Don’t you forget about me… can she live with what she finds? Will his dark past destroy them both?
Worse, a rival council, known only as the Shadow Court, has emerged to wage battle against the Arcana Council. And if Sara can’t help the Magician recall how to combat this insidious, mind-bending threat, the world will descend into devastating war.
Love could be your last, best weapon when you confront The Shadow Court.
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Love this series!
Things certainly took a different turn in Shadow Court. For Sara it was a bit like going back to the beginning. She’s been tasked with finding an artifact to trade for information regarding Armaeus’s memory loss ,which we learned about in Hallowed Knight, and which is the one and only thing Sara cares about right now. She’ll do anything to help him get it back. Because in losing his memory, he’s forgotten her.
We are taken on Sara’s path through various countries looking for clues that may not lead her anywhere, trying to evade an evil, powerful enemy of unknown origin that could derail her entire investigation. And right now that investigation is all that matters in the world to her. She doesn’t have the time or the patience for enemies right now. Not that her needs have ever mattered to the world around her, a world filled with enemies that seem to plague her entire existence. All she wants from the world is to leave her alone to find the answers she needs to unlock Armaeus’ memories. But that’s just not in the cards for her.
This book took us down a very different path than the other Wilde Justice books. And in this journey there is nothing but trouble for Sara. I believe this may have been the hardest one for Jenn to write because so many emotions are tied up in it. I must have experienced more anxiety reading this new adventure than I have ever experienced in any other book in the series. The issues going on with the Council are very real and very dangerous with Armaeus out of commission. And Sara needs to find out what memories Armaeus jettisoned when he intentionally lost his memories. Because those memories seem to be very specific. And one of them was Sara. Of all the people he knows, the only one he forgot was Sara. Can you imagine?
I don’t quite know how to express how much I love this series. It gets better with each and every new book to come out. I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be to keep a series so fresh after ten full books in the original series Immortal Vegas moving into the companion series, Wilde Justice that now has four books and counting. Often by this time a series will be getting stale. This is so not the case with these incredible books following Sara Wilde and her crew. Every book brings a new adventure, a new piece of the world Sara is caught up in. And every book keeps us waiting for the next, waiting impatiently, I might add. The characters are so well fleshed out that I wish I could just hang with them for a day or two, just to actually meet these weird and amazing people. And the world she built is so real to me I can’t go to Vegas without looking up over the tops of the hotels, looking for the hidden extension that means a Council member resides there. Every bit of these books have taken on a life of their own, and I’m so thrilled to feel a part of that life.
Jenn Stark is probably my favorite author of all the more well known authors in the Urban Fantasy genre. I will grab her book and start reading no matter what I have to put down to do it. And I will recommend her to anyone who will listen. I hope you are listening now because if you miss her works, you are missing greatness. Am I gushing? Yeah, probably. But this author is worth a gush or two.
Excellently done, as usual, Jenn Stark. Your abilities shouldn’t surprise me anymore, and yet they continually do so. Excellently done, indeed.
I received this book as an ARC, and am giving this review of my own volition and in my own words, as always.
Armaeus is back or is he….. not?
“The Shadow Court” is the fourth installment in the “Wild Justice” Series, featuring Sara Wilde a magical-artifacts hunter, and skilled tarot reader, and the Justice of the Arcana Council based in Las Vegas.
The book follows up seamlessly the events depicted in “The Hallowed Knight”, with Armaeus (The Magician) missing some precious memories and Sara determined to find the trigger to get them all back. Along for the quest we find again the members of the Arcana Council – Simon (The Fool) and Blue (Death) – that were pivotal in the events of “The Hallowed Knight” as well as Armaeus himself and Kreios (The Devil).
Sara is one of the strongest characters ever to be written in urban fantasy, the whole story is heartbreaking yet uplifting at the same time. While dealing with deception and betrayal Sara never loses hope, she keeps on going against all odds, saving the day one fight at a time. During the quest to retrieve Armaeus memories, Sara discovers some unknown dealings of her predecessor as Justice and the deeper workings behind The Library and unearths a long-forgotten enemy: The Shadow Court.
Sara must now fight on all fronts, this time the plate in not just full, but overflowing: Armaeus becomes unpredictable to the point to almost liability; the connected are in more danger than ever after the death of Father Jerome, The Shadow Court proves to be a formidable foe, the Library has some secrets of it own, while Sara’s own powers keep on developing.
Add Brody finally joining the “inner circle” and Nikki as formidable as ever and a wild chase through Paris, Barcelona, London, Germany and finally Las Vegas, and you get a recipe for greatness.
The ending is just beautiful, perfectly fitted to the characters and opens a whole new set of possibilities. And there is also a fine bonus at the very beginning, as we accompany Sara back to her magical artifact hunting roots. Sara Wild meets Lara Croft.
Jenn Stark posses a rare gift for storytelling and keeps on delivering. This is the fourteenth Sara Wild adventure (across two related series) yet the best one until the next …. For the reader every book is a blessing and a curse…. because we are blessed with Jenn Stark’s talent and we are also cursed to keep asking for more… very well-done Ms. Stark
I am biased. I have loved reading about Sara Wilde since the first novella in the Immortal Vegas Series. I have loved this offshoot series since the very first book, and although I’m no fan of cliffhangers, I was immensely satisfied with the resolution – whilst still leaving room for growth – in this particular book. If you haven’t already immersed yourself in Sara Wilde’s world, I highly recommend that you dive in!
Affter 14 books, all crisply and engagingly written, Jenn Stark continues to keep her readers attention. New twists and turns challenge Sara at every turn especially since the Magician’s memory of her and their relationship has been lost. Add to that the re-emergence of the Shadow Court, even more powerful drugs being released and secrets, lots of secrets… I volunteered to received an ARC of this book and recommend it to all Jenn Stark’s fans.
Jenn Stark has done it again! Tons of heat-stopping action within a magical world she has built!
This was another great book on Sara and her role as Justice and how she is changing the Council. I love that she is still the same person even though she is getting so powerful and yet still has such strong emotions. Cannot wait to read more on this series:)
Let’s just start things off shall we. At the end of The Hallowed Knight readers were gobsmacked—at least this reader was—when it turned out that, in defeating the titular Hallowed Knight, Armaeus’ memories were purged, namely all his memories of Sara.
The Shadow Court picks up just a few weeks later and no one is any closer to figuring out why Sara alone is the only thing missing from Armaeus’s memory. What is discovered, however, is the fact that Armaeus has purged his memories twice in the past. But to what end? Was it to keep information from getting into the wrong hands or to protect it? They’ll have to figure it out fast because a group from the past known as The Shadow Court has emerged from, ahem, the shadows and its opposition to The Council may bring about the Council’s downfall. Unfortunately, the key to defeating this new (old) foe is tied up in Armaeus previously lost memories, which makes their retrieval all the more dire.
I was really excited for The Shadow Court because I was ready to dive in on all the ramifications from its predecessor. It definitely doesn’t disappoint.
Jenn Stark balances all the varying story threads really well throughout. Pretty much every little detail connects together in some way forming the bigger picture of what makes up the story of The Shadow Court. Jenn Stark deftly draws clear lines from one thing to the next which makes this read very compelling and fast-paced.
I’ve always loved the mixture of history we get in this series seeing as how many of the characters have been around for quite a while. Most recently, I’ve really enjoyed the history of the Justice of the Arcana Council—a position that Sara Wilde now holds, but which her predecessor left very mysteriously upon her death. We get more glimpses into Justice Strand this time around since one of Armaeus’s memory purges occurred during her residency as Justice, but Jenn Stark is sure to leave some questions for later.
As is the same with The Shadow Court itself. I loved the idea of this secret society—being so at odds with what the Council stands for—being an outlier, kind of running behind the scenes this entire time. Although, their motivations are far from wrapped up by the end of The Shadow Court I look forward to delving into their continuing presence.
The main draw for The Shadow Court is Armaeus and Sara. There’s just no getting around that fact. There’s a lot of relearning that has to occur. As well as this idea that each of our relationships are colored by our own view, by what we bring into the relationship. What Sara sees in her love for The Magician isn’t the same as what he saw in his love for Sara and vice versa. These aren’t things that can be conveyed through words, but through feelings and experiences. There’s a sense of heart-break for what has been lost, but hopefulness for the possibilities.
It’s a risk anytime an author goes somewhere unexpected with their characters, especially so far into a series. But Jenn Stark gambled and won. The Shadow Court opens up a lot of new directions that I’m excited to explore.
Filled with action and danger. Sara fights a new enemy, and Armaeus attempts to recover his memory. Together, they fight an enemy as powerful as the Arcana Council. Sara makes a few surprising discoveries.
I had thought the characters well developed and perhaps in jeopardy of becoming stale; I was wrong. Jenn was able to revitalize the characters and relationships quite handily while penning yet another page turning paranormal tale.
The Magician has forgot Sara but that makes the plot even more intriguing as it was by his own design. A complex and compelling story moving around the world meeting new nemesis’s and unlocking new abilities.
This book takes a strong turn at reestablishing the paranormal nature of the series exposing even more layers of complexity besides the Arcane Council, with new but actually old players, the Shadow Court. This group could tilt the balance sought by the Magician and further the chaos caused by more magic that was released in the world.
Not to mention Sara wants to find out why she is forgotten. Looking forward to the next release in the revitalized series; keep them coming!
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher. This doesn’t affect the content of my review.
Justice Wilde is at it again and this time there’s more at stake. Reeling from the revelation that the Magician has no memory of her, she’s off on another mission. In the midst of this mission lives will be put in danger and the weight of it all will fall on her shoulder. She has no idea who she is fighting against but at least she does have some she knows she can trust. Even as that list grows shorter, people have been put in place and so have clues. This author doesn’t allow you the chance to catch your breath and almost caused me to shed blood in my household, when they kept interrupting me.
This is as usual an exciting, high energy, emotional, suspenseful read and man was it packed full of action. The deception and betrayal was wonderfully played out and the twisted became the normal!! Justice is still figuring out who she is and still has many unanswered questions. The Magician does give a surprisingly accurate accounting which helps us all understand her a little better. Of course that’s after he’s revealed what was forgotten and they have found what was lost. At the end of this book I found myself shouting, “That’s what I’m talking about”. Love the ending which of course is the beginning. The story does end here since it’s done and no it’s not a cliffhanger but that doesn’t mean everything finished and you’ll have to read it to figure that one out.
I’m wild about another Sarah Wilde.
The Shadow Court brings a new element to the series. New characters, new mysteries, new skills are all brought into play.
The Acana Council is always intriguing and dynamic.
The magician has new tricks up his sleeves and missing some old tricks….
I tend to get bored with a long series but that has never happened with Sarah Wilde’s adventures. Jenn Stark writing gets better and better.
I received this book as an ARC, and am giving this review of my own volition and in my own words.
I think my favorite part of the series, both the first and this one, about Sara Wild is that you never know what’s going to happen. You are figuring it out the same way Sara is, and I love that! But this one, this was new for me. My heart ached. The story of Sara and the Magician is deep, intricate, sweet, and wonderful! Seriously loved this story!
I think the only part I didn’t love, was I felt like I walked around a corner and tripped over the end. Genuinely looking forward to the next story!
I received an ARC to review.
i was so glad when this book came out, finished it in a day because after the whopper of an ending with the last book, i had to know what happened!! not everything is tied up and explained, but it’s well on it’s way.. it amazes me how many stories the author comes up with and different ideas each book, none of them are boring and i never find myself skimming through.. i often have to go back and reread a sentence because i’m trying to read what is next to fast, wanting to know what happens, but not wanting the book to end.. this book has the regular characters and a few new baddies, sara is beating everyone and getting beat as well.. she goes after an artifact which kinda is like her old life and the devil is in this one more which is always a good thing =) an easy 5 stars from me and as always can’t wait for the next one!!
If you ever want a book series that leaves you hanging breathlessly for the next book in the series, then this is the book to read. A mix of a Lara Croft meets Dark Phoenix is how I envision the main character, Sara Wilde, and you’ll love every other character just as well, but this one was hard because of certain intimate relations between two fav characters being severed and so the quest begins. Talk about a roller coaster ride! You have to read this book and series to have the full Jenn Stark experience, but it won’t disappoint.
OMG! What a roller-coaster ride of a book, which is something I have come to expect from a Jenn Stark book. The book picks up where the last one: The Hollowed Knight takes off where we see everything literally thrown in the air for Sara Wilde and again she is left to pick up the pieces, whilst helping the Arcana Council keep the peace and her lover, The Magician find out who he is.
This book explodes into action from the first page where we see Sara travelling the globe and secrets coming to light about the previous Justice. On top of that is a rival Council called the Shadow Court and the book follows who and what they are without giving too much away.
As always, Ms. Stark keeps you guessing on what is going to happen and there are times where you just want to give the Magician a slap to help him get over himself. Old faithful like The Devil, Nikki and Brody make a refreshing appearance, but not as much as in previous books as this one is definitely more focused on Sara and the Magician. Sara as always is an intriguing character as she refuses to give up on the Magician but is also fighting the emotions of how she feels now that she has been forgotten.
The book is full of intrigue, suspense and some kick ass scenes featuring Sara when she is literally whooping butt! The words just flow off the page and you feel the magic all around you when you’re reading it. It is a book that you are going to binge read!
This book definitely ends on a cliff-hanger and I would recommend that you read the previous books in this series so that you understand what is going on. But you are going to love those as well…you’re welcome.
ARC received for a fair and honest review.
More of my reviews can be found on my blog: https://thehotmesslibrary.blogspot.com