The Shadow Ryana

The Shadow Sisters Series, Book 1

By: C. R. Daems

Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

Ryana, a worthless girl-child, is sold to a mysterious woman who takes her to the home of the Shadow Sisters who are prized for their abilities as spies and assassins. She survives years of training in spite of being unconventional: adopting poisonous bats as familiars - something no one else would dare to do; choosing the blow dart as her weapon of choice - a weapon the Sisters don't teach; and relying on intuition rather than logic. 

As she completes her training, the Shadow Sisters are under attack. The senior Sister selects Ryana to find out who is killing Sisters and why - because her intuitive approach has proved effective, even though her youth and inexperience makes it unlikely she will survive. 

As she travels through the kingdom as a member of a gypsy clan, she finds the only way she can protect the Sisters and hope to discover the underlying plot is through ever more violence and killing. As she proceeds through the provinces, her secret enemies come to call her the Sister of Death and become desperate to find and kill her. But in her desperate fight to protect the Sisterhood and the kingdom, Ryana fears that she has destroyed herself and the only life she ever wanted.

©2012 C. R. Daems (P)2018 Skyboat Media

Fun story

This was a fun story. I found myself staying up late just to finish the book...which is usually a good sign. However, as fun as this story was, its not epic. It could have been. There is magic in this book. Its not that important. By the end of the book, I realized that magic was handled as more seasoning and not the entire meal. I liked that. The fight scenes were average to poor. I didn't find that appealing. The MC was a strong female lead that felt far more developed and 3D, than the remaining 2D supporting cast.(seriously 2D evil dudes) There are some rape/violence scenes...as opposed to some books where you feel the author is getting off on it, or the marketing manager added the scenes....these felt part of the storyline. The ending is rushed. Several elements of the sisterhood and their interaction with the MC were not fleshed out as well as they could have been.(its one of those stories where you felt the author knew something you didn't...and when you got to the end expecting the finer points to be revealed...they weren't. If fact, the final events made me think I was expecting too much from the storyline) SPOILER: Why send Ryana at all?...there are several others that could have gone... her "uniqueness" never felt that unique...until after she killed 30 or more people....but no one could have predicted that....maybe if the sisterhood "home" was attacked and everyone killed but her....maybe, I could buy into her going. ....probably would have made a better book.

So, ok, enough bashing. It was a fun listen. I liked that the MC wasn't a whining little kid for the entire book. I liked the inner turmoil. The story moves. Is it worth a credit? If you have nothing better lined up, its a nice waste of time...fun...so yeah it was worth the credit for me.

Thank Goodness for Audible Plus!

Without Audible Plus I may not have listened to this great book. Loved the plot. Super loved that women were strong, smart, and kicking butt. A fun listen.

Could hardly put it down; well written, well read.

This series would normally be a bit outside my usual reading. But as an "Included" book, the price was right & the summary caught my interest. The protaginist, Ryana (dubbed the Sister of Death by the evil ones) struggles greatly with her true identity(ies), the morality of her decisions, & the consequences on her soul.
As the tale begins, she is very young and has no relationships except family abuse, but after they sell her, she builds many as the cycles [years] go by growing up. At 18 (?) she is sent to confronts the Enemy. She does so in order to save those whom she cares about: her true family, i.e. those who raised and trained her (The Shadow Sisters), her adopted family (the Gypsy clans), those who assist her with her uncertain journey, a "quest" to gain intel along the way (e.g. the Earth Wizards & desert people), and, eventually, her King and country.
Yet, the terrible things she has done to succeed in her quest haunt her deeply & she feels herself worthy only of death. Will her new love aid in her healing? (Read Shadow Gypsy next to find out!)
I must admit that I enjoyed this series a lot, & hope to encounter this reader-narrator again, tho I'm not sure I'd spend credits for other books by this author (only because I still have a very long list of other favorites I want to pick up first). Nonetheless, if you enjoy fantasy, mystery, & a bit of romance, you'll enjoy this.

COULDN’T STOP LISTENING!!!

Great characters, wonderful new story line, totally engaging!
This author excels bringing action to life with a main character who is self-effacing. She is an underdog you can’t resist rooting for.
I am a sucker for a happy endings!
It is very rare for me to submit a full review.

Love love love this book!!!!

I absolutely love this book! I love how the main character is so an awesome, yet humble enough to not see it. she is strong but also relatable in an odd way I highly enjoyed this book and cannot wait to listen to the next!

it was a good listen

this book made my work day go by in a flash it was a very good listen.

good female lead

wasn't sure about the story and narrator's pace. but it was good. the female lead is strong but vulnerable.
I would get the next book

Different and entertaining

I liked it, it's a little long in spots, and the narrator was pretty good.

Fantastic! Don't hesitate - this one is a great read!

It's rare to find a great story by a talented author read by a skilled narrator when just looking through the plus catalogue for something tempting. I tend toward other types of books, but I love a good spy novel and solid world building - this has both with so many fun subplots along the way. Read it! Or even better, listen as Gabrielle brings C.R.'s story to life in her brilliant way.

The shadow ryana

Loved it and the narrated was great. .. listened this twice. very interesting and kept me entertained.

Loved this story

This story was not what I expected and could not stop listening. I recommend it to all , even if there is violence and the principal character grew into her responsibility as a assassin even if she didn't want to kill. She is remorseful and may never be the same.

A refreshing take on this storyline

I found this book enthralling. It was difficult to break off listening to do the chores, For me it is a cut above similar story plots, but I can't really put my finger on what makes it so. There is a lot of action, and (a warning!) a lot of killing. We walk with the character, Ryana, as she settles into her impossible task, and watch it transform her. Even though the action is grim, and it takes a heavy toll on her, Ryana's strong sense of self helps her cope. If I say any more, it would probably spoil the story for you. de Cuir does a first-rate job of performing the various personalities and the 'Americanisms' are thankfully few. All credit to Daems for his writing. I've just downloaded the second book in the series and will start it soon. When are we likely to see a third book (the 2nd book was published in 2013)?
CPL

Stunning

What a story about a young girl plucked from her no good family and turned into a trained assassin..

Average fantasy story

** Minor Spoilers **

This was my first CR Daems novel and having finished it I am left divided over how I feel about it. On the one hand it drew me in in the sense that I wanted to finish the book to find out how the story would eventually end but on the other hand I can't say that I ever really felt connected to any of the characters because I found them all a little too unbelievable. I have no problem with female leads in any story, but really could not warm to Ryana. For the first part of the novel where she is undergoing training with the Sister she comes across as a whiney little girl who assumes that the world is against her and that nobody likes, trusts nobody. When she graduates she is suddenly made the most senior Shadow Sister other than the overall boss and tasked with investigating how and why sisters are being killed. The only justification given is that she is the least likely person to be suspected as the enemy will expect a senior / experienced sister to be assigned. Whilst she was training she only working to be a spy and didn't want to be an assassin. Once she is in the field however she becomes nothing short of a bloodthirst psychopath killing left, right and centre then after every killing she feels remorse doesn't know how she will be accepted after all this killing only to go out and do it all again.
As part of her cover she is travelling with a family of gypsies taking part in their show and working as if she was a member of the family. As they travel across the country, Ryana constantly gets involved in fights, gets injured, 'miraculously' saves members of the clan, Despite being told that Ryana is a failed sister being sent home nobody seems to connect these occurrences with stories of the 'Shadow of Death' , really didn't seem feasible that no one gets suspicious.
Gabrielle does a good job narrating the story but overall I don't think I will be reading other CR Daems novels in the future

Very enjoyable

Liked it all. The storyline, the teller of the story everything. Will be buying the next book.

ninjas

i loved this book i just found it one day as i was looking for next listen so i took a chance and I am so glad i did i was hooked right from the start i would tell anybody to try this book it's well worth it

Loved, loved, loved

I started listening to this book and couldn't stop, I don't write many reviews but felt I had to for this one.
The main character, is amazing and the overwhelming emotions she has to face is written well. The narrator is great as well. Highly recommended.

thrilling

excellent tale of girl to woman, taken from abusive father and taught by the sisters to become a spy, but excells as an assassin with her strong intuition to do right. added bonus is the voice of Gabrielle de cuir, soft and warm with wide characterisation, a great partnering, loved it.

excellent !

loved it!
very descriptive and loved the story.
a girl living two different lives.
the narrator was first class!

Quite enjoyed the development of characters and the depth of the story

As it happens, this is the fourth series of books with strong female characters. Story was good, the narration was quite good as well. There was not too much repetition of any point making just to drill in to the listener. Overall, quite enjoyable.