Perma-Bound from Publisher's Hardcover ©2011 | -- |
Atwater-Rhodes continues her loose Den of Shadows series by bringing back vampire-hunter Sarah Vida, from Shattered Mirror (2001), who has been transformed from hunter to hunted. Her family has declared her dead to them, and her "good" sister Adia has been charged with ending Sarah's immortal life. Taking place in one 24-hour period, the tale offers plenty of vamp action, some romance, a faintly melodramatic tone, and an agreeable twist at the end. Fans of the series will lap it up; other vampire fans will enjoy it, too.
Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)In retaliation for Sarah's transformation (Shattered Mirror), her vampire-hunter family declares war against vampires--including Sarah herself. Her sister faces the difficult choice of disobeying orders or executing Sarah. This installment is best suited for series fans; taking place in twenty-four hours, the fast-paced plot can be difficult to follow and allows for little development of characters or the world's parameters.
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)This sequel to Shattered Mirror (2001) in the Den of Shadows series continues the story of the Vida witch clan and their mortal enemies: vampires. Fans of vampire fiction will find what they crave here, although those who have not read the earlier book also may find abundant confusion, as the author assumes knowledge of the previous book and its complicated structure of relationships and loyalties. This story's heroine, Adianna (Adia) Vida, has taken a solemn oath—at their mother's behest—to kill her younger sister, Sarah, who has become an apparently unrepentant vampire, and now she must rally the clan to pursue Sarah. The posse of witches that agrees to join the hunt turns out to be far from the dedicated and disciplined crowd that the text describes. It falls apart at nearly every point. Sarah, the story's alternate heroine, may not be quite as dead or as evil as her family supposes. Characters from the earlier book also may not be as they seem. What is certain is that devotees of the series will find plenty of vampiric lore and gore. Goth entertainment. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)
School Library Journal (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)Gr 9 Up-This novel picks up where Shattered Mirror (Delacorte, 2001) left off, and it will be difficult to follow the story without having read that book. Sarah Vida has done the unthinkable. Descending from a long line of vampire-hunting witches, she has been raised to destroy the undead. Now she is the thing she once hunteda vampire. Turned by Kristopher, whom she loves, she is convinced that the witch clans are not 100 percent correct in their assessment of vampires. Vampires can choose to coexist among humans and do not have to become the evil, soulless beings that Sarah was taught to believe. Unfortunately, the Vida family matriarch invokes the Rights of Kin, an ancient law calling for Sarah's destruction. Now her family members must hunt her down and eliminate her at any cost. Atwater-Rhodes weaves a fast-paced, action-packed story full of suspense and intrigue, with some clever plot twists and turns. Points of view alternate among the characters, giving them dimension. The strong ending does not tie up all the loose ends, leaving room for a possible sequel. Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)
ALA Booklist (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)
Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
School Library Journal (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)
Saturday, 5:52 a.m.
The ringing in her ears surely was the sound of the world shattering. It was louder than the November air whistling outside as it tore leaves the color of fire and blood from the trees, and louder than the hum of the Chevy's engine as Adianna Vida pressed the gas pedal down further, accelerating past sixty . . . seventy . . .
Pushing eighty miles per hour, she twisted the dial on her satellite radio, turning the music up in the hope that it would drown out every other sound and thought. She wasn't even sure what she was listening to. It didn't matter.
She wondered if this was why Sarah had always been drawn to fast, flashy cars. Adia went for vehicles that drew no particular attention, cars she could get on short lease terms and trade in frequently, and she had always thought it was a little silly when Sarah picked out something that turned heads whenever she drove up.
But that was the way Sarah was.
Adia glanced at her instrument panel and realized the needle had just passed ninety. Where were the cops who were supposed to be patrolling this highway, anyway? Wasn't there anyone out here still serving and protecting?
She flexed her left hand, clenching her jaw to control a wince as she did so. Two of the fingers were broken. They wouldn't wrap around the steering wheel. The arm was still sore from a minor fracture she had received half a week earlier. She would have double-checked that the hastily tied bandage on her arm was still in place, but she didn't think it was a good idea to take her one good hand off the wheel, even to make sure she wasn't bleeding again.
At least the other guy looked worse . . . though that would have been more comforting if the "other guy" hadn't been a large bay window and some kind of ugly garden statue she had hit on her way down.
But it wasn't a complete loss. She had learned what she had needed to learn.
She had learned the last thing she had wanted to learn.
Adianna Vida, now the only child of Dominique Vida, matriarch of the ancient line of witches, wished she were still ignorant. It had taken a hell of a fight, but she had finally, unfortunately, throttled the information out of someone.
"Looks like she's decided to live, witch," a bloodbond had told her, the last word like a curse. "She's staying with Nikolas and Kristopher. Not that you'll find them. They've been hunted for more than a century. They know how to take care of themselves."
Sarah was still alive.
No, not Sarah. The creature who existed now looked like Adia's little sister, but she wasn't a witch anymore; she was a vampire. She had woken at sundown and had hunted. No one had been able to tell Adia who the victim had been, but Sarah's change had been traumatic, which meant the first hunt would have been fierce. She had probably killed.
And then she had decided to live as a vampire.
To continue as a vampire, at least.
Which proved it really wasn't Sarah, right? A daughter of Vida waking to find herself a monster should have ended it at that moment. She should have known that stopping herself then, before the vampiric power twisted her too badly, was the only way she could protect the helpless victims she would inevitably end up hurting in the future. But she hadn't.
Before Adia could learn any more, another bloodbond had leapt forward and sent them both through the window. Adia had wanted to fight at that point but had already found the information she needed, and knew that Dominique would disapprove of her lingering.
Realizing she was approaching her exit, she slowed--probably more abruptly than she should have, but who cared? It was six in the morning on a Saturday, and she hadn't seen another car in nearly half an hour. She was almost home, and when she pulled into the driveway, she would have to be fully under control.
She turned the radio down to barely a whisper, until she could hear the mournful wind again. In front of her mother's house, the trees were already nearly bare, except for a few golden leaves they still managed to cling desperately to. She sympathized; some part of her had been ripped away, as well, when she had let her sister die.
It took her two tries to get the car door open with the damage to her arms. The frigid air that rushed in to replace the warmth in the car was bracing and helped her calm her thoughts. She managed not to limp as she approached the front door.
Her mother was waiting for her in the kitchen, at the antique oak table where Adia had spent countless hours as a child studying ancient Vida laws.
Forty years old, Dominique had been the only child of her father's second wife. She had survived the deaths of her parents, her sister, a niece and a nephew closer to her age than her sister had been, and Sarah and Adia's father, and all Adia had ever seen from her was stoicism and the grim acceptance that a hunter's life was dangerous. Her practical short blond hair had occasional bits of gray and her Vida-blue eyes were perhaps a little more tired, but she still stood as if carrying the weight of the world were simply a task she had to accept.
And at that moment, she wasn't alone.
From the Hardcover edition.
Excerpted from All Just Glass by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
Sarah Vida has given up everything for love. From a legendary family of vampire-hunting witches, Sarah was raised to never trust a vampire, to never let her guard down, and to avoid all tricky attachments of the heart. But now Sarah IS a vampire—changed by the boy she thought she loved. Her family has forsaken her, and Sarah herself is disgusted by her appetite for blood.
Aida Vida is Sarah's older sister, the good, reliable sibling who always does her family proud. But when Aida's mother insists that Sarah be found and killed, Aida is given the one assignment that she may not be able to carry out.
Taking place over just twenty-four hours, ALL JUST GLASS tells the story of a game-changing battle that will forever change the world of the Den of Shadows. And at its center is the story of two sisters who must choose between love and duty. Dark, fully-imagined, and hard to put down, ALL JUST GLASS will thrill Amelia's fans—old and new.