Born of Night: A League Novel

I read through all of Kenyon's Dark Hunter novels with a fervor that bordered obsession (yes, my screen saver is Acheron, and my mouse pointer is Artemis' bow, so what?). Then I read the first of Kenyon's Belador Code books and was disappointed in a big way. So I started this book with a lump in my throat. I so badly wanted a decent Kenyon fix, and I wasn't willing to wait until the next Dark Hunter novel comes out.

Kenyon has a thing for tortured heroes. Often they experience childhood trauma of the worst possible sorts, leaving them crass and sometimes mean-spirited, but still with a core of goodness, of honor. The point behind them, I believe, is that even when life throws these guys the worst life has to offer, their spirit is so strong that their basic decency survives. Nykerian, the hero of Born of Night, is that sort of hero.

Kiara is a princess in pretty much every sense of the word. The world Kenyon builds is a rough one, and Kiara's life hasn't been completely trauma free, but for the most part she has been protected and pampered by her powerful father. Her character isn't always likeable, but you can see the discoveries she makes about herself and about others. She is a judgmental girl when she meets her hero, but she becomes a more understanding woman as the book progresses. It's easy to feel harshly about her, but she is a product of her upbringing, and her growth as a person is necessary to the story line. All in all, I thought she was the perfect foil for Nykyrian.

This book is a romance set in a sci fi world. I wouldn't recommend it for pure sci fi fans, nor would I recommend it for someone wanting a "sweet romance". This book is about a man who has been handed the worst life has to offer and survives the best way he can, and a woman who allows herself to love him. The sex isn't crass but it is explicit.

I thought the narrator did a fine job, building tension in the right places, adding appropriate inflection and doing believable character voices.

This was an entertaining story but the narration was merely adequate and didn't really do the story justice. Fans of The Dark Hunter series will note the same strong overtones of childhood abuse and violence. Readers who are new to Kenyon's work should be forewarned- these themes are gut wrenching, heart breaking and very hard to listen to. That said, Kenyon does a good job of wrapping up the loose ends and telling a story of triumph over evil and adversity through love. The sexual content is explicit but not vulgar and Kenyon introduces secondary and tertiary supporting character with enough depth and definition to leave the reader in eager anticipation of their stories. Overall well done and worthy of the credits.

best story ever!!

syn you got the feel you really knew him.

she was wonderful... a different voice for each character. real good job!!

MY GOODNESS YES!! i had read the books... but this was by far more fun and exciting!!

i am looking forward to buying the rest of the series...

light on the sci. heavy on the fi. i would mention the size of the plot holes, but the size of the plausability holes are much larger. the tension is allowed to build nicely before blooming into a few adult interludes. not crass, more NC-17 than X. the story was well crafted and excelently paced. the characters were also well rounded and quite believable. i enjoyed the narrator here and thought she did a good job. overall it was a fun diversion. predictable and shallow, but somehow that's what made it such fun.

First of all, for the ladies:
You will fall in love with this exciting book which intertwines deep loving passion with heart stopping action. In a classical sense its a story about a princess that wants to live her life the way she wants and of the tragic hero who thinks he's just in it for money while in truth a strong sense of honor drives his every deed. Their unlikely encounter spawns a passionate love that drives the undercurrent of their interaction between each other, yet the differences of their upbringing makes them question about each others feelings. With added danger of assassins and some politics this book should...nay will keep you on the edge of your seat till the last page. A must buy!

Now for the guys:
STAY AWAY FROM THIS BOOK! READ IT AT YOUR OWN RISK! The characters are as 2d as they can possibly get and mostly reminds me of these $5 books where Fabio is holding some blond chick that is about to orgasm just from looking at him (just add space ships in the background). Albeit some of the action can be entertaining, the cheesy love and "struggle" of the characters is not just jokingly bad, its extremely cringe worthy and just plain awkward. Don't get suckered in by all the 5 stars, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Have not read the print version so I cant say, but I have listen to this one several times already.

The strong sassy characters. Also that they where flawed and had difficult background that affected their actions and reactions, but the angst level was very low.

Oh Yes! I could not turn it off, but if I wanted to sleep I had to (sob).

Wow, I should have read the review from Denis!

This really was not a science fiction action book as much as it was a romance novel. The futuristic aspects with ships and blasters were really just afterthoughts.

How many times can you read about one character's POV on the attraction to another character? Seriously, every other thought was on their primal attraction.

I finally gave up 1/2 way through the book.

I loved everything about Born of Night from the story itself to the reader's performance.

I love Sherrilyn Kenyon's heros. They are always so strong in spite of, or because of, their tragic pasts. They are forceful, protective and smart alpha men who don't like to acknowledge their tender side but it comes out anyway in their relationships with their mates.

I loved her performance. I could listen to her all day and never get tired of her. She just has one of those voices and she draws in to the story.

When Kiara watched to tapes of Nykerian growing up and realized how abused he had been.
I also loved toward the end of the book when they found out that Nykerian was royalty. That ruled!!

The story: The characters are believable and engaging. They are dynamic. The plots are interesting and fast-moving with just enough twists to keep a sharp mind attentive.

The performance: The reader was great. She really brought the characters to life. She made the action scenes and scenes with emotion really shine. I've since gone looking for other things that she reads.

If another installment of this series came available, it would jump to the top of my wish list.

If you are familiar with Sherrilyn's Dark Hunter series, this story is a copy of Zryricks, I don't know what it is about abuse and the worst type of degradation that appeals to this author but she makes it works and you can't help falling in love with the hero. But in the end they find love and happiness in spite of the abuse they received. You will not be disappointed