Shadow Rising ~ Kendra Leigh Castle

Shadow Rising by Kendra Leigh Castle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book caught me by surprise. I received it as a netgalley and didn't realize it was the third book in a series. Knowing that now I can't fault the author in my initial confusion to what time period the story ooh place. For some reason I was thinking it was a more ancient world then a few chapters in I realized its more a modern day America. Other than that little confusion I enjoyed this one.


Summary: Ancient Secrets, Dark Passions...

As one of the Grigori, a noble vampire dynasty shrouded in mystery, Ariane has spent her life hidden away in the desert. Like all of her kind, she is a watcher, fated to observe, forbidden to act. Yet when her best friend, Sammael, vanishes, she defies all rules and flees her safe haven to bring him home.

A shape-shifting assassin for the House of Shadows, Damien Tremaine is hired to locate Sammael. His hunt for the wayward Grigori leads him to Ariane, the rogue vamp who stands between him and his bounty. Damien never lets emotion interfere with his work, but a single touch from the sexy, beguiling vampire shatters his self-control. Drawn together by their common goal, what begins as an alliance of necessity soon becomes one of desire. But when the secret at the dark heart of the Grigori comes to light, Damien and Ariane must make a choice that could bind them eternally...or tear them—and everything they care about—apart.

My Take:

At first the attraction between Damien and Ariane seemed a little forced but a few chapters in the sparks really seem to be flying. Damien is just emotionally wounded enough to make you feel compassion for him even when he is being a jerk. Ariane has an inner strength which makes for a compelling main character. I also found some of the secondary characters really enjoyable. Hopefully we will see them in a future book for this series.


Overall this book had some great action and some pretty hot romance scenes. I was up late night reading this one and wasn't disappointed with the ending. Heres hoping we will hear more about Chaos in the next book. I'm going to have to go hunt for the first two books in the series.


If your looking for more info on the series check out Kendra Leigh Castle's Blog.