Molle McGregor

Our review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Chelle:
*Copy gifted in exchange for an honest review

Shadow’s Pleasure is the second installment of the SHADOW WARDER series. I didn't actually read the prequel to the series, but in a nutshell, there is a race of supernaturals called Shadows and Warders. Each battle a race of demons called the Vorati. For thousands of years, the Shadows and Warders have been kept separate with an unknown rift causing them to distrust one another, now, however, Shadows and Warders are coming together to battle the evil and fall in love in the process. With that all said, Shadow's Pleasure stands well on its own and readers won't be lost if they happen to jump in here.

In Shadow's Pleasure, we meet Sorcha, a Shadow empath and gifted tracker who has been kept weak and captive by her mentor. When her friends disappear and are found to be kept by a sadistic Director hell-bent on domination and destruction, she does everything in her power to convince her superiors that she's strong enough to go out in the real world to find them. Even if that means pairing up with a Warder.

Kiernan is a Warder with a tragic past. He's a loner and puts most of his energy into fighting the evil he was born to destroy. When he offers to help Sorcha rescue his friends from one of his own who has gone darkside, he's in for way more than he bargained for.

Shadow's Pleasure brings you magick, mayhem, some fun inventions, the emotional battle between good and evil and adversity all tied together with plenty of romance, deep characterization, lots of action, and some cool plot twists.

I absolutely loved this book and I would recommend the book and series to all Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance readers!… (mehr)

A free ARC of this book was received with the request for an honest review.

Shadow’s Pleasure is the second full length novel in Molle McGregor’s Shadow Warder series. In the prequel novella and first novel, we were introduced to the world of a special race of people (Shadows and Warders) who fight demons called the Vorati. The Vorati possess humans, taking them over until there is nothing left of the original soul. For 1,500 years the Shadows and Warders have been kept apart in their fight even though they have a common goal. That is slowly changing, with a few secret examples of a Shadow and a Warder coming together and increasing their combined power as a result. The bad guys are trying to take it a step further and reap the benefits of having one person with both Shadow and Warder blood, so they have kidnapped several Shadows and are trying to breed a hybrid. To make matters worse, the head bad guy is a Director of the Warders.

Sorcha is a Shadow who was once a powerful empath, successful tracker and fighter of Vorati demons. She had a power surge, a rapid increase in her abilities, during a fight with Vorati that left her weak and vulnerable. She has spent years trying to regain her strength, to no avail. She wants to rescue the captured Shadows but must convince her superiors that she has the physical and mental strength to embark on this daunting trip. Sorcha is convinced if she can get away from the Sanctuary where she is being kept she will return to full power. Her mentor, Steven, is dead set against Sorcha’s participation. It becomes clear early on that Steven does not have entirely pure motivations for his strong disagreement on this matter.

Kiernan is a Warder with a lot of baggage. When he was seven years old he lost his beloved mother and sisters to a disease that didn’t kill him because of his Warder genetics. When he was discovered by another Warder he was taken and trained to be a warrior, and that has been the focus of his long life ever since. He has made it a point not to get too close to anyone except his friend Conner (the subject of the first novel); he also has the earned reputation as a womanizer. He decides to help Sorcha on her quest to find the missing girls, not willing to leave innocents in such a horrifying situation.

Sorcha and Kiernan have an undeniable immediate attraction. Sorcha is wary of having any type of relationship with Kiernan, but Kiernan knows there is the potential for a deep bond between them. He just has to help Sorcha in her mission and then convince her he is worth the risk she thinks she would be taking by getting involved with Kiernan. There’s lots of fun stuff in this book about spell craft, unique weaponry, and the age old fight between good and evil. This is a really interesting world that McGregor has built. While some story threads come to an end others are still hanging, so this series has the potential to go on for quite a while. I hope that is the case because I really enjoy these books. They are good reads, with enough great banter between the characters, action, romance, and plot twists to keep the reader’s interest from cover to cover.… (mehr)

Two races that don't care for each other are each dedicated to fighting the demons that prey on humans. A seer predicts that each race is key to the other's success, and arranges for a Shadow and a Warder who are meant for each other to meet. They do and begin to bond almost immediately, despite their wariness. The romantic angle develops very quickly, but there is magic involved in their match and they are spending a lot of time in close proximity. Despite the problems caused by mistakes each makes, they don't waste time in recriminations. Instead, they admit their failures and sadness, and keep moving towards their ultimate goal--fighting the demons.

And then there are the demons who are acting out of character. We learn a bit about them and some of what they are doing. And there are several fights with them.

There is only a little world building. And that typically occurs during conversations. However, the world is not terribly complex, so it is pretty easy to follow along.

I liked both of the main characters. She is sweet but feisty and optimistic despite the pain of her past. He is dark and guilt-ridden, yet honorable and with a sharp sense of humor.

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.… (mehr)