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The Kings #7
The Shadow King
King of the Shadow Realm . . . Beyond the Twixt, just past the Unlit Forest lies a realm so gravely perilous, it has been cut off from the mortal world for thousands of years. The powerful man who rules this tangled, twisted land is as dark and merciless as his realm. That darkness in him calls out, endlessly hunts, and searches far and wide--ever seeking the soul that can make it complete, the one who can end the loneliness that threatens his entire kingdom. Warlock of the fae . . . Violet Kellen is one of two Tuath unseelie fae to have studied the rare art of dark magic to become a warlock, and now she must use those skills to save the other one--her sister. She foolishly ventures into the forbidden Dark on a rescue mission, and is ultimately thrust into a world she couldn't fathom--and into the arms of a tall, dark savior who fills her with a fierce desire nearly as brutal as his own. Contains mature themes.
188 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 26, 2015
124 people are currently reading
465 people want to read
About the author
Heather Killough-Walden
61 books2,186 followersHeather Killough-Walden is a California native currently living in Texas with her husband and child. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the Big Bad Wolf series. Heather’s educational background includes religious studies, archeology, and law. She has traveled all over the world but hopes to one day live in a town with a world-class hockey team. (Let’s Go Pens!) Visit Heather’s website at www.killough-walden.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter. Also, be sure to keep in touch with her and other fans through her Facebook fan page and through Twitter (killoughwalden)!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
October 16, 2022
I thought this was better written than the last book.
May 7, 2024
A luta torna-se cada vez mais difícil. As rainhas estão a aparecer, as profecias realizam-se.
May 21, 2018
The Shadow King is the 7th book in the Kings series, which revolves around 13 paranormal kings of various supernatural species. These are quick reads that really work well as a binge series, and I find that I am having a hard time remembering some of the earlier books after waiting a few years between the first books and these last few. I do think this series is a candidate for the re-read pile though, so I will definitely look to binge them one day in the future.
Our king of this 7th book is Keeran Pitch, Shadow King. I found him to be a unique and mysterious hero. There are very few paranormals dealing with shadow creatures, so I always find them to be intriguing when they come across my desk. Keeran lives his life in the dark, working to make the Shadow Realm a better place for its inhabitants. I found the premise of the shadows and their double lives to be fascinating. I only wish we had more character development for Keeran, as I was so interested in him. I liked the twist involving his identity, and the narrator gave him a great accent.
Violet Kellen is our heroine and Keeran's fated queen, who is a warlock in her own right, and fae to boot. Violet is determined to go into the Dark to find her twin sister, despite the danger and warnings from others. The Dark is not a place that non-shadows are adept at navigating. I'm not exactly sure how her twin sister got into The Dark... so that must have happened in one of the previous books that I'm not remembering. There wasn't much character development for Violet either, but I liked what we did have on the page.
The relationship between these two unfolded well with the pace of the story. I liked their communication and chemistry. Violet accepted her fated position with aplomb, so there wasn't time wasted on her pushing back against the relationship or the hero. I tend to like that better than a lot of push and pull these days. I really wish these books were longer because I love the premise, the characters and the plot line. It makes me more details and more character and relationship development.
This is a continuing storyline so I do not recommend reading these books out of order. We finally find out the identity of Slender Man, our villain of the series. This was another twist that I didn't see coming, and I found it to be most interesting. I am looking forward to seeing what happens with our next king and his fated queen.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher, Tantor Audio.
December 12, 2015
Another good one! Now the wait is on to find out who's story is next.
December 4, 2015
Well done...
This continuing saga is holding together quite well. Heather is incredibly talented. I've read the previous six books and they are all engaging, a bit of mystery and well paced action. The queens that have been identified so far really do compliment their king. So I'll be looking and watching for the next installment of coexisting realms and their supernatural kings. I really like this series and recommend it highly.
This continuing saga is holding together quite well. Heather is incredibly talented. I've read the previous six books and they are all engaging, a bit of mystery and well paced action. The queens that have been identified so far really do compliment their king. So I'll be looking and watching for the next installment of coexisting realms and their supernatural kings. I really like this series and recommend it highly.
March 25, 2017
Excellent story...loved it. Ms Killough Walden out did herself again...Great story line and great introduction to some new and old characters from previous series...Cannot wait to see who the latest King to join their flock will be paired with, though I do have an idea...Hmmmmmm...Lol...Love it...
July 6, 2017
There are a lot of characters
Ok first off the books are great. The one thing I wish is with each book they have a list of names of the kings and their queens.(add them as each book is written so it doesn't have to be any spoilers) Because there are a lot of characters and most characters have more than one name which can get confusing. The one thing I don't understand about her writing is why introduce a person if this person/character isn't seen again. For example, in the seelie king towards the end, his queen was stopped by a girl name Sophia who love winter and carried her skates everywhere. (I thought she would be the Winter's queen but it isn't) why mention some random girl?? Did the author forget she mentioned her?? (Or being that I haven't finished the series maybe she will again) but why mention her so soon. Also the seelie and Goblin queens were best friends in goblin king's book. But in the seelie King's book they acted as if they barely knew one another. Don't get me wrong the books are great it makes me want to keep reading and I will. If it wasn't because of some of the confusion I would have give it a five star.
Ok first off the books are great. The one thing I wish is with each book they have a list of names of the kings and their queens.(add them as each book is written so it doesn't have to be any spoilers) Because there are a lot of characters and most characters have more than one name which can get confusing. The one thing I don't understand about her writing is why introduce a person if this person/character isn't seen again. For example, in the seelie king towards the end, his queen was stopped by a girl name Sophia who love winter and carried her skates everywhere. (I thought she would be the Winter's queen but it isn't) why mention some random girl?? Did the author forget she mentioned her?? (Or being that I haven't finished the series maybe she will again) but why mention her so soon. Also the seelie and Goblin queens were best friends in goblin king's book. But in the seelie King's book they acted as if they barely knew one another. Don't get me wrong the books are great it makes me want to keep reading and I will. If it wasn't because of some of the confusion I would have give it a five star.
February 19, 2019
Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot, like I've been enjoying the rest of the series. I felt like Keeran's backstory was a lot more interesting than a few of the previous kings, and I really loved Violet as a character. I've been enjoying how in the last few books there are far fewer interruptions from the werewolf characters from the previous series. I haven't read that series myself so every time they appeared I felt a bit alienated. It was obvious I was intended to have some kind of emotional attachment to those characters, but I just don't. So not having those long interruptions helped me get into this story more, which was great. On the whole, I had a good time with this book, and would recommend.
However...
However...
April 4, 2018
I am pleased to continue to read this series again. I used to love the previous books, and due to my busy schedule, I completely stopped reading this despite saving it on my kindle.
I am a big fan of the author. She writes one of the best Paranormal romance I have ever read. It is always addictive that I have to read the spinoff of her original book series. This series is the spinoff of the book series The Big Bad Wolf which I didn't like. However, I decided to read The Kings series as I preferred to read about vampires, fairies, warlocks and Goblins etc.
Because it was aeons ago when I read book 6 I wasn't really sure if I could still remember everything before starting this book. I hesitated, but because I missed reading adult paranormal romance, I risked it. Guess what? I remembered everything when I was quarter of the book. I was so excited, and all the things I loved about this series came back.
I love how the story moves on to different settings and characters. They all have a different villain, but it was still the same purpose at the end. All the 13 Kings must find their queen because it is the reason that they are not the traitor just like what the prophecy said. Their queen will make them stronger because their queen will give them the purpose of saving the paranormal community from the ENTITY that is slowly destroying their realms and the people they love.
The Shadow King is one of my favourites in the series so far. He is different with so many secrets that he can only share with his queen. He hides as a game maker in the human realm which is so cool. He is antisocial who like to be mysterious. He wants to be himself, but that changed everything when he accidentally met his queen in an unexpected place where he lives.
The characters are good. It was hard to tell who is the traitor. There is some part where it was a bit predictable, but it was not a big deal. It was straightforward to read and very enjoyable. I like the part where the author gave a small clue about the next king who will finally find his queen, and I am surprised that the funniest character will have a turn. She will be awesome, and I can't wait to read the next.
Recommended to all paranormal romance lover!
I am a big fan of the author. She writes one of the best Paranormal romance I have ever read. It is always addictive that I have to read the spinoff of her original book series. This series is the spinoff of the book series The Big Bad Wolf which I didn't like. However, I decided to read The Kings series as I preferred to read about vampires, fairies, warlocks and Goblins etc.
Because it was aeons ago when I read book 6 I wasn't really sure if I could still remember everything before starting this book. I hesitated, but because I missed reading adult paranormal romance, I risked it. Guess what? I remembered everything when I was quarter of the book. I was so excited, and all the things I loved about this series came back.
I love how the story moves on to different settings and characters. They all have a different villain, but it was still the same purpose at the end. All the 13 Kings must find their queen because it is the reason that they are not the traitor just like what the prophecy said. Their queen will make them stronger because their queen will give them the purpose of saving the paranormal community from the ENTITY that is slowly destroying their realms and the people they love.
The Shadow King is one of my favourites in the series so far. He is different with so many secrets that he can only share with his queen. He hides as a game maker in the human realm which is so cool. He is antisocial who like to be mysterious. He wants to be himself, but that changed everything when he accidentally met his queen in an unexpected place where he lives.
The characters are good. It was hard to tell who is the traitor. There is some part where it was a bit predictable, but it was not a big deal. It was straightforward to read and very enjoyable. I like the part where the author gave a small clue about the next king who will finally find his queen, and I am surprised that the funniest character will have a turn. She will be awesome, and I can't wait to read the next.
Recommended to all paranormal romance lover!
August 31, 2019
I think I liked this story better than The Seelie King or the Unseelie King. Keeran had a better backstory than the others. AND Violet was much sassier and brave than the other Queens.
It was horrible what happened to the Gargoyles and I wish some would destroy that evil Slenderman. They can’t seem to kill him, so I guess they must, somehow, destroy him.
There are still 6 Kings that have to make it to Audible so it might take me a year to finish this series but I’ll wait.
There’s graphic sex and the F-bomb is used 19 times.
As to the narration: No matter what the others say Antony Ferguson is a terrible narrator. He can’t do a woman’s voice worth a crap and he reads without a bit of emotions in his voice. He reads the book, that’s it!
April 24, 2020
We met Violet Kellen in the last book when her sister almost got the Unseelie Queen taken over by The Entity. Violet is a twin and a Tuath unseelie fae. She and her sister have studied the art of dark magic and are both warlocks. Violet is determined to rescue her sister from the darkness where The Entity has her trapped and to do that she must transverse the Shadowland. It is not easy to find a way into this land and Violet gets caught, or rescued, by the Shadow King as she tries to find an entrance and runs into some shadows that want her magic.
Keeran, the Shadow King, has a lot of secrets that we will discover as the book progresses. As I found this book to really good, I am going to let you read it, off listen to it as I ended up doing, for yourself. Enjoy.
Keeran, the Shadow King, has a lot of secrets that we will discover as the book progresses. As I found this book to really good, I am going to let you read it, off listen to it as I ended up doing, for yourself. Enjoy.
August 24, 2020
It was a rescue mission. Violet Kellen prepared for it as best she could. Her sister's life was in danger and Violet was the only one that cared enough to try to save her. Violet is a Tuath, a beautiful fae with an unusual talent. She learned the rare art of dark magic. Learned it so she could become a warlock. But in the Twixt, she is a beacon for shadows. And the shadow King will be the only one powerful enough to keep her safe. Keeran is the Shadow King. His story is full of depth, pain, loneliness, and loss. He loved once. He lost her. Now as he finds his queen, he will need to let go of the past and hold on to the only one who can love and save him. They are a powerful couple, united in shadows and in love. Another excellent tale of paranormal love by Heather Killough-Walden.
February 8, 2022
This book leaves me with more questions than answers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2020
2020 EBN Challenge.... Category #22
Challenge topic: A Book with Royalty in the title.
Book # 7 of "The Kings" Series. I am loving this series!! Violet is a spunky little thing and has major talent. Then she meets Keeran, whom she has secretly been admiring for a long time and doesn't even know it!! This was a great book and near the end it was a little scary for a bit there.
I will continue with this... and may have to read more of her other books!!
Challenge topic: A Book with Royalty in the title.
Book # 7 of "The Kings" Series. I am loving this series!! Violet is a spunky little thing and has major talent. Then she meets Keeran, whom she has secretly been admiring for a long time and doesn't even know it!! This was a great book and near the end it was a little scary for a bit there.
I will continue with this... and may have to read more of her other books!!
October 31, 2017
The whole explanation of shadow life in this was a little hard to understand. There was a lot of little bits and exceptions involved. Sounded like the author was trying too hard to make up a scary story history for this king. But if you forgo this and just move on with the story it wasn’t too bad. Would be a great story to read at Halloween.
Fave scenes: cucumbers, the magical coffee, gargoyles and the PAX Prime convention surprise.
Fave scenes: cucumbers, the magical coffee, gargoyles and the PAX Prime convention surprise.
April 10, 2020
I am not sure if the entity is the enemy of is he is helping them be stronger.
I am wondering what happen to Re's brother and Romans brother how is it that there is no mention of them The Queen help captive by her own power.
I am saddened that only four gargoyles were saved I though that Violet now cemented in her Shadow Queen power would and could bring back more gargoyles.
I am wondering what happen to Re's brother and Romans brother how is it that there is no mention of them The Queen help captive by her own power.
I am saddened that only four gargoyles were saved I though that Violet now cemented in her Shadow Queen power would and could bring back more gargoyles.
June 16, 2020
The Shadow King, Keeran and Violet, his queen.
This was a very good read and one of the better story-lines. The stories in this series to date have all been enjoyable but for some reason this appealed more. Great relatable characters, emotional but with lighter moments.
Still very addictive and have the next one ready!
This was a very good read and one of the better story-lines. The stories in this series to date have all been enjoyable but for some reason this appealed more. Great relatable characters, emotional but with lighter moments.
Still very addictive and have the next one ready!
June 27, 2017
This book was much better than the former one. The characters had more distinct personality rather than repetitive characteristics that most H or h had. I enjoyed Keeran and Violet much better than the former couples. Also the story was much better.
4.25 stars
4.25 stars
April 20, 2020
We’re learning more about the Entity. I think he may be the thing Amon Re defeated coming back via Kamon. I hope we’ll learn more.
Violet and Keeran are meant for one another. She has a darkness that calls to him. His story is very interesting and multilayered.
Violet and Keeran are meant for one another. She has a darkness that calls to him. His story is very interesting and multilayered.
April 9, 2017
Very well written. Best of the best so far.
January 9, 2018
Great read
Great read ... can’t wait to get in to the next book... reading the series for a second time waiting for the next book
Great read ... can’t wait to get in to the next book... reading the series for a second time waiting for the next book
June 9, 2018
My kind of book! Funny and vulgar just the way I like it.
June 19, 2018
Awesome
January 15, 2019
Another unlikable Heroine.
April 4, 2020
I personally think this is the best one so far. I loved the characters and how interesting the Shadow Realm is. I really enjoyed every aspect of this book.
February 23, 2021
great series.
July 8, 2021
Another good book in the series. They have been just fun books.
May 14, 2023
Great episode in the series
I do love the Shadow King. He is mysterious with an ease the other kings do not possess. He is not especially dark but deep.
I do love the Shadow King. He is mysterious with an ease the other kings do not possess. He is not especially dark but deep.
December 15, 2024
Enjoyed the series ❤️
May 29, 2025
Wonderful book and series
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews