Between Shadows (An Assassins Novel)by Chanel Cleeton
Release date: January 19, 2016
Genre: Thriller
Synopsis:
A sexy new thriller about love and revenge from the author of the Capital Confessions and International School series…
X lives by three rules: Show no weakness. Trust no one. Don’t get caught. She lives by the rules they gave her.
The Academy—set in London, shrouded in secrecy—it trains spies, computer experts, and assassins. Their mission? Dispensing justice and altering the course of world politics. Or so they think. In a world where secrets are weapons and some kills are impossible to forget, everything X thought she knew about her life is about to change.
They taught her to fight. To blend into the shadows like a ghost, to operate on the fringes of society, to change her identity with ease. They taught her to kill.
She’ll need every skill they taught her, to stay alive.
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Review:
"It’s the banner I’ll carry when I annihilate them."
“Maybe I’ll see if I can play with you later.” I laugh, the sound harsh in the cold London night. You don’t play with a vial of smallpox.
Can we talk about how badass our protagonist, X, is? Because damn, that girl says the most kickass lines ever and she's not just all talk! There's tons of action here too. In fact, we get to see X's fierceness at the start of the book right off the bat.
X is a trained assassin who works for the Academy and is regarded as the best student in class. She has a younger sister, Grace, who specializes in computers. Both of them are orphans whose childhood lives are shrouded by tragedy and secrets that even to them are unknown. This backstory plays a major role in the story and although it comes up from time to time through X’s dreams, it doesn’t fully show up until the latter part of the book because first, X had to deal with her history with Luke. *cue fangirl shrill*
Luke is also an assassin in the Academy, the best one before X took the top spot. It was clear in the beginning that he and X has a history together but it was only revealed little by little as the story progressed. However, the fact that they were romantically involved was pretty much obvious from the start. And if you put that and the fact that they are both assassins working under an organization that technically has its hands wrapped around their necks, you can pretty much get the gist of what happened between the two or why X chose to betray Luke.
Other than Luke is incredibly hot though, he is also really badass. Think of Rose and Dimitri from Vampire Academy. X and Luke are similar in terms of their badassness, but the similarities stop there. I love that X and Luke treat each other equally. Honestly, I think there’s nothing hotter than a kickass couple who regard each other as equals. There are times when Luke becomes protective of X but it always ends up to him supporting her.
As well, I love the relationship between Luke and X. Although they have a past and their attraction to each other was practically visible even at the beginning, their romance is still the slow burn type aka my type of romance. X did something to Luke that made him disappear for two years and when he came back, they were both different persons.
Their past made a huge dent if not destroyed their mutual trust, but apparently not the feelings, that when they met again, the two were constantly battling their minds and emotions as to whether to trust the other or not. It was evident when Luke thought that something came up within the Academy that could potentially endanger their lives and redefine X and Grace’s past. This was made even worse (for them but exciting for me) because they still have feelings for each other.
Overall, Between the Shadows by Chanel Cleeton is one exciting thriller with a well-paced plot, fierce characters, and enthralling storyline that will keep your eyes glued to the pages from the beginning till end.
About the Author
Originally a Florida girl, CHANEL CLEETON moved to London where she received a bachelor’s degree from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Chanel fell inlove with London and planned to streay there forever, until fate intervened on a Caribbean cruise and a fighter pilot with smooth dance moves swept her off her feet. Now, a happily ever after later, Chanel is living her next adventure.
Law school made Chanel realize she’d rather spend her days writing sexy stories than in a courtroom, and she hasn’t looked back since. An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she’s happiest curled up with a book. She has a weakness for handbags, her three pups, and her husband.
Chanel writes contemporary romances, women’s fiction, and thrillers. She is published by Harlequin HQN, Penguin/InterMix, and Penguin/Berkley and is the author of the International School, Capital Confessions, and Wild Aces series.
I usually avoid books with covers like this but it's a good sign if you're comparing Luke and X to Rose and Dimitri. I also like that this has a slow burn romance.
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