Rating: 
Summary: powerful romantic fantasy
Review: Arkanna killed Shalelle because the High Priestess of the Arizanti Tribe refused to bend to her will. The murderer offers the same deal to Shalelle's daughter Lorienne, who rejects her too. Arkanna informs her prisoner that she sold her to the Prince of the Busae Empire to insure safe passage for the tribe. If the Busae arrive in time Lorienne might live long enough to pleasure her owners.Prince Busae rescues Lorienne, but gives her as a present to ensure the loyalty of his half-brother, the demon trained sorcerer Adrik. As the couple becomes acquainted with one another, they begin to fall in love. However, Adrik knows the anointed time of swapping his life to enable his demon mentor to use his body is upon him. Besides the demands of his teacher, Busae abducts Lorienne. Will Adrik rescue his true love or go along with his demonic induced fate that he has spent a lifetime training to accomplish? THE SHADOW PRINCE is a powerful romantic fantasy inside a vividly described BC setting. The story line is loaded with action from the very until the final confrontation, but the key to this book is the strength of the key characters (villains and heroes) so that readers understand their motives and backgrounds (though Arkanna's role seems short changed). Jan Zimlich provides fans with a deep tale that will appeal to the tastes of the cross genre audience. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: A departure that doesn't seem to work.
Review: Ever since Zimlich's first novel, NOT QUITE PARADISE, I have loved her books. I was really excited about the SHADOW PRINCE because the premise sounded so intruiging and I love Zimlich's writing style. However, I think that this novel is, unfortunately, her worst to date. While book is set during the time of the Median empire, the setting didn't feel ancient at all--it felt like a typical Middle Ages story that could have taken place anywhere in Europe. I had to constantly remind myself of the fact that it WASN'T. Furthermore, the book is simply uninteresting. The main characters hardly talk to one another (sex seems to be the entire basis of their relationship), and neither have any sort of personality, especially the heroine. Then there are the long spans of time Zimlich just skips over, which detracts from the narrative tension, and the EXTREMELY long soliloquies centering around the antics of the Median king, his son, his wife, and his chief commander. I don't think these scenes are necessary to the plot, and even if they were, I wouldn't care--they are BORING! I don't care about these characters or the political things happening in the empire, I care about the relationship between the Lorienne and Adrik. Breaking the flow of the story to insert these subplots seriously detracts from the story itself, especially when the pages could have been better used filling in all those missing gaps of time. While I still liked Zimlich's writing, I think the book was too focused on showing us the Median empire, and even in that endeavor wasn't very successful. Hopefully by the next book she will have the world of her characters more fixed in her mind, as well as the personalities of her characters coming back to the foreground of the story.
Rating:
Summary: A departure that doesn't seem to work.
Review: Ever since Zimlich's first novel, NOT QUITE PARADISE, I have loved her books. I was really excited about the SHADOW PRINCE because the premise sounded so intruiging and I love Zimlich's writing style. However, I think that this novel is, unfortunately, her worst to date. While book is set during the time of the Median empire, the setting didn't feel ancient at all--it felt like a typical Middle Ages story that could have taken place anywhere in Europe. I had to constantly remind myself of the fact that it WASN'T. Furthermore, the book is simply uninteresting. The main characters hardly talk to one another (sex seems to be the entire basis of their relationship), and neither have any sort of personality, especially the heroine. Then there are the long spans of time Zimlich just skips over, which detracts from the narrative tension, and the EXTREMELY long soliloquies centering around the antics of the Median king, his son, his wife, and his chief commander. I don't think these scenes are necessary to the plot, and even if they were, I wouldn't care--they are BORING! I don't care about these characters or the political things happening in the empire, I care about the relationship between the Lorienne and Adrik. Breaking the flow of the story to insert these subplots seriously detracts from the story itself, especially when the pages could have been better used filling in all those missing gaps of time. While I still liked Zimlich's writing, I think the book was too focused on showing us the Median empire, and even in that endeavor wasn't very successful. Hopefully by the next book she will have the world of her characters more fixed in her mind, as well as the personalities of her characters coming back to the foreground of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: A great read!
Review: Fans of Jan Zimlich will love Shadow Prince. Prince Adrik is doomed to become a demon. A more dark and dangerous hero, I can't imagine. Lorriene is the only one who might save him-- but there is a whole cast of villians conspiring against them. This is a fantastic journey through a mystical age of demons and socerers in 500 b.c. I found it darker and more complex that Ms. Zimlich's other novels (however, those are in a different genre.)
Rating: 
Summary: It was basically awful for all the great reviews!
Review: First, this book COULD have been really cool... It started out great with the demon, the girl, the sorcerer, etc. And then it stopped... The plot just didn't develop. For example, there could have been a great plot involving Arkanna, but after the first scene of the book, she isn't heard from again. What about revenge for the heroine? The beginning of the book makes you think the plot is going to go in a certain direction, but the author takes a ninety degree turn the wrong way. Second, I do not understand how the heroine is supposed to be attracted to Adrik when he basically just keeps her around as a slave. First she hates him, then she fears him, and suddenly they are "in love." Adrick had no qualities that helped me see why she loved him. Weak. Third, I also thought there could have been many more interesting examples of his "sorcery". Throughout the whole book, he is called a sorcerer of the first order, but we really don't see very many examples of this and the ones we do see aren't creative. Fourth, I didn't like the the demon character. While I don't think I was supposed to like him persay, it was how he was written and described that I detested. He sort of comes and goes and never really seems to succeed as the evil antagonist in my opinion. He doesn't do anything magical or really scary until the end of the book and one example isn't enough to make me approve of the usage of the character. (Hope that makes sense- it was hard to explain.) In conclusion, I think the author had a good idea , but didn't develop it or even follow through with her original idea. All of the characters were underdeveloped and I couldn't feel much emotion for the romance plot, because it just seemed too far fetched and too sudden. Adrick had no redeeming qualities and the heroine was whiny, submissive, idiotic, and weak. There was no recognizable time setting and the names are so unusual that it made the physical setting seem almost alien. The reader is never really told WHERE the story is taking place. I wouldn't recommend buying this book. The story could have been much better. The author had an unusual idea, but it was poorly executed from the get-go and lacked any real substance. For all of the great reviews I read about it, I was very, very dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: So Wonderful.
Review: I found this book to be very passionate, but more than that, the setting is beautiful. It is a very good story and a joy to read. I place it way up on my list of top reads of late along with Kenyon's Fantasy Lover, and Anything, My Love by Cynthia Simmons. Also enjoyed Beyond Seduction.
Rating: 
Summary: So Much Potential, So Sad That It Was Wasted
Review: I must admit to some confusion, did I even read the same story the others that gave this book 4 stars did??? The story and plot had so much potential and this potential was not lived up too. I feel that the main characters were underdeveloped and lacked depth. They spent too little time together so I was confused as to when they fell in love with each other. I also feel that too much effort was made on Adricks half-brother, his father and his stepmother this took away from the romance I think. There was more fantasy then romance and the "magic" that was alluded to was a bomb. I was really looking forward to reading a "fantasy, magic, romance" since this is a new genre for me I must admit to high hopes. I love to escape into different worlds with the author, in this case I felt forced into her world since it was not an all together pleasant experience to keep forcing myself not to just put the book down and walk away. I am not against reading books that are minus the romance, but when promised a love story it would be nice to read one that keeps me hooked. I hope that this is not a promise of things to come for me and this genre.
Rating:
Summary: So Much Potential, So Sad That It Was Wasted
Review: I must admit to some confusion, did I even read the same story the others that gave this book 4 stars did??? The story and plot had so much potential and this potential was not lived up too. I feel that the main characters were underdeveloped and lacked depth. They spent too little time together so I was confused as to when they fell in love with each other. I also feel that too much effort was made on Adricks half-brother, his father and his stepmother this took away from the romance I think. There was more fantasy then romance and the "magic" that was alluded to was a bomb. I was really looking forward to reading a "fantasy, magic, romance" since this is a new genre for me I must admit to high hopes. I love to escape into different worlds with the author, in this case I felt forced into her world since it was not an all together pleasant experience to keep forcing myself not to just put the book down and walk away. I am not against reading books that are minus the romance, but when promised a love story it would be nice to read one that keeps me hooked. I hope that this is not a promise of things to come for me and this genre.
Rating:
Summary: Zimlich at her best!
Review: In her usual inimitable style, Jan Zimlich has penned a classic tale of anger and betrayal, love and passion. Set in a time all but forgotten except by those deeply in love with history, THE SHADOW PRINCE is almost fairytale like, and Lorienne and Adrik are so real they'll tear at your heartstrings. Tender, poignant love scenes will have you sighing deeply while reaching for your fan, and the occasional sparks of humor will cause you to laugh out loud. Yet through it all, the thread of anxiety at Adrik's fate is deftly woven, keeping the tension tight. As hard as I tried, I just could not see how she could possibly turn this around with a happy ever after ending, and just when I'd about given up hope-- she did it! Simply, realistically, while staying true to the storyline--she did it. I didn't even see it coming. And I cried. This story is a complete departure from Ms. Zimlich's other works. She started out writing Futuristics, and her last story was historical-like in a futuristic setting. As rich and engaging as these other stories are, I'm convinced she's finally found her niche with THE SHADOW PRINCE. Her love of history combines with her story telling ability to perfection. Once you begin reading THE SHADOW PRINCE, you won't want to put it down. I promise.
Rating:
Summary: A Keeper For Me!
Review: In The Shadow Prince, Jan Zimlich has created a setting in which unearthly creatures vie for control of man (and woman) much like the gods and underworld beings of Greek mythology once did. Adrik, the dark, smoldering alpha male hero of The Shadow Prince, is a sorcerer whose life course has been determined from birth. He has been in the keeping of a demon all his life and though he possesses great power, he knows he can never defeat this demon and escape the dark fate that awaits him. Adrienne of the nomadic Arizanti tribe has been left near death on the plains near the Caspian Sea. She is to be the tribute for the safe passage of the tribe--if she lives long enough to be claimed by the Busae prince Burian, Adrik's half brother. Enter conflict. Both men are mesmerized by this lovely, pale woman of the Northern regions. Burian offers Adrienne to his half-brother as a token to ensure the support of Adrik's powerful army in the war against the Lydians. Almost as soon as the offer is made, Burian regrets having made it. Ms. Zimlich takes the reader on a journey through history and weaves a skillful path toward redemption for the ill-fated Adrik. Details are often graphic and in keeping with the historical timeframe which adds depth and substance to what would otherwise be strictly a romance. The book is well developed along both story lines--that of the conflict between Adrik and his demon, and that of the growing romance between him and his Arizanti captive. By careful layering Ms. Zimlich developes these characters and reveals their histories until the reader cannot help but care about their fate. Conflict, both internal and external, keep the reader turning the pages. One can only hope that there will be a sequel.
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