The Last Descendant

The Last Descendant - Megan Haskell Rie is a changeling - a human adopted by elven parents, though she enjoys little of the culture she's a part of. That's because humans are lower than low in the Upper Realm. So when her courier duty is interrupted by an assassination, it seems her only option is to travel to the Shadow Realm to find out who is behind the attempt on her life if she has any hope of saving it.

The action in this is great. Rie is strong and powerful, but thinks little of herself (though not so little as to be annoying, most of the time). She makes friends with a vampire (blood sidhe) and the half-blood dark prince along the way, and they help her navigate the shadow realm.

I do, however, have one complaint. The vampire is a compelling character until the dark prince takes over, and suddenly the vampire's role is a little less secure, and ultimately a bit baffling. And though promising to help her fit in, you never see him teach her how to accomplish that (and really, besides her wardrobe, there's little that changes about how she behaves in order to fit in).

But overall, a thoroughly enjoyable tale, and one I hope to follow through the series as time and means allow me.