Anne Kelleher (Bush)

Shadowlands — (2004-2006) Publisher: Through the Shadowlands: where the touch of silver was protection, power and peril. Unwillingly entwined... There is more danger than usual in the Otherworld of the Sidhe and the mortal world of the Shadowlands. An unlikely group of conspirators — both mortal and Sidhe — plot to overthrow both thrones. They'd stolen the silver caul that protected the borders between the realms — and set into motion a most perilous war. A blacksmith's daughter, a Sidhe lady, a mortal queen. Three women stand against the encroaching evil. All they have is a girl's love for her father, a lady's for her queen — and a queen's for her country. Nessa, Delphinea and Cecily are each driven by a personal destiny, yet share a fierce sense of love, justice and determination to protect what is theirs. Will the spirit and strength of these women be enough to turn back the tide of the goblin hordes waiting to overrun the kingdoms? Perhaps. But the battle must still be fought...

Silver's Edge

I loved Silver's Edge. It's an eyes-glued-to-the-page story of politics and war between three realms in a world not unlike Dark Ages Britain or Ireland. The silver caul that once held the Sidhe, the goblins, and the humans in their own little worlds is missing; now the three races are thrown back together for reasons unknown, and chaos ensues.

The story focuses around several young women struggling to survive in this chaotic situation. I loved it — it's rare that a book about political intrigue really does surprise me and pull the rug out from under my feet. You don't know who to trust. A character can be presented as very sympathetic and then turn out to be otherwise — and vice versa. Few authors can really fool the reader like that. Anne Kelleher can.

I just wish I'd known this was a series! Yeah, I know everything has to be a trilogy these days, but I didn't know Silver's Edge wasn't a standalone! I stayed up late into the night to finish this, only to be greeted with those three fateful words: "To Be Continued"! I want the second book NOW! —Kelly Lasiter