Reign of Shadows

Gr 7 Up—Luna, an orphaned princess, has been living in a tower with her rescuers since they saved her from an assassin on the day she was born. On that day, her kingdom and all its neighbors were plunged into seemingly eternal darkness thanks to a lunar eclipse. What's worse, enormous flesh-eating creatures (called "Dwellers") came scuttling out of the ground as the endless night fell hard on the land. Now, 17 years after the eclipse, Luna happens to rescue a rugged survivor named Fowler, who agrees to travel with the princess to a fabled island free of Dwellers. What begins as a fast-paced adventure quickly gets bogged down in the quagmire of Luna and Fowler tromping through the forest, fighting with each other, avoiding getting killed, and resisting the urge to fall in love. Luna, who is blind, has heightened senses and has been trained to fight, yet she falls into the damsel-in-distress role much too readily. There are some moments of true suspense, but Luna's characterization is inconsistent. The cliff-hanger ending guarantees more books to come, though readers might not feel compelled to stick around.