Shadow Assassins, Book One: Radical separatists, created at the onset of the Great Conflict, have been made obsolete by years of peace. They live in their subterranean Shadow Maze and only emerge when it's time to breed. For Varrik, that time is now.
Varrik, current leader of the Shadow Assassins, knows his people are on the verge of extinction. If they cannot adapt, they will die. Yet if his son were a direct descendant of the High Queen it would secure a place for future generations. Protecting his people is his first priority, so Varrik assembles a hunting party and kidnaps the royal twins. He is determined to claim the eldest for his own.
Echo, the younger princess, knows her pampered sister will never survive the sexual appetites of their virile captor. Echo doesn't understand the powerful attraction she feels for Varrik, but drawing his attention is a far better choice than allowing him to overwhelm her twin. She doesn't expect to find him fascinating or to crave the demanding passion he ignites. Can a dominating warrior and his willing captive bring light to the Shadow Maze?
Note to Readers: This book contains detailed descriptions of sizzling passion only suitable for mature readers.
From Cyndi: I introduced Shadow Assassins clear back in Taken by Storm. Tal mentions, almost in passing, that his mother was killed by one. Years passed as the concept churned away in the back of my mind. Who were the Shadow Assassins and what became of them after the Great Conflict? As I answered these questions, Royal Obsession was born. Then it became apparent that I didn't have one new book; I had a new series. Royal Obsession is part paranormal romance, part capture fantasy. It's hot and unapologetically sexual. Varrik simply wouldn't be tamed and Echo was more than happy to revel in his carnality. Though this story has sci-fi elements, it's less space opera than my previous books. It's always risky when an author shifts gears, but I hope you enjoy the new series!
Passionate Sci-Fi with a touch of danger and a whole lot of sass.
Cyndi has written about rock stars, vampires, and cat shifters, but she's currently focused on outer space. Her stories are fun, fast-paced, and seriously hot. She has made the USA Today Top 100, and every book in the Outcasts series landed on Amazon's Top 100. She is currently working on Shadowborn Rebellion, a spin-off series set in the Outcasts universe.
****Angry rant ahead because this book is just garbage. You have been warned.****
I fucking hate this book, it is one of the most disgusting books I have read along in terms of rape culture and misogynist males that think raping their women is best in the world.
The hero belongs to a secret society of killers that where once a thriving race that was massacre by the female protagonist peoples. They live underground and when they need women they steal them from above, rape them until the woman gets pregnant and then take away the child if its male and cast her out, if the child is female they just drop them off somewhere and go off to find another woman to rape.
Seriously?
Yes. I'm fucking serious!
I could barely believe it.
In fact, if the girl they kidnapped is virgin they tied her up and gang rape her for shits and giggles.
No joke the hero threatens the female protagonist with this until she tells him she is not virgin. Lo and behold she only gets to be rape by the hero exclusively then. How romantic, how fucking amazing.
FUCK THIS BOOK, FUCK THIS HERO, JUST FUCK IT ALL!!!!!!!!!
Who knew attending the wedding of the Overlord's sister could result in the abduction of High Queen Charlotte's twin daughters, Princess E'Lanna & Preincess Echo. But that's what happened. Taken right in front of their bodyguards disappearing into thin air.
Varrik, Commander of the Shadow Assassins, is duty bound to breed a son in the time honored way of his people and carefully lays out a plan to make that happen. The first step is to kidnap a suitable candidate. Who better than a royal so he sets his sights on Princess E'Lanna. When the time is right he springs into action with his hunters taking both women as, being twins, it's impossible to tell which is which.
Echo knows her fragile sister may not survive the carnal demands Varrick would force on her and ends up with Varrick herself with hopes that her family will find them sooner than later. Never mind that no one has ever been able to locate the Shadow Maze where Varrick and the Shadow Assassins live.
Passion, deception, and political intrigue will test the couple as things are not as they seem and the stakes are higher than anyone can imagine...
* * * *
New to me author/series. This was an action adventure science fiction erotic romance that kept to a high octane story line yet the core romance element doesn't suffer from neglect. hehe.
The actual world building gives the reader a full picture of this alternate universe and time. Personally, and this is only my personal reading preference, those facts, figures, and details were a little much, but that's me. Others will probably enjoy all that info. The author does also go to fade black scenes that leave it up to the reader to fill in the blanks. Or. These sorts of scene cuts may come back to be picked up in follow up installments. I guess we'll see.
The core romance between Varrick and Echo is BDSM slanted but with more of a sugarkink quality. Personally, while totally HAWT and did result in some panty changing on my part, I would have enjoyed Varrick taking more control of Echo than he did. Capture fantasy style control.
The secondary cast of characters were a hit/miss for me. Supposedly E'Lanna was the eldest daughter and therefore her mother's heir. It was hard for me to grasp the fragile delicate damsel persona. Charlotte & Tal. Pity they didn't have a prequel. They're that good. Best line of this whole book came from one of them (guess who. lol) "I'm her father. It's my job to make him squirm."
I seriously enjoyed this story. Had a few glitches but overall worked.
This is the first book in the Shadow Assassins Series and this book was pretty good. Varrik is leader of the Shadow Assassins he knows his people are on the verge of extinction. If they cannot adapt they will die. Yet if his son were a direct descendant of the High Queen it would secure a place for future generations. Protecting his people is his first priority, so Varrik assembles a hunting party and kidnaps the royal twins. He is determined to claim the eldest for his own. Echo, the younger princess, knows her pampered sister will never survive the sexual appetites of their virile captor. Echo doesn't understand the powerful attraction she feels for Varrik, but drawing his attention is a far better choice than allowing him to overwhelm her twin.Princesses E'Lanna and Echo are captured by Shadow Assassins, the left over mercenaries from the Great Conflict. Men who were kept in an underground fortress all their lives and indoctrinated in the ways of their Elders, never leaving the maze unless to hunt for a mate or fight in someone else's war. This was a really good book the sex scenes in this book were really good and although I don't read a lot of sci-fi this book was a good surprise to me. The book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling this was also a new author to me and I am looking forward to reading book two in this series.
This was a fun, quick read and introduction into the Shadow Assassin world where there are Mystics and warriors and people can have sex across a telepathic metaphysical plane! We're talking about fantasy dreams that in essence are ACTUALLY happening. So we have Varrik, the brooding assassin warrior type who's intentions start out as a means to basically impregnate a woman who is going to bear him a strong, awesome heir.
So he kidnaps royal twins E'lanna and Echo who both have some form of mystical powers about them which he figures, HEY that'd be pretty sweet to pass onto my bad-ass warrior spawn. He sets his eyes on Echo specifically whom he assumes is "pure" given he saw her sister making out previously with some dude. I realize this all sounds a little crazy, and sure maybe it is BUT somehow...someway his intentions become a lot less barbaric then how they first start out and the fact he's more worried about her actually ENJOYING herself during this "process" makes it more enjoyable.
So why the 3 star rating? With the low page count, the story does seem incredibly rushed and a little all over the place. This is a completely NEW world and I found myself getting confused about the Elders, the Mystics ,the Shadowrealm, just a lot of elements that needed a better explanation, though that may not have been the main goal with this novel but rather an encompassing package. If you have a Kindle its definitely worth a look if you like this kind of story though! :)
I was having trouble getting into this in the beginning, hence the 4 stars instead of 5, but once it got its teeth in me I was a goner.
I loved the dynamics between Varrik and Echo. You can tell right away that they both had met their match.
I didn't realize that this series was connected to another series by this author, but after reading this book I am going to go back to that one and continue on with this one.
I am so glad that authors are not afraid to let the women be as kickass as the men.
All I read was an awfully man kidnap, threaten, bargain, negotiate, & scare a woman into having sex, with the sole intention of using her as a breeder. I'm not sure how they fell in love. Good thing it was a free book.
So at the beggining I was a little disturbed by the mentality of the men and process in which they treated the women they captured for breeding. Glad things turned around. There is a lot to the characters than you originally think some good some bad. I also love all the abilitties and the fact that this story only scratched the surface of all the stories to come. Echo isn't your typical princess and Varrick isn't quite the ruthless villain. Although things start off rocky at first they definitely heat up quickly.
Although the book was reasonably well written, I have deducted a star for the rape culture. A race of men kidnap women in order to procreate. Once they have a child, the women are sent back and if they have a male child, he is kept by the race. While it didn’t normalise rape, the female protagonist enjoyed the idea, and that is where I have the problem. In the end she agreed to the sex, but it was initially bartering her body for the safety of her sister. I am still not comfortable with that, even though Varrik turned out to be a reasonably decent sort of bloke.
This book was artfully crafted and uniquely designed to pull you into the pages where secrets and fairytales live and dreams come true for those who believe!
This book was enchanting, enthralling and endlessly entertaining to read! I loved reading about these amazing characters and experience their adventures like they were my own!
I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED THIS BOOK!!! Getting to know Echo and Varrik in their own out of this world society was fascinating. There was so much detail in this story. I felt like I was part of each interaction. Cyndi Friberg is not only very skilled and proficient at crafting unique characters with complex personalities, the scope of her creative mind is utterly boundless. I give this story all the stars they allow. In my mind it deserves more!!!!!
I tried to like this book. I did, but its not my cup of tea and I couldn't get into it. While the author did a nice job trying to create a new world, I seemed to get lost within the maze and missed the story's plot.
Echo is everything you don't expect a Princess to be. I loved this story. The unveiling of her true abilities unfolded like a flower. Loved the ending!
This is my first time reading Cyndi Friberg’s work and I enjoyed the experience. And although Royal Obsession is an off shoot from a line in her Beyond Ontariese series, it is unnecessary to have read the series to understand the first book in this the first in the Shadow Assassins series. In Echo, Ms. Friberg gave us a wonderfully strong character with secrets aplenty. She was determined to protect her sister even at the cost of her virtue. But I loved that she was still able to listen with compassion and think past her circumstances. She was strong willed but not stubborn which isn’t always easy to be or write but Ms. Friberg handled that balance in such a way that I genuinely like her. She bent the truth but didn’t bend her honor in the process. I adored Varrik. He was in such a tough spot. But he made decisions based upon the letter of the law even as he skirted the edge. I loved that he was fighting for a better way of life for his people even if he would be unable to enjoy the fruits of his labor. I loved the way he was with Echo and wanted them to find a way to succeed in a way both of them could live with. Ms. Friberg gave us two strong characters that fit and I enjoyed seeing how she wove their spirits together. This will not be the last time that I read Cyndi Friberg’s work.
Cyndi Sure knows how to write a fantastic paranormal e-book. Shadow Assassin: Royal Obsession is a terrific book about Varrik, current leader of the Assassins and Echo, the feisty twin daughter of High Queen Charlotte. Varrik captures the twin daughters in order to breed a son with the eldest daughter so his son will possess special abilities so he will eventually lead his people to a a better life above ground. Although E'Lanna is the eldest daughter it is Echo who he is immediately attracted to and the sparks fly from the very beginning between Varrik and Echo. There are a few twists and turns making it a definite must read!!! I can't wait till the next book in this wonderful series is available.
I read this book because the story line caught my eye, and also it was free on amazon. I really liked the characters in this story as well as the story line of what it is base about/on. It was very very good to the point of I started in the day before to finish it now. I would want anyone who is at least 16 or at most 17, to read this book. Why break your heart when your love one is alive and under the same roof? The person who kidnapped you, the one you fell in love with, the one who is there waiting for you to come back to him!
While Echo and her sister are kidnapped for breeding Varrik is trying to earn her love. This book I read because I liked the descriptions of the world underground, how their technology is so superior and self sustaining. Even their showers are like an other-world experience. I found that the most enjoyable part as to how the writer created this new world. The book overall is written well, just didn't really like the manipulation on Varrik's part.
At first it's not apparent that this is gonna be that happily ever after type. But 'SoulMates' + Magic/Psychic abilities + secret society of assassin trained in the art of sex and seduction = fun times ;) 4 stars for good writing, good plot, character development, n kick ass heroine.
If ur down for that kidnapped bride n light bondage genre you'll enjoy this. Plus it's free!
Varrik is a sweeper for the Shadow Assassins but longs for the freedoms that his brother and his mentor died for. He kidnaps 2 women in the hopes that he can conceive a son that will be more powerful than the leading council members. When one of them is threatened by a council member his plans must change. This is a good story and well paced. I liked when she came to his defense and shocks him with her abilities.
Overall I liked the story. There was a thoroughness in the author's writing. The story had more depth than some books that involve sexual intercourse. There's pain, passion, character growth, most importantly there's a change in the story's direction. Not what I was expecting which is a rare occurrence indeed. Not sure if I like how/where this book ended. Not sure if I'll continue on with the series. In time I may read more of the author's works.
Everything seemed to happened rather quick in this book. There wasn't a build up or any anticipation. It made the story seem rather unrealistic. Granted the story is written about mystical people so not unheard of for people to fall so quickly. Still with the storyline written the way it was I excepted a little more resistance.
Love Sci Fi and so I like this story a lot. It's got great plot twists and very likable hero and heroine. I enjoyed the mystical/magical side of the story as much as the Sc-Fi. There are some hot sex scenes sprinkled among the action and a great ending. Entertaining and interesting, I really enjoyed it.
I tried to get into this book. I read the first line so many times I had to force myself to move past it. Something about this story didn't sit well with me besides the fact I couldn't get into it. It seem to drag on and on and the "plot" seemed so far away that I just gave up without even bothering to finish it.
And yet as I read this book, I had a difficult time putting it down. This is book 1 of the series, there are so many people in this book that could work on additional stories from the past events. Where could you go with the story line??? Oh the possibilities! I enjoy your stories Cyndi, thank you.
I liked the characters and the strong abilities and attitude they had. Wished the beginning has more information so I can better understand if this was supposed to be a standalone in the series. Loved the twist and turns. The intimacy between the two characters were off the charts. Overall, loved it.
I really enjoyed this book! It had good characters and a good storyline! It was sometimes a little difficult to follow with the whole alien things and other world, but that could just be me! I truly enjoyed it and cant wait to read book 2 in the series! Highly recommend!