Ecstasy (Shadowdwellers)

by Jacquelyn Frank

Book Overview

At one with the darkness, the mysterious Shadowdwellers must live as far from light-loving humans as possible in order to survive. Yet one damaged human woman will tempt the man behind the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821780700
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Zebra
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.7" x 0.9" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

great book

I really enjoyed this book. I have read all of Ms Frank's books and each one is complete. this one is about the shadowdellers- who are introduced in her earlier books. they live in the shadows - they help the other nightwalkers and prove that they are allies. I am really looking forward to the rest of the series If you have read the other nightwalker books you will love this one.

Hot, sexy, suspenseful romance...Ecstasy exceeded my expectations!

Ecstasy has jumped into my top tier of favorites. The characters were wonderful - and Ms. Frank infused much more suspense into this storyline than her previous books. Her Nightwalker series was phenomenal, but I'm blown away by the potential in this new Shadowdweller series. Trace is a strong male lead who I fell in love with in this story about a race that exists in the shadow - even the merest hint of light is damaging to them. I found her creations of the different "scapes" or planes of existance very well thought out and I was pulled into her new world. He meets Ashla in Shadowscape - a realm without light. Ashla was a sweet lead female, and although a little softer than I usually prefer, she had a streak of strength running through her that became more obvious as she developed in the story. The passion was stronger and hotter than in Ms. Frank's previous books. I'm looking forward to discovering who is behind the treachery in the shadowdweller world and look forward to seeing more of the characters develop as the series evolves. And I'm anxious to discover where the threat is coming from in the series...I really enjoyed the suspense infused into Ecstasy's storyline. I loved the books in the "Nightwalker" series, but based on the start of this new series, the "Shadowdwellers" might eclipse her original series.

I really liked it

I've read most of her books and this one follows the formula for all the others. But I really, really like the world (formula) she has created so I totally enjoyed it.

Amazing world building with intriguing characters

This book is not a continuation of Jacquelyn Frank's nightwalker books. Gideon makes a guest appearance; however other nightwalker races (demons, vamps ect) are only mentioned in passing. Frank's writing style has improved immensely; there are subtle nuances and imagery that makes this book much much more than run of the mill cotton candy paranormals that are out there. The shadow dwellers are a race that lives in two mirror dimensions. The "realscape" where they interact with mortal humans under the constant fear of being burned by any type of light and the "shadowscape" where they can interact with the same world without fear of light or mortals however there are consequences of staying too long in this ideal dimension. We are introduced to this culture after they have experienced a bitter civil war in which our heroes fought to form a stable form of government. There are tensions between church and state, political intrigues, assassinations, and every once in a while horrors of the war are remembered. The book is about a top government advisor who is healed after an assassination attempt by a shy human woman who has been stuck in shadowscape ever since being in a fatal car accident. As he fights to save his people, she fights to understand an entire new world and way of life and together they find that love can save anyone.

4.5 stars - Hidden in the Shadows, Enter Frank's Fascinating New World

Shadowdweller Trace, warrior and advisor to the leaders of his people, uncovers a plot which threatens the stability of the government which has finally pulled his people together after years of civil war. Pursuing one of the conspirators into Shadowscape, an empty world of endless night just a step outside of the Realscape of our world, Trace kills the enemy but receives mortal wounds in the process. Ashla has been wandering through the dark and lifeless alternate New York for months, with no understanding of how she came to be there, until she comes across the battling warriors. As one of the Lost, Ashla should not be able to sense either Shadowdweller, normally spirits of comatose humans like hers are unaware and unable to interact with `Dwellers. Fortunately for Trace this is not the case with Ashla, the fragile golden angel, and she heals the dying dark stranger with her touch, using a gift that has marked her as an abomination in the eyes of her own family. The act of saving Trace's life establishes a sacred soul bond beween Trace and Ashla, though it's not immediately clear how their relationship can work when Ashla is only a 'ghost'. In 'Ecstasy' Frank ups the sensuality level of her writing while exploring this darkest corner of her Nightwalker world leaving the familiar Demons, Lycanthropes and Vampires of the Nightwalker world behind - except for a brief cameo from one of her former stars. Here we enter the shadowy darkness that is home to the Shadowdwellers. Those of the `Dweller race find pain in even the barest bits of light. Though Shadowscape, and its absence of light, would seem to be the perfect home for the `Dwellers, they can only spend short periods there before succumbing to a euphoric madness. So they have instead learned to cultivate a world of darkness within the hostile environment of the Realscape of our world migrating yearly to the darker hemispheres and living in cities beneath the Earth. Despite the apparent differences between fragile self-sacrificing Ashla and strong honorable intelligent Trace, they both have emotional scars. Trace's brutalization at the hands of an evil woman has meant that he has not touched or desired the touch of a woman for 12 years and the abuse that Ashla suffered at the hands of her family has left her disconnected and insecure. The initial consummation between Ashla and Trace explodes off the pages as Trace's control is lost to an all consuming mindless lust when the euphoria takes hold of him, erasing all the care for a partner that is so important in his culture and immersing him in a selfish desperation. Ashla accepts his overwhelming sensual assault even as she senses the pain and regret that is buried beneath Trace's madness. Ultimately her surrender here is just what Trace needs to overcome the horror of his past, and his later honor and patience will be just what she needs to regain her own personal power. I really enjoyed Ecstasy even though it didn't manage to becom