Heir of Shadows

Selfish and bitchy main character. Yawn worthy for 2/3 of the book. Flat romance. I could not get over some of the crap that came out of this girl's mouth. The big-headedness and arrogance she displays is downright monumental...and laughable. She's so indestructible and special that after reading the whole book, I'm almost convinced she farts sparkles. <br><br>Example # 1: <b> <i>"I’m your roommate, not your friend. Oh, and one last thing, don’t ask questions and don’t borrow my stuff. I take it personally.”</i> </b><br>5 minutes later while she's taking a shower...<br><i>'I’d forgotten to buy shampoo, so I just used theirs. I mean, they wouldn’t notice, would they?'</i><br><br>Example # 2: <i> <b>"I would show them the animal inside. The one whose gaze inspired fear in grown men."</b> </i><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1546893144ra/26881959.gif" width="440" height="240" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Example # 3: <b> <i>"I’ve always had your best interests at heart, and the fact that you still question that… Frankly, it pisses me off. I didn’t choose to be the strong one."</i> </b><br>Example # 4: <b> <i>"They didn’t know what it was like to be different. Truly different. When you were so powerful that it could put you on the edge of losing control."</i> </b><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1546897577ra/26882264.gif" width="440" height="240" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>I mean...COME ON! She thinks she's so high and mighty, yet one of the only skills she has was snapping people's wrists. Literally. It was one of her favored moves in boxing, the repetitiveness of that specific move made that fact known. I don't care if she had to "feed the beast", it was downright brutal and cringy. I'm all for characters that are shitty people in the beginning, take Celaena Sardonian in TOG for example, because it's amazing watching them grow into better people. Unlike Celaena, there's no growth or redemption for Selena in Heir of Shadows, and I don't believe there will be in the other books either. <br><br>Then there was the inconsistencies. At one point the author was stating that the supernaturals only live, what was it, 160 years? And then later on, she's stating that the headmaster is "several hundred years old". Which one is it? Did I miss anything about the headmaster being special because of his powers? And <i>don't</i> get me started on the relationship between the all of the sisters, it was absolutely dreadful reading through all of their interactions which only ended in bickering about stupid crap. GROW THE HELL UP LADIES! <br><br>Once you get passed the MCs terrible qualities, the story sadly doesn't get much better. It was all nonsense and only one big thing happened that peaked my interest. The foundation of this story had promise, but failed in the end.

This book was awful. I kept expecting some kind of growth with the characters but they stayed awful the entire book. Selena was so whiny, OMG! I was patiently waiting to discover what she was that made her bore us half to death about how she can't let the "darkness" outside and let me tell you it's absolutely not worth reading the entire book to find out. It was so anticlimactic, it was laughable. Good thing this book was free because I would have been pissed if I had spent money on it.

Even though the main character was almost unbelievably unlikable, I still really did love this story. And with the way it all ended, I'm seriously hoping she and her sisters, will grow on me more and I just might end up liking them all. If it wasn't for Tori and Lucas, I would wonder if any of the characters were redeemable and likable at all. <br /><br />Even with that not love for the characters, I still really enjoyed this story and had a hard time putting it down. Will definitely continue with at least book two.

This book could have been a lot more than what it was. Sadly, it did not get me all excited or anything like the blurb did. I am all for sups and schools set up etc. I find it very interesting to read. So, I grabbed this one hoping to love it. But, I did not. <br /><br />The book started as if it was the middle of the series. There is no world building at all. We're supposed to accept as is - sups and other creatures there. The story begins with a confusing scene and then before we know it the sisters are off to the academy. <b>Selena,</b> our MC, is supposed to be all this badass sup but we don't know her powers. Like the entire book we've been told how much dangerous she is that she could kill. She's battling with her self control yada yada. The build up for it to the very end. I found Selena actually very annoying. Yeah, she is strong and she may have reasons for being rude etc. But, I totally did not feel ANYTHING for her. She is part of the triplets and there were times I honestly thought she was like 5 yrs. older or something instead of one of the triplets. She and her sisters are supposedly strong and manifested with powers earlier than norm. And on top of everything, the bickering between the sisters and stupid fights. Ugh, I felt like they were 5 yrs. old and not 15. Maybe, it is just me? Cuz, my 5 yr old twins do fight and bicker. But, they are 5! I expect that. Selena spent most of her time in the gym boxing. She was good at it. Then she trained with her partner Lucas, the only person who could train with her apparently. Since, she had the "killing gene" in her. Again, no idea what that means. <br /><br />The big reveal of Selena's power at the end happens and all it left me thinking, SO? why is that particular power a dangerous power? It is not as bad as it seems. I mean, yeah it is a powerful skill. But, why is she a prodigy? Again, no back story about powers or their relation to the story in context to who some are considered powerful etc. <br /><input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="07d24e15-b06a-429b-a138-dc5196bd19c4" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="07d24e15-b06a-429b-a138-dc5196bd19c4">What annoyed me was she was all this great powerful girl - according to herself, trained to kill - yet she allowed herself to be tortured &amp; scarred by the demons? She did not "snap" until her sister was threatened to be killed? Why wait that long? Wasn't getting her sister getting kidnapped snap worthy? I mean, that's why she flew all the way to that warehouse alone so she could rescue her sister. Just did not make sense to me. </label><br /><br />There were some italicized paragraphs which were supposed to mean something, I believe? I have no clue what it meant? They were her dreams maybe, but there did not seem any reason to write them without any explanation. <br /><br />Romantic interest, I guess? with Lucas. Also, flat. I could care less about them. I didn't see any supposed tension or even interest. They were boxing partners and she finally came down her high horse and started talking to other people, Lucas being one of them. She does consider him her best friend. Again, I'm left to wonder where did that come to be as it wasn't there was much interaction between them besides training. <br /><br />Anyway, I will not be continuing with the series.

Thank you Sharon J for recommending this book series to me. This was an incredible read. The first book of the Daizlei Academy series. The world building and characters were really amazing. Selena has secrets that not even the readers of the story know about, and it was engaging because I wanted to figure them out. I really felt like she was a complex character and I am intrigued to see where her story will take her. There is no action in the first 75% of the book, but the ending 25% was where the book won me over. It did end in a cliffhanger, so I am excited to see what the second book brings to the table. I am now a Kel Carpenter fan. Overall, an amazing read.

<strong>Couldn’t finish it</strong><br /><br />This book was truly awful. Have you ever started reading something and thought that maybe somehow your kindle app threw you in the middle instead of the beginning because you were so lost by what was happening? That how this felt. You have no clue what’s going on and why the characters are acting the way they are because even the internal dialogue doesn’t elaborate on anything. The character relationships make no sense, there’s no real character development, the interactions are just plain bad, and not one of the characters is likable. I tried, I really really tried to read it.

<strong>Heir of Shadows </strong><br /><br />This is an interesting book that will suck you in without you even realizing it. And I admit, at times I wanted to smack Selena upside the head and tell her to just ask for help... I mean seriously girl, but I can also see why she's so protective but damn. <br />Ok, the storyline is interesting and will leave you wanting to know what is going on. What is it about these sisters and their powers that makes them so special.<br />I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator, she did an amazing job.

<i> “I have my secrets,” he replied, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. That bastard. Quoting me? Fuck him. </i><br /><br />LOVEEE Selena and Lucas I totally ship them. The book was intriguing, I loved the concept of selenas power and that she is a fucking BADASS! I loved alexandras fiery temper, I didn't mind lilly but she sort of pissed me off at points, not my favourite charcter.<br /><br />Overall this was a pretty good book, i'll probably even end up re reading it.

Unfortunately this book was just a mixture of bitchy and annoying characters for me, without a good plot to rescue it.

A new to me author and I went in totally blind, and I came out really enjoying this one.<br /><br />Throughout my entire read, there was just so much intrigue of what Selena was truly capable of. There's a constant dark cloud looming over her and she holds sooooooo much in. And I get it, I understand why, even though so many others don't ... sometimes even her sisters.<br /><br />Not going to lie, the entire book I was just waiting for her to unleash it all because that would be a huge stepping point into understanding and possibly controlling what she can do.<br /><br />First books in series especially a paranormal/fantasy one, the story really has to stick for readers to go on. Definitely true when the series evolves around the same person.<br /><br />Lucas! Oh, I totally ship them, it's a slow burn for the both of them and we get a little taste at the end, but with how the book wrapped up, I'm interested to see what's to become of them.<br /><br />With Selena only being 16, her behavior is as I expected it to be. My favorite thing to see within a series is the character development, so I can't wait to see how she'll grow into herself.<br /><br />The narrator was great, kept me hooked the entire time! I can't wait to dive into book 2!