The Bad Influence Speaks

BIS Book Review: Born of Silence

by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The League book 5

 

Darling Cruel has long lived a lie to protect those he loves and in doing so created dual roles for himself. In one life, he is the heir to a corrupt thrown; in the other life, he is Kere, a rebellious leader of the Sentella, who helps the resistance on his home world. Zarya, a resistance leader whose father was killed by Darling's uncle, is his only salvation, but she doesn't know his real identity.

Betrayed by the resistance, Darling must come to terms with all he has faced and Zarya's role in it. Will he be able to step into the light and be the leader he was born to be?

 

 

When I first picked this book up, I was wary. It's thicker than normal for her series which is not a good sign. Generally speaking, when Kenyon writes a long novel, it will be heartbreakingly tragic. Acheron is a great example of this fact. His early life is painfully brutal and destructive. Born of Silence follows in this tradition. Darling is subject to horrific torture at the hands of those he had considered friends (and this after a lifetime of cruelty* from his uncle). Sherrilyn Kenyon is about redemption though. Her protagonists learn to rise from the pain of their lives and move forward with, if nothing else, humor.

This book is a heartbreaker. You will gasp, cry, and be truly shocked by some of the content. It is still a worthy read. With each new book, Kenyon reminds me that no matter what obstacles or pain we face in our lives, we can keep on going. True, there will be days (or years) when we're merely putting one foot in front of the other, but in the end we can each prevail.

I started reading this in the late afternoon and finished around 11 pm or so completely missing dinner. I could not put it down. Be prepared.

 

*I couldn't resist the pun.

 

BIS Rating: 5 nightlights

BIS Rating system:
1 nightlight = put it down and didn't care to pick it back up
2 nightlights = finished the book
3 nightlights = enjoyed the book but probably wouldn't re-read it
4 nightlights = had a hard time putting the book down
5 nightlights = stayed up way too late to finish instead of going to bed

Purchase Born of Silence by Sherrilyn Kenyon on Amazon or Barnes & Noble today.

BIS Book Review: Born of Shadows

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

 

"You can't look at someone and tell what they've been through. The scars that hurt the most are never visible on the surface." -Caillen

 

Caillen Dagan is used to running on the wrong side of the law, but can he deal with making the laws. As a result of being jailed to protect his sister, Kasen, Caillen discovers that he is really the missing heir to an empire. Desideria Denaraii is the daughter of the queen of a warring race. She's used to fighting for any scrap of respect, but gaining little because of her father's race.

When they are both framed in assignation attempts, Caillen and Desideria must team up to clear their names and avenge their parents.

Can the man who trusts no one survive with the woman who has never had anyone to trust?

 

 

I feel like I always start these things with a qualification. The one for this review is: I don't read science fiction. Kenyon's League series is the only part that I do. I already love her Dark/Were/Dream Hunter series, and decided to give the League a chance when the first 3 books were republished 2 years ago. Needless to say, I was hooked. She has a way with wry heroes and strong heroines with attitude to spare. Even though her Ichidian Universe is out of this world (pardon the pun), she still makes it feel like home. 

Sometimes I wonder about the amount of trauma her characters have in their pasts, but it does help the reader feel more sympathetic towards them and they can bond a little deeper. I know that I always have a hard time putting her books down. I read this one in about 3.5 hours and was up until after 1 am on a work night. I was dragging ass the next day. It was worth it. I chose to wait until I had a chance to read it a second time before writing this review. When you read that quick and absorbed, you can sometime miss out on the details. Kenyon's worlds are richly detailed. You can tell she has spent a lot of time there in her mind and that she truly loves her characters. This, in addition to her skilled writing, is why her readers (me included) form such strong attachments to the characters and keep coming back for more.

I can't wait until the next book in the series (Darling's called Born of Silence) comes out next April. I'm hoping to get to experience Chayden's, and Nero's stories as well, and maybe Vik's.

 

BIS Rating: 5 of 5

BIS Rating system:
1 nightlight = put it down and didn't care to pick it back up
2 nightlights = finished the book
3 nightlights = enjoyed the book but probably wouldn't re-read it
4 nightlights = had a hard time putting the book down
5 nightlights = stayed up way too late to finish instead of going to bed

 

Born of Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon on Amazon.com