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A review by chelseaj91
Born of Silence by Sherrilyn Kenyon
5.0
In a universe where corruption and deception rule the day, sparks of rebellion ignite.
This book! It is definitely a contender of one of my favorites in the series!
I love Darling. He's such a swoony hero and I love his 20 rules that he lives by and does his best to uphold. Honestly, considering everything that happened to him, he really had pretty much every reason imaginable to become the person his uncle was trying to make him out to be. And aside from some minor lunacy there in the beginning, he was able to get past it and truly shine as the leader of his people. Although I will admit that the idea of him not being gay was kind of a surprise and felt like a cop out when it was mentioned by Desideria in [b:Born of Shadows|9447878|Born of Shadows (The League, #4)|Sherrilyn Kenyon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437679905s/9447878.jpg|13001362], at the same time, it honestly works really well. I absolutely love the way he cares for his siblings, and really anyone that he considers family. Of course that also made me want to smack him a few times. He was always willing to do stupid crap and put himself in the line of fire to keep them safe, but that often led to some suicidal lunacy. Thankfully there was usually someone around to stall him. I also hated that he continued to blame himself for Lise's attack. It. Wasn't. His. Fault. How could he have known that Clarion was a lying jackass? It was interesting watching him wrestle with himself regarding his feelings for Zarya. Knowing that he's loved her forever, but still dealing with her betrayal (although I feel like that's a hazy line to be honest--) and somehow finding the strength to pull himself out, for her, is nothing short of amazing.
Speaking of Zarya...I got a little frustrated with her when things were first on their upwards trajectory there at the palace. She was always ready to get mad at Darling because of the various things that went along with her title, and really, 99% of the things she had issues with were already in place and changed the second Darling heard she was unhappy. Most of the problems were because he didn't think about it since they'd been traditions for years. Like the fact that she was pissed when Geara said he'd come to her at his leisure. Really? She's technically been given the title of "mistress" at this point, everything she's supposed to do is at his leisure (yes, that's not the way Darling works, but no one fully knew that yet). I did like the fact that once she realized that Darling was Kere she tried to bring him back. She did keep apologizing, which, while it doesn't fully expunge her, it does help. And I liked how she became so determined to prove that Darling wasn't the monster his uncle had tried to paint him as.
Maris was great too. He's definitely one of my favorite characters in the whole series. It was interesting to see more of his backstory. Like pretty much everyone, he's had a hard life, but it was nice to see him being himself once he'd fully acknowledged everything. It's a good thing he listened to Darling instead of trapping himself in something that no one would have liked. And while he doesn't necessarily like to, he can definitely kick ass when needed and I kind of want to see him in action again.
And the League. Those idiots. What would make Kyr think that was a good idea? CDS (bunch of morons) request or not, he knew that Darling hung with some pretty important people (forget the Sentella connections, just look at the royalty that was at his banquet). Plus, Nykyrian. I mean, there's the whole Andarion heir thing, but there's also the fact that he's the only assassin to leave the League alive. And he's one of the people who trained Darling. Again I ask, what was Kyr thinking?
Who to trust...For one man's greed, Zarya's entire family was murdered. As a Resistance leader, she must topple the government that forced her to grow up alone on the back streets of hell. Zarya's right hand is a mysterious man with a dark secret. His name is Darling Cruel, and he is heir to the government Zarya wants to overthrow. Like Zarya, he wants his uncle--who murdered his father and stole his crown--to pay for his crimes.
When the hero becomes the monster?Zarya is the only person Darling has ever trusted. Yet when she allows a weapon he designed for her to be used against his beloved sister, all bets are off. Now Darling wants not only to reign, but to kill every Resistance member. Zarya is the only one capable of stopping him. But can she reach past his insanity to restore the hero who once fought by her side?
This book! It is definitely a contender of one of my favorites in the series!
I love Darling. He's such a swoony hero and I love his 20 rules that he lives by and does his best to uphold. Honestly, considering everything that happened to him, he really had pretty much every reason imaginable to become the person his uncle was trying to make him out to be. And aside from some minor lunacy there in the beginning, he was able to get past it and truly shine as the leader of his people. Although I will admit that the idea of him not being gay was kind of a surprise and felt like a cop out when it was mentioned by Desideria in [b:Born of Shadows|9447878|Born of Shadows (The League, #4)|Sherrilyn Kenyon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437679905s/9447878.jpg|13001362], at the same time, it honestly works really well. I absolutely love the way he cares for his siblings, and really anyone that he considers family. Of course that also made me want to smack him a few times. He was always willing to do stupid crap and put himself in the line of fire to keep them safe, but that often led to some suicidal lunacy. Thankfully there was usually someone around to stall him. I also hated that he continued to blame himself for Lise's attack. It. Wasn't. His. Fault. How could he have known that Clarion was a lying jackass? It was interesting watching him wrestle with himself regarding his feelings for Zarya. Knowing that he's loved her forever, but still dealing with her betrayal (although I feel like that's a hazy line to be honest--
Spoiler
while admittedly she should have known more about what Clarion was doing and should have flat out told him to release Darling, she admitted to herself that after that first time she saw him in the cell, she was consumed with looking for Kere and assumed that he'd already been released. Again, acknowledging that, as the LEADER OF THE RESISTANCE she should have been actually leading and not just counting on them to release basically the one person they all hated, she was highly emotional which was something she'd been taught not to show anyone. So while not necessarily acceptable exactly, it can be a little bit understandable.Speaking of Zarya...I got a little frustrated with her when things were first on their upwards trajectory there at the palace. She was always ready to get mad at Darling because of the various things that went along with her title, and really, 99% of the things she had issues with were already in place and changed the second Darling heard she was unhappy. Most of the problems were because he didn't think about it since they'd been traditions for years. Like the fact that she was pissed when Geara said he'd come to her at his leisure. Really? She's technically been given the title of "mistress" at this point, everything she's supposed to do is at his leisure (yes, that's not the way Darling works, but no one fully knew that yet). I did like the fact that once she realized that Darling was Kere she tried to bring him back. She did keep apologizing, which, while it doesn't fully expunge her, it does help. And I liked how she became so determined to prove that Darling wasn't the monster his uncle had tried to paint him as.
Maris was great too. He's definitely one of my favorite characters in the whole series. It was interesting to see more of his backstory. Like pretty much everyone, he's had a hard life, but it was nice to see him being himself once he'd fully acknowledged everything. It's a good thing he listened to Darling instead of trapping himself in something that no one would have liked. And while he doesn't necessarily like to, he can definitely kick ass when needed and I kind of want to see him in action again.
And the League. Those idiots. What would make Kyr think that was a good idea? CDS (bunch of morons) request or not, he knew that Darling hung with some pretty important people (forget the Sentella connections, just look at the royalty that was at his banquet). Plus, Nykyrian. I mean, there's the whole Andarion heir thing, but there's also the fact that he's the only assassin to leave the League alive. And he's one of the people who trained Darling. Again I ask, what was Kyr thinking?