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Shadow Sister #1
The Shadow Ryana
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 fight to protect the Sisterhood and the kingdom, Ryana fears that she has destroyed herself and the only life she ever wanted.
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 fight to protect the Sisterhood and the kingdom, Ryana fears that she has destroyed herself and the only life she ever wanted.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 30, 2013
64 people are currently reading
598 people want to read
About the author
C.R. Daems
51 books284 followersI was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and joined the military right out of high school. I served twenty-two years in the United States Air Force as a certified internal auditor. While in the military service, I lived in seven states and two foreign countries, and obtained two degrees: a BS in mathematics and an MS in computer science.
After I retired from the Air Force, I secured a position with Digital Equipment Corporation, located in Bedford, Massachusetts, as a software course developer and instructor. I worked twenty-two years at DEC and held positions as a course developer, course development manager, software engineer, and software engineering manager.
Today, I’m retired and live in Tucson, Arizona, with my wife of fifty-three years. My daughter and two grandchildren live in Maryland. I began writing several years after I retired, when I was seventy. My first two attempts remain in my desk drawer—good ideas, but poorly written. Subsequently, I co-authored, with Jeanne Tomlin, three fantasy novels: Talon of the Raptor Clan, Scales of Justice, and All My Friends Have Wings (young adults). Talon of the Raptor Clan was sold to ePress-online Books and came out in July 2009. Since then I have written two additional novels: The Laughing Hounds (urban fantasy) and The Riss Gamble (science fiction).
My hobbies for the past forty years have been kung fu and tai chi.
After I retired from the Air Force, I secured a position with Digital Equipment Corporation, located in Bedford, Massachusetts, as a software course developer and instructor. I worked twenty-two years at DEC and held positions as a course developer, course development manager, software engineer, and software engineering manager.
Today, I’m retired and live in Tucson, Arizona, with my wife of fifty-three years. My daughter and two grandchildren live in Maryland. I began writing several years after I retired, when I was seventy. My first two attempts remain in my desk drawer—good ideas, but poorly written. Subsequently, I co-authored, with Jeanne Tomlin, three fantasy novels: Talon of the Raptor Clan, Scales of Justice, and All My Friends Have Wings (young adults). Talon of the Raptor Clan was sold to ePress-online Books and came out in July 2009. Since then I have written two additional novels: The Laughing Hounds (urban fantasy) and The Riss Gamble (science fiction).
My hobbies for the past forty years have been kung fu and tai chi.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
January 21, 2022
This was a close one. I almost dropped in to a 3 star rating due mostly to the...I don't know exactly how to put this... I suppose it could be called the "romance angle". HOWEVER I don't want to mislead. There is very, very little romance in the book however I just didn't think that part of the plot fit in with the character. It just didn't fit who she was.
Some time back I started a book about a group of female assassins who were deadly and efficient. The book started out well and drew me right in. I got very interested. Then the writer introed the male co-protagonist and the entire book crashed and burned. I mean complete emulation. The two were unable to do anything plot wise, only pant, dream, and moon over each other.
This book did not got down that route. It tells an excellent story and easily held my interest. The Shadow Sisters are a good idea (and people who specifically look for what are called "kick ass female" leads will love it). They are set up well, Ryana is not only engaging but fully developed. I like her, I like the idea, I like the plot. That's not why I thought/felt I had to drop a star, the way the book ties up is slightly disappointing (at least to me)/the spoiler is a MAJOR SPOILER so don't read it if you don't want to know how the book ends.
I do like it as I said, I mean I go 4 stars which has to be and excellent book in my case, I am into the second book.. Hopefully I'll let you know what I think soon.
Recommended.
Some time back I started a book about a group of female assassins who were deadly and efficient. The book started out well and drew me right in. I got very interested. Then the writer introed the male co-protagonist and the entire book crashed and burned. I mean complete emulation. The two were unable to do anything plot wise, only pant, dream, and moon over each other.
This book did not got down that route. It tells an excellent story and easily held my interest. The Shadow Sisters are a good idea (and people who specifically look for what are called "kick ass female" leads will love it). They are set up well, Ryana is not only engaging but fully developed. I like her, I like the idea, I like the plot. That's not why I thought/felt I had to drop a star, the way the book ties up is slightly disappointing (at least to me)/the spoiler is a MAJOR SPOILER so don't read it if you don't want to know how the book ends.
I do like it as I said, I mean I go 4 stars which has to be and excellent book in my case, I am into the second book.. Hopefully I'll let you know what I think soon.
Recommended.
June 14, 2016
Well I must say that this book is bad as well as good at the same time.
The Author had an interesting storyline and a good insight for fight scenes, however was pretty bad at laying a backdrop for the character and world. It really did get a little frustrating. For example, we measure time as sixdays (weeks), seasons, (months?) and cycles (years). The problem is that twelve sixdays (three months) equals two seasons. And there are eight seasons in a cycle. As we start the book we have no idea how old the main character is and can only guess that she is between the ages of four to seven. Then we don't have a clue as to what the culture or ruling system is beyond the fact that a teacher walks in and says,
"Girls, you've completed the first phase of your training—reading and writing. During this phase, you'll study the people, customs, major trade items, and leaders of the five provinces of Hesland.”
We don't take the opportunity to elaborate through the teaching experience and show the reader the names of the lords or what are major point of each province. We don't mention that these women are ninjas/assassins until three chapters in, so if you didn't read the synopsis or know that ninjas dress in black with head-wraps, then you would be completely lost. Then, only three-quarter of the way through the book do we mention that this world has two moons. One thing that got a little irritating is our over use of of "intuition over logic" and we had to say it over and over. And over.
It was also a little off-putting that I didn't know what age she was, only that she spent ten years in training. So she's somewhere between fourteen and seventeen, which makes a big difference.
The good news is that there were well thought out fight scenes and a lot of thought was put into displaying the skill of the character while still keeping it real by not always succeeding. A good plot that was fast paced without racing past detail and reason.
Good character, didn't whine or mope. Though in the first four chapters or so as a little girl all she would do is be afraid of being beaten and cast out by the "Goddesses". In her defence her father was abusive for all of her short life.
It was a good story all in all and I will definitely be reading the next book.
The Author had an interesting storyline and a good insight for fight scenes, however was pretty bad at laying a backdrop for the character and world. It really did get a little frustrating. For example, we measure time as sixdays (weeks), seasons, (months?) and cycles (years). The problem is that twelve sixdays (three months) equals two seasons. And there are eight seasons in a cycle. As we start the book we have no idea how old the main character is and can only guess that she is between the ages of four to seven. Then we don't have a clue as to what the culture or ruling system is beyond the fact that a teacher walks in and says,
"Girls, you've completed the first phase of your training—reading and writing. During this phase, you'll study the people, customs, major trade items, and leaders of the five provinces of Hesland.”
We don't take the opportunity to elaborate through the teaching experience and show the reader the names of the lords or what are major point of each province. We don't mention that these women are ninjas/assassins until three chapters in, so if you didn't read the synopsis or know that ninjas dress in black with head-wraps, then you would be completely lost. Then, only three-quarter of the way through the book do we mention that this world has two moons. One thing that got a little irritating is our over use of of "intuition over logic" and we had to say it over and over. And over.
It was also a little off-putting that I didn't know what age she was, only that she spent ten years in training. So she's somewhere between fourteen and seventeen, which makes a big difference.
The good news is that there were well thought out fight scenes and a lot of thought was put into displaying the skill of the character while still keeping it real by not always succeeding. A good plot that was fast paced without racing past detail and reason.
Good character, didn't whine or mope. Though in the first four chapters or so as a little girl all she would do is be afraid of being beaten and cast out by the "Goddesses". In her defence her father was abusive for all of her short life.
It was a good story all in all and I will definitely be reading the next book.
October 14, 2020
This book started as a 4-5 star book for me. The beginning was so unique and so interesting. At this point of the story, Ryana is training to be an assassin. I was truly drawn into the world and the story, and I really enjoyed the characters as well.
The story went downhill for me when Ryana left for her first assignment, living undercover with gypsies. For the rest of the book, the story is unbelievably repetitive. A bad guy tries to harm someone, Ryana sneaks out to kill the bad guy, she succeeds but is horribly injured in the process, she makes it back to the gypsies where she feels better in a day or two, she lies about how she got injured to keep her identity secret (the most obvious secret in the world), and then she tells fortunes for dangerous people - during which she says “there are many different futures & this is the one I see most clearly” about a thousand times. Repeat that series of events over and over and over and over with different people, and that is pretty much the rest of the book. After you’ve read this once, you could skip forward to about Chapter 25 and still get the story. There is a very lame love story that felt like an afterthought and wasn’t even worth including.
Such a shame considering the strong start. There is one more book in this series but I will not continue.
The story went downhill for me when Ryana left for her first assignment, living undercover with gypsies. For the rest of the book, the story is unbelievably repetitive. A bad guy tries to harm someone, Ryana sneaks out to kill the bad guy, she succeeds but is horribly injured in the process, she makes it back to the gypsies where she feels better in a day or two, she lies about how she got injured to keep her identity secret (the most obvious secret in the world), and then she tells fortunes for dangerous people - during which she says “there are many different futures & this is the one I see most clearly” about a thousand times. Repeat that series of events over and over and over and over with different people, and that is pretty much the rest of the book. After you’ve read this once, you could skip forward to about Chapter 25 and still get the story. There is a very lame love story that felt like an afterthought and wasn’t even worth including.
Such a shame considering the strong start. There is one more book in this series but I will not continue.
August 17, 2021
Great continuation of the Shadow Sister series. Loved seeing some of the old characters. The Sister of Death is amazing♡ Each book has a tidy ending (no stupid cliffhangers).
December 13, 2020
Even with a bemoaning FMC the story still managed to be an engaging read.
However, I am undecided on IF I’ll continue into book 2, mostly bc a wedding & family planning become central to the h’s life. I’ve no interest in marriage & my interest in the FMC’s naïveté continual corruption is limited to her profession as an assassin.
4stars
However, I am undecided on IF I’ll continue into book 2, mostly bc a wedding & family planning become central to the h’s life. I’ve no interest in marriage & my interest in the FMC’s naïveté continual corruption is limited to her profession as an assassin.
4stars
November 27, 2020
Interesting start..
Ryana taken into the sisterhood to learn to be a spy. But her skills are so much more.
The sisters are being killed. Ryana has the skills to spy and killed. She's young and no one would think she's a killer.
Taking into a gypsy clan she's undercover. Trying to find out who's behind killing the sisters. But meantime she must also protect the family that brought her in while keeping her secret.
Enjoyed and I'll read book two to see what else Ryana is up to.
Ryana taken into the sisterhood to learn to be a spy. But her skills are so much more.
The sisters are being killed. Ryana has the skills to spy and killed. She's young and no one would think she's a killer.
Taking into a gypsy clan she's undercover. Trying to find out who's behind killing the sisters. But meantime she must also protect the family that brought her in while keeping her secret.
Enjoyed and I'll read book two to see what else Ryana is up to.
November 10, 2020
The story was really engaging, and I liked almost all of it. But Ryana has a serious problem with not understanding people and blaming herself for stuff, that got old by the end.
June 12, 2013
An intriguing tale of a young woman who, despite her limited background manages to succeed in unpredictable ways in her training as a Shadow Sister, only to find herself faced with an impossible mission.
Overall, The Shadow Ryana lives up to the excellent narrative quality those who are familiar with C.R. Daems's work have come to expect. As with every single book ever written, there are typographical errors and confusing tense changes, but that's just my nature to pick on. They do not detract from a compelling story of a young woman with a difficult task that eventually causes her to question her loyalties - to her Sisters, or to the clan that has adopted her for the purposes of her mission?
It's unpredictable, creative, and engrossing. The ONLY disappointment I had with the book came in the resolution of one of the lingering loose ends very late in the book. I felt it to be too trite and unnecessary and somewhat demeaning of the protagonist. However, with a sequel on the nearing horizon, perhaps my misgivings will prove to be unwarranted.
Overall, The Shadow Ryana lives up to the excellent narrative quality those who are familiar with C.R. Daems's work have come to expect. As with every single book ever written, there are typographical errors and confusing tense changes, but that's just my nature to pick on. They do not detract from a compelling story of a young woman with a difficult task that eventually causes her to question her loyalties - to her Sisters, or to the clan that has adopted her for the purposes of her mission?
It's unpredictable, creative, and engrossing. The ONLY disappointment I had with the book came in the resolution of one of the lingering loose ends very late in the book. I felt it to be too trite and unnecessary and somewhat demeaning of the protagonist. However, with a sequel on the nearing horizon, perhaps my misgivings will prove to be unwarranted.
June 9, 2021
Audible 🎧📚
Narration 3 stars
Narrator: Gabrielle de Cuir
Cover: 1 star
Story:4 stars
This was a very pleasant surprise 🤩 I've had this in my library for a while because the cover did not appeal to me - at all.
Then I started to listen. First I was a bit disappointed with the whiny voice of the narrator, but when I managed to ignore that, and started listening to the actual story, I was sucked in to the world of female assassins 😎
Yes - there was a LOT of killing, and I LOVED it 😍
Narration 3 stars
Narrator: Gabrielle de Cuir
Cover: 1 star
Story:4 stars
This was a very pleasant surprise 🤩 I've had this in my library for a while because the cover did not appeal to me - at all.
Then I started to listen. First I was a bit disappointed with the whiny voice of the narrator, but when I managed to ignore that, and started listening to the actual story, I was sucked in to the world of female assassins 😎
Yes - there was a LOT of killing, and I LOVED it 😍
September 10, 2019
Loved reading another great fantasy!
I have read many of Daems books and love most of them. Starting with his Risk series, then his Red Admiral thru to his new Devils series. I've been waiting for more so I decided to go back thru his older series and was not disappointed.
Thx for another great read.
I have read many of Daems books and love most of them. Starting with his Risk series, then his Red Admiral thru to his new Devils series. I've been waiting for more so I decided to go back thru his older series and was not disappointed.
Thx for another great read.
March 25, 2023
Ok so I did not like this book. I can't pinpoint exactly why I didn't like it. Technically it's a good story. But I felt no comradery with the main character. And I didn't like the narrator. Threw me off. Couldn't wait for it to end. 2.5
January 12, 2026
*4.5 stars*
April 9, 2022
This was great series. I wished I'd have started the series sooner. I will continue with this series.
November 18, 2021
A good fantasy with a strong female protagonist. Young Ryana is trained in a 'ninja-like' fashion to become a Shadow Sister - female mercenaries. Ryana is placed with a traveling gypsy circus as cover. Fun read!
First sentences
I crouched on the gray rock-laden ground, chickens squawking, and my head throbbing with pain. My father stared down at me. His face twisted in anger, fist clenched inches from my face, and nostrils flared as he sucked air to yell again. He was a small thin man with leathery skin from long days in the sun, brown, scraggly hair, and a haggard face, which twisted in rage.
Daems, C. R.; Tomlin, J. R. (2013-11-23). The Shadow Ryana (The Shadow Sister Series) (p. 1). Talon Novels. Kindle Edition.
First sentences
I crouched on the gray rock-laden ground, chickens squawking, and my head throbbing with pain. My father stared down at me. His face twisted in anger, fist clenched inches from my face, and nostrils flared as he sucked air to yell again. He was a small thin man with leathery skin from long days in the sun, brown, scraggly hair, and a haggard face, which twisted in rage.
Daems, C. R.; Tomlin, J. R. (2013-11-23). The Shadow Ryana (The Shadow Sister Series) (p. 1). Talon Novels. Kindle Edition.
January 31, 2015
A intriguing read!
I choose this rating because of how this story kept me interested and wanting more. The characters were a big part of the story and were easy to keep up with.
I do not know what negatives I would change or fix cause for me there was not any for me, and who I would recommend this story to, if you like intrigue, just about everywhere, from Ryana to the gypsy's, to each enemy she had to deal with, but also the conflict within herself on whether she was on her right path, just made for me not wanting it to end but a also excited about her next story. Give it a shot you might be surprised.
I choose this rating because of how this story kept me interested and wanting more. The characters were a big part of the story and were easy to keep up with.
I do not know what negatives I would change or fix cause for me there was not any for me, and who I would recommend this story to, if you like intrigue, just about everywhere, from Ryana to the gypsy's, to each enemy she had to deal with, but also the conflict within herself on whether she was on her right path, just made for me not wanting it to end but a also excited about her next story. Give it a shot you might be surprised.
April 8, 2014
As with the last book I read by these authors, Talon of the Unnamed Goddess, I found this story to have lots of good action, likeable characters and a great plot. The story moves along at a good clip and always manages to keep the reader interested.
That said, it could use some professional editing as there were numerous misspellings and/or words used in the wrong context. Those types of mistakes often bounce me out of the story for a moment and the story deserves better treatment. That won't stop me from reading the sequel though or other tales by these fine writers.
That said, it could use some professional editing as there were numerous misspellings and/or words used in the wrong context. Those types of mistakes often bounce me out of the story for a moment and the story deserves better treatment. That won't stop me from reading the sequel though or other tales by these fine writers.
September 24, 2016
I finished this book so o obviously enjoyed it in some respects. Here's my problem, I was simultaneously bored, interested, annoyed, happy and lost. There were parts that I enjoyed immensely, like the story line over all.. but the execution of that story line was, at times, terrible. I felt like the interactions lacked emotion, like watching a movie (in my head) of paper doll actors instead of real people. To be honest I don't intend to read the next one. (Although if you know my history with books, the fact that I finished it shows it was still partially good..)
March 18, 2016
Great read
Reading a book can be interesting at times. How believable are the characters? Does the plot make sense? This book is a great read. Captivating, intriguing, this book was impossible to put down. I highly recommend this to you. I intend to dive into the next in the series and hopefully will report back soon!
Reading a book can be interesting at times. How believable are the characters? Does the plot make sense? This book is a great read. Captivating, intriguing, this book was impossible to put down. I highly recommend this to you. I intend to dive into the next in the series and hopefully will report back soon!
December 15, 2012
This was an awesome read. I was riveted throughout the entire novel. I had to know what happened to the Spy/Assassin Ryana. I'm hoping that we'll see a sequel to this novel. I know this character has some excellent adventures to tackle.
January 17, 2013
I enjoyed this book. The main character has to go through man trials to finally and truly accept what and who she is, but also where she is as a person in life. She's a character that people will read and want to look up to because of the sacrifices she makes in the story.
December 10, 2013
I actually kinda liked this one! The title kind of scared me away but I really enjoyed the story & could easily see it transformed into a movie or series. I hope that one day there will be a follow up.
January 12, 2013
A Great Read. Ryana is written as a meek individual, but show strong characteristics. A girl's coming of age book that is very interesting...Hopefully a book two is in the works!
January 21, 2013
OMG
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2013
Very nicely written story that works better as fantasy adventure than romance. Much better than average writing. I look forward to a sequel.
January 18, 2014
Stay up all nite to read this. 5 Star, buy in hard cover.
March 29, 2013
Solid Fantasy placed in a far eastern setting. Nothing breathtaking but enjoyable enough to read.
March 29, 2017
This is a story I wished continued.
November 9, 2014
The Shadows
This book is one of mystery,magic, and utter mayhem. I would recommend this book to those who, like me, wish to walk with the shadows.
This book is one of mystery,magic, and utter mayhem. I would recommend this book to those who, like me, wish to walk with the shadows.
December 17, 2014
Excellent
If you are reading this review to decide if you are going to read the book, do it! Trust me, read the book. It is one of those few gems you find only occasionally.
If you are reading this review to decide if you are going to read the book, do it! Trust me, read the book. It is one of those few gems you find only occasionally.
January 2, 2015
Extremely confusing timeline and meh characters with little development make this story a bore
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews