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julieabe89's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have been reading McQueen (yes the name on the cover is different but I want to use her legal name out of respect for her desire to use her born name) for over a decade now. I never get tired of sitting down and enjoying a story of hers. You always know no matter how dark things get, how tortured the hero, how dead everyone seems, in the end the couple will be together. It's a great comfort in these uncertain times.
kkarinh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
While I can’t call any of these books fluffy, this one took darkness to a new level, and one I didn’t enjoy. The first third of the book is so full of graphic and prolonged torture for the main character, it was difficult for me to avoid dnf-ing. I don’t enjoy violence or torture, and while these books often skated a line, this book took it to extremely graphic and intense descriptions. I’m not sure I want to continue the series.
The other piece that took me out of the story, was how quickly “magical sex” fixed the lead after 6 months of explicit torture. I’m sorry, I can’t buy his recovery from homicidally damaged to new dad excitement in a few weeks. Nope
The other piece that took me out of the story, was how quickly “magical sex” fixed the lead after 6 months of explicit torture. I’m sorry, I can’t buy his recovery from homicidally damaged to new dad excitement in a few weeks. Nope
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Sexual content, Murder, Homophobia, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Child abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, and Body horror
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Slavery, Self harm, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Grief, Cannibalism, Blood, Bullying, and Medical content
Minor: Misogyny
novelbloglover's review
2.0
Book Review
Title:Born of Silence
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Genre: Horror/Thriller/Romance
Rating: **
Review: I have been following Ms. Kenyon since the 90’s. I have been following The League Series since it began. Book after book I have read about Darling I have loved the idea of a gay character, a gay assassin at that! I was very unsure whether this would be the book that would turn me away from the League and all I had come to love about Kenyon. I went into this book convinced I was not going to like it. Darling has been a beloved character for me ever since the start of the League series. And I was absolutely livid about the idea that after three books, Sherrilyn Kenyon was taking a character who had always been gay and making him straight. From the moment I finished Born of Shadows, the idea festered in my head. I complained about it for a year. Then I started reading this book and it blew me away from the very beginning.
Obviously, Darling is not gay and in my heart of hearts, that may always bother me on some level. But Kenyon makes it work. I’m not going to spoil how, because it’s part of the journey. In fact, I’m going to try really hard to keep as much of the plot to myself as I can because I don’t want to rob you of the shocking twists and turns the story takes us on. The bare bones are as follows: Darling has been having a super-secret affair with a Resistance fighter named Zarya for two years, but he’s been doing it as his alter-ego Kere. She has never seen his face but their love is real and they plan to get married. And then it all goes to hell. Darling’s miserable past is slowly revealed over the course of the book and as horrible as it is, what he goes through in the present may actually be worse. The depths of his misery are hard to bear. I question whether anyone can go through what he does and emerge with a soul intact on the other side, no matter the depth of the love or friendship that surrounds him.
Kenyon has never disappointed me and I am so grateful that she held true for Darling! Born of Silence was a stunner! Jam packed full of action Born of Silence was simply shocking with twist after twist after of shocking moments and steamy scenes! Nothing was left out and all doors were open for Darling’s book! And I am really glad to say it wasn’t a short one!
Zarya Starska is a woman in love with a stranger. She knows him by shadow, by the sound of his voice, and by the silence that is brought by him alone. As a resistance fighter, Zarya knows that all too often enemies lie around every corner. Yet her mysterious life with Kere is the only safe-harbor that she has. Zarya has made it her one goal in life to destroy the government that destroyed her family and life as she knew it. Zarya will take any weapon she can get, use any advantage that she may have, and hurt whoever she has to hurt to see that her goal is done.
Darling has always been somewhat of a mystery. We see him popping up at random when he is most needed though out the series, always gay, always on this edge of funny, and always with a tendency to be Cruel to his enemies. Daring’s motto has been the enemy of my friend is my enemy. Secretly Darling has been living a double or is it a triple life. On one hand, he is the Prince of his people. On the other hand, he is one of the League and an assassin all on his own. Though out the story a younger Darling is revealed and here we also get our first glimpse of Darling as Kere his alter-ego who has been falling in love with a woman who has never seen his face.
Kenyon is the queen of the tortured heroes and while Acheron may always reign supreme as the most tortured, Darling gives him a run for his money –and if you’ve read Acheron that should tell you a lot. What Darling has, though, that Ash never did is an amazing friend in Maris. I love Maris. He is the glue that holds Darling together when he begins to crack, and I’m so glad this character existed to give our hero some shelter from the storm.
As for Zarya, she makes a mistake that has serious consequences. But I believe she is a good person. And there is absolutely no doubt that she loves Darling with her whole heart. The question becomes whether her love will be enough to help heal him.
The cast of the previous League books feature prominently and Kenyon does a fantastic job maintaining continuity. I loved learning how Darling became part of the Sentella and seeing how Nyk, Syn and the others became his real family. It’s also great to see the old characters not just used as placeholders for a happy ending update, but as a real part of the story.
We also get to delve into the depths of Darling’s past and see just how Cruel his life has truly been. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could have prepared Darling for his now current future. The hardships, pain, and triumphs that Darling is forced to endure are almost more than anyone should ever be asked to endure. The depths of this book are amazing and I have not seen them since Acheron! There were times when I found that I was laughing, shouting I was so mad, and sobbing as the emotions ran through me! And the ending. It was one heck of an ending. A game changer for the series.I’m not going to say any more, except that if you are a League fan and were on the fence about this book, I urge you to read it. You’ll be moved… outraged… and amazed. Or at least, I was.Prepare to be enraged. Prepare to be moved. Most of all prepare to fall in love with a Darling that you never knew until now! Born of Silence is simply a must read.
Title:Born of Silence
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Genre: Horror/Thriller/Romance
Rating: **
Review: I have been following Ms. Kenyon since the 90’s. I have been following The League Series since it began. Book after book I have read about Darling I have loved the idea of a gay character, a gay assassin at that! I was very unsure whether this would be the book that would turn me away from the League and all I had come to love about Kenyon. I went into this book convinced I was not going to like it. Darling has been a beloved character for me ever since the start of the League series. And I was absolutely livid about the idea that after three books, Sherrilyn Kenyon was taking a character who had always been gay and making him straight. From the moment I finished Born of Shadows, the idea festered in my head. I complained about it for a year. Then I started reading this book and it blew me away from the very beginning.
Obviously, Darling is not gay and in my heart of hearts, that may always bother me on some level. But Kenyon makes it work. I’m not going to spoil how, because it’s part of the journey. In fact, I’m going to try really hard to keep as much of the plot to myself as I can because I don’t want to rob you of the shocking twists and turns the story takes us on. The bare bones are as follows: Darling has been having a super-secret affair with a Resistance fighter named Zarya for two years, but he’s been doing it as his alter-ego Kere. She has never seen his face but their love is real and they plan to get married. And then it all goes to hell. Darling’s miserable past is slowly revealed over the course of the book and as horrible as it is, what he goes through in the present may actually be worse. The depths of his misery are hard to bear. I question whether anyone can go through what he does and emerge with a soul intact on the other side, no matter the depth of the love or friendship that surrounds him.
Kenyon has never disappointed me and I am so grateful that she held true for Darling! Born of Silence was a stunner! Jam packed full of action Born of Silence was simply shocking with twist after twist after of shocking moments and steamy scenes! Nothing was left out and all doors were open for Darling’s book! And I am really glad to say it wasn’t a short one!
Zarya Starska is a woman in love with a stranger. She knows him by shadow, by the sound of his voice, and by the silence that is brought by him alone. As a resistance fighter, Zarya knows that all too often enemies lie around every corner. Yet her mysterious life with Kere is the only safe-harbor that she has. Zarya has made it her one goal in life to destroy the government that destroyed her family and life as she knew it. Zarya will take any weapon she can get, use any advantage that she may have, and hurt whoever she has to hurt to see that her goal is done.
Darling has always been somewhat of a mystery. We see him popping up at random when he is most needed though out the series, always gay, always on this edge of funny, and always with a tendency to be Cruel to his enemies. Daring’s motto has been the enemy of my friend is my enemy. Secretly Darling has been living a double or is it a triple life. On one hand, he is the Prince of his people. On the other hand, he is one of the League and an assassin all on his own. Though out the story a younger Darling is revealed and here we also get our first glimpse of Darling as Kere his alter-ego who has been falling in love with a woman who has never seen his face.
Kenyon is the queen of the tortured heroes and while Acheron may always reign supreme as the most tortured, Darling gives him a run for his money –and if you’ve read Acheron that should tell you a lot. What Darling has, though, that Ash never did is an amazing friend in Maris. I love Maris. He is the glue that holds Darling together when he begins to crack, and I’m so glad this character existed to give our hero some shelter from the storm.
As for Zarya, she makes a mistake that has serious consequences. But I believe she is a good person. And there is absolutely no doubt that she loves Darling with her whole heart. The question becomes whether her love will be enough to help heal him.
The cast of the previous League books feature prominently and Kenyon does a fantastic job maintaining continuity. I loved learning how Darling became part of the Sentella and seeing how Nyk, Syn and the others became his real family. It’s also great to see the old characters not just used as placeholders for a happy ending update, but as a real part of the story.
We also get to delve into the depths of Darling’s past and see just how Cruel his life has truly been. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could have prepared Darling for his now current future. The hardships, pain, and triumphs that Darling is forced to endure are almost more than anyone should ever be asked to endure. The depths of this book are amazing and I have not seen them since Acheron! There were times when I found that I was laughing, shouting I was so mad, and sobbing as the emotions ran through me! And the ending. It was one heck of an ending. A game changer for the series.I’m not going to say any more, except that if you are a League fan and were on the fence about this book, I urge you to read it. You’ll be moved… outraged… and amazed. Or at least, I was.Prepare to be enraged. Prepare to be moved. Most of all prepare to fall in love with a Darling that you never knew until now! Born of Silence is simply a must read.
kari_marie's review
4.0
Listened to this awhile ago. Really enjoyed it. It was heartbreaking but still kept you going to going to the end.
_misty_'s review
3.0
Literally saved by the ending, which is why I'm giving this book 3 stars and not 2.
It's not a bad book but after reading a lot of SK books, this feels "already seen", especially on the hero part: he's abused, had an horrible childhood and was repeatedly raped. (Nyk, Syn, Darling, probably Nero and some DH heroes, any other?).
The heroine is an idiot for what she does to Darling: I get that you're destroyed by your lover disappearance, but you're a leader. It's your responsibility to lead, and that includes checking on prisoners. She said she was convinced the prince had been let go! She never checked him once! What kind of leader does that? What kind of idiot?
It came to the point where I hoped Darling would kill her and screw the romance.
Of course, it didn't happen.
No, we have Darling trying for months and months to recover, angry, furious, full of hatred, but wow, he goes Prince Charming on Zayra the second day he has her in his palace. The second day!!! Talk about a U turn. And ok, he tells her he still hates her sometimes, he even thinks he does, but when they're together he always treats her with love, he cherises her.
That doesn't really sound hate to me.
Oh, and of course Zayra ended up pregnant. I wasn't expecting anything less, since it's happened in every book... ever heard of condoms? Birth control? And you know that not every unprotected intercourse leads to a pregnancy, even in the right days? The League sure doesn't suffer from underpopulation, there are babies everywhere!
Another thing: how comes the males always ends up raped but the females are always miraculously saved? Not that it's a bad thing, but after 5 books it stands out. In each one it's really stressed that rape is a very common abuse to female prisoners, and yet any time one of the heroine is taken captive, something happens and nobody touches them. Yay for them, but I feel bad for the poor males.
The ending is what saved this book for me. The big battle, the declaration of war, the awesome moment where Nyk, Caillen and Darling defied the League. Ok, they were stupid, but it was still awesome.
It's not a bad book but after reading a lot of SK books, this feels "already seen", especially on the hero part: he's abused, had an horrible childhood and was repeatedly raped. (Nyk, Syn, Darling, probably Nero and some DH heroes, any other?).
The heroine is an idiot for what she does to Darling: I get that you're destroyed by your lover disappearance, but you're a leader. It's your responsibility to lead, and that includes checking on prisoners. She said she was convinced the prince had been let go! She never checked him once! What kind of leader does that? What kind of idiot?
It came to the point where I hoped Darling would kill her and screw the romance.
Of course, it didn't happen.
No, we have Darling trying for months and months to recover, angry, furious, full of hatred, but wow, he goes Prince Charming on Zayra the second day he has her in his palace. The second day!!! Talk about a U turn. And ok, he tells her he still hates her sometimes, he even thinks he does, but when they're together he always treats her with love, he cherises her.
That doesn't really sound hate to me.
Oh, and of course Zayra ended up pregnant. I wasn't expecting anything less, since it's happened in every book... ever heard of condoms? Birth control? And you know that not every unprotected intercourse leads to a pregnancy, even in the right days? The League sure doesn't suffer from underpopulation, there are babies everywhere!
Another thing: how comes the males always ends up raped but the females are always miraculously saved? Not that it's a bad thing, but after 5 books it stands out. In each one it's really stressed that rape is a very common abuse to female prisoners, and yet any time one of the heroine is taken captive, something happens and nobody touches them. Yay for them, but I feel bad for the poor males.
The ending is what saved this book for me. The big battle, the declaration of war, the awesome moment where Nyk, Caillen and Darling defied the League. Ok, they were stupid, but it was still awesome.
jacqueline1989's review against another edition
5.0
Ho. Ly. Shit!
Question: What is the hardest thing to do on planet Earth?
Answer: Reviewing the best damn novel written in the entire history of mankind.
Trust me y'all this ain't easy, but here goes nothing...
Born of Silence by Sherrilyn Kenyon, a science fiction paranormal fantasy romance, with crying. Lots and lots of crying. That is, my crying.
Why my crying? Well, because Good Book Noise, that's why.
These 614 pages are gonna make you care SO damn hard about Zarya and Darling, AKA pretty much the best fake-people ever.
Our girl Zarya has had a shit life; her dad got murdered when she was 18, she's a traitor's kid, she was raised on hell's backstreets. She's a tough-as-nails badass and, oh yeah, a resistance leader trying to take down the head-honcho baddies.
Can you guess I love her hard?
Then there's Darling Cruel, AKA Kere, AKA Sex-On-A-Stick who is a Princey McPrinceface while ACTUALLY working to take down his corrupt in power family 'cause they suck. Lo and behold, his secret identity as an incognito good guy was HELLA damn fun, and HELLA damn exciting.
Book sounds pretty rad, right? Well, it's radder than rad, because it's literally everything. It's a romance, it's a political intrigue, it's also a survival story and on and on I could go, where I'll stop...here. I'll stop here.
Our story goes to all the dark spots; torture, abuse, rape, and politics. We delve so hard into political and family drama so real, it makes Game of Thrones look like a sitcom.
And, Zarya? She flat out rocks...buuuuuut despite that rockage, this book ain't hers. Darling's the one overcoming the ouchey-wouchey brutal past, so it's definitely more his story than hers. Still, our girl DOES manage to get in one hell of a character arc.
I mean, spoiler alert but not really; the book opens with her and Darling already doing the boinking and heart eyes!
Yeah. You read right.
You're probably like, "WHAT THE HELL JACQUELINE?!"...but dude! Not really a spoiler, yes really well done and a REALLY REALLY unique premise. I mean, when our heroine hasn't even seen her guy's face nor has the 411 on who he be despite willing to like, die for him?
YOU TALK ABOUT DRAMATIC AND INTERESTING INTERNAL CONFLICT AND PLOT SHENANIGANS!
Trust you're gonna love the story, and trust that you're gonna love the leads, but ALSO trust that the secondary characters are gonna own your ass, too! They're rocking the personality and diversity and awesome and I hearted them so freakin' hard.
This plot has about a million things feeding it and never once does it get crowded or chaotic. Everything gets handled with care. Rape, war, torture, child abuse, friendship, Agape love, homosexuality, the list don't quit.
But of all super-duper fun-parts in Born of Silence, Darling's spin was my absolute fav! Here we've got an uber-straight, uber-alpha who embraced with open arms the "he-likes-the-peen" rumors because...well, because reasons and spoilers. Thing is, in the hands of the wrong author, this could have been fifteen levels of unbelievable or offensive, but nope; not here.
Throw in Maris, the badass BFF who happens to be gay, and his adorable heartwarming smexy m/m romance...And to the naysayers let me just say you can fuck right off.
I want ALL of the humans to read this beautiful, powerful story, 'cause dammit it's gonna have your catnip in it somewhere.
Smexy romance and hot sex scenes? Angsty melodrama and heartbreak? Political intrigue and complex world building? Epic space battles and badass fight scenes?
Gut-busting comedy and hilarious characters? Dark characters with sinister backstories? Complex world-building...wait, make that inter-planetary building...with a character pool in the realm of thousands?
Scifi tech and space ships that leave you drooling? A book with a high body count and a higher rate of explosions-per-chapter?
CUE ALL THE CHECKS!
When a book can go from:
...To...
...Back to...
...WELL THEN CUE ALL OF MY FEELS, OKAY?!
I fell so hard in fluffy-love with this book that I now want its logo permanently inked onto my skin. Trust me, friend; good book is good.
At the end of the day the takeaway, the review, and every single one of my sentiments can be summed up as follows:
Yep.
That about does it.
(If you like my writing voice or you think I’m funny...[or you really just wanna laugh at a fangirl for fangirling]...then SHAMELESS YOUTUBE CHANNEL PLUG IS SHAMELESS! I review romance novels and Asian dramas, so that is a thing and now you know.)
Fangirl Musings: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6fO1lNf1L-iHUINRIUtE_g/videos
Question: What is the hardest thing to do on planet Earth?
Answer: Reviewing the best damn novel written in the entire history of mankind.
Trust me y'all this ain't easy, but here goes nothing...
Born of Silence by Sherrilyn Kenyon, a science fiction paranormal fantasy romance, with crying. Lots and lots of crying. That is, my crying.
Why my crying? Well, because Good Book Noise, that's why.
These 614 pages are gonna make you care SO damn hard about Zarya and Darling, AKA pretty much the best fake-people ever.
Our girl Zarya has had a shit life; her dad got murdered when she was 18, she's a traitor's kid, she was raised on hell's backstreets. She's a tough-as-nails badass and, oh yeah, a resistance leader trying to take down the head-honcho baddies.
Can you guess I love her hard?
Then there's Darling Cruel, AKA Kere, AKA Sex-On-A-Stick who is a Princey McPrinceface while ACTUALLY working to take down his corrupt in power family 'cause they suck. Lo and behold, his secret identity as an incognito good guy was HELLA damn fun, and HELLA damn exciting.
Book sounds pretty rad, right? Well, it's radder than rad, because it's literally everything. It's a romance, it's a political intrigue, it's also a survival story and on and on I could go, where I'll stop...here. I'll stop here.
Our story goes to all the dark spots; torture, abuse, rape, and politics. We delve so hard into political and family drama so real, it makes Game of Thrones look like a sitcom.
And, Zarya? She flat out rocks...buuuuuut despite that rockage, this book ain't hers. Darling's the one overcoming the ouchey-wouchey brutal past, so it's definitely more his story than hers. Still, our girl DOES manage to get in one hell of a character arc.
I mean, spoiler alert but not really; the book opens with her and Darling already doing the boinking and heart eyes!
Yeah. You read right.
You're probably like, "WHAT THE HELL JACQUELINE?!"...but dude! Not really a spoiler, yes really well done and a REALLY REALLY unique premise. I mean, when our heroine hasn't even seen her guy's face nor has the 411 on who he be despite willing to like, die for him?
YOU TALK ABOUT DRAMATIC AND INTERESTING INTERNAL CONFLICT AND PLOT SHENANIGANS!
Trust you're gonna love the story, and trust that you're gonna love the leads, but ALSO trust that the secondary characters are gonna own your ass, too! They're rocking the personality and diversity and awesome and I hearted them so freakin' hard.
This plot has about a million things feeding it and never once does it get crowded or chaotic. Everything gets handled with care. Rape, war, torture, child abuse, friendship, Agape love, homosexuality, the list don't quit.
But of all super-duper fun-parts in Born of Silence, Darling's spin was my absolute fav! Here we've got an uber-straight, uber-alpha who embraced with open arms the "he-likes-the-peen" rumors because...well, because reasons and spoilers. Thing is, in the hands of the wrong author, this could have been fifteen levels of unbelievable or offensive, but nope; not here.
Throw in Maris, the badass BFF who happens to be gay, and his adorable heartwarming smexy m/m romance...And to the naysayers let me just say you can fuck right off.
I want ALL of the humans to read this beautiful, powerful story, 'cause dammit it's gonna have your catnip in it somewhere.
Smexy romance and hot sex scenes? Angsty melodrama and heartbreak? Political intrigue and complex world building? Epic space battles and badass fight scenes?
Gut-busting comedy and hilarious characters? Dark characters with sinister backstories? Complex world-building...wait, make that inter-planetary building...with a character pool in the realm of thousands?
Scifi tech and space ships that leave you drooling? A book with a high body count and a higher rate of explosions-per-chapter?
CUE ALL THE CHECKS!
When a book can go from:
"And neither do you, ciratile. You ever try this shit again with me and mine, and I will rape and plunder the village, and burn the motherfucker to the ground." He looked around at the bodies on the floor. "And as you've seen here today there ain't nothing you bitches can do to stop me. Talk is cheap. Pain is free. And I'm peddling the shit out of it. So you come on and get some.”...“I won't forgive, I won't forget. Let hell open and rain my wrath down on them all. I will not be stopped and I have no mercy left inside me. I am death and I revel in the killings of my enemies. Bring me them all until I'm drunk on their blood.”
...To...
“But sooner or later, no matter who you are, life uses everyone as its whipping boy.”...“The past is history written in stone that can’t be altered. The future is transitory and never guaranteed. Today is the only thing you can change for certain. Have the courage to do so and make the most of it because it could be all you’ll ever have.”
...Back to...
“It's all about perspective, my friend. That and the ability to duck fast when life throws excrement at you."
...WELL THEN CUE ALL OF MY FEELS, OKAY?!
I fell so hard in fluffy-love with this book that I now want its logo permanently inked onto my skin. Trust me, friend; good book is good.
At the end of the day the takeaway, the review, and every single one of my sentiments can be summed up as follows:
Yep.
That about does it.
(If you like my writing voice or you think I’m funny...[or you really just wanna laugh at a fangirl for fangirling]...then SHAMELESS YOUTUBE CHANNEL PLUG IS SHAMELESS! I review romance novels and Asian dramas, so that is a thing and now you know.)
Fangirl Musings: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6fO1lNf1L-iHUINRIUtE_g/videos