Born of Shadows (The League) [Import] [マスマーケット]

The latest installment in Sherrilyn Kenyon's The League series is definitely a mixed bag. Let me start with what I liked about it. Caillen's story takes us back to the original cast of characters featured in Born of Night and Born of Fire. We had jumped ahead in time for a while to focus on the next generation of the core families for Born of Ice. But this story is set only 2-3 years after the events in Born of Fire. I'm happy about this. I thought there were plenty of great characters in the original group still waiting to be explored, and now Kenyon is giving me just what I was hoping for.

Caillen is a rouge smuggler who is also a charming rake. He bears no loyalty to any woman but his sisters. And he lives life by the seat of his pants. As our story begins, he is arrested and sentenced to death while taking the blame for something his sister did. Just before he is executed, it's revealed he is actually the long lost son of a foreign king. Caillen isn't really cut out for life as a prince, but he is giving it his best shot, in honor of his new father. It's during a sort-of international summit that he meets Desideria, a princess from a race of warrior women. When the two of them get framed for the murders of their own parents, they go on the run, while trying to solve the mystery of who set the terrible plan in motion.

It's hard not to like Caillen, though he didn't inspire terribly deep feelings. Obviously, he and Desideria fall for each other as they are drawn together by circumstance. But this book is seriously missing the dark and sexy vibe of my favorite Kenyon books. In fact, if memory serves, I think there is only one love scene in the entire book. (Come on! Play to your strengths, Ms Kenyon!) But honestly, this isn't even my biggest complaint. My biggest issue with the book is the plot surrounding the assassinations. The closer we got to the end of the book, the more convoluted it became. Every time I thought we finally understood what was going on, a different twist was revealed. Now, I love a good twist as much as the next person, but I think I've got whiplash. It got confusing.

It was great to see Syn, Sharhara, Nykyrian, Hauk and Darling again. But this brings me to another point.... The epilogue is set up to clearly pave the way for Darling's book, when Desideria asks Caillen, "Are you sure Darling is gay?... Because I caught him ogling a female secretary." Um. No. Way. I am highly disappointed by the idea of revisionist history for Darling, who has always been as gay as the day is long. So gay that he was beaten to a pulp over it, time and time again by his uncle in previous books. And now we're supposed to believe, what? He was faking it? He is bi? But he never told the friends he has trusted with life and death secrets? Again I say: No Way.

So when all was said and done, this book was ok. I would have liked a bit more sex and a less complicated resolution, but I'm glad we've returned to this time period. Now if only I could get that Nero book I've been wishing for. 3 1/2 stars

Each day is a fight for survival for Caillen Dagan. All too familiar with the taste of betrayal, Caillen risks his life for one of the few people he cares for. This leads to the unveiling of privileged birthright but no title or wealth can change who he really is. Caillen is a skilled fighter and when he learns of a deadly plot, nothing will stop him from uncovering the truth. Desideria Denaraii is from a race where women are warriors and nothing is given freely but earned. After recently receiving the position as a body guard to the queen, Desideria attempts to stop a murderous plan. When chaos hits, Caillen and Desideria must run to save their lives and learn to fight their enemies and not each other before both of their governments fall into the wrong hands.

Ever since he was young, Caillen looked out for his three sisters. They are a source of constant headaches but there is nothing he wouldn't do for them. After taking the blame for his sister's latest brush with the law, Caillen finds himself in jail and awaiting execution. He receives a last minute reprieve and is given unbelievable news. A couple months later Caillen is taking etiquette lessons and getting reacquainted with a world he never knew he was a part of. But he is not suddenly a different person. Ever the wise cracking, philandering, calculating fighter, Caillen does not give into demands to change or apologizes but sticks proudly to who he is and I was grateful for his stubbornness. This is what makes him one of my favorite characters in a series full of well developed, unconventional heroes.

When he learns of an attempt on his King, Caillen boards a ship of foreign dignitaries to stop the assassination and find the guilty party. There he meets Desideria. Desideria is from a society dominated by women and where emotions are considered a weakness and violence is a every day part of life. Desideria is aboard the ship as a guard for the queen and stumbles upon a plot to kill her ruler. Events take place that now have Caillen and Desideria working together to not only save their own lives but those of their leaders.

When I started this book I didn't think I'd care much for Desideria's character because I was expecting a woman who felt it necessary to constantly use violence as a means to get what she wants or prove she's stronger. Desideria is a skilled warrior like others of her kind but she's not cold and void of emotions. At times she was naive due to her kinds isolation and I saw it as a way to get a better picture of her people and their beliefs. Desideria was an appealing character from the start and my only complaint is in the irregularity of her fighting skills. At times she was feared and unmatched and then there would be moments I felt her strength was lacking. Together these two are a nice pair but nothing remarkable. I felt the affection and I thought they had nice chemistry but nothing occurred between them that will have me listing them as one of my favorite couples.

There is a lot of action in Born of Shadows as well as mystery surrounding the assassination attempts. I tried to guess the who and why but ended up being wrong, which was great because the story kept me guessing and wasn't completely predictable. There are some close calls for Caillen and Desideria that had me on the edge and of course, romance. I found myself more interested in the story and all its twists and turns, as well as the individual characters more than the actual romance. Returning characters from previous books, the Dagan sisters, Sin, Darling and Dancer are just a few, added a comforting familiarity to the story and it was great to reconnect with them while still feeling like this was Caillen's book. Born of Shadows is not as good as the first 2 books in The League series but I thought it was an improvement over Born of Ice and its odd time jump. Fans of Sci-Fi romance should enjoy.

I have deep respect for Ms. Kenyon's books. I consider Born of Fire, Born of Ice and Acheron to be masterpieces, because they're extremely well written and very imaginative and gritty. Indeed, I consider myself a minion of her brilliant universe, which is why I'm sad to say that Born of Shadows was a mediocre effort on her part at best.

I just couldn't be bothered enough to care about the main characters and there was no adrenaline rush as when I read some of her other books, where you can't wait to see what happens or happened to the characters. It was just an ok read on a rainy day and given that Ms. Kenyon has given us some amazing books, this is not a good thing. I hope the subsequent books in this series will be better.