Destruction. Decay. All the things that await him if he fails.
War is coming. With it a battle so fierce it could tear a hole through the clans and decimate their way of life. Friends are few and enemies grow increasingly by the day. Not to mention the worst of them all. Ryu’s waking nightmare—the Bloodhound Prince. An evil necromancer spreading the Lycan disease that would eventually kill them all.
To understand the present—he will have to go back to the past.
The Black Shadow must step into the light. No matter how much he rages against it. That means he will have to work with the White Lotus—Micah McCorbyn.
I’ve always been a storyteller, though my first real studio was a basement fort that my mom eventually made me tear down. Honestly, I’m still not over it. These days, I’ve traded the fort for the sidelines. I write sports romance now, specifically the kind where the characters have to fight like hell for their ending. I’m not really into the fairy-tale version of love. I prefer the messy, high-stakes, overtime kind of stories that feel a bit more like real life. When I’m not writing, I’m usually deep into a cup of coffee and a bag of Cheetos Puffs. And yes, Puffs are objectively better than Crunchy. It's a texture thing and I'm prepared to defend that. I’m a fan of American Beauty, artistic vibes, and stories that stay with you long after the game is over. Come hang out in the huddle with me.
i really liked Micah and i actually thought he should've gotten more page time. i saw the amount of psychological trauma he went through but it wasn't really mentioned and I'm curious about the why.
This is the second book in this series and definitely needs read in order for you to understand what’s going on and whose who ! This book was a great addition we got to see more or what happened to ryu but more amazingly we got to see snippets of the past from Micahs POV which I gotta tell ya made me like him more !! This book picks up right where we left off but end on an so much better note o can’t wait to read the conclusion to this series when it comes out !!
I'm still reading this...and don't understand why this author gets such good reviews. Her grammar is really not great, and her pacing is off. Something about the storytelling is wrong, but I'm not sure what it is. There just seems to be no end in sight (for the conflict and plot). And for heaven's sake, Ryu needs someone who's going to treat him better than Micah. To be fair, Micah seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place, but his behavior towards the person he claims to love more than anyone else is ridiculous. I think I'm just above 50% right now. I just feel sorry for Ryu, honestly. He seems to have gotten the short end of the stick. Kudos to whoever did the cover though. It's lovely. The story itself needs polish and some work, in my opinion. Will probably still finish it, to see if it gets any better.
This is actually my second read. The first time around I was very mixed on how I felt about it. I ended up not adding it to my Goodreads at all, especially since I skimmed almost all of it. Since it’s about a month away from the third book’s release, I decided to do a reread of this second book.
Apparently my belief in “right book, wrong time” holds true, because I enjoyed this more than I did the first time. Coming back around the second time was a good decision for myself. I loved a lot more about it. Deryn’s humor had me laughing, Ryu’s angsty troubled self had me feeling things, and Micah’s longing to be understood & forgiven tugged at some heartstrings. Those are just some of my favorite things.
There are quite a bit of editing issues with this book, but I found it easier to ignore the second time around. I was able just to enjoy the characters and their stories. Definitely still looking forward to the next book.
Awesome sequel. You get to find out more about the two MCs backstory and that really worked out for me. so much action and finally our two MCs got back together. can't wait for book 2.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Ryu and Micah are the epitome of an enemies who have to work together pair. Their chemistry is off the charts. This is a dark world with death and total destruction hovering over everything. The author has created an incredible world with necromancers, werewolves, dark magic - all the best elements of apocalyptic urban fantasy.
I love this series and wish there were more than just the three books! I really don't want to have to wait until December for the final book either. I am so in love with Ryu and want more stories about him. Just like the first Exiled book and all of Ms. Jones' other books, I'll Keep reading them over and over again.
If I was rating for the plot and Ryu it would be 5 stars but as it is there are too many issues with it for that. Firstly though I will say I enjoyed the book, the writer has something great here and any criticism is not to blast the author but hope they improve. I will read book 3. So there are issues with grammar, spelling, incorrect words etc The pacing is off. There is no sense of real drama or danger as every battle is dialed up to 100. I lost count of how many times Ryu nearly died. Micah. A whole lot of the story is going over events from before, this time with more detail and a pov from Micah. It still doesn't excuse the treatment of Ryu or lack of communication or any real apology. The timeline is all over the place and I find it hard to believe they punished a 16 year old with torture and rape (which doesn't happen on page but is inferred) and near murder. I think the author just needs a couple of betas to go through the story first and fix those issues.
Author Jones continues to captivate I loved book #1 and was so looking forward to reading this one. This book pics off from where book #1 and ended with Ryu caught in the traumas of the past, his newfound role as saviour, the ever persistent dismeanor of his clan and his rekindled love for Micah.
The stakes are high as the secrets of the past are revealed and the duo find it in them to sit down, talk and move past. I personally loved hearing more about the past from Micah's POV and I think this book truly gave me more perspective into Micah's characters and his love and faith in Ryu.
As in book #1, the author does a fantastic job at world building and perfects the balance of action, suspense, romance and fantasy. I also loved the side characters and the subtle romance between them.
Can't wait for book #3 *bats puppy dog eyes at author*
This is one of those books that I took some notes of to track what was happening. I received this book as an ARC from Gay Romance Reviews and I had not read the first one. I was able to follow along mostly but I would recommend starting with the first book in the series. I have been getting more and more into darker fantasy genres and this didn’t disappoint. I still got the connection between Ryu and Micah that I wanted, but I also got characters and plotlines that weren’t easy to figure out or necessarily redemptive. I would actually really love for this author to write more about necromancers. Aside from some timeline irregularities, I would say it was a solid offering. Ryu and Micah coming together again was what I needed…I actually really love the dynamics between these two!
This was another action packed story. This world is well built, though there are still times that there needs to be more explanation into what is going on. The actions in this story really do bring Micah and Ryu truly back together again. They both finally open up with each other. I look forward to seeing how this series continues to play out.
I received a copy of this book and am giving an honest review
2.5 stars. I’m torn on this one because I really love the story idea and it has the bones of a great story but the writing is really disjointed and disconnected. It’s hard to explain but it just doesn’t seem to come together. The descriptions of what’s happening are sometimes confusing and sporadic at best.