one hero who relishes getting caught. Expect singing, some howling, ghostly shenanigans, and the start of a love that transcends death.

Ever since A Feast of Souls I've been hoping Brynmor will get some sort of happy ending. He wasn't exactly the easiest guy to be around in Vaughn's story and we already knew some bad stuff about him from the previous book and what he did to his mate and all that. But I have to be honest and say that somewhere along the way, during A Feast of Souls, he sort of charmed me. Yes, I know, I'm a sucker for a tortured hero, especially when he's trying so hard to help the people around him, even though he did things in the past that hurt those same people.

Anyway, I was very excited when I heard that he got a story. And it proved me that I was correct on two things: Vaughn did get his charms from Brynmor and there was a reason other than cruelness for Brynmor to do what he did.

Daraja was a very good heroine. I feel like she was the perfect match for our tortured hero. And I liked her. I am hoping we get to see this couple more in the upcoming books.

One thing that I was curious about was how the author would make their love story happen. I loved that we don't get the usual story with these two. I can't say more, for fear of giving something away, but it's nice to see fresh, new takes on a subject and this is one of them.

Of course, me being me, I wish we'll see more of the wild canis pack. Or maybe a story with them? Wouldn't that be great? *grins*

Now to wait impatiently for the next book in this series. Do read the series people, as it is very, very good.

Purchase Links: 

Samhain: http://bit.ly/13Mn06o 

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/Vbt8oG 

Barnes & Noble.com: http://bit.ly/VOzLvB 

Author Bio: Born in the Deep South, Hailey is a lifelong resident of Alabama. Her husband works for the local sheriff’s department and her daughter is counting down the days until she’s old enough to audition for American Idol. Her doxie, Black Ilex, helps Hailey write by snoozing in his recliner in her office.

Her desire to explore without leaving the comforts of home fueled her love of reading and writing. Whenever the itch for adventure strikes, Hailey can be found with her nose glued to her Kindle’s screen or squinting at her monitor as she writes her next happily-ever-after.

Website: http://haileyedwards.net/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3345773.Hailey_Edwards
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HaileyEdwards
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorhaileyedwards
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/haileyredwards/

GIVEAWAY!!!

Giveaway Guidelines:

 Hailey is gifting a digital book from a select list of her backlist titles to a commenter per number of tour stops. The contest is open internationally to anyone 18 years or older, or the age of majority, and will run from 12:01am EST 2/11/13 – 11:59pm EST 2/18/13. No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited by law. The winners will be randomly selected via the widget and notified via Lit Connect (http://litconnect.com) within five days close of the tour. Please follow the Rafflecopter directions for ways to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway