Shadow Kin (The Half-Light City, #1)

Sep 17, 2011 Rane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, paranormal-pnr

I admit, I love my Urban Fantasy gritty, fast paced, action packed, with some great paranormal elements. Shadow Kin lived up to part of my expectations in the end.

Lily has been made into the perfect assassin by a Blood Lord, a wraith whose able to slip between the shadows. Until the next job puts her face to face with a sunmage, Simon DuCaine, whose light forces her from the shadows. Simon sees something in Lily, that makes him feel she can finally stop the most powerful Blood Lord of the city...more I admit, I love my Urban Fantasy gritty, fast paced, action packed, with some great paranormal elements. Shadow Kin lived up to part of my expectations in the end.

Lily has been made into the perfect assassin by a Blood Lord, a wraith whose able to slip between the shadows. Until the next job puts her face to face with a sunmage, Simon DuCaine, whose light forces her from the shadows. Simon sees something in Lily, that makes him feel she can finally stop the most powerful Blood Lord of the city. As the bond and trust slowly grow between the two, it puts them in more then harm's way.

A city spilt down the middle between light and dark not figuratively speaking. Beast Kind and Blood Lords ruling part of the city, while Mages and Fae trying to keep the dark out and protecting the innocent humans and trying to prevent humans from becoming blood-locked ( sort of a drug addict) of Blood Lords . This idea drew me in, with a city at a knife's edge of war, you have alot brewing underneath. Lily and Simon get stuck in the middle with both wanting something out of the deal, more so then Simon, who is the first to think of Lily helping beat the Blood Lord she serves. Lily wants freedom instead of being used as a tool.
Lily has been made to distrust everything and everyone, but when Simon forces his way into her life, Lily is at a lost what he really wants. Lily isn’t a fool though and knows Simon wants something from her. Simon is torn between wanting to help Lily and just wanting her.
I understood where Lily was coming from, abused and hurt, trust isn’t easy for Lily, and Simon came off as a sweetie wanting to help anyone in hurt and thinking Lily is a hurt little bird in need of love.

Then the half way mark came and everything stalled.

Simon became a asshat with his judgement of Lily, and distrust of her really got on my nerves. He had some skeletons in his closet and I would have thought this would have made him more understanding to Lily’s plight- nope. Lily stop growing and instead felt she was on repeat with her own secret and dwelling on it in a constant. state of should I or shouldn’t I. The world didn’t grow anymore after the half-way mark with the focus between these two knuckleheads, which I felt was a big lost, as I wanted more of the growth I was reading about in the first half to still be apart of in the second half. The scene stealer and one character whom really braced the change well was Simon’s brother Guy, who was funny and great and I really loved him and kinda wished beat his younger brother Simon over the head to bring back the common sense he seem to have lost.

The story surprisedly ends with a HEA, with the very cardboard villain getting his and everyone coming out of the shadows. This was sweet, but still left me waning on the overall feel of the book. The first half was amazing and while the story didn’t reach an great peak in the long run, still ended up pretty good. (less)

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May 20, 2012 Steph rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: author-웃, series-book1, series-ongoing, recommended-2-me, 2012, 12x12in2012, 2012-favorites

Per Author's Website, a new dark fantasy trilogy starting Sep 2011. Description: "Welcome to the Half-Light City.

Imagine a city divided. On one side, the Night World, ruled by the Blood Lords and the Beast Kind. On the other, the elusive Fae and the humans, protected by their steadfast mages. A city held together by nothing more than a treaty-and even then, just barely...

I was born of a Fae mother, but I had no place amongst her kind. They called me "soulless." An abomination. Perhaps they're ri...more

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May 13, 2012 Jenn rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I was so looking forward to reading this book.

The concept was so different. A wraith? Cooooool. The story was a little steampunky but that's not what my problem with this was.

Chapter one had me hooked. Then came chapter two and I was all "Wait! What? Who is this?" It took me a few confusing moments to realize I was suddenly in Simon's point of view. Simon's first person point of view when for the first chapter I was in Lily's.

It took coming here to realize that the sun and moon between chapters...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Mandi Schreiner rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up Shadow Kin on a whim, not knowing anything about the book or author. I sat down to read the first chapter, and didn’t get up until I was over 100 pages into it. Shadow Kin presents a very engaging twist on an urban fantasy world. Before I can talk about how much I enjoyed the protagonists, let me set up the world.

In this world the baddies belong to the Night World. In the dark that is the Night World we have the head honcho Lucius, who is a vampire that leads the pack. In this world...more I picked up Shadow Kin on a whim, not knowing anything about the book or author. I sat down to read the first chapter, and didn’t get up until I was over 100 pages into it. Shadow Kin presents a very engaging twist on an urban fantasy world. Before I can talk about how much I enjoyed the protagonists, let me set up the world.

In this world the baddies belong to the Night World. In the dark that is the Night World we have the head honcho Lucius, who is a vampire that leads the pack. In this world also resides the Beast Kind, Blood Lords, The Trusted (human blood servants) and the Blood Locked. They coexist in a world with the good guys that consist of the humans and those that protect them – the mages, Fae, and the Templar Knights, who help police the world. Peace occurs because of a very fragile treaty that everyone has agreed to.

Enter next our hero and heroine. Lily is a wraith – born to a Fae mother, and having no idea who her father is, she is an outcast that is shunned by society. No other wraiths exist (that anyone knows of) and as a young child she is sold to Lucius. She grows up to be his assassin, since she can turn into a shadow (while in the dark) and slip through walls or other objects. Her current mission is to kill the sunmage, Simon.

Simon, a sunmage is a healer. No matter who is hurt, good or evil beings, he feels the calling to heal. Soaking in the sun to embrace his power, he is a very strong healer. He also has a soft heart for helping people. But his world gets tipped upside down when Lily’s next assassination attempt is to kill him. But with Simon’s sun powers, he is able to trap Lily in sunlight, making it so she can’t turn to shadow, making her job to kill him much more difficult.

Simon is desperate for Lucius to lose power and if he can convince Lily to testify that Lucius wanted her to kill a human healer, that might sway the Fae to act on the treaty.

What this story comes down to is that Simon loves to help those in need. He can’t let Lily pass him by when he notices her stuck in this horrible job with Lucius. He has a bleeding heart. Lily knows no other life, but all of a sudden has this attractive man who is actually talking to her like a human being. But she is so conflicted (and remains conflicted) throughout much of the story. There are big trust issues on both sides. Lily is so hesitant to accept Simon’s help. Being Lucius’s assassin is all she knows, and no one else has ever wanted her. So when Simon asks her to stay with him and to help him bring down the one man that hurts her, yet gives her shelter, it is truly a hard decision for her. What makes it more difficult is that during her time with Lucius, she was forced to drink his blood and now has become somewhat addicted to it. So she wants to break this bond with him, but she almost physically can’t. She wants to be this good, pure person because she is falling in love with Simon, but she feels so tainted by the blood addiction to Lucius.

Meanwhile, Simon wants to bring Lucius down in a political manner, rather than outright killing him, whereas the only method that might work is violence.

What also stands out in this story are the supporting characters. Simon’s brother, Guy is a Templar Knight. We barely touch on these really cool characters that serve under God. Their method is to protect everyone, for the greater good, Doing what it takes, so the majority stays safe. So having to protect a single girl, isn’t necessarily their thing. Guy really stole a lot of the scenes and I think book two is his – and I’m excited! The Fae also abhor Lily, for they don’t understand her power. But with Simon and Guy backing Lily up, they are forced to work with her - bringing in much stress and tension.

As I read this book I had no idea if there would be a HEA at the end or if this was going to take more the urban fantasy route. There ends up being a HEA, and I enjoyed it. Although my one complaint with this book is that I wish their romance was explored a little more. This book only takes place over about a week – and they go from strangers to in love quite quickly. I don’t want to call Simon a beta hero, but I can’t classify him as alpha either. Maybe his quiet, soothing healing moments lends him more to the beta side, but he definitely has that protective, fighting urges when it comes to Lily. It is a unique relationship that just drew me in.

One more thing that threw me out of the story a couple of times – this is told in first person POV for both Lily and Simon. And sometimes it would switch without me realizing it and it took me a second to figure out whose head we were in. It was a little confusing and didn’t allow me to get lost in the book like I wanted to.

As I said, this world and the characters really stand out in this book. I think there is so much we can explore and we have just tipped the iceberg. Fans of urban fantasy need to check this one out. I can’t wait for the next book.
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May 31, 2012 Susana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-j-scott, 2012

I liked it. This story had a really promising start. I really liked the way Lily and Simon are introduced to one another. (LOL) The first chapter is great in capturing one's interest. But then, things became a little dull, mainly because i think that the author wanted to give us an insight of the real dinamic between Lily, "The shadow" and her "master" Lucius. She's nothing more than a possession. A weapon, his assassin, that exists only to do as he bids. She's truly in his hands, like a slave....more

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Jan 15, 2012 Catherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-vixen-reviews, first-reads-arcs-won-a-copy, kindle, assassin-killer-bounty-hunter, bad-childhood, wraith, fantasy-paranormal-sci-fi, halfbreed, magic-mystical-ability, read-2011, romance, series, vampire

I’ve found that I tend to drift more toward darker books. I read widely across the spectrum, but the ones that really resonate with me have that core of darkness. I like the complication of muddying the waters with gray characters and I like the complexity that comes from slightly twisted situations. I wouldn’t say that Shadow Kin is a dark book, per se, but I wouldn’t call it light. The heroine has that complexity to her and I found myself fascinated by the twisted existence she had been forced...more I’ve found that I tend to drift more toward darker books. I read widely across the spectrum, but the ones that really resonate with me have that core of darkness. I like the complication of muddying the waters with gray characters and I like the complexity that comes from slightly twisted situations. I wouldn’t say that Shadow Kin is a dark book, per se, but I wouldn’t call it light. The heroine has that complexity to her and I found myself fascinated by the twisted existence she had been forced into.

Lily (Shadow) was sold at birth to a Blood Lord (vampire). She’s a wraith and has the ability to slip into shadows. Wraiths are abominations in most people’s eyes, so Lily is trapped in the only existence she’s ever known. Lucius, the Blood Lord, raises her and trains her to be his pet assassin. He is not a nice man and her whole life has been filled with pain and fear. Lately, Lucius has become obsessed with her and has become even more vicious than usual. Lily fears for her future, but she has nowhere to go. He would hunt her relentlessly if she tried to escape.

Lily’s character was sad but authentic. She had been abused and beaten down her whole life. She wasn’t only physically abused either. Lucius played sick psychological games with her which left her unable to ever relax. He would go into a rage and beat her or he would become displeased by a failure of hers and would humiliate her. Lily is a strong character, but she’s emotionally fragile. She’s suspicious of any kindness or help offered to her, so someone like Simon is hard for her to understand. He looks at her and sees someone worth helping, regardless of what it costs him. Lily doesn’t want him to get involved in the darkness of her life and is ashamed of what he might learn about her. Fortunately for her, Simon is determined to help her whether she wants it or not.

Simon and Lily have a complicated relationship. They are drawn to each other, but they both are bound by skeletons from the past. They have a hard time trusting each other, though they want to. They are caught up in a complicated situation where they have to keep things from each other to stay true to their “side.” The tension and longing between them was very well done. This isn’t a Romance, but I found the star-crossed relationship between them compelling. At times I became angry at them for the choices they made—especially toward the end—but it didn’t keep me from being glued to the pages.

The middle of the book felt slow but I really liked the beginning and the end. At first I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about having alternating first person POV’s and I found the transition between them jarring—until I figured out that the symbols at the beginning of the chapter indicated whose POV it was—but I ended up really enjoying the style. In addition to developing the main characters well, Scott also created some fascinating side characters. Lucius, in particular, comes to mind. His relationship with Lily was complex and disturbing. Too often the villains are flat caricatures. You won’t get that with Lucius. He was dark and fascinating. I found Lily’s reaction to him believably conflicted, although I found it creepy. At one point she goes back to him and willingly sinks into his seduction so she can haze her mind and not have to think about the reality of what she is doing. I was very angry at her for this, but it cemented the vibe I had that Lily was behaving like an abuse victim; unable to keep from returning to her abuser and the life she’d grown accustomed to.

Although I liked Simon and his determination to be Lily’s hero, I thought he could be a right prick. He was quick to blame Lily whenever he learned about something she had kept from him but he never really internalized the fact that he kept just as much from her. His anger when he learned the truth about her twisted connection to Lucius made it hard to like him. He came down on her like a ton of bricks and blamed the victim of the situation. They eventually make up and apologize, but I felt that he was forgiven a little too easily.

Although I had a couple problems with the pace in the middle of the book and the behavior of certain characters, as mentioned, I found the story completely engrossing. This is my first book by this author, but it seems like she has a definite talent for creating intense, emotional stories. I’m definitely going to pick up the next book in this series when it comes out.

Favorite Quote:

Permanent mercy has to be earned. A warning to choose the right side. Only in my world the sides weren’t right and wrong. They were my side and everybody else’s.

I’d be choosing me.

*Review originally posted on Fiction Vixen*(less)

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Nov 16, 2011 Angela rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, library, challenge-2011, abandoned-series

1.5 Stars

First, this book is told in alternating first-person POV. There are, apparently, character-specific symbols that mark the beginning of each section, but I'll be honest and say that I never paid attention to these. Resulting in it taking me a couple of lines (or paragraphs sometimes) to get into who's voice it was.

I think that there's potential with this author, but unfortunately it just didn't hit the mark for me.

Lily, the main character, is a Wraith. A fae half-breed, with some special...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Felicia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vaginal-urban-fantasy, urban-paranormal

I'm waffling with this book, but I really liked it. Certainly for a first in a series it was REALLY well-thought out and not with all the clunky stuff that comes with first-timers where there's a ton of expo dump and backstory friends. I LOVED how the lead guy was not a pushy Alpha dude, and this was a pretty interesting meld of Templars, Vampires and Faeries that didn't feel THAT contrived a stew of paranormal. I enjoyed the plot and how the main character went from cold to warm because of the...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Esmeralda rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: realms, giving-up

Have you been to an art exhabit and you stop to look at a painting. The painting stops you for a moment and you are not sure if you hate it or like it. Then some smart people cames along talks about it like its the solution to world peace, you stare at it for a moment with mixed feeling than decide you hate it and move on without glancing back. This is what the book made me feel.

The characters in this book are flat. Lily is suppose to be the trained killer, but really lets herself be abused and...more

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Nov 23, 2011 Mariachiara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Titolo: Shadow kin

Autore: M. J. Scott

Serie: half light city libro 1

Inedito in italiano

Per adulti
Trama: Immaginate una città divisa. Da una parte il Mondo della Notte, governato dai Lord del sangue (vampiri) e dai Signori delle bestie (mutaforma). Dall'altro il mondo della Luce abitato dai solitari elfi e dagli umani, che vivono protetti da potenti magi. Una città in cui regna la pace solo grazie ad un trattato molto traballante.......
Lily è una wraith, un essere in grado di trasformarsi in una...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Mirjam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

After reading the intriguing blurb and first chapter I was determined to get my hands on M.J. Scott's Shadow Kin as soon as possible. Once I received it I wasted no time reading it, but was disappointed when I found myself unable to lose myself in the story due to the duo-narrative which switched seemingly without warning from Lily's to Simon's point of view. It was pointed out to me later that there is in fact a symbol indicating whose point of view is coming, but I must admit I never took noti...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Sarah Mayberry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was an fantastic read. I used to be a huge fantasy reader, but for some reason have dropped away from this genre a bit lately. I still have my faves - George RR Martin (although I am waiting until there are more books available before I start reading again. Too long between installments, Mr Martin) and Robin Hobb and Anne McCaffrey, to name a few. I read the opening scene in MJ Scott's Shadow Kin on her website just before her book was released and was utterly entranced by the crisp, origin...more This was an fantastic read. I used to be a huge fantasy reader, but for some reason have dropped away from this genre a bit lately. I still have my faves - George RR Martin (although I am waiting until there are more books available before I start reading again. Too long between installments, Mr Martin) and Robin Hobb and Anne McCaffrey, to name a few. I read the opening scene in MJ Scott's Shadow Kin on her website just before her book was released and was utterly entranced by the crisp, original writing and the clarity of the world she was creating. I went to her book launch last week and got my own autographed copy, then sat down to devour it yesterday. And could not put it down.

I'm not going to go through the plot points - I never do that in my reviews, too lazy! - but I want to talk about all the things that really worked for me with this book.

First up, such an original and compelling heroine. For many people, Lily would be evil incarnate. A wraith who is only powerful in the night, a trained killer who thinks of little beyond her own survival and the need she must feed and assuage. But Lily is that fabulous thing - a victim of undeserved misfortune, and I understand almost from the get go that she is a victim - a brave, courageous one, but a victim nonetheless. She is essentially powerless, caught between a rock and a hard place, and every decision she makes is expensive and potentially life threatening. Scott succeeds in making her incredibly sympathetic, and not once did I question her decisions, even toward the end when I was silently urging her to come clean with Simon rather than have him discover her secret. I understood her fear - which, in the end, turned out to be well grounded.

Simon was a great hero - heroic, but also caring. The quintessential warrior-healer. His essentially sunny nature - pun intended! - and determination to believe in and do good make him the perfect hero to help Lily save herself from the darkness. He is the light to her dark, and his support and belief and bravery in choosing to trust her when no one else would is what helps Lily see a way out of the darkness of her life.

I loved the world of the Half-Light City and am keen to know much more about it's origins and people. I liked the backstory given to Simon and Lily - they both had reasons for being who they are and for their beliefs and decisions, no one ever did anything simply because the plot required it of them. The conflict was believable and complex, the villain scary and compelling. I particularly liked the "chase" scene when Lucius pursues Lily toward the end of the book.

If you like complex, intelligent fantasy with strong romance, this is a very compelling, involving read with wonderful writing and well drawn, well rounded characters.

*Disclaimer. I do know MJ, but as anyone who reads my reviews knows, I only every review books I feel strongly about.
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Jul 15, 2012 CJ - Secret Charm rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy-romance, bump-in-the-night, bad-girls-turned-good, faeries, fantasy, women-hero, military-assassins-m, vampires

4.3

Great first book with an interesting set-up, good leads and realistic motivations and fears. My one complaint as the switch of POV between the two characters that came on suddenly without a real set of rules. The change of symbols will help you later on to determine who is going to be speaking but it took me awhile to figure out.

I could have used more of a deepening explanation as to the machinations of Lucius and the gains of others. Lucius felt menacing but sort of one-note. I also would ha...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Roxanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars

Eh, I really really wanted to like this more. Don't get me wrong it was a good book but the first half seemed to draaaaaaaaaaaag by. Maybe it was just me and my lack of concentration that day but it took my ages to get half way. Now the end half, that was heaps better I flew through it. I'm not sure why I couldn't get into the start of this book, the characters were great and the word building is fantastic.

This book is about a Wraith named Lily, she's never met another of her kind. She...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Janet rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, tbrchallenge, angsty-goodness

A girlfriend sent me this book and said it was fab -- so I'm going to read it for the February TBR Challenge.

The discussion between Simon and Lily around Shadow's real name is very reminiscent of both Ursula LeGuin's Wizard of Earthsea and Mary Balogh's More than a Mistress. I liked the tone it set. In a book like Shadow Kin (The Half-Light City), I am always so reminded of echoes from books I have loved -- and don't I know that there are references that are escaping me. So Shadow Kin is on a c...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Kerry Allen rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-eat-your-spinach, donated, never-again

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 1. If your vocation is killing people, it probably should be a little more difficult to thwart you than putting a key in a pocket because you're too squeamish to stick your hand in a guy's pants.

2. First person is a weird choice for such shallow POV. First person alternating POVs that aren't distinctive enough to know whose head you're in without an icon at the top of the scene to give you a clue.

3. Telling, telling, telling, i.e., "It was humiliating" with none of the attendant agonized though...more 1. If your vocation is killing people, it probably should be a little more difficult to thwart you than putting a key in a pocket because you're too squeamish to stick your hand in a guy's pants.

2. First person is a weird choice for such shallow POV. First person alternating POVs that aren't distinctive enough to know whose head you're in without an icon at the top of the scene to give you a clue.

3. Telling, telling, telling, i.e., "It was humiliating" with none of the attendant agonized thoughts or physical manifestations that accompany humiliation. Lather, rinse, and repeat with all other feels.

4. Several times, a character would say something requiring a response, followed by paragraphs of completely unrelated internal nattering, so that by the time the POV character got around to responding, it was necessary to scroll back up several paragraphs for a reminder of the topic under discussion.

5. "The need" sounds more like IBS than anything sexual.

6. If the basis of the villain's hold is sexual need that can be circumvented by having sex with anybody, maybe try saving the day through the power of MASTURBATION. Any 13-year-old on the planet could explain it to you.

7. Any 13-year-old on the planet could possibly also relate to the emotional intensity. Everybody! Was! Always! Shouting! And shouting things like "I don't trust you! So let's screw!" I kept waiting for somebody to act like an adult, but even ancient vampires and immortal Fae maxed out at high school maturity levels.

8. Some but not all of the "coma" victims woke up after Lucius was killed, the theory being that they fed from him and his death set them free. Never mind that they've been feeding from Atherton the whole time they've been in the hospital, and he's not dead, so according to the theory (Atherton's theory, by the way), none of them should be up unless Atherton's dead. BUT IT'S OKAY, because as the protagonists so helpfully elucidate in the final pages "I have no idea how that works" and "Who knows why any magic works?"

Giorgio Tsoukalos photo: Giorgio Tsoukalos Giorgio_Tsoukalos.jpg

9. And then they want to hold off on telling the "coma" victims' families they're alive because it would be cruel if they relapsed. NOT TO MENTION AWKWARD SINCE YOU TOLD THEM AGES AGO ALL THESE PEOPLE WERE DEAD. "LOL, JK. We've been holding your loved ones in stasis in an underground bunker for years without anyone's knowledge or consent, but they're all yours now. Enjoy having your lives turned inside out again. Oh, and here's the hospital bill."(less)

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Sep 25, 2011 Van rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I remember the first time I saw this cover, and I was thinking to myself “I have to get my hands on that book!” For the cover alone, I would have bought the book…but the synopsis actually sounded very fascinating. The story is told between two narratives, Lily a.k.a Shadow, a wraith that can fade into nothingness and Simon, a sunmage. Lily was raised by a blood lord (vampire) because her own mother, a fae didn’t want her. Lily is a half-breed and in the eyes of everyone, she is an abomination. L...more I remember the first time I saw this cover, and I was thinking to myself “I have to get my hands on that book!” For the cover alone, I would have bought the book…but the synopsis actually sounded very fascinating. The story is told between two narratives, Lily a.k.a Shadow, a wraith that can fade into nothingness and Simon, a sunmage. Lily was raised by a blood lord (vampire) because her own mother, a fae didn’t want her. Lily is a half-breed and in the eyes of everyone, she is an abomination. Lucius, the blood lord raised her to be the most feared assassin in the night world. Lucius sends Lily out on an assignment, to dispose of a potential threat. The ‘’potential threat” turns out to be Simon Ducaine, a powerful sunmage. Lily not only fails to kill him, but ends up being attracted to him. Simon, who can’t get Lily off his mind, sets out on a rescue mission to take Lily away from the cruel night world and into the light. Things turn for the worst, when Lucius discover that Lily is missing.

The world that Scott created is full of political intrigue, and unlikely love. Many readers found the duo narration hard to follow because it would switch mid-chapters. I didn’t have a problem at all with this. The author placed symbols right before the narration so readers would know exactly who is speaking. The crescent symbol represents Lily’s pov and a Sun represents Simon’s pov. The book started out great, where we see Lily shadowed in the Simon’s room; you can tell there was automatic chemistry between the two lead characters. As we get to the half way point of the book, things kind of dragged and dragged and the ending was really anticlimactic. Another thing that I had a problem with is the trust issue between the two characters. I mean, I get where they’re both coming from but Simon would get mad at Lily, thinking that she has these alterative motives but in reality Simon was the one hiding secrets. It makes Simon a hypocrite, and made me dislike him more and more. Imagine the trust issue all the way till the end, they don’t fully resolve the problem till 2nd to the last chapter! Regardless of this, I do look forward to reading Blood Kin, which is to be released June 2012 to see what happens with Simon and Lily. If you love vampires (blood), shifters(beasts) and faes, and want to try something new in the fantasy genre you should give Scott’s debut novel a go. (less)

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Feb 09, 2013 Talk Supe Blogspot rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

BRAINE'S REVIEW: 3.5 stars

Great balance of world building, action and romance. SHADOW KIN has several otherworldly creatures in it with the addition of sunmages and Templars. Scott created a world where the possibility of more stories is boundless. I just found the alternating POV challenging at first by midway I was used to it. I have to go back sometimes and figure our who's talking if it's Simon or Lily. It doesn't hurt if Scott adds headers or other device to indicate which POV we're reading...more

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May 02, 2013 Victoria rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads, fantasy, faeries, romance, urban-fantasy, alt-history

I loved the concept behind the story and how the whole vampire, werewolf, fae, human mage elements were redone in a unique way. I would have given this story three stars except for one glaringly huge issue I had with the book. It was written in first person which is to be expected for an urban fantasy staring an ass-kicking heroine. However, it also followed the normal formula of a romance novel in that the story also followed the hero- but in first person. The first time it switched between the...more

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Dec 26, 2012 John rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5 stars:
Shadow Kin has an intriguing plot line. A deadly assassin to a Vampire Lord (think ruthless, insane mafia godfather) wants to escape her chains. The only problem is that she is a wraith, the most feared and hated creature by elves, humans, and any other "thinking" race. Except one man shows kindness, and as adventure romance novels goes, it's a nice light read. The novel does not embrace enough of either romance or fantasy. The plot seems to me less on substance, but the key characters...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Ellen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-series, paranormal-series, romance-series

This is an excellent start to a new series/trilogy.
It is set in a world where the Fae, the Blood (vampires) and the Beasts (were-creatures of some kind) coincide with humans. The genre is apparently gaslight fantasy. Basically we humans are restricted access to silver and iron because they can kill the other creatures. Without iron and such we haven't advanced as far technologically. It's also set in London.

Lily is a wraith, no-one really knows how wraiths are born but they come from a Fae paren...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Renee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Overall, I enjoyed this book.

There was one discrepancy that truly annoyed me. At the start of the book, the main character is unable to fight a man she fails to kill, yet later, she seems fully capable of fighting an armed and armored Templar. While this probably isn't a major thing, I was left confused over it.

Other than that, the author really does have a knack for creating tension, and after I had gotten through the beginning, I caught myself reading very quickly to find out what happens nex...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Lorenzio Phillibuster Fireworks rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My name. This time my eyes prickled rather than my neck. Lucius calls me “my shadow.” The Fae call me “soulless” when they deign to acknowledge my presence. The Blood and the Beast Kind mostly don’t use my name at all. No one had asked my name in a very long time.

Shadow Kin jumps right into the action, much the same way Graceling does. Shadow/Lily is sent to kill someone by her master, Lucius. Shadow is used to easy kills. She was not expecting a fight from her intended victim. She was not exp...more

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Jan 08, 2012 Ami rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy-paranormal-futuristic

While I regard story and characters to be important but sometimes, how it is written also influences what I think of a book. A too complicated world-building (with jargons that I don't understand), for example, can definitely reduce my liking.

This one starts with a pretty intriguing action. A female shadow kin who sneaks into a room and tries to kill a sunmage. VERY promising. Unfortunately, the technical issue (meaning the writing style) that follows, just doesn't work for me.

Why?

Because this...more

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May 10, 2013 Angie ~aka Reading Machine~ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lucius of the Blood is spoken of in hushed tones by all because they fear him. Yet speaking his name is nothing compared to how Lucius's Shadow is spoken of. Shadow (Lily) or wraith is Lucius's pet assassin. Lily's current assignment is to kill human male while he sleeps but nothing about this assignment is as it appears. The human male is in fact a Sunmage and healer named Simon DuCaine. Simon claims that he doesn't know why he's to be killed. Lily is shown kindness and honesty where she expect...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Nathalia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pros:
- Very enjoyable read.
- Likable characters.
- I loved how the author managed to mix Vampires, Fae, Humans and Wraiths without overwhelming the novel.
- Very refreshing take on Paranormal Romance.
- The symbols representing each character placed at the beginning of every chapter was a simple, yet lovely touch to the novel.
- I absolutely loved how the author manages to make you hate Lucius within the first couple of pages.

Cons:
- The world-building needs a lot of help. The way the author descr...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Barbara ~*Lindt Ninja*~ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

The Blood Lord has sent his Shadow assassin to kill Simon DuCaine in the middle of the night. What she doesn’t know is that he’s a sunmage and he’s able to call the sunlight and trap her in solid form before she can complete the job.

When Simon finds out The Shadow – Lily – was sent by Lucius to kill him, he decides to try to win her over and get her to testify in front of the fae about the assassination attempt so the unstable Lucius will be removed from his position, preserving the treaty that...more The Blood Lord has sent his Shadow assassin to kill Simon DuCaine in the middle of the night. What she doesn’t know is that he’s a sunmage and he’s able to call the sunlight and trap her in solid form before she can complete the job.

When Simon finds out The Shadow – Lily – was sent by Lucius to kill him, he decides to try to win her over and get her to testify in front of the fae about the assassination attempt so the unstable Lucius will be removed from his position, preserving the treaty that keeps the various paranormal factions from attempting any takeovers in the city. Simon underestimates Lucius’ power over Lily and despite their growing feelings for each other, she can’t make a decision. Each time she returns to Lucius, she unwittingly endangers more than her relationship with Simon though – she’s risking the entire city.

This ended up being sort of an odd read for me because while I really liked the story and I loved the world the author created, I found the two main characters pretty bland and their supposed romance was boring. The setting trumped the characters though and I enjoyed the book despite them.

There are four general factions in Scott’s world, two of which exist in the Night World – the Beast Kind and the vampires. Among the vampires, there are Blood Lords like Lucius, humans willingly serving vampires called The Trusted and those being strung along like addicts called The Blood Locked. On the other side are the humans, the fae, mages and the Templars, who enforce the treaty that’s in place to keep any one side from declaring war on any of the others and taking over the city.

The story is told in alternating first person POV and there’s no labeling to let you know whose head you’re in. Most of the time it’s obvious, sometimes it’s not and it’s always abrupt. I know I would have liked at least one of the lead characters better if the story had stuck to one narrator.

Lily is a wraith, a nearly impossible product of an unknown type of father and a fae mother. She can turn into a shadow and walk in the dark and has been in service to Lucius as his assassin for more than a dozen years, her abilities and efficiency earning her near-bogeyman status. She can’t leave Lucius because they have a bond she can’t break and she’s afraid of him. It’s a great setup that unfortunately didn’t work for me because while Scott had all the ingredients there to make Lily a terrific fighter, she never went and finished the dang cake. She was sort of a whiny wimp. Rather than looking for ways out of her situation, she kept coming up with excuses about why she had to go back to the way her life was. Her reasoning for everything was so convoluted and she was just deceitful enough often enough that I stopped putting a lot of effort into liking her after the halfway point in the story.

Simon is a sunmage, capable of bringing the sunlight into the dark for a little while and healing others. He’s the head healer at a hospital run by a really nasty piece of work fae, and while he pretends not to know why Lucius would be targeting him for assassination, it’s eventually revealed that he’s doing something that could impact the whole vampire community, including Lily. Surely Simon is a powerful, interesting guy? I don’t really know how, but he really isn’t. Even when he’s plotting to kidnap Lily, he’s not in charge, or at least doesn’t appear to be. It all seems to happen by accident. In nearly every urban fantasy, the hero and heroine are like two alphas in burlap sacks, alternately fighting and mating. These two are betas in a comforter, pawing at each other and rolling away.

The romance between Simon and Lily really didn’t feel like it was anything particularly special between the characters. There were specific reasons Lily had for approaching Simon in the first place that made me uncomfortable and I think by then I thought he was so beta, there didn’t seem to be a lot of oomph. Later, he reacts horribly to something she reveals and there’s a quick, easy resolution. Too quick, too easy, too boring. For characters with supposed backgrounds like these in a book like this, I would expect more fire.

The story though – the story intrigued me. I really liked the way Scott set up the Half-Light City. It’s a weird mixture of dark fantasy, a little steampunk and at times there are some lush gothic touches. I’m not sure how to even classify the inclusion of the Templars. It’s this wild mixture of elements that somehow come together and work to create this exciting, dangerous city. I wish Lucius had appeared more - he was a dark character that I think could have added a lot more to Lily’s story. The Beast Kin only appeared briefly as well, just long enough to offer a little tease about their familiar hierarchy. I’m assuming there’ll be more of them in following books.

It was unfortunate that Lily and Simon didn’t really live up to the setting which was superb. I actually am looking forward to the next book, believe it or not. I’m hoping it’s for Simon’s brother, the Templar Guy, who is very much a strong alpha. He had a fighting scene with Lily that was terrific and I think he’ll make a wonderful hero. I think Scott has built an exciting world – even if Lily and Simon weren’t for me, I still recommend reading this for that reason (and you may like them anyway).

My Rating: B-
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Sep 25, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

(originally reviewed on starmetal oak book blog)

This novel opens with Lily, a wraith and assassin to the Blood Lord Lucius, attempting to kill the sunmage Simon DuCaine. She fails, and finds herself flirting with the idea of leaving the Blood Lord's domain, although she feels like she doesn't have much of a choice in the matter. She was abandoned to him by her mother because of her being born a wraith, a creature despised by most of better society. The Blood Lord keeps her captive against her w...more (originally reviewed on starmetal oak book blog)

This novel opens with Lily, a wraith and assassin to the Blood Lord Lucius, attempting to kill the sunmage Simon DuCaine. She fails, and finds herself flirting with the idea of leaving the Blood Lord's domain, although she feels like she doesn't have much of a choice in the matter. She was abandoned to him by her mother because of her being born a wraith, a creature despised by most of better society. The Blood Lord keeps her captive against her will and she struggles with the choices of leaving him, for fear of her safety and for those who might help her.

This is how the plot is set up. We are also given the world Lily lives in, which was definitely different than I thought it would be. I thought this was a urban fantasy, but it turns out it's more of a gaslight fantasy; it's set in a partly-familiar world, almost Victorian, but contains many magical and paranormal elements like vampires, mages, fae and werewolves. I really enjoyed this surprise and came to really love the world Scott created. All the species that co-exist in the city, including humans, get along through a treaty set up and monitored mainly by the fae. The novel also includes these politics, since the Blood Lord is not abiding by the rules set by the treaties and so he's becoming a bigger and bigger threat, especially to humans. This is a concern of Simon, the sunmage, and also a reason he wants Lily to help him expose the Blood Lord and his crimes.

The things I liked most are the unique world-building (as I mentioned above) but also the romance. I think Simon and Lily have pretty good chemistry and while they were two star-crossed lovers, a wraith and a sunmage, I believed in their romance. I especially liked Simon, he's a sunmage, but also a healer. I thought it was fun that the female was the assassin and the male was a healer, despite the trope of the woman always being a healer in fantasy.

There was a few things I had problems with. First, the novel is in two first person point of views: Lily's and Simon's. While I don' have anything against it personally, I just found I was often confused of who's head we were in and when the point of view changed, I was mildly disoriented. The other problem I had was Lily's weakness towards the Blood Lord and her lack of confidence. I understand she's had a bad past (which was almost a little too contrived in itself) but I would have liked to see her empowered more by the end of it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this debut from Scott. Scott has created a fascinating society that includes an array of magical creatures and pulls it off expertly. While I had some conflictions with the point of view and the main character, Lily, I was really absorbed in the romance between her and Simon and the politics of the Half-Light City. It's a great gaslight adventure and I look forward to the sequel, Blood Kin, out next year.

Review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.(less)

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Nov 03, 2011 Nikki rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, freebies-on-sale-great-deal, own-it-pb-or-hc, paranormal, too-wordy-too-much-talking, a-dark-read, vampire, drama, werewolves-shifters-and-changelings

2.5 Stars

Potential. This author has it. This book is like a box of chocolate, they look good, smell good, the outer layer is scrumptious and melts in your mouth but, when you get to the middle you realize it has nuts in it and you're allergic. This read had fae, beasts, Templars, Healers, and a Wraith, but none of them were "real" in the fictional sense. Simon, if you pay attention, does not come off manly at all. He was naive and sometimes petulant. When he screamed 'no' in one scene I imagined...more

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Aug 23, 2011 Cameron rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Publication date: September 6, 2011
Publisher: RoC
Series: Half-Light City

Book Description

On one side, the Night World, rules by the Blood Lords and the Beast Kind. On the other, the elusive Fae and the humans, protected by their steadfast mages...
Born a wraith, Lily is a shadow who slips between worlds. Brought up by a Blood Lord and raised to be his assassin, she is little more than a slave. But when Lily meets her match in target Simon DuCaine, the unlikely bond that develops between them thre...more Publication date: September 6, 2011
Publisher: RoC
Series: Half-Light City

Book Description

On one side, the Night World, rules by the Blood Lords and the Beast Kind. On the other, the elusive Fae and the humans, protected by their steadfast mages...
Born a wraith, Lily is a shadow who slips between worlds. Brought up by a Blood Lord and raised to be his assassin, she is little more than a slave. But when Lily meets her match in target Simon DuCaine, the unlikely bond that develops between them threatens to disrupt an already stretched peace in a city on the verge of being torn apart...

Review

From the moment I started reading, until the very moment I turned the last page, I could not put this book down! Murr! Shadow Kin is a beautiful story that blends paranormal fantasy and steampunk, with strong characters, an engaging plotline, and just the right amount of romance. As I read, I could picture the scenes in my mind just as if I was watching a movie. Not many books succeed in doing this for me and that just shows how unique M. J. Scott’s novel is.

The story alternates between Lily and Simon’s points of view, though Lily is predominately the main narrator throughout the book. The blending of the two narrations helps to reinforce the struggle between those of the Night World and those outside of it. In Lily’s narration you see the bulk of the battles take place and glimpse the Night World in its entirety, whereas in Simon’s narration there’s more humor and the focus is on the desire to heal and protect not only Lily but the city as well. Whether it was Scott’s intention to have the dual narration be a representation of the contrasting differences between the two worlds or not, the idea works.

Scott also does a wonderful job creating believable characters whom the reader can easily relate to. Lily, aka Shadow, is the sort of character you can easily fall in love with. She’s strong willed, independent, and extremely street savvy. Given her upbringing this comes as no surprise. Yet at the same time she has her moments of vulnerability, at least where Simon is concerned. As she struggles between wanting her freedom and placating to Lucius’s desires, her battle over her feelings for Simon shows that, though she is tough as nails in a great many things, when it comes to matters of the heart she is still just a novice.

Like Lily, Simon also comes across as being a strong and independent character, but I just couldn’t stand his inability to come to terms with his warrior side. While I applaud his desire to hold true to his calling as a healer, even the most seasoned of healers knows that sometimes one must cause pain in order to heal and save. Despite this flaw in his character, which is what made him so believable in the story, I liked Simon and found him to be a nice and much needed contrast to Lily.

As I said, I loved this book. Murr! As a debut novel and the first of a series, Scott has done a brilliant job of setting the stage for the next installment. Yes the question of what happens next ran through my mind when I was done, but the biggest question this cat was asking was, just when can I get my paws on book 2?
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Shadow Kin (The Half-Light City #1)

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