Thief with No Shadow

Thief with No Shadow by Emily Gee

Melke is a wraith, born with the ability to turn invisible. Wraiths are reviled, thought to be thieves and deceivers. Melke has always hidden her powers and avoided using them. But then her brother is captured by fire salamanders, cruel, magical creatures, who are not fooled by her powers. They want a necklace in return for her brother. This necklace is hidden away on a nearby farm. Using her powers, Melke slips into the house and steals the necklace, little guessing what ramifications that act will have.

The necklace is the key to breaking a curse on the sal Vere family. Bastian sal Vere hoped to use the recently recovered necklace to save his sister's life and restore his family fortunes. Bastian has a magical ability of his own, the power to speak with animals. With the help of his dog, Endal, he tracks Melke to the salamander's lair. Too late to prevent the salamanders from claiming the necklace, he demands that Melke retrieve it from them before the next equinox when his sister's life is forfiet. In return, he will save her injured brother's life (the salmanders didn't promise to return him unharmed). Melke agrees, although she has no idea how to accomplish the task.

This stand-alone novel presents an interesting world and characters. Melke and Bastian are equally proud and desparate. In Bastian, that combination sometimes results in cruelty and blindness. In Melke, it more often turns inward, cutting her off from others and provoking her into rash actions. The tension between these two characters propels the story along. Bastian's sister, Liana, and Melke's brother, Hantje, are nice foils for the sharp-edged protaganists. In a genre rife with never-ending series and complex world-building, this dark, romantic fantasy is refreshingly straightforward and simple. Fans of Anne Bishop, Maria Snyder or Ann Aguirre might enjoy this tale.