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ufcasey's review
3.0
3.5 stars. This book features fae, vampires, mages, animal shifters, and a wraith - it's a smorgasbord of paranormal creatures. While that did seem to be a little bit much overall, on the scale of the number of characters involved - this was relatively well executed. I perhaps would have given this book a higher rating, but the character of Simon just didn't stand out for me and the world building was a little weak. Meanwhile the villain, Lucius, did come across as very frightening but I wish we got to see more of his machinations beyond his torments of Lily - what was his plans? Where's the evil mastermind plot? I still liked this book though.
book_whispers's review
3.0
This was the perfect book to get me out of my stupid female lead syndrome. Shadow was everything I wanted her to be (I won't use her name just incase you haven't read the synopsis. That way it will be a treat/surprise). A wraith assassin! A half breed of the Fae sold to an evil vampire named Damon. She's lived in darkness her entire life.
So when her job to kill a Sunmage clearly turns into the setup of a romance I wasn't bummed. Because Simon was actually a cool character. Not to mention it felt like the setup for Kate and Curran from the Kate Daniel's verse. In fact this is the perfect blend of epic fantasy, some steampunk flavors, and urban fantasy genre meld. Not to mention that when Shadow meets Simon she tells him she doesn't need a “white knight”. Yes, she's her own hero.
The world and politics are awesome. I love the idea of the Blood (vampires), Fae, Beast (animal shifters) and humans residing in world that is fully aware. The politics and history that make them coincide together. There's intrigue, violence, sexy times, a fantastic world, and wonderful characters.
Sadly Scott did a lot to make her amazing female lead into a damsel. Don't get me wrong, Shadow is wonderfully realized. However, the reason for her change of heart will always be in question. Was she strong enough to do it? Or was it Simon taking the matter out of her hands? Not to mention that Shadow is supposed to me this great fighter.
But when she attacks Simon out of rage she loses, her second time losing to him. Then when she starts fighting Simon's brother, Guy a pretty awesome character, she can go toe to toe with him. Despite the fact that Guy is supposed to be the better fighter. Simon was always trying to beat Guy. I got the first time that Simon's Sunmage skills took her buy surprise and is basically the perfect weapon to defeating her powers. But this was sloppy. Not to mention she doesn't get to take out the villain. Because Shadow deserved to take out this particular villain. No matter what I would have been disappointed. The fact that Shadow was the bait and Simon was the hero. OK, what she did took guts. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive because I got done reading some stupid female leads prior.
All the questionable scenes were simply verified by Shadow saying at the end that she really did need a white knight to save her. Yuck. It didn't help that Simon demanded Shadow's trust but he threw her to the wolves. Oh, but he could still give a good #*%@*%&.
Overall I love the world. I want to know more about it, explore it. Not to mention that I really enjoy the cast of characters. Hopefully Simon and Shadow can reach a balance of equality in later books. You know, no more forced losing scenes or damsel scenes created to obviously have Simon be the hero. Either way I want to see Shadow create a life with Simon. And in general I just want to see how she lives her life with her new found freedom. This was a promising start and I truly love the dark gritty world Scott has created.
Sexual Content: Sexual humor, some dark themes, and sex scenes.
3/5- Adored it, just a few minor details held it back.
Originally posted at Book Whispers.
So when her job to kill a Sunmage clearly turns into the setup of a romance I wasn't bummed. Because Simon was actually a cool character. Not to mention it felt like the setup for Kate and Curran from the Kate Daniel's verse. In fact this is the perfect blend of epic fantasy, some steampunk flavors, and urban fantasy genre meld. Not to mention that when Shadow meets Simon she tells him she doesn't need a “white knight”. Yes, she's her own hero.
The world and politics are awesome. I love the idea of the Blood (vampires), Fae, Beast (animal shifters) and humans residing in world that is fully aware. The politics and history that make them coincide together. There's intrigue, violence, sexy times, a fantastic world, and wonderful characters.
Sadly Scott did a lot to make her amazing female lead into a damsel. Don't get me wrong, Shadow is wonderfully realized. However, the reason for her change of heart will always be in question. Was she strong enough to do it? Or was it Simon taking the matter out of her hands? Not to mention that Shadow is supposed to me this great fighter.
But when she attacks Simon out of rage she loses, her second time losing to him. Then when she starts fighting Simon's brother, Guy a pretty awesome character, she can go toe to toe with him. Despite the fact that Guy is supposed to be the better fighter. Simon was always trying to beat Guy. I got the first time that Simon's Sunmage skills took her buy surprise and is basically the perfect weapon to defeating her powers. But this was sloppy. Not to mention she doesn't get to take out the villain. Because Shadow deserved to take out this particular villain. No matter what I would have been disappointed. The fact that Shadow was the bait and Simon was the hero. OK, what she did took guts. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive because I got done reading some stupid female leads prior.
All the questionable scenes were simply verified by Shadow saying at the end that she really did need a white knight to save her. Yuck. It didn't help that Simon demanded Shadow's trust but he threw her to the wolves. Oh, but he could still give a good #*%@*%&.
Overall I love the world. I want to know more about it, explore it. Not to mention that I really enjoy the cast of characters. Hopefully Simon and Shadow can reach a balance of equality in later books. You know, no more forced losing scenes or damsel scenes created to obviously have Simon be the hero. Either way I want to see Shadow create a life with Simon. And in general I just want to see how she lives her life with her new found freedom. This was a promising start and I truly love the dark gritty world Scott has created.
Sexual Content: Sexual humor, some dark themes, and sex scenes.
3/5- Adored it, just a few minor details held it back.
Originally posted at Book Whispers.
rachelini's review
3.0
Here is my problem with this book: it started with the two main characters meeting. Which means that the reader never gets a sense of who they actually are, only how they interact with each other. For me, this meant that I had a hard time believing that she was a ruthless assassin, because of her reaction to him.
However, I liked the world and enjoyed the story once it got going. I'll read the next.
However, I liked the world and enjoyed the story once it got going. I'll read the next.
book_hoarding_dragon's review
4.0
I am kind of ashamed to admit that the cover originally drew me to this book. I try to be all 'don't judge a book by its cover' (for instance there is Moira J. Moor's early books which I loved but the covers were atrocious. They were more suited to humorous books which her series is not). But it was the models hair, it was all very The Fifth Element (the one with Bruce Willis).
Anyway, this story has a bit of everything fantasy (knights, Beast Kin-shapeshifters, Fae, Vampires, Oh my), steam punk, medieval times, etc.
I kind of liked Shadow or Lily cause of her tough attitude, with her abandonment issues, and how she wasn't all powerful. In fact, she was in a kind of abusive relationship which you get to see her grow from.
I liked Simon, the hero, at times. Though he does come off deuchey at times. But in general I did like his character. He kind of had a bit of a tarnished white knight syndrome going on, but it wasn't overdone into making him a cliche.
One thing that nagged me is the editing. I know sometimes editors don't get all of the mistakes, but there were five of them. I know they don't seem like a lot but outside of self-publishing that's the most I have ever seen in a book in years. I don't know if in recent years Australian authors have cut back to make the books marketable to readers outside of Australia or if the publishing have augmented them (like with harry potter). But I found some of the grammar and word usage a little bit different. What I mean by this is my first Aussie author was Old Magic by Marianne Curley and that book was chock full of Aussie slang. I imagined these teenage australians wandering around wearing overalls carrying actual torches (ones lite by fire).
Anyway, this story has a bit of everything fantasy (knights, Beast Kin-shapeshifters, Fae, Vampires, Oh my), steam punk, medieval times, etc.
I kind of liked Shadow or Lily cause of her tough attitude, with her abandonment issues, and how she wasn't all powerful. In fact, she was in a kind of abusive relationship which you get to see her grow from.
I liked Simon, the hero, at times. Though he does come off deuchey at times. But in general I did like his character. He kind of had a bit of a tarnished white knight syndrome going on, but it wasn't overdone into making him a cliche.
One thing that nagged me is the editing. I know sometimes editors don't get all of the mistakes, but there were five of them. I know they don't seem like a lot but outside of self-publishing that's the most I have ever seen in a book in years. I don't know if in recent years Australian authors have cut back to make the books marketable to readers outside of Australia or if the publishing have augmented them (like with harry potter). But I found some of the grammar and word usage a little bit different. What I mean by this is my first Aussie author was Old Magic by Marianne Curley and that book was chock full of Aussie slang. I imagined these teenage australians wandering around wearing overalls carrying actual torches (ones lite by fire).
buuboobaby's review
4.0
Despite wanting to reach into the pages and throttle Simon near the end, this was a tense, exciting read. Looking forward to more from MJ Scott.
lilyelement's review
4.0
Lily, a wraith plays the role of assassin for a Blood Lord. She is sent to kill a sunmage and that is where everything changes in her life. There is a connection between Simon and Lily that cannot be denied and you find yourself hoping that they wind up together. Lily and Simon have a lot of character growth through out the book. You will be intrigued and not want to put the book down once you start reading it. The story has an alternating point of view between Lily and Simon. The way the author did this is perfect, you can easily tell what is going on and what each character is thinking without being lost. All in all, the book was an awesome read and I am really happy I was exposed to the talent that is M.J. Scott.
shadowmaster13's review
3.0
This is an excellent start to a new series/trilogy.
It is set in a world where the Fae, the Blood (vampires) and the Beasts (were-creatures of some kind) coincide with humans. The genre is apparently gaslight fantasy. Basically we humans are restricted access to silver and iron because they can kill the other creatures. Without iron and such we haven't advanced as far technologically. It's also set in London.
Lily is a wraith, no-one really knows how wraiths are born but they come from a Fae parent and a Lily has been used as an assassin from when she was fifteen.
Simon DuCaine is a sunmage, his power comes from the sun and at night he can create sunlight with the right focus. In the sun wraiths can't "shadow" to become incorporeal.
The world is richly crafted and the story between Lily and Simon is awesome. I think it will appeal to fans of Urban Fantasy as well as Romance.
It is set in a world where the Fae, the Blood (vampires) and the Beasts (were-creatures of some kind) coincide with humans. The genre is apparently gaslight fantasy. Basically we humans are restricted access to silver and iron because they can kill the other creatures. Without iron and such we haven't advanced as far technologically. It's also set in London.
Lily is a wraith, no-one really knows how wraiths are born but they come from a Fae parent and a
Spoiler
frenzied human who is in the middle of turning into a Blood.Simon DuCaine is a sunmage, his power comes from the sun and at night he can create sunlight with the right focus. In the sun wraiths can't "shadow" to become incorporeal.
The world is richly crafted and the story between Lily and Simon is awesome. I think it will appeal to fans of Urban Fantasy as well as Romance.
dreamer4ever's review
3.0
3.5-This is a pretty interesting beginning to I'm hoping a even better series. The writing is good, has some interesting world building. It dragged in a few places and the characters need some better development but I think given this is the first book and everything is being set up, it was a pretty good read, I'll be reading on to see where this goes.
althenaruby's review
3.0
I've been looking for a series that really draws my attention and this one didn't. I don't know why it just didn't...I mean it had all the necessary parts but I just couldn't keep myself focused on it. Not to mention that its not a continuous series following Lily, which bothers me. I want to read something along the lines of The Hollows with Rachel Morgan or early Anita Blake. The ended of the story did not satisfy me. Simon's "apology" was not really worthy of forgiveness. The things he said to Lily really upset me and it should have upset her more. Sigh. Now I have to search through Goodreads for another series...
reginaexmachina's review
I was in the mood for some new urban fantasy but the beginning of this didn't grab my attention.