Radiant Shadows is the fourth book in the Faery Court series by Melissa Marr. It is due to be released April 20, 2010.

Main Characters/POVs:

Ani The central character of the book, Ani is a Halfling. She is the daughter of Gabe, and has recently come to live with the Dark Court as a result of her ability to "feed" off humans, using their negative feelings for sustenance. Up until that time, she lived with Rabbit and Tish, her half-siblings, in Rabbit's tattoo shop. She is 16 years old and known to be a bit of a wild child.

Devlin Devlin was created by Sorcha and Bananach. He is a balance of their opposing forces, and is currently working for Sorcha in Faerie as brother, confidant, and assassin.

Rae Rae is a mystery. She is not a faery or a mortal, or anything Melissa Marr has written about before. Devlin is the only person in the faery world who knows her. If you have theories to share, come join the discussion at Rath & Ruins.

Synopsis:

Hunger for nourishment.
Hunger for touch.
Hunger to belong.

Half-human and half-faery, Ani is driven by her hungers.

Those same appetites also attract powerful enemies and uncertain allies, including Devlin. He was created as an assassin and is brother to the faeries’ coolly logical High Queen and to her chaotic twin, the embodiment of War. Devlin wants to keep Ani safe from his sisters, knowing that if he fails, he will be the instrument of Ani’s death.

Ani isn’t one to be guarded while others fight battles for her, though. She has the courage to protect herself and the ability to alter Devlin’s plans—and his life. The two are drawn together, each with reason to fear the other and to fear for one another. But as they grow closer, a larger threat imperils the whole of Faerie. Will saving the faery realm mean losing each other?

Alluring romance, heart-stopping danger, and sinister intrigue combine in Melissa Marr’s next volume of Melissa Marr’s New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series.

Tour Melissa Marr will be going on a short tour for the release of Radiant Shadows. She'll be visiting these cities:

Richmond, VA
Denver
Kansas City
St Louis
Boston
Cleveland
Philly

Dates to come!

Excerpts:

Both of the following excerpts were taken from Melissa's blog. Follow the links below them to see the original entry.

"When they were in elementary school, Irial had taken them on a series of field trips to different houses of worship. At each place, a man or woman said prayer words over a handful of blades. By the end, the girls had a box of sharp things blessed by representatives of a number of the dominant mortal faiths. Like many of the gifts Irial had given them, the “holy irons” were practical presents. One never knows, Irial had said, and we aren’t the only things that go bump in the night. Ani hated carrying the blessed steel because it was a deterrent to many faeries she’d like to get closer to, but she wasn’t going to take chances. Not now." (ch 16)

Read the original entry here.

"“Stop by for dinner soon, precious one.” Bananach leaned over and cupped Devlin’s cheek with her bloody hand. She straightened. “Hello, my pretty lamb.”

Is he logical enough to sacrifice one mortal to strike Bananach or compassionate enough to save the mortal and plan to confront Bananach later?"

Click here to see the original entry.

Other Information

Courts: The Dark Court. We do not know if other courts play important roles at this time.

Cover: You can view the cover in our galleries. It features Ani with wolves on her arm.

Deaths: There will be two deaths in this book, one in the middle and one near the end that sets the events of the fifth book into motion.

Amazon Page: The Amazon page is live here.