'Born of Shadows'
By: Sherrilyn Kenyon
(Hard Cover / Grand Central Publishing / 432 Pages / $21.99)
Description: For Caillen Dagan, a defiant soldier of fortune, survival isn't a right, it's a brutal daily battle. Moving through the Ichidaian universe like a wraith, his brushes with the law and death are legendary. But when an act of rare heroism reveals his hidden birthright, he's forced into a world much more dangerous and cold-hearted than the bloody streets where he was raised-one of obscene wealth and lethal politics.
Verdict: I found this book to be surprisingly fun. Sure, Caillen is an obnoxious jerk with an overly-healthy sex drive, but underneath his bad boy attitude he is such a sweetheart. I love the way he would gladly strangle any and all of his three older sisters on any given day but would rip anyone else to pieces if they tried such a thing.
He loves them dearly and is quite willing to shoot them for their own good and then get himself arrested to save them. What's not to love about a brother like that? Not to mention he is extremely good looking. I would have to say that Caillen is one of the most fun characters I have met recently.
Desideria is tough, smart, beautiful and has confidence issues. Since her father's death, she has lived with the constant criticisms of all of her female relatives and has received no love from anyone. The fact that she is just as stubborn and has as quick a temper as Caillen makes them a great team in more ways than one.
The dialogue in this book was fast-paced and fun with insults flying through the air, some good-natured, some not. I loved the easy banter the characters fall into during life and death situations. They joke about Caillen's bad driving even as he evades enemy fighters.
This is the first League book I have read. Indeed, it is the first Sherrilyn Kenyon book I have read, so there were times when I felt I was missing something. This book works well as a stand-alone novel, but I think I would have understood a few of the references better if I had read the earlier books in the series.[LM]
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