Book Review: C. L. Wilson's Romantic Fantasy "Lady of Light and Shadows"

I received, C. L. Wilson's book, Lady of Light and Shadows, as a Christmas present and had picked it up and set it back down many times without opening it. Being more of a Robert Jordan or Tad Williams kind of girl I was having trouble opening a book with a cover that has an ethereal appearance more commonly found on romantic fluff than fantasy epics.

As things go I ran out of books to read and almost grudgingly picked up Lady of Light and Shadows one night to help bring on sleep before bed. Imagine my surprise, coupled with more than a little chagrin, when two hours later I found myself enthralled by the storyline and engaging writing style of C. L. Wilson.

Lady of Light and Shadows has all the elements of a classic fantasy tale, from the Fey folk, which seem to be Elf-like though Elves themselves were a different race from the Fey in the book and little spoken of, to magic to dragon-like creatures called tairen.

The story could be boiled down into magical Prince Charming meets woodcarver's daughter and she becomes Queen with her own magic all with a battle against Evil, but it is actually so much more that makes this plot unique in its own right. Prince Charming is actually Rain, the Tairen Soul and King of the Fey, who can actually turn into a tairen. He is betrothed to Ellysetta, the woodcarvers adopted daughter whose parentage isn't even made entirely clear at the end of the book. She seems to be the daughter of two Fey held captive by the High Mage of the Eld, the Evil in the storyline, but these two Fey are not talked about by the other Fey and is one of the unanswered questions left at the end of the book.

The cover of the book does not deny what can be found inside its pages. Though the chastity of the peasant turned princess is not in danger before her marriage, the girl and her Prince Charming spend plenty of time getting to know each other's bodies through "spirit weaves", giving plenty of credit to the romantic innuendo implied on the front cover.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the romance did not take away from the action and plot that led you through the book, but added to it in a way that made you root for Prince Charming and his princess even more.

Though Evil is beaten back, but not destroyed, in the end, Ellysetta and Rain begin their journey back to the Fading Lands, and the most important question of whether the two will marry, is answered, C. L. Wilson leaves just enough unanswered to have readers, including me, eagerly awaiting the sequels.