These are intense books. I read the first one a little over a year ago and I remembered that I really enjoyed it, so i was really excited when the author approached me and asked me to be a part of the blog tour for her second book. Stalking Shadows is a really good follow up Lethal Inheritance. I am not crazy about the cover but the story is wonderful! If you feel the same way about the covers as I do, look past it and read this series! It is a really great fantasy series. I called the first one Young Adult, but I think this one is more New Adult, or at the very least YA/NA borderline.

One of the cool things about the Diamond Peaks series is that a central message is focusing on the positive emotions. All of the different kinda of minor and major Rasas, or demons in this book feed on various different negative emotions. Some feed on fear, some on jealousy, and others on arrogance, pride or feelings of superiority. And to defeat them, not only do you need training and to be able to physically kick butt, but you have to be in control of your emotions and focus your positive energy for extra fighting power.

Stalking Shadows picks up where Lethal Inheritance left off, and Ariel and Nick are continuing their way up the mountain to defeat the big honcho demon. I like that each book focuses on a different Major Rasa Demon. This book was Amic- a demon that feed on feelings on arrogance and superiority. He would disguise himself as anyone that he thought you would look down upon, and feel like you were better than them. Some of the people he disguised himself as was pretty clever. But there isn't just one big fight at the end of the story, the whole way up the mountain is a struggle. I love how vast the mountain is. Ariel and Nick run into cities, and towns and each are so different than the last. There are medieval towns and modern cities full of luxuries. It is whatever the people living there want. It makes for a very cool book.

There are multiple points of views in Stalking Shadows. For the most part it is just Ariel and Nick but a couple of chapters were told from Ariel's mom's POV as well. I liked having the different narratives, but I would have preferred them to have been marked so I knew right away who was speaking. It wasn't overly confusing or anything like that but it would have just made it easier since sometimes the view points switched in the middle of a chapter.

Fans of fantasy will really like the Diamond Peak Series. I know I do. It is full of action, adventure, and lots of tentative romance. I love finding out more about this mountain, and I am so rooting on Ariel to kick major demon butt. She is great. She is not infallible but she learns quick and she is so determined. Thats what I love about her. Great Sequel.