Born of Fire

The League: Nemesis Rising #2

by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Fred Berman

In a universe where assassins make the law, everyone lives in fear—except for Syn. Born of an illicit scandal that once rocked a dynasty, he always knew how to survive on the bloodthirsty streets. But that was then, and the future is now...Syn was raised as a tech-thief until his livelihood uncovered a truth that could end his life. He tried to destroy the evidence, and has been on the run ever since. Now trained as an assassin, he allows no one to threaten him. Ever. He is the darkness that swallows his enemies whole.Shahara Dagan is the best bounty hunter in the universe. When Syn comes back on the radar, she's the only one who can bring him to justice. There's only one problem: Syn is a close family friend who's helped out the Dagans countless times. But if she saves him, both of their lives will be on the line. Is Syn's protection worth the risk? The only hope Shahara has is to find the evidence he buried long ago. Now it's kill or be killed—and they, the predators, have just become the hunted...

Genres: Romance, Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Fantasy, Aliens, Futuristic

MP3 Book

First published July 1, 1996

About the author

Official Author site
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New York Times and international bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon is a regular at the #1 spot. With legions of fans known as Paladins (thousands of whom proudly sport tattoos from her series and who travel from all over the world to attend her appearances), her books are always snatched up as soon as they appear on store shelves. Since 2004, she had placed more than 80 novels on the New York Times list in all formats including manga and graphic novels. Her current series are: Dark-Hunters, Chronicles of Nick and The League, and her books are available in over 100 countries where eager fans impatiently wait for the next release. Her Chronicles of Nick and Dark-Hunter series are soon to be major motion pictures while Dark-Hunter is also being developed as a television series. Join her and her Paladins online at MySherrilyn.com and www.facebook.com/mysherrilyn

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Reviews

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review Disclaimer: Danielle is not actually insane. She is fully aware that Syn is not a real person. (What a shame!)

Syn, would you please marry me? I would hold you to my breast, and soothe you. I would wipe away the tears you will not allow yourself to cry, that is after I kick your ex-wife's butt all the way to the next galaxy for being such a piece of work not to realize what the precious jewel she had in you. I would kiss you every day, and make sure you understood just how much I adore you. I could care less that your father was a psycho and the worst person in all the nine worlds. Each person is accountable for his own actions. And your actions fully show what a wonderful man you are. Can you please tell your friend Nyk, that I am sorry? Our love affair is over, because you have stolen my heart away from him. He has Kiara, and I'm sure he will get over me, now that I have found you. I know that Shahara is your dearest love, but she cannot possibly love you like I do. There is no way!

Okay, the madness is over, I think. Now I can talk about how much I loved this book, and how Syn has changed my life.

I cannot believe that the stupid publishers did not want to publish this book. Were they insane? Clearly. This was a fantastic story. I thought I loved Born of Night, and I still do, but ah, Syn's story, I love even more.

Syn is one of the most awesome heroes ever written. Okay, you might dispute that, but this is my review, so if you are reading it, I attest this to be my truth. He is so tortured. I cannot believe what this poor man suffered. I wanted to slap every person who ever hurt him. I definitely wanted to go buy a pair of boots (since I don't own any except for work galoshes) and kick his ex-wife's butt so far out of the known galaxies that it would require a search party to find it. How can you hold a man's parentage against him? A man is judged for who he is individually, and Syn never let me down. I could see why he had the shell around his heart, so many times was it broken. And what he suffered, as a boy. Imagine putting a young boy through that. Hard to even conceive of. It's incredible what he accomplished, and that alone showed that he was far beyond what his father and mother were. I just wanted Syn to be happy. I wanted to love him to pieces as I read this story. I still do. There is so much I love about Syn!

Okay, Shahara. I did have a couple of moments that I wanted to slap the taste out of your mouth. But only a couple. You turned out to be a good heroine, although you had me frothing at the mouth initially. But, I could see your issues after what you suffered. You are definitely Ms. Kenyon's most tortured heroine. And, I must admit, you proved yourself to be a worthy match for Syn. The way you made his heart feel to know that someone really loved him....I'll tolerate you just for that. But, it was also pretty cool how you went to bat for Syn, more than once, in this story. And, you are a badass. I do love badass heroines. (pardon my French). You know how to take care of yourself and your man. And, you're a pretty good sister, too. I wish you well with my man Syn, since he's not real, and I can't be with him in real life. You better take very good care of him, because I'm watching you, very closely!

I predict I will have a new addiction, books set in space and on other worlds. If you know of some good ones, please recommend them. Only, they must have fantastic heroes to die for, buttkicking action, lots of angst, and wisecracking galore to make up for the moments that break your heart. I don't know if too many books will meet the high standard that this story has set for me. It's too scary to contemplate. Did I tell you how much I love Syn? There are no words Thumbs way up for this book.

[Shawna · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars – Paranormal/Sci-Fi Romance

If there was ever a hero that I wanted to hold and gently rock in my arms while crooning a sweet lullaby or win a giant, plush teddy bear from playing one of those fair games for him, it’s Syn from Born of Fire. He’s one of the most tortured, anguished romantic heroes ever, having endured just about every kind of suffering, abuse, and cruelty imaginable, yet he’s somehow managed to harbor an intrinsic, unbreakable sense of goodness and tenderness that’s all the more remarkable considering the brutality he’s faced could have so easily turned him vicious and cold.

Although I had serious doubts about kick-ass bounty hunter Shahara’s ability to protect, heal, and love Syn the way he deserves, and she did piss me off something fierce a few times, she ultimately proved worthy of him. I believe she’ll take good care of him, but sister better watch out if she ever dare hurt Syn because my good friend Danielle and I will be keeping a close eye on things!

I was blown away by Nyk’s story, Born of Night, which introduced us to the unique, fascinating Ichidian Universe of The League, and although I didn’t enjoy this story quite as much, it’s still a great read with complex, intriguing characters, emotional drama, intense action, and touching, heartbreaking romance. I’ll warn that there aren’t a lot of happy or light moments in this book because our mistreated, kind, sexy, beloved Syn gets the perpetual shaft by life and just about everyone in it. Bearing witness to his pain brought tears to my eyes a few times, but it also makes Syn’s and Shay’s HEA that much sweeter.

Born of Fire is an awesome paranormal/sci-fi romance, with a hero you’ll want to hug tight, cherish, and forever love and keep safe. 5 stars!

Here’s a link to my good friend and wonderful reviewer, Danielle’s, great review: Born of Fire!

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hadn't read any Sherrilyn Kenyon before, but I see her name everywhere, usually with 3, 4, or 5 star reviews next to the book titles. I picked this one up in an airport when I was looking for some fun and not too weighty genre fiction. I chose it on the basis of the back cover, which made it sound like it would have both a strong female protagonist and an interesting male adversary/ally, and the opening, which seemed to set up a strong relationship between the protagonist and her sister. This appealed to me a lot.

Alas, I just can't get past the bad writing. I'm wondering if maybe Kenyon's earlier work is better, because this book desperately needs a good editor. The biggest problems for me are the repetitious, tell-don't-show prose, her over-use of the technique of setting off one sentence as its own paragraph for emphasis, and the clichéd and overblown characterizations.

For instance, our protagonist Shahara's introduction, after the initial promising start, gets really annoying really fast as it goes on about how responsible Shahara feels for her reckless wastrel sister and her other siblings, how poor they are, how determined she is, what a tough life they've had, how guilty she feels, and I'm just, lordy, can't we get this information through scenes rather than exposition?

Syn's introduction is no better. It begins with seven pages of what a bad mood he's in and how stupid anyone would be to mess with him when he's in a bad mood, because he's such an amazingly awesome and deadly opponent. I was rolling my eyes by a page and a half. An excerpt:

Unless he missed his guess, which he never did, six men were behind him. Only Syn and the six of them walked down the street at this late hour -- another factor that told him whoever it was wanted one thing --

Him.

"Come and get some," he muttered, unable to find an ounce of patience for anyone stupid enough to try and kill him. What little patience he possessed had ended hours ago.

You just made a bad mistake, boys. I definitely wouldn't want to be you.

'Cause tonight, he wanted blood without being particular as to whom he took it from. They were definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Never attack a target who was already pissed off at someone else and at the universe in general -- someone who was aching for a fight and a whipping boy. It never ended well for the antagonists.

And so on and so forth.

The problems with this, for me, start with the idea of a character who never misses his guess, and more than that, being told in so many words that he never misses his guess. Then, all the words she uses to tell the reader that Syn's irritable and doesn't like it when people try to kill him.

And it just goes on like that, for seven pages. The author manages to work in some relevant backstory, but not very skilfully, and apart from that it's just all about how grouchy and bad-ass Syn is.

Then there are a couple of pages about his abusive dad and how he tries to forget his past, and another two about how much he hates women because of his ex-wife, "the woman he'd lived to make happy. The woman he'd given everything to. His heart. His soul. His life."

In the end it didn't matter that he'd treated her like royalty and would have sold his soul for a single rose to make her smile. Mara had betrayed him and taken everything he'd ever cared about for no other reason than his father had been a first-rank bastard and Syn, rather than lying down and dying, had fought to make a better life for himself.

It goes on in that vein for another half page, and revisits the theme here and there as the book continues. Such flat characterizations are not encouraging.

The fight scenes are plentiful and strange. For example: Shahara head-butted him, then scissor-kicked his chest. In a fluid roll, she scooped her blaster up from the floor and angled it at him. And I'm having a really hard time picturing this. A head-butt is a super close move, and a scissor kick is typically a flying kick, and she rolled from where, again? I don't know, it just doesn't make sense, and throws me out of the story.

Then there's little things like, "her face burst into flames" -- it took me a moment to realize the author meant she was blushing. Or the classic threat delivered during a fight scene:

"So help me, convict, if you ever touch a member of my family, I'll come for you. There's no hole in hell you can find that would be deep enough to hide you from my wrath."

Because, you know. That's how angry people pumped on adrenaline talk.

Also, expect a certain degree of bodice-ripper style romance, which was disappointing but at least seemed -- what I could read of it -- to be fairly standard bodice-ripper stuff.

A lot of people love this book, but I just can't bear it. The story may be good, but I can't read it for the writing.

[Carolyn F.]

Okay, I hate Shahara. Syn doesn't hurt her when she comes to turn him in even though she shoots him, pays for her sister's hospital visit when they're about to throw her out, bails her other sister and brother out of jail numerous times, takes the rap for a sister, pays for the same sister's ship to be fixed after she was attacked - but then Shahara thinks he's a liar so he can't be trusted. She finds out from her sister that he's helped the family for years, but no matter what he says, she thinks he's a liar and can't be trusted. She turns him in after doing a blood vow which means a lot in her job title justifying it because of semantics and when she finds out he's been horribly tortured because of it, she thinks he's a liar and can't be trusted so she shouldn't feel too guilty. YOU'RE THE ONE THAT CAN'T BE TRUSTED! She has her head so far up her moralistic ass that if her sisters and brother stood in front of her with cancelled checks and videos, she'd think, "It could be true, but he's a criminal and so he's a liar. I'll turn him in again for more torture and eventual death because I can't lose my job. And he's a liar so he can't be trusted." I really, really, really hate Sahara.

About halfway through, this woman who is a bounty hunter, is deathly afraid of heights (fell out of a window when young), catacombs (because there are dead bodies there). Syn says he's never met a bounty hunter so afraid of everything and she tells him she hates him. Okay. There are torture guys on their tail and he asks her to trust him and she says absolutely not. WTF! This woman is unbelievable. I'm going to put her on my list of worse heroines ever.

Even at the end of the book I'm wondering why he would want her. She still told him she turned him in because of her job, even knowing he was going to be tortured and killed slowly.

Also, I think there was a screw-up because in the first book Syn and Shahara go to the hospital to see how Nyk is doing and they touch hands and say they were busy or something like that. He went straight to jail and only saw Shahara the one time at prison. When I was reading this book I was wondering where that scene went.

So in summation, I hate Shahara and love Syn.

Now about the narration, I think I would have liked him better if I hadn't listened to the first book where they talk about Nyx having an accent that was hard to place, well in this book I figured it out, Brooklyn accent. Not liking that at all. I think they should have kept the same narrator as the one from the first book. She did a much better job.

[CC · Rating 1 out of 5]

Listened via audio

Had I not been trapped in a car.....I would have never finished this book.

Maybe I can give this 1.5 stars

Ok so I probably HATE this heroine more than any heroine I have ever read. I found zero redeeming qualities. She was a self righteous bitch throughout the entire book.

Sin was a good hero and deserved so much better!

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

five out of five if I could I would give it a six that's how good this book is

[Jen Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life has kicked Syn in the teeth from the day he was born. His father was brutal killer. His mother abandoned him and his sister, Talia. They were horribly abused. Talia escaped by suicide. Syn thought he could escape by turning in his father to police. But the system betrayed him, throwing him into prison at just 10 years old. He escaped, living on nothing but his wits and slowly built a life for himself. But he can't outrun his past. And he is constantly kicked down by the people he chooses to trust.

Shahara is a bounty hunter, who believes in law and order. And when she reads Syn's profile, she believes all of the horrible things he is accused of. The huge bounty on his head will pay her sister's medical bills, and at the same time, she'll get a monster off the street. She figures it's win-win. But of course, when Syn enters her life, she begins to learn just how naive she has been.

There are a lot of twists and turns in the book as Shahara ends up joining forces with Syn and going on the run. She begins to fall in love with him, all the while knowing she may have to betray him to save her sister in the end. It's heartbreaking to watch Syn slowly opening his heart, with the knowledge that Shahara will likely it break it to smithereens. He has been through so much, and he deserves the love he so desperately craves. At the same time, it's hard to see Shahara as much of a villain. Her intentions are good and her feelings are genuine. It's all just a big fat mess. Fortunately, in the midst of that mess, there is a great dynamic between Syn and Shahara. And when they finally let themselves connect to each other, it is very satisfying. I love Sherrilyn Kenyon love scenes.

For me, this was almost as good as Born of Night. It's a solid sequel to Nykyrian's book, but it also works as a stand-alone. I would definitely recommend this series. 4 1/2 stars.

[Sita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the second Sherrilyn Kenyon book I ever read, the first being Infinity and this is what got me hooked on her writing and The League. I bought this in 2010 on a holiday to Sydney; we were going to see Twelfth Night, really good by the way. And as we always do when we’re in Sydney, we went and visited Galaxy. Galaxy has to be one of my favourite bookstores in the universe. It has so many good books, and whenever I go there, I stock up on books. So, I found this and thought that I would give it a go. It sounded cool enough and I had my reservations, but once I started reading, they sure did disappear. I managed to read the massive book all on the car ride home; I did not stop for anything. No joke.

Plot in a sentence: Bounty Hunter (Shahara) after Ex-Con (Syn), she is going to turn him in to get enough money to pay for her sister’s hospital bills, long story short, she ends up falling for him and realising he is not an evil, murderous, rapist like everyone says he is and they have a few problems along the road, but in the end everyone (the good people at least) are happy.

What I thought of the Plot, Character, and Writing Style: I liked the plot, it was long, but I couldn’t imagine it another way. I loved the action and the romance mixed together. But what I loved the most would probably have to be the world. OH MY EFFING GOD! I could live in the League Universe. I am not joking. It is that real and cool. The different species, the different government, all the different planets. It all fits together so well. It is believable and for once, it is not a distopian future, it’s futuristic and it is super super awesome. I also loved when Shahara kicks Syn’s ex wives ass.

I could go on forever about the characters, and I mean forever. There were just that many of them. Shahara and Syn, both super fucked up, but they were perfect for each other. Vik, I love Vik and he is the awesomest sidekick in the world, I have such a soft spot for sidekicks, and Vik is just so loveable. The book is filled with so many loveable, and un loveable characters. And the author writes them all so I think that they are all real.

The writing, it’s from Sherrilyn Kenyon, not all her writing is good but a lot of it is and this has to be one of her best-written books. I actually think that the League is a little better written then the Dark Hunter series, so give this one a go.

Overall, I loved this book. Even though this was one of the first books by Sherrilyn Kenyon that I read it still remains one of my favourites, I recommend giving it a go. You will not be disappointed, Sherrilyn Kenyon does the romance aspect of the book amazingly and the how she mixes it with the action. It is WOW. No other words. But if your reading this review before you’ve read the first one then I recommend reading the first book in the series Born of Night. It will help you understand this book better. You don’t have to (like me) but it’s advised.

[Fani *loves angst* · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that 3 was too generous a rating for this book, where I'm concerned. But personal issues aside, this was better than average, so it would be unfair to rate it with just 2.

All I can think of is 'what a let-down' after the amazing Born Of Night:( I had very high hopes for this one, but unfortunately they didn't come true. I'll admit that Syn was a good hero, but compared to Nykyrian he's not worth a dime. Technically, he's a tortured hero too, because of his past. However, he didn't act much like it, except to believe that nobody will ever love him because of his past (which was at least realistic based on his history). Contrary to Nyk's taciturn, boorish behavior, he makes sarcastic comments, crack jokes and flashes beguiling smiles in order to hide his tortured heart. As I said, he was not bad, but personally he was not to my taste. And I feel that Kenyon overdid it with his good actions and donations and philanthropies. He was just a step beyond sainthood, which was kind of silly and unneeded; I would have liked him anyway.

I had however, huge issues with the heroine. How can you like a heroine who's pet-name for the hero is 'convict'? And when he finally complains about it, she claims she means it in a most loving way??? And everytime he says 'we have to take a ship' or 'borrow a ship' she asks: 'you mean steal it, right?' Yeah, that's the kind of faith she has on him:) And she keeps whining and whining to no end during their escapades: 'I wonder how you're still alive', 'what's taking you so long?','still haven't figured out how we're gonna escape?' and so on. I know they're supposed to come out as teasing remarks, but they were so many, it became annoying; she became annoying. All in all, she was just too cold and self-controlled IMHO for most of the book, to make her a good partner for Syn. She does become more affectionate towards the end, but she doesn't stop that snide remarks on the other hand; which he finds cute by the way.

To top all that, there were many recurring phrases throughout the book, while the 'words' 'gah' and 'ugh' appeared more often than 'yes' and 'no'. Anyway, no more reason for babbling about this. I just didn't like the heroine at all and couldn't feel the chemistry between them; I even skipped a couple of sex scenes. This time, those 500 pages seemed endless:( I hope the next one is better.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second installment of The League was a great read and was actually even better than Born of Night, which I also thought was a 5-star read. The best part of the book was our hero, Syn, a man of mystery, intelligence, humor, charm and strength. Kenyon does a wonderful job developing this character. As tortured soul who was subjected to unspeakable acts of abuse, torture, betrayal and neglect, I really just want to hug (and kiss) Syn throughout the book. The heroine, Shahara was interesting enough that I liked them as a couple, but I thought her character could have been a little stronger and more developed. Never-the-less, it was a great, emotionally raw story that will still make you smile.

[♥ Rebecca ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review can also be found on my blog: A Match Made in Heaven

This was just as good as Born of Night. It had everything the first did. Not nearly as much time was spent in space or in fighters, but way more time was spent in fire-fights, so they were equally action packed. And I love Vik!

In Born of Night I remember Syn saying that he had had a horrible childhood, but that Nykyrian's had been worse. We knew that Syn was the son of a horrible criminal, and we knew that his wife had left him when she found out, but we didnt know much else. Now that I know Syn's life in greater detail, if it wasnt as bad as Nykyrian's, it was certainly close. I felt a great deal of sympathy for Syn and wanted his happiness so badly! But I still like Nykyrian a smidgen more. I dont know if that is because Nykyrian came first and its lost its novelty, or because Syn never seemed quite as downtrodden. Nykyrian was extremely melancholy and never smiled or laughed until he met Kiara. Syn was always laughing and cracking jokes and being sarcastic. It was his way of coping, but it also made him seem like he didnt need saving as much as Nykyrian did. After being in his mind I know that's not true, but it still seemed that way sometimes.

I cant wait to read Born of Ice, which is feature characters I dont recognize. I think it would be better if the characters were always introduced in the book before. I was hoping the next one would be about Nero. He is described as gorgeous and wounded, which is the perfect combo for a lead in this series. :P But Ice still sounds awesome and like it will be set a lot in space. I love space. :)

[Liv · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could have had potential. It could do so much better than what it was, but it felt as though the author just failed to deliver.

Honestly, I thought the general storyline and plot was good. Syn (or Sheridan, which was his birth name) was the usual gorgeous, sexy, irresistible, tortured hero who deserved so much more and better in life than the shit that had been dealt to him. While I normally had a tender heart for tortured hero, Syn’s story felt a lot like Nykyrian’s in the previous book of this series. In the book about Nykyrian (Born of Night), where Syn was portrayed as his best friend, Syn appeared to be an interesting secondary character and I was actually looking forward to reading his story in this book. About 1/5 of the way into the book, I was repeated told that he had a terrible childhood and longed for some normality in life, blah blah blah... It just felt painfully repetitive after awhile.

Then of course there was the Shahara factor. Shahara was the female protagonist of the book. She was supposed to be a seax, who abided by a strict set of moral codes and had sworn to bring in all the criminals and filth loitering in the universe. I initially thought that she’d be a kickass heroine who’d be matched to Syn’s combative as well as cunning technical skills. Well, she really fell flat on that front for sure. She started off well, but then for some reason, she turned into this whiny being in Syn’s presence. Oh lord, I just couldn’t stand her!!! She was also inconsistent, in that sometimes she’d be this whiny and seemingly clueless person, but then suddenly she’d turn into a kickass character fighting multiple attackers at the same time and handing their attackers’ asses back to them. The characterization consistency and continuity was lacking in Shahara and I had a very difficult time trying to like her in any capacity.

The author also had this style of writing that annoyed me to no end. Both Shahara and Syn would have these spurts of monologues throughout the book. Sometimes the monologues or inner dialogues could carry on for a long time too. This was also the same problem I experienced with Nykyrian’s book. Furthermore, some of those lengthy conversations and monologues could be cut down, in my opinion, as I thought the book was way too long for the content delivered.

Finally, I thought it was odd that the author actually didn’t write anything about Shahara meeting Kiara (Nykyrian’s wife) at the hospital (this was the scene at the end of Born of Night, where Shahara was first introduced). That whole part was missing from this book. I would have thought that the author would attempt to link up the two books, but that didn’t happen at all so I was rather disappointed in that oversight.

I’d give this book 2 stars only.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, (3.5 stars) although the time line was off, she at least explained why in the preface so I wasn't expecting it to be correct. Syn & Shahara, they are a good pair. I feel like he compromise more than she did in the end, and I feel like for all the story telling, the end got a little rushed. She really drove home the abuse in this book and coming off of Born of Night it was a little hard to read. I know these are her earlier works and I've read a bit of her history, so maybe she was working through some stuff, but 4 characters with stories of abuse, torture and neglect were more difficult to swallow.

I know negative, negative.... It got 3.5 stars because I just can't not love Syn. He is such a contradiction that you have to appreciate him. And I like that Shahara was a strong fighter, although she did make a lot of stupid mistakes which made me wonder how she had survived so long.

[Fangirl Musings · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart ACHES with how amazing this book was!

First thoughts: I LOVE the diversity of this story! Shahara's character is heart-breakingly rough, and Syn's past is tearful and bitter. The son of Idirian Wade (a SERIOUSLY evil infamous criminal) he is the quintessential heroic character; wrongfully accused of an atrocious crime (killing and raping Kiara), conquering an impossible past and maintaining his inner morality, loyal, and beyond guarded- and understandably so. Surviving an abusive and evil father, a disloyal and abandoning mother, prison at ten, numerous rapes, the suicide of his sister, fidelity betrayal and cut of his first wife, loving a son who hates him who isn't even his son, and isolation in a universe that outcasts him. The sheer hell that Syn has lived through and overcome is so extreme, it's overwhelming! And yet, he maintains a beautiful soul. I absolutely LOVE Syn and ache for him CONSTANTLY throughout this book!

Shahara is the perfect match for Syn. She has suffered, while not nearly to the extent of Syn, still to a noticeable point. An absent father, the death of her mother, poverty, raising Talia, Caillen, and Kasen and sacrificing for them, and being raped herself. She is strong and SO admirable, and vigilante throughout the entire story of trying to do right. Even if that 'right' is blurred by whatever situation, her morality and strength is impressive! I truly adore her, too!

The plot rocked. Pure and simple. While basically an 'on-the-run, find-the-chip-that-will-save-us-all' in summation, it very much contained deeper levels than that. The emotional building of love and trust between Syn and Shahara was phenomenal, and the climax absolutely gorgeous! Her position of seax was so fascinating because, in effort to solve her sisters issue of hospital bills, she takes on the job of turning Syn in to the authorities in hopes of getting a big enough pay off to ensure her sister's well being...and the plot skyrockets from there. Not one dry point (OF COURSE- It is Kenyon after all :) ), expertly written!

If a gun were held to my head and I was FORCED to point to a favorite part, I'd have to fess up and admit the epilogue. Sad, of course, since it's the end of the story, but it was amazingly well done. Very short, but the emotional explosion of Shahara admitting she's pregnant was so epic and, well, just awesome! I loved it, and Sherri made it believable in readdressing the issue of Shahara's inability to have children as a result of her rape. Set two years after the final chapter, it was so nice in the timeline being believable, the fact that Sherri didn't just ignore a major emotional issue between Syn and her, and how well crafted and amazing it was!

Once again, as A.L.W.A.Y.S, another awesome, AWESOME book! Kenyon can't make 'em bad! I'm, without question, now a fan of not just her Dark-Hunter books, Lords of Avalon books, but now her League books as well!

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Born Of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon Born of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon My rating: 3 of 5 stars I think I'm tired of wounded heroes. Bad boys with a sob story. Histories that are used as excuses as to why they are the unemotional robots that they are, only to find out they have a Pillsbury dough-boy center, full of snot and tears just like every other person on the planet (universe if you're reading sci-fi). The chick in this read was determined not to see reason even when it was shoved down her throat. She was blinded by the rumor-mill and abuse she had suffered. Still, no sympathetic character here.I did like some of the backstory of Syn and his family. I would have liked to have read about more of his life.Not bad. Will read the next one. View all my reviews

[Celeste · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really exceptional series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I can't believe these books are re-releases, I've never heard of them! But I am oh, so glad to have found them! This is the Sherrilyn Kenyon I know and love and can't wait to read the next installment. If you like paranormal romance SK style, you'll love this!

[Terri ♥ (aka Mrs. Christian Grey) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh my god. So much to say.

SPOILERS AHEAD

This story could have been good despite the author trying to add every characteristic of man in one man or so it felt.

Let’s see. Our hero:
-Was thrown into jail at ten. Adult jail mind you and he hadn’t committed any crime that would warrant that. (No world building suggested this should be possible especially with a justice league like system supposedly.)
-By that age he was an investor and a tech guru.
None of this is so hard to swallow but there’s more.
-He single handily breaks out of prison and lives in the catacombs while going to school.
-Then this super like man becomes a surgeon.
-And he’s an accomplished pianist.
-And when he’s exposed as the son of a vicious killer, all of his friend’s rally around him and he creates a successful business making millions. Yet at the beginning we are led to believe no one cared about him or checks on him, but he has rich friends that lend their names, nuns that would sacrifice their life for him.
-And the teams he suffered as a child, Beaton and raped.
Honestly its just to much to be believe. He didn’t need all of that to be the hero or likable.

Then his father.
-This bad man changes for the love of his life- okay, familiar troupe.
-When he thinks he catches his wife drowning their son, he beats her because no one hurts his kids.
-Fearing for her life she leaves and this man so protective of his kids decides to abusive and sell his kids as sex slaves. REALLY.
The author does all of this to create a twisted plot that wasn’t necessary.

And the mom who was so selfish and left her kids and shuts them out never once looking for them so she can live a life of prosperity all of sudden is the justice leader. COME ON.

It’s way too much in one story and doesn’t need to be. Where was the editor of this book?

The sad thing was, edit down some of the above and it was a decent read.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it, Ive been meaning to start this series for forever, after reading Born of Night, I gave thanks to the Book Gods that this series has many books already written and ready for me to indulge in and no waiting is necessary. I have 2 friends, (Sandy, Marta) that have been telling me for a couple years now to hurry up and get started, thanks for the push guys, your probably gonna be sick of me updating you on a daily basis by the time I catch up. S. Kenyon is my very favorite author and this did not disappoint. I love her worlds and her tortured characters.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This couple is the most untrusting and bipolar I have read in a while, but I still enjoyed the story.

[Pepito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wooooow! I just need to say ... what a great read. I had an amazing time reading this one. I enjoyed book 1 but this was something else, much better and it corrected everything that annoyed before.

In this installment we have the most tortured hero I have EVER read about, so fans of this type of heroes: don't wait any longer, this is the book you have been looking for. Not only did Syn had the most awful family raising him up, but the whole society turned against him because of that murderer he had as a father while he was only a boy about 7 years old. So how could a little boy like him, who grew up on the streets and had to scape from prison after having been raised by the most violent man of all times, become the most wonderful human being? I really have no clue but he was just an amazing hero, I adored him. I'm ZERO sentimental, seriously I hate cheesy and corny stuff, but you just can't help to love the guy. He went through so much and he still managed to stay such a good person.I must admit though that maybe the author went a bit too far by making him suffer so much, seriously did the guy had to be THAT BADLY TORTURED? I swear there's not a bad thing you can think of that it didn't happened to him. So this is the reason for why I got to love him this much, he never, EVER once blame anybody for his bad luck. He just tried to make the best of every situation. What's not to love about a guy who only wants to find someone who REALLY loves him. I just kept thinking: I'll love you, baby,LOL, just call me.

But it was so much more than the amazing hero. The heroine in this installment was really good. I liked her so much more than the first one in the series. Shay was just great because she had a very strong will and she just wasn't the typical heroine. When we have this type of hero we usually see a very sweet and gentle heroine, one who can give the hero all the love that has been missing in his life all this time. Well, in here we see a girl who knows how to kick some ass and wont let anybody go against her believes. She believes in everything that's good and will do whatever it takes to see good win against evil. I loved that she wasn't perfect and just kept screwing things up but was still able to fix them up at the end. She may have not loved Syn from the beginning, even may have tried to kill him (more than once actually,LOL) but she was able to see the real Syn eventually.

There's also this amazing robot Syn created when he was a kid who is the FUNNIEST thing ever, seriously it had been a while since I laugh that hard. Also this book had an epilogue giving us the PERFECT ending, which book 1 never had, so another positive point for it. There's also a pretty great twist at the end which is just impossible to figure out until it's explained.


AMAZING READ! Can't wait to read the next!

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Syn is on the run. So what else is new? Only this time the person chasing him is his best friends older sister and a part of him, the part south of his brain kind of wants to be caught. But as much as Syn wants Shahara, can he trust her? A life time spent being betrayed and hurt by the ones who should love him has made Syn wary and Shahara has an agenda of her own.

We first meet Syn in Born of Night and I am so glad we didn't have to wait long for him to get a book of his own. Syn has 'hero material' stamped all over him; he has a horrific past full of torture, pain and injustice and yet he is still essentially a good person, a good person with some mad seduction skills and the body of a god. Obviously I loved him.

Shahara, our feisty heroine I also really liked. She was strong and compassionate, and also came fully equipped with a horrible past of her own. This gave both Syn and Shahara issues that they both had to deal with before they could move on and conceive of being happy. But, I really loved seeing them both together Kenyon really got their chemistry spot on, the witty banter and sexual tension between them leaves you racing to read the next page. Kenyon also throws in some action, both in and outside the bedroom, laughter, not to mention a few tears, which all came together to make a fantastic read.

The League is definitely one of my favourite series, the world continues to grow and develop with each book. It also demonstrates that romance set in a Sci-Fi world need not be cheesy, but instead can produce an interesting and different platform from which a romance can launch.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really do not know how to explain what I thought about this book. The only reason I gave it a 5 star rating is because of Syn. If I had to rate it based on Shahara it would be less than a one star. Not because of the writing but because I totally hated her. In fact, I need to add a book shelf called, suck it bitch, just for her. She has to be one of the worst heroines I have ever read about. First of all she keep making stupid mistakes, had no common sense, had a chip on her shoulder the whole time, betrayed Syn out the ass the whole time, and was just an all around bitch the whole time. She may have had one or two redeeming moments in the whole story. I really wish his hea would have been a heroine that had compassion for the hero, loyalty for the hero, less judgmental, and more supportive.

Syn proved his worth over and over to Shahara by his actions, behaviors, generosity, and kindness. He has to be one of the most sweetest and compassionate heroes I have read in awhile. He really did not expect anyone to care for him and pretty much expected to be betrayed due to his past history of being rejected time and time again by those he loved. He was total alpha male with demons of his past chasing his every moment but he still worked to be an honorable, respectable man.

I am so glad that I read book #4 and #5 of the League series before this and got to see Syn in each of them happy, healthy, and thriving with the Sentella group doing his medical and fighter thing. I would have been seriously unhappy if I did not get to check up on him after he decided to hea with Shahara.

[Melindeeloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Born of Fire, but I have to agree with other reviews I've read and reviewers who had issues with the heroine. From the bits in the previous book (Born of Night) I expected Shahara to be totally kick-a$$, a smart and powerful bounty hunter, and while she does have moments, her character just isn't all that strong or smart for much of the middle of the story. As for leading man Syn, I am starting to see shades of Ash in all of Kenyon's big gorgeous males with tortured(literally) pasts, but who wouldn't want to see a misunderstood noble hearted thief get the love he's always longed for but never felt he deserved - so I was happy to watch Shahara get past her prejudices and look past all the labels which have kept Syn a prisoner of his past and begin to judge him by his actions and willingness to give to others when he expects nothing in return.

My nits with Born of Fire didn't keep it from being entertaining and I am looking forward to the next book as the story moves to Syn's son with Nyk's son as a supporting character. (Nyk's son was the lead in the short "Fire and Ice" in the Man of her Dreams Anthology, but no need to hunt this oldy down - unless you can't wait - it's being re-released in another anthology summer of 2010)

[Stacia (the 2010 club) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Part of me really wants to give this a 5 star, just because I was emotionally happy to be reading a GOOD story after a few less-than-satisfying ones.

So many people know of Kenyon's other, more popular, Dark Hunters series. Given that I've only read 1 book in that particular series, it's not completely fair for me to compare the two, but when I read book 1 of the League, I found it SO much more interesting than book 1 of Dark Hunters.

I can't begin to convey just how enamored I am of the world built in The League series. Nor can I convey just how in love I am with The League's heroes. These men walk, talk and act like actual men, instead of some female author's version of how a man might behave. The characters are like a more realistic version of one of the Black Dagger Brotherhood's characters.

Plus, you really can't go wrong with copious amounts of assassins and space travel. The sexual tension is perfected in these books, since you get a lot of fun lead ins and a decent payout without it killing the actual story.

Hail to the sci-fi romance genre! I think I might hang out here more often!

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in The League Series and the best by far. I loved finally learning about Syn's past. And, while I was thoroughly pissed at Shahara throughout some of the novel, I definitely love her. But, I have to say, I was extremely pissed at Caillen when he said all those horrible things about Syn. Nykyrian'a cameo in the end was very exciting for me, considering that he wasn't in the rest of the book at all, but that's understandable since Syn and Shahara were on the run and looking for the chip and he was with Kiara. I will admit that I almost cried when Shahara "betrayed" Syn the second time and when she was talking to his mother. I was very satisfied, though, when she punched Syn's bitch ex-wife and bitched her out (yes, I giggled). And, I almost cried tears of joy when I was reading the Epilogue and Shahara told Syn that they were going to have a baby! Eek! Anyway, overall, it was a completely fantastic book and I am sad to have finished it. I wanna read it over and over (yeah, it's that good). I'm about to start Born of Ice; hopefully it will be just as good...

[Arlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Syn from the first League book. I was excited reading his story because he's like Nykyrian. An asassin, has had a very difficult and traumatic childhood which had left them a cynic and cold but deep inside they're hiding these vulnerabilities that made them endearing.

This book, same as book 1 was republished. There was some inconsistencies like it should have been when Nykyrian was in the hospital after he was attacked by Kiara's father, Syn visited him with Shahara. But in book 2, Syn and Shahara were not yet reconciled by then and Syn was still denying his love for Shay when Nykyrian visited Syn(already healed from the attacked) trying to convince him that he's making a huge mistake by not eating his pride.

Although Ms Kenyon explained it in the beginning of her book that the time difference was intentional so as to avoid any future difficulties with the differing publication houses. But, I was expecting something insignificant and not a glaring inconsistency.

Overall, I enjoyed reading about Syn that I'm going to read book 3 right away.

[Suz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Currently in Chapter Six and am disappointed in the heroine thus far. So far she's a whining, disreputable sell-out who has "stubborn" confused with "tough and committed."

I see this a lot in bodice rippers - "strong" women that are really just confused bitches. Once they come around and see how perfect the man is they go compliant and their world settles nicely.

GAG.

Formulaic and disappointing. BUT - these are just my initial observations and I will reserve my judgment until I've finished the book. Should the status on this book change to "read" but this review not change then you know my opinion didn't change enough to warrant a rewrite of this comment after finishing the book.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Syn so dang much, he's got one hell of a sense of humor. And he's such a good, albeit lethal, man in spite of and because of his past (which is utterly heartbreaking). I noticed some reviews mentioned that they hated Shahara for her treatment of Syn early on in the book, and I have to disagree. I liked her. You have to look beyond her actions to the reasoning behind them. She'd been playing 'parent' to her siblings for long enough that it was second nature to her. And she didn't know about Syn's connection to her family, how much he'd helped them, until it was too late. She didn't know anything about him beyond his reputation when she decided to go after him, to her he was just another convict with a big enough bounty to pay her sisters hospital bills. And, yes, while at first she looked at all convicts as the same 'bad people who consciously made bad choices' the more she got to know the real Syn, the man behind the reputation, the more she saw the error of her thinking. The more she realized that some 'convicts' were people who had been forced by life or circumstances into making those choices. She was simply a woman trying to take care of her family. We knew him from BONight, she did not. I very highly recommend. ♡ #SanctumSentella #♡

"Have you ever heard the expression, ladies first?"
"Yes."
"Well, it's truer in bed than it is anywhere else."
"I don't understand."
He kissed her brow that was wrinkled by confusion. "Trust me, sweetness, you're about to."
-Syn & Shahara

“Syn? You're crushing me."
Pouting, he looked down at her. "I don't want to move."
A smile spread across her face. "And I kind of like you where you are. But you weigh about a ton and a half and this floor is really hard."
He snorted. "Excuse me, I take great exception to that. I only weigh a ton."
-Shahara & Syn

“Nero," he said into the intercom, "I need a cover blast at four o'clock and you better use your powers to open the bay's door or this is going to be a fatally short ride."
Shahara watched as the bay doors stretched open slowly. It was obvious they were locked down and fighting Scalera's efforts.
Syn didn't wait for them to open.
He put the throttle down and gunned the engines. The ship lurched forward at a velocity that plastered her against her seat. Unlike her, the ship had no idea they were about to impact with that wall and burst into flames.
Syn's gaze narrowed with a deranged glint. "Do or die, baby. Do or die."
Her heart hit the floor as she realized they really were going to slam into the closed doors. Nothing was moving. This was it... Bracing herself, she prayed.
Syn didn't slow even a bit. He went forward without hesitation.
She bit back a scream. Just as they reached the doors, they snapped open with only the lower section scraping against the bottom of the ship. The sound of steel on steel was painful but at least it wasn't fatal as they popped through and soared into the atmosphere. She leaned her head back and took a deep breath in relief. "I seriously hate you, convict."
Vik snorted. "I just oiled myself, boss."
Syn gave them both a droll stare. "Stop your bitching. We made it." Then under his breath, he added, "Granted it was by our short hairs, but I haven't killed us yet."
-Syn, Shahara, Vik, & Nero

Syn closed his eyes as he savored the taste of her body. He'd never made love to a woman who knew anything about him. At least nothing more than the lies he'd told her.
But Shahara had stared into the abyss of his soul and seen the monster that lurked there. And she hadn't run.
Why?
What made her able to see the man when no one else ever had? In this one moment, he would give her anything.
Even his life.
I'm lost.
Lost in a way he'd never been before. Not even with Mara. Shahara made him want to be something more than a drunken thief and a paid killer.
She made him want to be a hero...
Pulling back, he stared at her dilated eyes and saw the ragged pleasure on her face. And as he gazed at her, he realized the truth.
I'm not lost. I'm found.
-Syn's thoughts

His blood rushed through his veins like lava as his cock turned rock hard. "Get a hold of yourself. You're not some horny teen chasing after the first girl who smiled at you."
True, but there was something about this woman. Something that put a slow burn in his blood.
Yeah, she wants to beat your ass, you masochistic bastard.
-Syn

Kasen lifted one of the bottles and read the label. "This stuff can kill you."
"Yeah, but obviously not quick enough." He went to take another swig.
Nykyrian jerked it out of his hand.
"Hey!"
He pulled it away from his grasping hand. "Don't even make that noise at me."
Syn curled his lip. "You and Vik. You're both traitors. You might as well move in with Shahara, too." Vik had gone to live with her and refused to come back until Syn "got over himself". Little wormy betraying mecha bastard.
Kasen shook her head. "I think this is the first time I've ever seen you drink from a bottle."
Nykyrian snorted. "Lucky you. I've seen him tap a keg and funnel it."
- Kasen, Syn, & Nykyrian

“You really are a lot like my brother. You know that?"
"Gah, I hope he's not as attracted to you as I am. 'Cause that's just sick."
She rolled her eyes at him. "You're awful."
He didn't argue as he pushed open the window so that Vik could join them. Vik landed on the sill, turned into his bot form and slammed the window closed. "I hate this planet. How long we got to stay?"
"Hopefully not long."
"Good, 'cause I'm missing my toaster and need to get out of here."
Syn held his hands up. "I'm not even going to go there."
-Shahara, Syn, & Vik

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As a rule, I don't let people get to close to me. Because when they look at me, they didn't see me. They only see my father's son."

C.I Syn benar-benar tidak bisa ditebak. Di luar deskripsi kriminal dan tuduhan kejahatan yang melimpah tersimpan masa lalu super ngenes dan menyedihkan. Di aniaya dan di siksa ayah kandung yang penjahat berbahaya, Syn tumbuh besar dengan perasaan terabaikan dan tertutup, bajingan penyendiri yang salah pahami oleh semua orang. Penjahat yang dituduh super sadis tapi punya hati nurani dan menyembunyikan luka batinnya dibalik sikap mesum, joke garing dan kalimat-kalimat sarkastiknya.

Shahara juga harus berdamai dengan nerakanya sendiri. Gadis ini adalah pemburu terhormat yang punya segudang kode etika dan harga diri walaupun super miskin. Sikap luarnya yang dingin, kejam dan kaku yang menjadi kedok kupernya dia terhadap pergaulan normal. Dia juga meragukan Syn berulang kali. Tapi hari demi hari Shahara makin dibingungkan dengan tingkah lalu penjahat itu yang kontradiktif dengan smua deskripsi tuduhannya. Bantuan ogah-ogahan yang diberikan gadis ini saat terjebak dalam petualangan penuh aksi bersama Syn hampir di sepanjang buku membuat usaha kerasnya untuk menyelamatkan leher Syn adalah cerminan ketulusan perasaannya yang terdalam.

Setelah mengenal Ichidan Universal, aku makin menyukai seri ini. Apalagi SK benar-benar kuat dalam membangun dunia fantasy ciptaannya. Nama-nama ras asing, planet asal, kelebihan dan beberapa fakta lain menempel tanpa susah payah membuat pembaca bisa menikmati seri sci fi ini tanpa kening berkerut. Buku ke-2 ini memberikan karakter h/h sama kuat yang awalnya saling membenci dan saling memanfaatkan. Walau scene steamynya tidak banyak dan standar tapi banter, tarik ulur, chemistry dan tensi diantara mereka sudah terbangun sejak awal pertemuan mereka.

Syn memang sudah mencuri perhatian dan memikat sejak buku pertama. Tapi walaupun di sini adalah awal kemunculannya aku akan tetap jatuh bangun menyukainya tanpa kecuali. Aku menyukai cara SK menunjukan bagaimana Syn dan kepribadiannya yang salah dipahami dengan banyak scene-scene kecil dan bukannya menjejaliku dengan penjelasan betapa hebatnya pria ini.

Buku ini lebih fokus pada h/h utama dan hanya menampilkan sedikit figuran (faveku? VIK ❤️❤️❤️). Kisah ini akan memberimu porsi besar perjuangan cinta yang kuat dan alur rollercoaster sampai akhir. Padukan itu dengan aksi laga seru yang menegangkan. Dan bonus momen-momen emosional penuh pengkhianatan, kekecewaan dan patah hati yang akan membuatmu berurai air mata. Ending buku ini HEA yang alot, tapi aku bersyukur karena SK tidak terjebak untuk memberikan HEA ala sinetron untuk Syn dan Shahara.

"Thank you for looking into the eyes of nothing and seeing a man you could love."

My Rating :
Star : 5/5
Bikini : 2.5/5

[mariselle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second time flying through Sherrilyn Kenyon’s awesomely created Ichidian Universe and my, she does not disappoint. Although Born of Night was amazing, I liked Born of Fire a lot better because of certain, I don’t know someone by the name of SYN? Mmmm SYN! I mean, can you find a better name than that? God, that man! The story is fabulous, it takes the reader through what it’s like to be on the run for both the hero and the heroine when wrongly accused of crimes and the ups and downs of lives that have been unfairly judged and mistreated by early and ongoing abuse. In turn those items mentioned are what ultimately bring these two very stubborn people together with a love for each other that rips your heart out all the way to the end of the story…once they are finally together that is!

Shahara’s fierce love and protection for her family, as well as kicking some serious ass, if a force to be reckoned with.

Syn….well, what can I say about him? Fierce, funny, witty, smart…should I go on? Oh wait, sinnnnnnnnfully delish, yes that’s very well said. Tub scene, hello.

Mama gives this book 5 stars.