Eddie

Eddie & Shadow #1

by Skylar Jaye

Kidnapped. Again. Honestly, Eddie Goodman isn’t surprised. As the son of crime-fighting superheroes with no powers of his own, he’s used to living with a target on his back. Now, the League of Evil has him in their clutches once more. However, Eddie’s not familiar with this particular villain, whose name seems to echo the shadows he controls. Shadow isn’t as disgusting as the others, like the fiendish Duke Naughty who’s been after Eddie for a long time. With a master’s degree in Psychology, Eddie calls on his talent to analyze the mind of this new supervillain and finds he’s not so evil, just a little… dark.When Shadow saves Eddie from those intending him harm, blurring the lines between good and evil, Eddie realizes battling this new enemy—and his growing infatuation with the enigmatic man—won’t be easy. As Eddie struggles to understand Shadow’s motivations and his own feelings, he realizes Shadow is exactly the kind of Dominant he’d usually go for, and worse yet, Shadow seems to sense Eddie’s submissive nature. Eddie’s mind might not want to submit to a supervillain, but his body certainly does.

Genres: M M Romance, Superheroes, BDSM, Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary, LGBT

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 2, 2013

About the author

Skylar Jaye has been writing romance since 2009. She published her first short story with Dreamspinner Press in 2012 and has continued to grow as an author since. Nowadays, she enjoys focusing on fantastical world-building, D/s relationships, and complicated gay couples.

Reviews

[Ana_P · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★ 4 Pleasantly-Surprised Stars ★★★★

I have to admit that when I started reading the book, I thought that it was going to be a little more than silly. I mean, come on, you have villains named Duke Naughty, Troll, and Baby, who are all part of the "League of Evil."

I thought these guys would be as outrageous and incompetent as Mojo Jojo or HIM.



Sure, the supervillains had their overdramatic and OTT moments where they really let their megalomaniac colors shine through lengthy speeches about how they will punish the heroes...

but these guys turned out to be more like The Joker or Lux Luthor, seeing as how they killed cats, murdered people by cutting off pieces of their flesh bit by bit, and indulged in other hair-raising psychopathic tendencies.

A good portion of this book was dark, and it just drew me in and wouldn't let me go until the final page.

I also really enjoyed the development of the romance between Eddie and Shadow. It was a nicely done slow-burn romance that went from Eddie and Shadow being rivals to friends to, finally, lovers. I found the transition from them being captor and captive to lovers really believable, well-done, and not forced. And when these two hit the sheets...WATCH OUT! They were hawt.


I did have a few problems with the story. I did feel that a lot of the issues that were raised were wrapped up too nicely, and the ending did feel a little rushed. I was also disgruntled with the fact that the author added this weird relationship between Eddie and his best friend, Lycus. They had this strange non-sexual D/s relationship where Eddie would act submissively for his best friend and kneel at his feet or do other submissive acts. It was explained pretty late in the book, when Eddie was already in love with Shadow, about they loved each other but could never be together that way because Lycus just couldn't make himself have sex with a guy. I just felt that this was all unnecessary, added nothing to the book, and I hated having to read about Eddie feeling hurt about letting another guy go when he already promised his future to Shadow. I know it wasn't cheating at all, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth knowing that one of the MCs struggled with letting another guy go. Not my cuppa at all.

Overall, I did find this book immensely entertaining, unexpectedly dark, and really hot. If Ms. Jaye ever puts out a sequel, you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be reading it!

[Gigi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this with one an open mind and high hopes because of the BDSM action it promised, but unfortunately the superhero/paranormal element just made it too silly for me to take seriously. I thought maybe the names and situations of the "supers" were meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but they really weren't. Paranormal M/M romance has never really been my thing and this was actually my very first M/M romance superhero book. I was going out on a limb here and trying to expand my horizons, and I'm so glad I did! I didn't NOT like the book, I just didn't find it all that compelling and would not choose to read a book similar to it again.

I can most certainly recommend Eddie to any M/M romance reader who enjoys reading about superheros and the paranormal, but obviously, if that isn't your thing, you will want to skip this one. It was the main premise of the entire story.

So, a well written story with interesting characters, but this wasn't my flavor of M/M romance. For all the paranormal fans out there, I have a feeling you will enjoy this very much, especially if you like a little BDSM to kink up the joint. ;)

[Line · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the re-read I found a few things that sort of changed my opinion, so realistically it's around 3,5 stars.
---------------------------------------

Heh, I had actually decided to give up on the BDSM-themed books, but this one was also categorized as 'humor', and I couldn't quite decide whether to read the effing book and then have a meltdown when the 'submissive' read as being a spinesless worm or find something else...

Boy, am I glad I gave this a shot!
I ended up really liking 'Eddie' I thought it was fun and I loved Eddie's humor and intelligence. Especially his intelligence!! Yes, I was worried at one point, that this would be YET another book where the hero lost his independence/humor/underwear because the bad guy/other MC/'antihero' was HOT.
Thankfully this was not the case. Yes, Eddie thought Shadow was hot, and there was definite chemistry between them, but Eddie did not just roll over, and it did not read like fucking 'Stockholm Syndrome' (they even talked about it).
The development between Eddie and Shadow was organic, and Eddie kept his intelligence throughout.
Also it was not all fun and games. There were some pretty nasty characters in 'The League of Evil', and there were some things about the kidnappings/assaults that made me uncomfortable, just a heads up for the readers thinking this is an all-fun-superhero-novel.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I really liked this story. Anything that involves heroes and villains I tend to enjoy, but this one was a bit different. We have Eddie whose whole family is super heroes, but he never developed powers. His whole life, he's been constantly kidnapped to get to his family. He is not fazed at this point to the whole thing, but when he is suddenly kidnapped by a shadowy stranger everything is different. Shadow is not cruel to him and has never tried to hurt him. Eddie doesn't know how to handle this. He wants to escape, but Shadow begins to grow on him and Eddie begins to see the goodness in his kidnapper.

Both MCs are interesting and I love these two together. The reader gets a small glimpse of each one's past and I am craving more. Eddie's relationship with his best friend is a little strange, but overall a nice read.

[Merrydeath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie is the only normal human in a family of known superheroes. He is kidnapped a lot, this time by a villain named Shadow. While Eddie waits to be rescued he uses his knowledge of psychology to try to figure out what type of villain Shadow is, because he's acting totally different from all the other villains who kidnapped him before.
Maybe Shadow isn't really a villain, or maybe the attraction he feels toward Shadow is Stockholm syndrome.

I had a lot of fun reading this story. The superhero/villain names are really silly, but that didn't take away from the story. I look forward to reading more in this Universe.

[Natalie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if I’ll read the next one or not, for now I’ll probably settle for the HFN. I liked Eddie and Shadow but there are dark themes, including kidnapping, rape threats and past trauma. The public sucked and the parents weren’t much better until the end. Sub Dom relationship. Favourite parts were the escape attempts from Shadow and the shadow men doing all the chores.

[Mere Rain]

This was well-structured and felt psychological sound (which is good since the MC is a psychologist). There was a little while in the middle where I was afraid it was going to be too Stockholm Syndrome but the author made it work.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

****Reviewed for Prism Book Alliance****

3.25 Stars

Superheroes are always a fun genre! This one ran a little to the dark side with villains who, despite their ridiculous names, seemed quite evil. We also see that grey line between good and evil and delve into where that line may lie.

While I enjoyed the story overall, I found myself waiting throughout the first half for the other shoe to drop only to have the slow burn continue, what felt, endlessly. Once the action happened, things snowballed and happened quickly until the end when everything was resolved with a bow. The pacing just felt unbalanced.

However, I did like Shadow and Eddie. Shadow was mysterious with a unique and cool super power; Eddie was surprisingly down to earth and not helpless despite his lack of superpowers. Together they were hot.

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with the eARC of this title in exchange for my honest opinion

[Mare SLiTsReaD Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

Ummmmm

Right.

This book.

Because I'm a depraved ho when it comes to Stockholm Syndrome books. My fav is Crow's Row. There's just something about a bad boy....... And then I see STOCKHOLM SYNDROME MM STYLE AND I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO FAINT.

Ummmmm

I liked it? I must have because I definitely did not DNF it, and I absorbed it within less than 8 hours.

I went in not realizing the 3 different elements I would be getting in this book.

I will admit this book was totally different. Totally.

It was almost like reading fanfic. Superman getting it on with Luis Lane not Lois.

And then throw in the BDSM element.

WHOA.

It was just DIFFERENT. Weird different.

Superheroes vs super villians
Stockholm
BDSM.

It shouldn't work but it did.

Psst. am I weird because I totally want Shadow's shadows to tie me up on a bed???? No? I didn't think so.


Mare~Slitsread

[Kochka94 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dans un monde où vivent supers héros et supers vilains, Eddie, jeune psychologue, est le fils cadet d'une des familles parmi les plus célèbres de la première catégorie... sauf que lui, il n'a aucun pouvoir de "super".

Du coup, il se fait régulièrement kidnapper par les vilains, et ne doit sa libération qu'à son courage, sa débrouillardise, et parfois aussi, sa famille.

Et une fois de plus, il se fait kidnapper par un super vilain vilain apparemment pas très connu, Shadow, qui contrôle les ombres.

Mais Eddie va s'apercevoir assez vite que le méchant n'est peut-être pas si méchant que ça en fait.

Un roman assez surprenant, au vu de la couverture (je préfère d'ailleurs de très loin la couverture originale), qui me faisait penser, allez savoir pourquoi, à une sorte de cartoon un peu mièvre vaguement romance harlequin.

Et bien, j'avoue avoir été agréablement surprise. D'abord, Eddie est un personnage assez intéressant, plutôt bien construit et travaillé par l'auteur, et on s'aperçoit très vite, la narration étant de son point de vue, que sa famille de super héros n'est pas si parfaite que ça. Shadow est quant à lui assez charismatique, fort, à l'aura dangereuse, mais les deux jeunes hommes ont en finalité beaucoup de points communs.

Dans une sorte de huis clos, durant les deux mois que dure la "captivité" d'Eddie, les deux hommes vont se découvrir, se rapprocher, se dévoiler et s’apercevoir qu'ils se complètent en fait parfaitement.

L’auteur aborde, sous couvert de romance, des sujets aussi divers que le poids de la famille, les traumatismes d'enfance, le relation dominant/dominé, certains sujets étant d'ailleurs assez vite expédiés, ce qui est un peu dommage. Mais les deux hommes sont mignons ensemble, le côté protecteur s'équilibrant finalement assez bien entre eux.

Bref, j'ai passé un super moment avec Eddie et Shadow, la plume de l'auteur et la traduction sont de qualité, une suite existe mais n'est pas traduite, j'ai peu d'espoir qu'elle le soit, le premier tome ayant été écrit en 2014 et traduit en 2017. Dommage, j'aurais bien aimé continuer un bout de chemin avec eux.

[LiveYourLife BuyTheBook · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
A "Live Your Life, Buy The Book" Review

I love superhero books so I just had to read this one. It was also a new to me author and I’m always up to try out something new. There is some very light BDSM. I’d say it’s mostly Eddie likes to submit with restrictions. Shadow’s superpower abilities and dominant behavior favor this part of the story. The story is told from Eddie’s POV only so there is quite of bit of trepidation, analyzing and consideration over Shadow and his true self through little glimpses into the man behind the mask. Eddie has a degree in Psychology and isn’t afraid to use it. ;)

Eddie is the only one in his very high profile, almost royalty in the superhero world, family. It puts a BIG target on his head. He’s continuously kidnapped by one of the members of the League of Evil, an organized group of supervillains. There’s also a council of Superheroes. Despite his many kidnappings, Eddie lives a pretty normal life. Until he finds himself once again a captive of a villain named Shadow. It’s not one he’s ever seen before. There are shadows that seem to do his bidding. A couple of escape attempts prove getting away this time won’t be an option and he agrees under the threat of his friend to remain hidden away with Shadow.

During their time together Eddie sees something in Shadow. He’s even given Shadow’s real name. This is a big deal to super people as it keeps their identities hidden. Shadow is still hiding things but there’s an attraction Eddie decides he won’t deny. Shadow doesn’t want to start anything with Eddie under the assumption he’s doing it to please his captor. Or because there is nobody else there. Eddie squashes that worry and things progress into a physical relationship. Both are into the BDSM scene and play out the fantasies they’ve been dreaming about while resisting the attraction.

Things are going really well until the King baddie decides he’s tired of hunting for Eddie and takes things into his own hands. Essentially forcing Eddie to come out of hiding.

There were parts I really liked but there were also parts really hit on some of my personal pet peeves in books. Mainly, Eddie’s character. Everyone loved him and he made many silly choices putting everyone in danger. Yes I know this set up the big stand off but by that point of the story I think I’m the only person in the book who doesn’t adore Eddie. We also seemed to lose some of Shadow, the most intriguing character IMO, towards the end of the book. He’s just not on page as much.

The baddies were pretty awful and again I like the made up personas and powers of them. A super baddie is just so much fun to hate. There was a part with Eddie’s friend Lycas towards the end of the book that I honestly have no idea why it was in the book. It came out of no where and really felt disconnected to the storyline.

The beginning of Eddie and Shadow’s relationship was a fun struggle to read about. I liked how Shadow was dark and mysterious. Maybe a little scary at first. Some of the sex scenes were pretty damn hot. The relationship went from yearning tension to sweet as the book went on. The battle scenes were engaging.

So this was a pretty good read. I liked the first half more than the rest. If you’re into superheroes or a captive falling for his captor you would probably enjoy this one. I see it’s the beginning of a series. Wonder what else is to come?

[blub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technically the second time I've read this and I did it because I found out just recently book 2 Shadow came out in 2017 but it wasn't widely advertised on any blogs I follow.

This book follows Eddie Goodman a human who grew up in a super(hero) household. One day after work (well volunteering) he's kidnapped by a super whom he assumes is a villain named Shadow. Shadow claims to just want to keep Eddie safe but Eddie's been kidnapped several times and he knows he has a few choices: 1) try to escape; 2) wait for rescue; 3) comply.

I liked this well enough to read it twice but several years apart. It's a cute story with Stockholm syndrome, getting an idea of how it can be to grow up as a human around family and friends who are superheros and getting to see/learn about the difference between supers, villains and vigilantes. Along with learning why Shadow kidnapped Eddie.

[Brice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really liked this book so much!

First off I must sadly say that although this wasn't perfect, trust my word that it was really good and worth reading. I'm not kidding.


The book follows a guy named Eddie who is the youngest son of a well-known superhero family; his mom's a hero, his dad's a hero, his older brother's a hero--except him. And because of Eddie's lack of powers and vulnerability, he gets kidnapped by supervillains a lot. When a villain called Shadow kidnaps Eddie, both discover that they're compatible as dom and sub.

I applaud the book for not being 90% sex and 10% plot. Eddie had a really great plot and well-written characters. Plus points for character development, awesome premise, captivating read, and a great line of heroes and villains. As a bonus point, the humor in this book is just classy and downright laugh worthy, the romance was spot-on (and kinky but not too much), and the ending was truly satisfying.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I had a great time exploring the world and getting to know the characters and I wouldn't hesitate to devour a sequel if there had been.

[L.Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
A MM Good Book Review
A fun and kinky twist on bad boy attraction and superhero villains! Shadow, the mysterious member of the League of Evil kidnaps Eddie Goodman, the non-super power son of the Goodman superhero family. Eddie has been kidnapped many times because of his connections to the Goodman’s, but this time is different. For one, Shadow is making no ransom, he’s not purposefully hurt or threatened Eddie, in fact, he’s been downright hospitable until Eddie tries to escape.

As the story goes on Eddie is starting to fear he might be susceptible to Stockholm syndrome, but all of his textbook references tell him he’s in trouble for something else. How can he be attracted to a villain, a murderer, or is Shadow a gang leader? None of the details seem to add up, and Eddie is drawn to Shadow’s mind and his body.

Turns out Eddie has a kink form domination in the hands of this shadowy man, with a mysterious past and even more mysterious future.

Contains a bit of kink via BDSM, very skilled extra shadow appendages, efforts at escape and a fight between good, evil, and vigilante. A fun read, a bit different if you like the superhero bit.

[Chanty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much fun! Skylar can write. Sure it has over the top names for the superheroes and supervillains, but the story was just wonderful. Eddie has superhero parents and brother. He has no such power. But he gets kidnapped a lot so the supervillains can put pressure on his family. Now he is kidnapped again. This time by Shadow. But is Shadow really a villain? He seems so, but he also treats Eddie real good. He keeps Eddie safe. Eddie is confused. Slowly the two form a bond and start developing a relationship. It was a nice slow burn. The amount of steam was just perfect for this story. And it had more depth than you would think reading the blurb. I highly recommend this for everyone who likes superheroes and supervillains with a small amount of D/s in the mix. I didn't put it on my BDSM shelf, because that element is almost negligible. Start reading this book. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Sucajo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. I don't often buy books by new authors to me until I see how my friends review them but something about this one caught my eye and I'm glad I took a chance on it. On the surface it may seem a simple story about an ordinary man in a family of superheroes but there's a lot more deep stuff going on. To me the story was about acceptance and self-belief and valuing people for who they are rather than focusing on what they're not. I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Shadow and Eddie and ultimately Vlad and Eddie. There was no insta-love here although right from the beginning there was definitely a spark between the two men. I'm happy to see that this is the first book in a series and I look forward to reading more about the characters from this world.

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I wasn't sure about reading this book, I have never really liked superhero stories, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The relationship between Eddie and Shadow develops slowly through the book, which made it seem more real to me. I hope there will be more stories set in this world by the author

[Alicia Nordwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I see superheroes and villains, especially with names like Duke Naughty and Baby, I really expected this story to be comedic and kitchy. But this wasn't. Beyond the heroes and villains, and the super powers, this was really a story about two men. It was about who they are, who they want to be, and how they get there.

Very well done.

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 bumped up to 4. I liked the storyline, though this might be my first superhero book! Great characters, I loved Shadow's super power. ;)

Wouldn't mind reading more about characters in this world (Wolf Boy? lol)

[Scarlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this! I liked the superhero aspect, even if their names are kind of hammy, and I totally got Eddie's POV about things. Shadow is awesome, and I love his power - want it! I wish someone would have set Eddie's parents in their place though.

[Denise White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read the characters were interesting and so what's the story itself... I enjoyed the relationship between Shadow and Eddie... I give it four stars because some of it was a little corny but it was still an enjoyable read I recommend...

[Riina Y.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable YA-ish, supernatural-ish story with superheroes and a kinky shadow villain.

[Whit · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Much more relationship driven than I thought it would be and I wouldn't class it as a Bdsm title either. Just a really nice enjoyable read.

[M.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first M/M romance superhero book... and I loved it.

[Fifika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Done.
My expectations wasn't crashed.
A good book , a different book but good nevertheless.
I enjoyed it and i'm sure that sometime in the future i'll want to read it again.

[Ashleigh Brannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book and fully recommend it to people who enjoy M/M romance stories with more than a dash of D/s in them.

My ONLY complain is that Shadow seems a bit overpowered.

[Donene Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the premise, loved world and loved the MCs. Very well written, well done, well done indeed! This will be in my reread shelf

[Ada · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here I come to save the day!

*keeps singing that same sentence for days*

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really surprised me, I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would.