The Kinsmen is a futuristic Science Fiction series in a world that seems to be ruthless when it comes to protecting yourselves and your people. The inhabitants also have some enhancements that give them a leg up, and always a favorite for me - the men are possessive as can be.
Silent Blade: OK - this story. I felt giddy the entire way through it. It was a cat and mouse game between Meli and Celino as she exacts her revenge for a wrong done to her a long time ago. I love how precise Meli was with her revenge; I love that while she lived with what Celino did to her, she wasn't portrayed as miserable and brooding. (Though I suspect that’s exactly what she was.) I was floored by this story and what Ilona Andews can do with minimal word count. For a short story, this felt like an epic, sweeping romance. And their writing certainly lended itself well to this feel; I don’t know how they did it, but they painted with broad strokes, allowing me to fill in some of the details, and still this story felt so fleshed out. I would have loved a full length novel about Meli and Celino, but I was certainly left satisfied with this.
Silver Shark: While this story took a bit more to get into than Silent Blade, it was no less enjoyable. Claire was a trained killer before she was deported as a refugee. In her new home, Claire has to mask her abilities to survive. So, the hero’s name in this one is Ventruo Escana, and I’ll be honest. I was already halfway in love with him because of that. Add that that that he was so kind and gentle, and he was a winner. I love the story here and how he learned to value Claire as his employee. I love how he hunted her relentlessly, not even knowing it was she he was hunting. And most of all, I admire how intelligent Ilona Andrews’ heroines are. They’re just such a pleasure to read. They are what they are; they don’t feel a need to prove themselves. They’re secure in what or who they are, and that’s enough for them. It’s so refreshing. The love story in this one, as in the previous, swept me away, and I loved it so much.
A Mere Formality: I have to say that this was the weakest of the bunch. It was too technical with not enough payoff in the romance department, and that could be that the bar was set so high with the previous two installments in this collection. Still interesting and a smart heroine, but it felt out of place with two such strong stories.
Overall: I’m amazed at what this author duo can do with so few words. Everytime I pick up a new series from this duo, I think there’s no way I can love it as much as other series I’ve read. I’m happy to report that I’m always wrong about that. And it makes me so excited that I still have so many books from them. The Kinsmen is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Ilona Andrews, and I love that there is yet another series from them we are getting more of.
Narration: Samantha Cook did a fabulous job here. There’s something about her voice that conveys a restraint with the heroines that I felt was very fitting for this series. She did a great job with the male voices as well. Great intonation and knowing the characters really made this a fantastic listen. I’m looking forward to listening to more from her.
This is an anthology edition of the Kinsmen Universe, which includes Silent Blade and Silver Shark, plus a new short story.
Family is everything. Talent is power. And revenge is sweet.
In a distant, future world Kinsmen - small powerful groups of genetically and technologically advanced families - control vast financial empires. They are their own country, their own rulers, and their only limits are other Kinsmen. The struggle for power is a bloody, full-contact sport: in business, on the battlefield...and sometimes in the bedroom.
Silent Blade Old hatreds die hard. Old love dies harder.
On the planet Rada, Meli Galdes' family is of minor rank, and were relying on her marriage to Celino, the razor-smart, ruthless leader of the powerful Carvanna empire. When he abruptly breaks their engagement, he ruins her family and guarantees that Meli will never marry, as no suitor will oppose the rich and influential Carvannas.
But Meli has a rare, secret, lethal - and valuable - talent. As a melder of energy, she's capable of severing anything in her path. So she "leaves" her family and trains to become one of the best and most lethal of assassins, all the while covertly guarding her family's interests. Now she's ready to quit; but she has one more assignment.
To kill the man who ruined her life.
Silver Shark Claire Shannon is a killer...and her weapon is her mind.
Born on a planet torn by war for over 300 years, Claire is a soldier: a psycher, with the ability to read, control, and destroy the minds of enemy psychers and to infiltrate the biological network where they battle to death.
When Claire's faction loses the war, she barely escapes extermination from both sides, as her talent brands her as too dangerous to society. By so-deeply burying her ability that she avoids detection, Claire is instead deported to Rada as a refugee, where she must find work to remain. She finds a job as personal assistant to Venturo Escana, a premiere kinsman; one of Rada's most wealthy entrepreneurs - and most powerful psychers.
She thought she had left war behind, but now she must hide her skills and her growing feelings from Venturo...and this battle might just cost her everything....
"A Mere Formality" The leader of the fierce Reigh people expires during an intergalactic summit, putting 30 million colonists' lives and livelihoods in jeopardy. When the new heir to the Reigh throne, Lord Nagrad, demands restitution, the phrase "'a life for a life" turns the intergalactic calamity into an arranged marriage contract between Lord Nagrad and sharply intelligent diplomatic analyst Deirdre Lebed...and the negotiation of terms becomes anything but formal!
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