"An alliance of convenience transforms into something far more seductive"
Reviewed by Annie Tegelan
Posted July 29, 2012
Romance Paranormal
Kendra Leigh Castle takes readers back into a seductive
paranormal world in SHADOW RISING where an alliance of
convenience transforms into something far more seductive.
As a coveted member of the vampire caste called the
Grigori, Ariane is a watcher. She is bound by duty to
observe the world around her, but forbidden to ever
intercede. She is content until her friend, Sammael
disappears. Realizing that Sammael could be in great
danger, Ariane takes it upon herself to break out of her
protected desert to find her beloved friend. Out alone in
an unfamiliar world, she encounters a man far more
interesting than her set goal. Soon, the sexy shifter
becomes a distraction that she does not need.
Damien Tremaine is part of the House of Shadows. As a cat
shifter and assassin, he has the tools necessary to locate
Sammael. His reward holds considerable value to him so
therefore, Damien knows he will do anything in order to
gain his prize. That is until he crosses paths with the
beautiful Ariane. Though they are forced together by the
common goal of locating Sammael, their emotions and raging
sexual chemistry interferes until they are no longer able
to deny their desire for one another.
Kendra Leigh Castle weaves a particularly enticing
character in Damien Tremaine. In most of the book, he is a
complete jerk, yet Castle does a fantastic job of
straddling this line, as she also displays several
redeeming qualities about him. It helps that Ariane's
personality is tough and she keeps him on his toes.
As Damien and Ariane work together, they soon discover that
they no longer need each other to complete their shared
task. Instead, they come to desire each other's presence if
only to explore this newly discovered passion.
With exceptional worldbuilding and fascinating characters,
Kendra Leigh Castle has a true gift of imbuing her
characters with tightly-leashed passion, making this book
an easy one to devour. There's no question that SHADOW
RISING is a top- notch read!
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, they begin an alliance of necessity
that 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.
ExcerptSlowly, the tension beneath his hand eased, and the woman
sank back down onto her stool. Damien released her
reluctantly. His hand tingled where he'd touched her. For a
moment, her awkwardness vanished, and the woman looking back
at him was every bit as cold and ancient as her dynasty mark
proclaimed her to be.
He wondered fleetingly if playing with a Grigori this way
was wise, then brushed it aside. He'd lived for centuries
doing just as he liked, and it had served him well enough.
Why stop now?
"I'll stay. For now. But I'm not going to entertain
you...cat." Her gaze dropped to the concealed top of
Damien's right collarbone. There, beneath his shirt, was the
mark of his bloodline, a trio of entwined black cats
fashioned into a Celtic circle. It branded him as Cait Sith,
a cat–shifter.
And without looking at it, she shouldn't have been able
to tell so quickly.
"How did you know?" Damien asked.
The woman shrugged, a dainty lift of shoulders exposed by
the sleeveless little black dress she wore. The movement
made him look below her neck, which he instantly knew he
shouldn't have done. He could stay distracted for weeks by
the wonders showcased by that dress. With some effort, he
dragged his eyes back up to meet hers.
"I'm good at indentifying who's who," she said, her tone
defensive. "I studied."
"Really. And what identified me?"
She turned her head to glare into her drink. "Does it
matter? You're just going to make fun of me, whatever I say."
The accusation startled him...more because she was
probably right. And for whatever reason, the knowledge
bothered him.
"I won't. I'm genuinely curious."
She didn't even look at him. "I doubt that. You're just
bored. Go away."
Damien watched her face, seeing the frustration likely
borne of fumbling her way through modern vampire society
without a lifeline for at least a couple of weeks, and
something in him softened. He didn't bother to try and
analyze it, but his voice sounded strange to his own ears as
he sought to reassure her.
"I'm not leaving until you tell me. But I'm happy to drag
this out if you'd rather."
She looked up at him through long, dark lashes with such
world–weariness that he had to fight back the urge to
pull her into his lap and nuzzle her. The idea had some
merit, actually...but Damien was pretty sure that would just
put them back at square one. The longer they looked at one
another, the more Damien had the unnerving sensation that
she was sizing him up, judging him by some measure he
couldn't begin to guess at. The intensity of her focus on
him was as pleasurable to Damien as a caress. To his shock,
he had to swallow back an inadvertent purr. He didn't purr
for anyone. Anyone. And certainly not for something as cheap
as a little attention.
At last, she relented with a sigh. "It's your eyes, for
one thing. The pupils do some interesting things in the
light. They're very feline, if you look close enough. But
mostly it was just the way you move. I'd read about it, but
the words didn't really do you justice."
He lifted his brows, surprised by the simple honesty of
her answer. "Oh?"
She nodded, obviously an eager student of a subject
Damien was inclined to find ridiculously flattering. He
didn't think any woman had ever remarked on the way he moved
before...out of bed, that was.
"Yes," she said. "Very graceful, very sinuous. Very..."
She trailed off, and it seemed she'd been about to say a lot
more than she'd intended. Damien watched her pale cheeks
flush again.
"Well. It's unique anyway. So..." She looked a bit at a
loss, grabbed the martini she'd been nursing, and took a
large gulp. Then she looked at him over the rim of the
glass, eyes glittering in the dim light, and Damien found
himself momentarily lost again. All vampires were beautiful.
It actually got boring after a while. But this one was
damned near a work of art. Sculptors would have carved her
likeness on temples; famed poets would have composed
masterpieces extolling her beauty and then drank themselves
to death over her. He could imagine it easily.
Except that she acted like she'd been locked in a closet
for the last five hundred years.
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