Lightworld / Darkworld — (2009) Publisher: An unimagined destiny an undeniable passion.
In a time not long from now, the veil between fantasy and reality is ripped asunder creatures of myth and fairytale spill into the mortal world. Enchanted yet horrified, humans force the magical beings Underground, to colonize the sewers and abandoned subway tunnels beneath their glittering cities.
But even magic folk cannot dwell in harmony and soon two Worlds emerge: the Lightworld, home to faeries, dragons and dwarves; and the Darkworld, where vampires, werewolves, angels and demons lurk.
Now, in the dank and shadowy place between Lightworld and Darkworld, a transformation is about to begin...
Ayla, a half-faery, half-human assassin is stalked by Malachi, a Death Angel tasked with harvesting mortal souls. They clash. Immortality evaporates, forging a bond neither may survive. And in the face of unbridled ambitions and untested loyalties, an ominous prophecy is revealed that will shake the Worlds.
 
   
 Queene of Light
Many urban fantasy authors have written about supernatural races coming out of the shadows and living among humans. Few have done anything like this: The supernatural races crossed the Veil to live among humans, but war broke out, and the humans won. The otherworldly beings, along with any humans found to have paranormal abilities, have been banished to an underworld of sewers and subway tunnels, while the humans rule the world above. I love this idea. Jennifer Armintrout gives the reader a setting that feels both archetypal (because the fae have often been said to live underground) and fresh (because I’ve never seen it done quite like this).
The subterranean realm is divided into two parts, the Lightworld and the Darkworld. Faeries rule the Lightworld, insulating themselves from the other races and playing their ancient games of court intrigue even in their dismal new home. In the Darkworld, many types of beings live, and chaos reigns.
Our heroine is Ayla, an assassin in the service of the decadent Queene Mabb. Mabb lives in luxury while ignoring the troubles around her. One of the most haunting images in Queene of Light is the line of petitioners waiting to see the Queene. They’ve been waiting for years. The line never moves; the Queene never sees a petitioner. Yet the desperate wait anyway, clinging to the hope that she will relent. Working for Mabb is not much of a life for Ayla, but it’s a life, and with her “tainted” half-human heritage, she has been taught to expect no better.
The story begins when Ayla encounters Malachi, a Death Angel from the Darkworld. Their meeting has disastrous metaphysical consequences, yet neither can stop thinking about the other. Meanwhile, Ayla is caught up in a plot that could topple the Queene and put Ayla in mortal danger.
This being a fantasy website, I should say that Queene of Light is structured as a paranormal romance, in terms of the way the plot unfolds. However, there is plenty here to please urban fantasy readers. There’s the aforementioned world-building, for starters, plus plenty of faerie backstabbing, and a heroine who kicks butt when it needs doing. The climactic scene — unusually for a romance — features the heroine, not the hero, facing off against the villain. And if you’re worried about a faerie smutfest, don’t be. Queene of Light reminds me far more of Marie Brennan’s Onyx Court series (despite the very different time period) than it reminds me of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series. There are a few sex scenes, but they are not the focus of the story. The focus is Ayla’s and Malachi’s fight to survive, and to find a way to be together, in a world of dangers and betrayals.
I couldn’t put Queene of Light down, and I will eagerly devour the next two installments of the Lightworld/Darkworld series when they come out later this year. —Kelly Comments
 Child of Darkness
In Child of Darkness, Jennifer Armintrout continues the unique, genre-convention-defying story she began in Queene of Light. As before, it says “Paranormal Romance” on the spine, but while Queene of Light tweaked the conventional romance novel structure, Child of Darkness breaks it almost completely. (No happily-ever-after, at least not in this installment.) Nor does Child of Darkness follow the current tropes of urban fantasy, despite its gritty near-future setting. Aside from the setting, the Lightworld/Darkworld trilogy is really more in the vein of historical/political fantasy.
Child of Darkness is a bridge book. In book one, a prophecy revealed a great destiny in store for Ayla’s daughter, Cerridwen. Here, we follow Cerridwen from her technical coming-of-age to the moment when she truly comes of age in mind and spirit.
I didn’t like Child of Darkness as much as I did Queene of Light, and the main reason was character. I couldn’t decide who annoyed me more, Ayla or Cerridwen. Ayla has been greatly changed by her position, and she’s more than a little overbearing here. Cerridwen, for her part, starts out as a typical Rebellious Princess who tries to solve everything by running away and who never thinks ahead to the consequences of her actions. Or maybe I should be annoyed with Ayla for that, too, since it seems to me that Ayla hasn’t really prepared Cerridwen for her role. I actually think Ayla made a good choice when she picked a trusted courtier to guide Cerridwen, but why not just make him a mentor rather than try to force a marriage that neither party wanted? And why did it take so long to realize she needed guidance if she was to fulfill the prophecy? Then again, on the Cerridwen side of the equation, does anyone really think that wadding up a note and throwing it under one’s bed is a really effective way to hide it?
Cerridwen does mature in this story, but not before the Faery Court manages to bumble and backstab its way into a war with the Elves. (Who, by the way, are way too one-dimensional for my taste.) The war has disastrous consequences for the Court in general and for several well-loved characters. It’s amid this bloodshed that Cerridwen really comes into her own. As Child of Darkness ends, Cerridwen has found a new strength and has the potential to fulfill her promised destiny.
I don’t want to give the impression that I disliked Child of Darkness. I enjoyed it for the most part. (And I loved Malachi; he was wonderful in this book, even better than before.) It just has a bit of middle-book syndrome. Cerridwen starts out annoying and immature, but that’s only the beginning of her journey as a character. By book’s end, we can see that she’s come a long way, and in Veil of Shadows, I have every faith that she will develop further and become a great heroine. —Kelly Comments
 Veil of Shadows
I'm sad to say that I was a little disappointed in Veil of Shadows. I loved the first Lightworld/ Darkworld novel, Queene of Light, and while I didn't like Child of Darkness quite as much, I was intrigued by the plot elements that Jennifer Armintrout moved into place during that book.
The first part of Veil of Shadows deals with Cerridwen and Cedric's journey to Ireland, where they plan to confront the pretender Queene, Danae, who caused so much trouble for the Lightworld in Child of Darkness. Cerridwen's old impulsiveness dies hard, and she does some frustratingly rash things during the voyage. It's probably realistic; no one changes overnight. But her immature acts, and Cedric's reactions to them, make it harder for me to “buy” the romance that Armintrout is setting up between the two. The difference in their ages is measurable in millennia, and sometimes I get more of a father-daughter vibe from this pair. While there was also a vast age difference between Ayla and Malachi, Malachi's “fish out of water” status put them on a more even footing. Malachi may not have been young, but he was green in many respects.
When our protagonists reach Ireland, it gets better. Here, we see Cerridwen truly step into a queenly role. Then, when Queene Danae hatches a diabolical plot that threatens to destroy Cedric and Cerridwen by using their budding feelings against them, Armintrout makes the scene so wrenching, so heartbreaking, that I completely forgot I had issues with these two as a couple. I suddenly wanted nothing more than to see them triumph over this particularly nasty bit of adversity. I also loved the scenes in which Cerridwen does some soul-searching and realizes what sort of Queene she wants to be, and what goals she'd like to achieve for her people.
Unfortunately, these sequences are followed by a couple of scenes — a battle and a supernatural event, but I won't spoil any more than that — that feel a little rushed. Veil of Shadows is the shortest book of the three, and it's not for lack of plot. There are several plotlines here that, in my opinion, could have been better if explored at greater length.
I enjoyed the Lightworld/Darkworld series overall, but I think Queene of Light was the best of the three novels. —Kelly Comments
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