The Shadow Queen/Anne Bishop

The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop; fantasy, romance; 448 pages

I gave this one a quick re-read this weekend before digging into the sequel, which I'm starting next. Bishop's writing is unique in that most of her books blend romance with dark fantasy that borders on horror. It's a strange combination, but one that works well. The latter element was less evident in this volume; most of the story is focused on the googly-eyed romance between a young queen trying to establish her authority, and one of the men in her household. I have a feeling that there will be more plot and fewer longing glances in the second volume (at least I hope so). This book is a bit of a guilty pleasure, but Bishop's writing is light enough to make this a very quick read.