Book Description
Journey deeper into the world of Chicago’s most dangerous, alluring crime family in this incendiary installment of the Shadow Riders series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan.
Shadow Rider Elie Archambault has been called many things: domineering, brash, loyal, but most of all fast. And there’s nothing faster than choosing to marry a woman you’ve never met. All he has is a signed contract and a list of his new bride’s expectations for their arranged marriage. He’s not expecting love or some happy ever after, just a partner that knows exactly what she signed up for. He’ll be faithful because he’s a man of honor, but she’ll never have his heart....
Elie knows who he is. A privileged member of the Archambault family. A skilled rider and fighter. A man who's always had things easy for all the wrong reasons. He's made his mistakes and lost his chance at real, true passion with his other half thanks to his own careless arrogance. Now he just wants to do his duty as a Shadow Rider and leave the past behind.
But Elie has no idea that his choice is about to spark a blaze that will burn all his carefully laid plans to the ground....
My Review
Elie had met Brielle years ago but she overheard the way he talked about her and how he didn't want her as a wife. After she left her family and Elie wasn't able to find her, he gave up ever being with the only woman he knew was for him. He's a shadow rider and it's his duty to marry and have kids to carry on the tradition of the shadow riders. So he enters into an arranged marriage with a woman he's never met or even seen. They sign the papers before ever even meeting so on the day of their ceremony they are both shocked to find the other standing there.
Elie might have been born an Archambault but the Ferraro family are his real family now and they feel the same way about him. His blood family treated him badly and he wants nothing more to do with them. Brielle's family treated her badly and she has nothing to do with them now either so she and Elie have that in common which was just heartbreaking.
Shadow riders are able to move very quickly through the tubes of the shadows. Essentially meaning they are able to turn into shadows and quickly move anywhere shadows are. The Ferraro family gets justice for people who have been hurt by child predators and human traffickers. They are a crime family but they find and kill child predators and human traffickers which makes them the good guys in my book.
After Elie and Brielle get over the shock of having married each other and Brielle realizes that there was a huge misunderstanding between them all those years ago, she accepts who she is married to. As they are getting to know one another, Brielle has to tell her new family that while she is a really experienced shadow rider, she gets sick in the tubes while she is riding. When the family and Elie find this out, she is told she won't be sent on missions but she is also extraordinary with computers. And while she is doing some research, she and parts of her new family are attacked which was a really bad idea for the people who did it. You don't mess with Elie or the Ferraro family, ever.
Now they have to figure out who is out to kill them and why. I liked that Elie was so understanding with her and gave her sometime to get used to them being together. But Brielle was very attracted to him and always had been so she was more than ready to steam up the windows with him. There's quite a bit of kink in their play times which was fine with me. I thought that they made a great couple. I have been loving this series and this book was another great addition.
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Disclosure: I was given an eARC of this book via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
