JA Clement

On Dark Shores: The Lady by JA Clement is an enthralling page-turner and I adored the book. The marvellous story sucked me in from page one and the way the author weaves her narrative elements together, I believe she may be the literary child of Charles Dickens and Ursula K. le Guin.

In the town of Scarlock, a series of events are unfolding on a course to collide with unforeseen consequences. The thief Nereia and her sister Mary, the moneylender Copeland and his enforcer Blakey, the fence Mickel seem to be headed toward the mysterious forces surrounding the Mother of the Shantari.

Sometimes you find a book that is such a delight to read, you don’t want to pry your eyes away from the page; On Dark Shores: The Lady is such a book. You fall in this world of fantasy from the first word, swept along by a wave of mystery, struggle, fear and appealingly genuine characters. The author serves you a world you can almost smell and taste and hear, where people act from hidden motives, spite, desperation, honour, duty and even cruelty. There is an entrancing spell woven from every fibre, with characters scheming revenge or thievery, manipulating for their own ends, fighting to escape and survive. But still, a certain thread of hope or fate winds a subtle touch through the book to elevate any grim or bleak ambience, giving the plot a radiating spark.

The only bad thing about this novel is that it ended too soon, but as it is the first in a series I can look forward to more. The end left tantalising questions still pending and I’m salivating to read the next instalment. Lucky for me, there was a sneak peek at the next part tucked away at the end of the book.

On Dark Shores: The Lady is one of the best fantasy books I’ve read in a while, and I recommend you beg, borrow or buy this book. You won’t be disappointed.… (plus d'informations)

This book takes place, mostly, in the town of Scarlock. We are drawn into the story with Nereia, a young girl whose main concern is to protect her younger sister from Copeland, the money lender who owns the town. They are trapped but they plan to escape. Meanwhile, far away, the Shantari are looking for 'the lady' who they must guard and protect. A group of adventurers arrive in Scarlock and a merchant, who is watching the events surrounding Nereia unfold with a growing sense of unease, turns out to know them. Strange ghostly figures appear on the beach and we discover that there is more to Blakey, Copeland's tame thug, than meets the eye.

As it is the first of a series there are quite a few threads to establish in a fairly short time. However, despite the need to jump around I did not find it confusing to follow. We mostly stick with Nereia and her sister in this book but their situation is not resolved leaving this reader, at any rate, eagerly anticipating the next installment.

The writing style is seriously accomplished; shades of LeGuin and with a nod to Orczy in places; a splendid and pleasingly bizarre combo. It's a lyrical and thoughtful style but that doesn't slow down the pace of the narrative. It's also very dark in places but not gory, the reader is left to imagine the details in.

The standard of production is excellent, no typos as far as I could see, an appealing cover and a very professional feel.

Any criticisms? Only one. I am likely to be talking complete cobblers here but for some reason I'm under the impression that On Dark Shores is the length Young Adult books are supposed' to be if you ask a publisher or an agent. Writing a debut book that way is, undeniably, a smart move for an author. However, in this case, I think it might have benefited from being a bit longer. Just to give us readers more time to gel with the characters. So, I have to take half a star off for that and give it 4.5 stars. Except that Amazon won't let me do that so I'm going to give it five.

Definitely recommended. An impressive debut and some top notch writing. It isn't the kind of style I usually go for but it drew me in and I really want to read the next one. So, J A Clement. Please hurry up with book 2.… (plus d'informations)

A small town is plunged into oppression single-handedly by a nasty piece of work. A long-ago wealthy child is now forced to live in squalor while trying to raise and protect her younger sister. A drug addict doing all the wrong things for the right reasons.

These are only some of the characters you will encounter when you enter this little town. The main focal point of the town is not known for its beauty, it is known for its short skirts and ample bosoms. This quaint little port town is also being held under the thumb of a tyrant who has no problem sicking his bodyguard on anyone who doesn't or is not able to pay back money loaned out.

Nereia is, unfortunately, this tyrants niece, but if you think that gains her pr her sister, Mary, any type of leniency, you would be way off the mark. Not only does this not help these two sisters, Nereia seems to get treated worse for the relationship. Her uncle is constantly trying to force her to work in the brothel, which she refuses to do. She puts her life at risk every night as a thief to keep her and her sister fed and out of his clutches. But his claws reach farther than she ever thought possible, and death may come to Nereia anyhow, and her pocketbook no heavier for the trouble.

I am anxiously awaiting the next book in this series, I must know what happens next. While I am waiting on the next installment, I would say it was one of my biggest irritants about the book. I felt that we had no closure to anything that was started in this book. While I know this is the first of a series, the readers need some sort of closure on at least one of the plot lines that are going on in this book. Unfortunately, none of the ends were tied up...leaving me to wonder what happened with everything.

What I did love about this book was the many plot lines that were woven in with one another. This is a very complex story being told in a short novella. I am intrigued to see how she will tie up the story to make them all fit, and what else she has in store for us.

The characterization in the book is done beautifully. We hate who we are supposed to hate, and let me tell you, if I ever would get a hold of the one we are supposed to hate in this story, there would definitely be police reports filed. I wanna beat the tarnation outta this man!! So, yes, we hate those we are supposed to hate, and are interested in all of the other characters that have been introduced. For being a shorter book, I would say this was very well done. I have seen longer books that had not been able to accomplish the same thing.

Anyone with a great imagination will be able to vividly bring up the horrific details that are brought up in this book. While this isn't a gruesome book, there are some elements in it that would be noteworthy in a horror flick. All I cam say is...Poor, poor Emma. The great thing about books though, is that you can make the details as clean or R-rated as you would like. Add in the smells, drips, and stains if you wish, or keep it a bit more sterile, but either way, you will still get a picture of the trauma happening.

I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something a bit different than the run-of-the-mill book. This book actually takes me back to my younger years when I read more adventure books. There is no paranormal aspects to it, just all action and some adventure. Pay attention to the details as you go, or the web JA Clement weaves for you may be missing a few strands, and you will need to be aware of them all in order to grasp the concepts.… (plus d'informations)

On Dark Shores is a tale that is just that, dark.
J.A. does a wonderful job in her descriptions of weather and scenery so much that I actually almost shivered.
That should say a lot since it is over a 100 where I live.
She gives such life to her characters that I could see them as real people and found myself even feeling their own emotions, even the most awful of villains!
Her main character in this book is a very headstrong and stubborn girl by the name of Nereia.
She will do anything possible to save her innocent little sister Mary, including swallowing her own pride and giving into the horribly oppressive and viscus Copeland who is in short, the town dictator.
I found this book to be an engaging read.
On Dark Shores is a tale of mystery, intrigue and despair.
The suspenseful ending will leave you with a ray of hope and excitement to get your hands on the second installment.… (plus d'informations)