An excellent entry to the long running best-selling IAD series. The abrupt departure from the regular Valkyrie, Lykaes, Horde and rage demons, created a lot more room for Kresley Cole's imagination to run free. Here we were introduced to a whole new realm, demon-sorceri halfling Bettina and Dacian Prince of Shadows. 
 I really enjoyed reading about Bettina the halfling, a rare treat after the fantastic first entry on Emma. Considering how all the characters featured her books were royalty/leader of their specie and involved in cross-species relationships, you would think halflings would be a more common phenomenon. 
 The main story revolves around a supernatural tournament to win Bettina's hand, a style that harkens to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Although I was pretty certain Caspion and Trehan would be the last remaining pair of contestants the moment Trehan entered the competition, how they got there was definitely a fun and enjoyable ride. 
 Once again, Kresley Cole has created two interesting, deep characters that shares amazing chemistry. Shadow's Claim was a return to finesse most recently found in Dreams of A Dark Warrior, and a definite improvement from the *bleep (Lothaire) that was best left forgotten.