SHADOW RISING – Kendra Leigh Castle
A Tale of the Dark Dynasties , Book 3
Forever
ISBN-13:  978-1-455-51164-8
August 2012
Paranormal Romance

Charlotte, North Carolina – Present day

When you're a member of the Grigori dynasty of Vampires, descended from the Ancients, you live separated from the rest of society by an ocean of sand.  So it is with Ariane.  The leader of their dynasty, Sariel, must be approached by Ariane to find her friend Sammael, who vanished without a trace.  After being trained in fighting and with the Grigori secret advantage of wings, which no other Dynasty knows about, Ariane wants to be the one sent out to find what happened to Sammael.  But Oren is chosen, and Ariane decides she must go; she escapes and heads to Charlotte, North Carolina, the last place Sammael was seen.  The Grigori are taught to remain separate from everyone and show no emotions.  Ariane was turned centuries ago, and finding herself away from the Palace where the Grigori live is a culture shock, but something she's longed for…some excitement in her life.

Damien Tremaine is a shape-shifting assassin for the House of Shadows, and is also hired by Sariel to find Sammael; it shouldn't be hard to find a seven foot white haired giant.  Then the Master Shade says the Grigori also want him to find and return Ariane.  As an assassin, Damien prides himself on doing his job as quickly as possible and feeling no emotions.  Finding Ariane is easy, but trying to keep both of them alive from unknown forces trying to kill them isn't as easy as it looks.

Damien can't believe the trouble confronting them looking for Ariane's friend, and with Oren and other vampires trying to kill them, Vlad, the Dracul offers them safety with him.  Soon things go downhill when they find out Sammael was almost killed, and a demon hidden by the Grigoris for centuries is ready to escape and create Chaos for everyone.  But Damien's attraction and connection to Ariane has him thinking of the future.  Can he keep her in his apartment with his other treasures and continue living his life as he's used to?

Kendra Leigh Castle has presented several Dynasties of Vampires, all of them interconnected and yet there is much hatred between them.  The Grigori stay away from everyone, and Damien is the first to learn of their wings.  Told from Ariane's and Damien's points of view, Ariane feels she doesn't belong with the Grigori and doesn't believe anyone cares about her, let alone enjoy any part of her boring life. Damien does his work and pockets his money; he has a place to live but only puts things in it, he doesn't live there.

Secondary characters are all enjoyable and interesting, including Vlad, the Dracul, a good friend to Damien and a powerful vampire.  There's the leader of the Empusa, who is so old that it takes all her energy to meet with all the Dynasties and settle their problems.  There are other Dynasties trying to keep peace and protect their entire lives from Rising Chaos.

SHADOW RISING continues the story of the many different Dark Dynasties.  The series started with DARK AWAKENING (July 2011), and continued with MIDNIGHT RECKONING (January 2012).  SHADOW RISING is a standalone story about Damien and Ariane and the Grigori Dynasty trying to save their world.  If paranormal stories are your cup of tea, this will hold your interest all the way through.

Carolyn Crisher