What a ride....

Shadowglass...Erica Hayes

More often than not, I have a tendency, when choosing a new read, to do one of two things. Being a total sucker for a good cover, I usually (just as I'm sure many other people do), touch a book for the first time because...it speaks to me (something along the lines of..."my cover...I know, but just wait until you see what I have in store for you...go on, read me..."). Which is what I did when first spied this little nugget (ironic, given that the squidgy did the same exact thing to Ice)...
The second, well, that is my extremely odd tendency to pick up a second, third, sixth book in a series or set in a "world."
You guessed it...this is in fact not the first book of the Shadowfae Chronicles. Which, I did not find out until exactly four and a half minutes before I began typing. No joke.

Good news...it really didn't effect my reading activity at all...

Little synopsis...
Ice is a waterfairy, and her two best friends (Azure, a beautiful yet insecure airfairy, and Blaze, the firefairy who seems very friendly) live in a world filled with gangsters, vampires, spriggans, and demons. She is thief, who loves pretty sparklies that the trio lifts in order to pay off the local gangsters...The town is "ruled" by Kane, a demon...who, honestly creeped me out. Fairies are not exactly on the top of the food chain. They try to loose themselves at the Court, a night club where vampires, fae...even humans dance, grind, and seek a high amongst other nefarious activities. Indigo, the darkly sexy metalfairy Ice has been crushing on and inviting out for pizza, only seems placate her, and one night, after getting the brush off, Icey finds herself in the lap of Kane...literally. As well as other various...positions. But, Ice can't resist shiny things, and steals a mysterious little mirror (squidgy...I love that word now) from him. And the trouble begins....because that little squidgy isn't as cute and nice as it seems...

To start off, Erica Hayes switches to a few different POV's, from first person Ice, to third person with other varying characters. In all honesty, this made the beginning a little confusing for me at first. It took me a few lines in to figure out where I was, and who I was with. But, it added another dimension to the storytelling once I wrapped my head around it that worked quite well.
The other factor that I loved, at first, was her use of language. It was so rich and descriptive, from the way she used her words to describe each and every sense each character felt to an extreme, yet juxtaposed in feeling. Complete opposite adjectives used, overwhelming in the drug-like frenzy that permeated the beginning of the tale. There were instances I had reread something just to be certain I knew what I had read. A few times, I literally had to put the book down because it felt like the most fabulously scrumptious piece of cake...with every sweet sugary flavor I had ever wanted...in one piece. And my tummy was hurting. I pushed on, knowing I had already invested time in the characters (from Ice being utterly unaware of how appealing and courageous she really was, Blaze's heartbreaking devotion to those he loved...which meant he would do and did just about anything for them, Azure's beauty hiding how she thought people saw her, and Indigo's strong-literally-exterior that hid the tortured soul within). I almost gave up.
Almost...
Then, click, everything fell into place...I don't want to give any spoilers away, so I'll try to be as un-spoily as I can.
And I loved it, and really enjoyed the journey.
What I can say is that I adored how Erica Hayes used language as a second character and plot device...Literally, I felt as if the language had character development. I had to have that overwhelming sensation at first in order to feel how they felt, in their sugar and vodka and who knows what else bliss, burning so bright. It grew as Ice grew, as each fairy and layer unfolded. What at first seemed to be a bunch of party going little fairies in search of the next high to somehow validate their existence, turned into a world (which, about halfway through I finally understood was set in Australia...silly me. That's what I get for not reading the first one, right?) that I definitely want to visit again.
And...talk about steamy, sweaty hotness. Really. I rarely blush, and let's just say I had to put the book down at lunch and take a few deep breaths. Who knows, I may seek out a fairy of my own one day...