Ty overload, and then that cliffhanger! OMG Full review to follow.

As much as I love Amanda Bonilla's SENTRY OF EVIL & SHAEDE ASSASSIN series, I have a serious beef with ghost romances. I grabbed this as a freebie, and it was a short read, so no real skin off my back there. Anyway, I went into the story with an Urban Fantasy frame of mind which was my bad because I rarely bother with blurbs, and this one clearly had a strong love undertone to it. The novella wasn't long enough to be able to really get a feel for any of the characters other than Jacquelyn, and that was more from my experience with VENGEANCE BORNE, the first full length installment. I found the tale rather corny, and the plot didn't have much of a kick to it. HAUNTED didn't add anything to the series, but it might appeal to readers looking for a quick, cutesy way to pass the time just so long as you don't have anything against spook / living HEAs. 

Alyssa is a production assistant in a crew filming a supposed haunted hotel as a highlight story for Halloween. Alyssa feels the need to leave her room and go for a walk late at night as her boss and the anchor-woman are busy rattling the walls. Before she gets to the woods Alec stops her. There is something dangerous out in the woods that will kill. There is a familiarity between the two as well, but neither knows the other feels it.

To me this is a blend of spooky-sweet. What's out there in the woods, nasty. Not good out there. But Alec and Alyssa, sweet. Kind of a Val-oween?

This novella takes place not long after the first book, Vengeance Borne, of furies attacks. Jacquelyn has her hands full with the after affects but she shows up briefly here. We see Jacquelyn briefly here as she is hunting what is in the woods.

The news crew don't seem to find the ghosts they are looking for, but what's out in the woods is much more dangerous. Alec does his best to protect the guests by boarding up all the exits except the front door, to keep them from the woods. It almost works.

Alec and Alyssa both have a common feeling of familiarity and attraction for each other, neither know the other feels this way. As if they'd meet before. This is something that I wish was explored a little more, but was so sweet in this novella. We get the view from Alyssa and Alec to get the full feel of the thoughts and attraction. I hope we get a chance to see these two again in the novels at some point, I'd like to know them a bit better.

I will say I had my suspicions of Alec, you read you'll understand. I was kept in suspense of him and his being and rules for the story. I had to know more about him. In the end, I got them.

Do you need to read Vengeance Borne to read this? No, I don't think so. These two characters are not in Vengeance Borne. But you won't know the town and what Jacquelyn's job is. You'll deduce it from this story. There are no major spoilers of the first book here though, or so I thought.

After reading this, I wanted to watch High Spirits again. Do you know that movie? A movie from 1988 with ghosts and a castle. Was cute and fun. I think if you enjoyed the movie, you'll enjoy the quick story.

Against the Dawn
Series: Shaede Assassin #4
Author: Amanda Bonilla
Publisher: NYLA
Published on: May 20, 2014
Genre: Urban Fantasy
eARC
Provided by: Author
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Six months can feel like just a couple of weeks when you’ve been away in another realm. Literally.

Now that Darian is back in Seattle, she’s ready to face the life—and the man—she left behind. But it’s not going to be easy when a ghost from her past shows up looking to wreak havoc on Seattle’s supernatural crime scene.

Darian isn’t as careless as she used to be, though. She and Tyler, her sexy Jinn protector, have come a long way in the trust department. And it’s a good thing too—because when Ty contracts her to assassinate a wickedly powerful supernatural who goes by the name of Mithras, it will take all her faith in Ty, and herself, to get the job done.

While Darian does whatever it takes to get to her mark, Xander, the Shaede King is busy making plans of his own. With Darian’s attention divided between Lorik’s secrets and her mission she might not be able to stop Xander from doing anything in his power to separate Darian from her sworn protector and in the process, destroy his own kingdom…

The previous book ended with Darian’s life in shambles, and now in AGAINST THE DAWN, she’s back from her stint in O Anel and trying to pick-up the pieces. The opening chapters were very emotional, both for me and the heroine, because not only do readers get to reconnect with their favourite characters after the long wait between installments, but getting to do so through Darian’s eyes was extra poignant. There’s a lot going on in Amanda Bonilla’s latest novel with multiple plot threads, romances, a new supe or two, and of course, Tyler never disappoints.

I’ve been DYING to learn more about the Jinn ever since I first started reading this series and was introduced to the mysterious Ty. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that all is revealed, but enough details are shared that I don’t feel quite as in the dark as I did before. Unfortunately, most of these juicy morsels are spoilers so, moving on… Some light is also shed on the inner workings of Xander’s court, and oddly enough the center of the Shaede Kingdom is in Alberta, Canada! I KNEW there was more to Banff’s freakishly blue water than glaciers (i.e. magic). And, Bonilla’s fab world-building doesn’t end there with the addition of reapers, werewolves, and even a Minotaur to her supernatural hodgepodge. The author really pulled out all of the stops with this one!

The love triangle continues in this installment even though Darian made her choice in book 3 because some guys just can’t take no for an answer. On top of neglecting his kingdom in favour of his romantic pursuit, Xander also decides to get the PNT involved in his rivalry with Tyler. Needless to say, the whole thing gets rather ugly, but as much as I love the sexy Jinn, I can’t help but wonder if the Fae King’s selfless intentions will have an impact on Darian’s decision. Xander proves that he’s more than just a pretty face in this novel, and as much as I hate to admit it, I’m starting to feel some sympathy for the bugger. Only one love scene makes an appearance, but after a year of pent up sexual frustration, quality more than makes up for quantity in this instance.

There’s no shortage of action in AGAINST THE DAWN with Mithras, the Synod and Lorik stirring up trouble. I was kind of peeved at Darian for falling for the latter’s ploy so easily, especially given their history and that she never fully trusted him to begin with. Every SHAEDE ASSASSIN book needs at least one good brawl, and the roman god of warriors certainly delivers on that front. I was happy to see Asher play a more active role in this series after having enjoyed his character in the previous novel, and Raif was great too even though he’s struggling with his loyalties a bit. I thought we’d kissed the Azriel related problems goodbye several installments ago, but apparently not because the Rakshasa are back and out for blood. Poor Darian.

AGAINST THE DAWN takes the SHAEDE ASSASSIN series to a whole new level with more mayhem, more action, and more romance—heck just plain more everything!

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