A review by glowstars
Grey by Arabella Black

5.0

WHICH SHOULD YOU READ FIRST: GREY OR THE CHIEF?
My original intention was to read Grey first. That’s the way the books were ordered when I first came across the San Ricardo series. Arabella Black felt that she needed to change the reading order of the books as readers were too confused by events when reading Grey before The Chief. While I debated reading The Chief first, I figured that wasn’t the author’s original intent and decided to stick with Grey. I can see how reading Grey first may put some readers off the rest of the series, but if you’re going into San Ricardo to read all three books, stick with it. It’s worth it.

DO YOU NEED TO READ THE WRAITH ROYALS SERIES FIRST?
In a word, no. You could quite easily read this book on its own, but the setting may not make much sense. Katantia is a difficult concept to get your head around and having read one of the Wraith Royals books (I’d recommend starting with #1, Exposed) will make it easier to slip into the Katantian world.

GREY – MY REVIEW
In her Explicit Warning, Black notes that this novella includes some of the darkest chapters she’s ever had to write. When you consider that the Wraith Royals series includes depravity and the likes of non-con/dub-con, incest, abuse and a total lack of humanity from some characters (Aram Wraith, I’m looking at you), this is not a warning that should be taken lightly.

Grey is written from two points of view: the Assasin (we don’t yet know who this is, only that he is a twin) and Máximo Martí (Grey’s husband). Despite his dark origins, the Assasin is a beautiful soul, capable of seeing the emotion in everybody.

I enjoyed reading the way Black depicted this and really connected to the character. Máximo is an ass. He’s quite possibly a mirror of Aram Wraith if Wraith was a little more depraved and a little less powerful. After reading the Wraith Royals series I became a little too accepting of Katantia and what it stood for, so much so that I barely noticed the corruption of Katantian society in this book, it was so commonplace. This really made the violence and perversion of Máximo stand out.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ GREY
*If you like dark and depraved, Grey is up there with the best of them
*A quick but powerful read
*Excellent way of connecting two series