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Shadow Chase is an urban fantasy novel written by Seressia Glass. While this book follows the events of Shadow Blade in the author’s series, I felt the story — which dives deep into Egyptian mythology — stands on its own.

Glass writes believable characters that we can all relate to by focusing on their internal struggles. I really liked reading about the emotional impact of the “things gone wrong.” When someone dies? We feel it. When Kira, the main character, makes a mistake? We experience her guilt. By focusing on what makes these characters human, in spite of their supernatural powers, I feel the author takes some risks because we don’t always see the “cost” of magic in our world. However, these risks are what makes the story and its characters more believable, because those emotions help us identify with them — regardless of their ethnic or cultural background.

Kira Solomon is a Shadowchaser. Although she’s human, she serves the Light and dispatches the Fallen. Although a lot of the worldbuilding was inspired by Egyptian mythology, the battle between good and evil takes center stage. In this way, the backdrop has somewhat of a universal appeal, for there are elements of Christianity in it as well as other cultural myths. This story explores Kira’s guilt for having spilt innocent blood and her love for a tragic, four-thousand year old warrior named Khefar.

In Shadow Chase, Kira must fulfill the wishes of Ma’at, the goddess of Truth and Order. With the help of her allies, she must return a mysterious and magical artifact called the Vessel of Nun. To do that, the characters travel from Atlanta to London to a strange and dangerous dimension — and back again.

The story’s pace is not non-stop action and is tightly controlled by the characters and their emotions. As a new reader to the series, I really enjoyed the way Glass balanced the romantic tension, internal struggles, and action in this book. I had a little chuckle at the personification of Nansee; as a “student” of Egyptian mythology I was happy to see an author’s take on Anansi, the trickster god who often appears as a spider.

Two parts urban fantasy, one part paranormal romance, Shadow Chase is perfect for new readers who want to read deep characterization and something a little different. For existing readers, I can see how the book might be slow to start, for there’s a heavy-handed emphasis on the “cost” of the events of book one. For myself? I really enjoyed Shadow Chase and I’ll be watching for other books by Seressia Glass.

Review by Monica Valentinelli