Looking for a great dark fantasy read this summer?

Ever heard of author Erin Kellison? Neither had I, until I clicked on a banner ad and ended up with a copy of her book Shadow Bound on my doorstep…

Shadow Bound is one of those unexpected great reads that you would never see coming. Look at the cover — does that look like the cover of a great book? Unfortunately not… it’s a very nice image, but I don’t think it accurately conveys the theme and intensity of the story. It looks more like… something for a YA Romance. Which this is definitely not.

Here’s the Publisher’s Weekly synopsis:

Kellison’s debut, a blend of suspense and paranormal romance, follows Adam Thorne as he attempts to unravel the mystery of the wraiths, possessed humans who feed on human souls. Desperate to free his brother from possession, Adam follows a flimsy lead to half-Fae Talia O’Brien, a young woman with a newly minted doctorate, a mysterious past, and magical abilities that stop wraiths in their tracks.

As the wraiths pursue Talia, determined to destroy her in retribution for her father daring to love and impregnate a human woman, Adam tries to protect her and understand her powers, and finds himself falling in love. Fast-paced without being frenetic, interesting and entertaining if not particularly challenging, this tale deftly avoids romance cliches while delivering plenty of action.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

And it is! It delivers on all counts. The characters are interesting and multi-dimensional (though it takes awhile to get much from Talia, but I think that’s simply due to the personality of the character), and the plot is fast-paced and action-driven.

I also loved the concept of the wraiths, which seemed like a combination of Dementors from Harry Potter and the wraith from Stargate: Atlantis — very creepy, and truly evil. In a way, it’s very refreshing to see truly evil villains, because as great as it is to have villains with pathos, I think recent paranormal/fantasy has got away from that Truly Bad Villain that readers simply want to see destroyed at all costs.

A word of warning to the sensitive, however — there are two sex scenes in this book, but if you’re not comfortable reading these, it’s very easy to flip the page and get on with the story. Just something I thought worth noting, as I don’t want to scare anyone off the book for the sake of missing such a great story.

I should also mention that Kellison is on Twitter, and seems to love interacting with her readers! If you read the book and enjoy it, pop over there and send her a note.

And one final thing… when you get to the end and think “Oh noooes, a cliffhanger?!?”, never fear! Book two, Shadow Fall releases this month — some places are even putting it out early, so keep your eyes open.