Monday, June 11, 2012

Review: Shaedes Of Gray by Amanda Bonilla


Shaedes of Gray (Shaede Assassin, #1)

Amanda Bonilla
Paperback 317pgs.
Published Dec. 6, 11 by Signet
ISBN 0451235290 (ISBN13: 9780451235299
Shaede Of Assassin #1
Borrow from library
Urban Fantasy, Paranormal









In the shadows of the night, Darian has lived alone for almost a century. Made and abandoned by her former love, Darian is the last of her kind—an immortal Shaede who can slip into darkness as easily as breathing. With no one else to rely on, she has taught herself how to survive, using her unique skills to become a deadly assassin.

When Darian's next mark turns out to be Xander Peck, King of the Shaede Nation, her whole worldview is thrown into question. Darian begins to wonder if she's taken on more than her conscience will allow. But a good assassin never leaves a job unfinished...



Review    


Darian Gray is an assassin, a shade,who was created not born. Shaedes can hide in the shadows and blend into them. Preferring darkness over light. Darian's job is basically that of a hired killer, she gets paid to kill with no questions asked. Her connection to these "jobs" is Tyler. Tyler adores Darian and you learn that right from the start, more about him and his mysterious ways later.

Darien is created by a Azriel a former lover, and Shaede who basically abandons her after teaching her the ways of the Shaede. He tells her there are no others like them and she basically is living a life feeling abandoned and a little lost at first, but things quickly change as Darian is hired for a new job and learns that maybe she's just a little naive about being the only Shaede in exstiance.

Now, I really liked the mystery and action of this book. We get to learn right along with Darian the secrets as they become unraveled, and boy there are a ton of them. Tyler being the biggest one, as Darian trully believes he's nothing more than human and basically fragile. He loves Darian, although he has been hiding his secret from her for over five years. Darian always had felt feelings for Tyler, but she always felt like he was just human, and she really didn't want to ruin their friendship.
What we learn about Tyler is that he's so much more, and he has tied himself with Darian as her genie, basically her wish is his command.

Like I said Darian is left in the dark for most of this book.
She slowly learns more about all the mysteries that surround her and has found herself hired by the king, Xander. Xander is another mystery who shows a great interest in Darian, as he too wants to pursue her. A love triangle of sorts is set throughout the story.
 Darian is trained by other members of her race, that work for Xander. She, being the only one that may be able to save her race, and the people she has grown to care for.
 
This book has mystery, action, and surprises.
But, I must say that I wasn't a big Darian fan until toward the ending when her strengths finally shone through, and she became more confidant in her battles.
 Although, I can easily see why it took her so long to finally become a powerful Shaede. I just wished she showed a little more I don't know, anger maybe. I mean being lied to from Tyler and almost everyone else who are hiding secrets from her should of pushed her to become angrier than the way she was shown. Other than that I really liked this book and will be reviewing the next book, very soon.
4/5 Stars
 
 
 
 

 







The second book in the series is a continuation of the first and sets off with Darian in search of the ones that have wronged her from the first book.




Blood Before Sunrise (Shaede Assassin, #2)




Shaede Assassin #2
Release date:  July 3rd 2012 by NAL/Signet Eclipse
ARC-Reading soon


5 comments:

  1. Sounds like a pretty interesting book. I LOVE assassin books. I think this will be a new series for me. :)

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  2. Looks like a pretty serious Urban Fantasy book. The cover is really well done!

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  3. I like a good Urban Fantasy. I may check this out in the future. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
    Nice review!

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  4. Hehehe..first i gotta tell you I thought this was a Shades of Grey review and you just did something funky with the spelling. I was excited to open up your post and see this amazing cover!! I adore urban fantasy and kick-@ss protagonist. I have been looking for novels to fill the void that will be left by the Hollows, Mercy Thompson and Cat and Bones..as these series are coming to an end. This sounds perfect, and I am glad once Darian began to get a sense of her powers that you ended up liking her. First books are tough with all the world-building. I will be anxious to read your review of book two. Thanks for sharing this!

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  5. Oh! I knew I recognized this from somewhere, but it's from the sequel. I'm really curous about this one actually and I'm really glad you ended up enjoying it! As Kimba, I was more UF Kick-ass books myself. ;) Great review.

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