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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
I am much too groggy to come up with a clear review. I enjoyed the world building and what the author was trying to do very much, but the writing and lukewarm romance kinda killed things a little for me.
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
THEME: Vampire/Magic/Wraith
RECEIVED: Purchased
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/
REVIEW:
I was ecstatic to win an ARC copy of Shadow Kin from M.J. Scott, I really couldn’t wait to read it! The story was so original and beautifully detailed in this very unique city full of fae, vampires, beast and magic users. I was immediately drawn into this story and couldn’t put it down for a second.
Shadow aka Lily was born from a fae mother, but she was not welcome with open arms. She was known as a “soulless” or a wraith one who can travel through walls and never been seen. She was given to a horrible Blood Lord that raised her to be the most feared assassin and treats her as a pet and slave. But when the Blood Lord orders her till kill Simon a Sunmage, it goes terribly wrong. The Sunmage wants to make a deal with Lily and help set her free from the Blood Lord, but at what cost and can she trust this Sunmage.
No matter how tough and cold Lily was raised, I felt she had such innocence to her. Living and being raised as a slave she’s never really experienced anything besides taking orders and killing. She has to make some hard decisions and decide if she can trust Simon at his word. I enjoyed watching her grow and understand the world outside of where she was trapped and how she truly did want to be free.
Simon is a very powerful Sunmage and someone who devotes himself to help any and all who need it. He’s what I would call a goodie two shoes, always wanting to help even when people don’t ask for it. He has a major soft spot for Lily and I felt that it was a big factor in him wanting to help her. Their chemistry was smoking hot and I loved how neither of them could resist that attraction. Simon was a tough one to figure out, his hot and cold actions some times frustrated me but I loved his devotion to his oath and to the people of the city.
Overall Scott created such an intriguing world and wonderful characters, I loved her creation of a place called Haven, where everyone could come to be safe and be taking care of. Its run by a fae named Bryony who I thought was great and such a tough person you don’t want to mess with. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series and more of Simon and Lily.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is an adult book with some sexual content and violence. Fans of Devon Monks Allie Beckstrom Series and Karen Chances Cassandra Palmer series will be sucked into the world of M.J. Scotts Shadow Kin.
THEME: Vampire/Magic/Wraith
RECEIVED: Purchased
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/
REVIEW:
I was ecstatic to win an ARC copy of Shadow Kin from M.J. Scott, I really couldn’t wait to read it! The story was so original and beautifully detailed in this very unique city full of fae, vampires, beast and magic users. I was immediately drawn into this story and couldn’t put it down for a second.
Shadow aka Lily was born from a fae mother, but she was not welcome with open arms. She was known as a “soulless” or a wraith one who can travel through walls and never been seen. She was given to a horrible Blood Lord that raised her to be the most feared assassin and treats her as a pet and slave. But when the Blood Lord orders her till kill Simon a Sunmage, it goes terribly wrong. The Sunmage wants to make a deal with Lily and help set her free from the Blood Lord, but at what cost and can she trust this Sunmage.
No matter how tough and cold Lily was raised, I felt she had such innocence to her. Living and being raised as a slave she’s never really experienced anything besides taking orders and killing. She has to make some hard decisions and decide if she can trust Simon at his word. I enjoyed watching her grow and understand the world outside of where she was trapped and how she truly did want to be free.
Simon is a very powerful Sunmage and someone who devotes himself to help any and all who need it. He’s what I would call a goodie two shoes, always wanting to help even when people don’t ask for it. He has a major soft spot for Lily and I felt that it was a big factor in him wanting to help her. Their chemistry was smoking hot and I loved how neither of them could resist that attraction. Simon was a tough one to figure out, his hot and cold actions some times frustrated me but I loved his devotion to his oath and to the people of the city.
Overall Scott created such an intriguing world and wonderful characters, I loved her creation of a place called Haven, where everyone could come to be safe and be taking care of. Its run by a fae named Bryony who I thought was great and such a tough person you don’t want to mess with. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series and more of Simon and Lily.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is an adult book with some sexual content and violence. Fans of Devon Monks Allie Beckstrom Series and Karen Chances Cassandra Palmer series will be sucked into the world of M.J. Scotts Shadow Kin.
I really wanted to like this book. It has mages and Templars, which made me think of Dragon Age, and the fae and wraiths, so when I read the description, I was on board.
So, I read the first couple hundred pages in a day and a half, and then I put the book down for three weeks and didn't care at all.
Lily, a wraith who can "shadow" and walk through walls, tries and fails to kill Simon, a sunmage, her life is jeopardized by her vampire master, Lucius blah blah blah, I'm bored even writing this synopsis.
My problem with this book was not the concept, which was interesting enough, with the city divided into factions (Divergent, what?), and the idea of the fragile alliance between the races falling a part, and hey maybe there's going to be a war, but no...this is a romance novel.
Lily, who is this hated wraith (why she or any wraith is hated, who knows?) who can basically assassinate anyone she wants to spends the whole novel groveling at different males' feet. It makes no sense why the chick with the most badass of powers spends the whole book hating herself and being afraid of everyone. As shown later on, all she has to do is turn into a shadow and then she can kick some ass. What's the holdup?
Simon, the supposed male hero of this book is guilty of some major slut-shaming, and plus, he's boring. Let me think back to what made him special...oh right, there's nothing. He's warm like the sun or some shit.
The "climax" of the story, ugh. A case where the woman is bait and the big strong man comes in to save the day and do the real killing...no. The cure for the horribly afflicted vampire blood addicted? Ah, thank goodness for the deus ex machine that is explained with literally one sentence, with vague references to a random magic structure that we have never heard of before, but thankfully the cure is aligned with the goal of the two main characters.
How about a female character who kicks ass and doesn't have to apologize for it or hate herself?
How about having a book where a woman can seek sex for whatever reason she wants and not have to be shamed in front of others or feel ashamed of herself?
I would have just settled for all the women in this book not being bitchy to one another, but nope.
So, I read the first couple hundred pages in a day and a half, and then I put the book down for three weeks and didn't care at all.
Lily, a wraith who can "shadow" and walk through walls, tries and fails to kill Simon, a sunmage, her life is jeopardized by her vampire master, Lucius blah blah blah, I'm bored even writing this synopsis.
My problem with this book was not the concept, which was interesting enough, with the city divided into factions (Divergent, what?), and the idea of the fragile alliance between the races falling a part, and hey maybe there's going to be a war, but no...this is a romance novel.
Lily, who is this hated wraith (why she or any wraith is hated, who knows?) who can basically assassinate anyone she wants to spends the whole novel groveling at different males' feet. It makes no sense why the chick with the most badass of powers spends the whole book hating herself and being afraid of everyone. As shown later on, all she has to do is turn into a shadow and then she can kick some ass. What's the holdup?
Simon, the supposed male hero of this book is guilty of some major slut-shaming, and plus, he's boring. Let me think back to what made him special...oh right, there's nothing. He's warm like the sun or some shit.
The "climax" of the story, ugh. A case where the woman is bait and the big strong man comes in to save the day and do the real killing...no. The cure for the horribly afflicted vampire blood addicted? Ah, thank goodness for the deus ex machine that is explained with literally one sentence, with vague references to a random magic structure that we have never heard of before, but thankfully the cure is aligned with the goal of the two main characters.
How about a female character who kicks ass and doesn't have to apologize for it or hate herself?
How about having a book where a woman can seek sex for whatever reason she wants and not have to be shamed in front of others or feel ashamed of herself?
I would have just settled for all the women in this book not being bitchy to one another, but nope.
I was reading this in hopes it would be a good book club book... but while it was pretty interesting, I just don't see this being a good choice for our group. Maybe when I have more free time, I'll pick this up again.
I liked it. This story had a really promising start. I really liked the way Lily and Simon are introduced to one another. (LOL) The first chapter is great in capturing one's interest. But then, things became a little dull, mainly because i think that the author wanted to give us an insight of the real dinamic between Lily, "The shadow" and her "master" Lucius. She's nothing more than a possession. A weapon, his assassin, that exists only to do as he bids. She's truly in his hands, like a slave. Lily is considered as an abomination, because she is a Wraith, she can "shadow", meaning she can blend with darkness, turning herself invisible, transforming herself into the perfect weapon. She is the daughter of a fae mother, and father incognito, who was sold to Lucius. Since no one wanted her.
Then there's Simon, who starts out like a really sweet character. He is a sunmage. A healer, who is determined to rescue Lily from her fate. Yes, very idealistic, with traits of knight in shining armor....very exasperating to Lily, who keeps telling him, that she'll have to ask his brother, who is a warrior, and a Templar, if Simon kept falling on his head while in childhood.....while that would explain certain things, Simon, does have a reason for being the way he is.
What we see throughout the story is how Simon really starts to get under her skin. How he starts seeing in her, someone that she never thought could exist. So although the middle of the story was a little slow, the writing is very fluid, so i ended up reading it almost in a single beat. Thankfully, as one approaches the end, things started improving once more. So, i will be sure to read the next one. For me, this one would be a solid 3,5.
Then there's Simon, who starts out like a really sweet character. He is a sunmage. A healer, who is determined to rescue Lily from her fate. Yes, very idealistic, with traits of knight in shining armor....very exasperating to Lily, who keeps telling him, that she'll have to ask his brother, who is a warrior, and a Templar, if Simon kept falling on his head while in childhood.....while that would explain certain things, Simon, does have a reason for being the way he is.
What we see throughout the story is how Simon really starts to get under her skin. How he starts seeing in her, someone that she never thought could exist. So although the middle of the story was a little slow, the writing is very fluid, so i ended up reading it almost in a single beat. Thankfully, as one approaches the end, things started improving once more. So, i will be sure to read the next one. For me, this one would be a solid 3,5.
My name. This time my eyes prickled rather than my neck. Lucius calls me “my shadow.” The Fae call me “soulless” when they deign to acknowledge my presence. The Blood and the Beast Kind mostly don’t use my name at all. No one had asked my name in a very long time.
Shadow Kin jumps right into the action, much the same way Graceling does. Shadow/Lily is sent to kill someone by her master, Lucius. Shadow is used to easy kills. She was not expecting a fight from her intended victim. She was not expecting Simon the Sunmage.
The beginning certainly has some fantastic action scenes, plenty of great fighting and several chase scenes. We meet the sinister Lucius (doesn’t that name just have that fantastically sinister “ssss” sound?) and his cruel treatment of Shadow/Lily.
There’s a trick to surviving a beating. You have to find the rhythm of it, so you can anticipate and send your mind away from the pain at the right time. But I couldn’t do that. Lucius is a master at keeping you on edge and present for every second. That way, every hurt inflicted makes its intended point.
I was really excited about reading this because it was a lot like Graceling but darker and edgier. The City is constantly on the cusp of war between the Fae, Beast, Blood and humans and humans certainly have the short end of the stick.
But after the initial action, the book sloooooows dooooown to a veeeerrry gentle snail pace. Lily wants to help the humans. Lily wants to return to Lucius. Lily wants to testify against Lucius. Lily wants to return to Lucius. Simon has secrets. Lily wants to make sexytimes with Simon. Lily has secrets. Lily wants to run away from The City. Simon still has secrets. Lily wants to return to Lucius. Lily makes sexytimes with Simon. Lily should probably testify against Lucius. Oh to hell with it all, life is too hard! Lily will go back to Lucius.
“If I stay here, there’ll be consequences. People might die. That’s not a good choice.”
“No one ever said redemption was easy. People will die if you return to Lucius, won’t they?”
But maybe not me. And that was exactly the kind of thought that made me a less than perfect candidate for redemption of any kind.
I really tried to identify with Lily but it was a struggle. For starters, I would really rather her name was Shadow. Shadow seems much more interesting a name for a wraith than Lily. But Lily, even by the end of the novel, is still really out for herself. I know she wants to have her own life, and that’s great. She possibly wants to have a life with Simon. But she always wants to take the easier option. Yes, this might make her more human, more average, but I didn’t want her to be average. I found her a very lacklustre character, and Simon wasn’t much better.
I also found that the concept of “the need” dragged on for far too long. There was a lot of hinting before we finally got the big reveal and I felt that it took up a lot of storytime that could have been better devoted elsewhere.
The ending of the novel does pick up again, but it was a little too late to really save the book. The final fight seemed almost too easy after all the build up and angst. The book does have a HEA but I didn’t find it very satisfying. The ending is again, a lot like Graceling in that it’s an ambiguous sort of HEA, there are plans for the future but we don’t get to see it eventuate.
What I had originally thought was going to be a Graceling 2.0, with some darker, edgier moments and a more mature sounding voice ended up being a rather poor imitation.
Shadow Kin jumps right into the action, much the same way Graceling does. Shadow/Lily is sent to kill someone by her master, Lucius. Shadow is used to easy kills. She was not expecting a fight from her intended victim. She was not expecting Simon the Sunmage.
The beginning certainly has some fantastic action scenes, plenty of great fighting and several chase scenes. We meet the sinister Lucius (doesn’t that name just have that fantastically sinister “ssss” sound?) and his cruel treatment of Shadow/Lily.
There’s a trick to surviving a beating. You have to find the rhythm of it, so you can anticipate and send your mind away from the pain at the right time. But I couldn’t do that. Lucius is a master at keeping you on edge and present for every second. That way, every hurt inflicted makes its intended point.
I was really excited about reading this because it was a lot like Graceling but darker and edgier. The City is constantly on the cusp of war between the Fae, Beast, Blood and humans and humans certainly have the short end of the stick.
But after the initial action, the book sloooooows dooooown to a veeeerrry gentle snail pace. Lily wants to help the humans. Lily wants to return to Lucius. Lily wants to testify against Lucius. Lily wants to return to Lucius. Simon has secrets. Lily wants to make sexytimes with Simon. Lily has secrets. Lily wants to run away from The City. Simon still has secrets. Lily wants to return to Lucius. Lily makes sexytimes with Simon. Lily should probably testify against Lucius. Oh to hell with it all, life is too hard! Lily will go back to Lucius.
“If I stay here, there’ll be consequences. People might die. That’s not a good choice.”
“No one ever said redemption was easy. People will die if you return to Lucius, won’t they?”
But maybe not me. And that was exactly the kind of thought that made me a less than perfect candidate for redemption of any kind.
I really tried to identify with Lily but it was a struggle. For starters, I would really rather her name was Shadow. Shadow seems much more interesting a name for a wraith than Lily. But Lily, even by the end of the novel, is still really out for herself. I know she wants to have her own life, and that’s great. She possibly wants to have a life with Simon. But she always wants to take the easier option. Yes, this might make her more human, more average, but I didn’t want her to be average. I found her a very lacklustre character, and Simon wasn’t much better.
I also found that the concept of “the need” dragged on for far too long. There was a lot of hinting before we finally got the big reveal and I felt that it took up a lot of storytime that could have been better devoted elsewhere.
The ending of the novel does pick up again, but it was a little too late to really save the book. The final fight seemed almost too easy after all the build up and angst. The book does have a HEA but I didn’t find it very satisfying. The ending is again, a lot like Graceling in that it’s an ambiguous sort of HEA, there are plans for the future but we don’t get to see it eventuate.
What I had originally thought was going to be a Graceling 2.0, with some darker, edgier moments and a more mature sounding voice ended up being a rather poor imitation.