Book Review: Born of Silence

by Sherrilyn Kenyon (now McQueen)
The League book 5

Darling Cruel has long lived a lie to protect those he loves and in doing so created dual roles for himself. In one life, he is the heir to a corrupt thrown; in the other life, he is Kere, a rebellious leader of the Sentella, who helps the resistance on his home world. Zarya, a resistance leader whose father was killed by Darling's uncle, is his only salvation, but she doesn't know his real identity.

Betrayed by the resistance, Darling must come to terms with all he has faced and Zarya's role in it. Will he be able to step into the light and be the leader he was born to be?

When I first picked this book up, I was wary. It's thicker than normal for her series which is not a good sign. Generally speaking, when Kenyon writes a long novel, it will be heartbreakingly tragic. Acheron is a great example of this fact. His early life is painfully brutal and destructive. Born of Silence follows in this tradition. Darling is subject to horrific torture at the hands of those he had considered friends (and this after a lifetime of cruelty* from his uncle). Sherrilyn Kenyon is about redemption though. Her protagonists learn to rise from the pain of their lives and move forward with, if nothing else, humor.

This book is a heartbreaker. You will gasp, cry, and be truly shocked by some of the content. It is still a worthy read. With each new book, Kenyon reminds me that no matter what obstacles or pain we face in our lives, we can keep on going. True, there will be days (or years) when we're merely putting one foot in front of the other, but in the end we can each prevail.

I started reading this in the late afternoon and finished around 11 pm or so completely missing dinner. I could not put it down. Be prepared.

*I couldn't resist the pun.

BIS Rating: 5 nightlights

BIS Rating system:
1 nightlight = put it down and didn't care to pick it back up
2 nightlights = finished the book
3 nightlights = enjoyed the book but probably wouldn't re-read it
4 nightlights = had a hard time putting the book down
5 nightlights = stayed up way too late to finish instead of going to bed

Purchase Born of Silence by Sherrilyn Kenyon on Bookshop.org today.

*2020 note: Sherrilyn now goes by her maiden name McQueen.