The beginning of another branch of the Ferraro family cousins, Geno is the eldest of his sibling and has had to carry the weight of his family for too long. Already suspicious of a strange string of vicious murders, when his own parents become the next victims he is more than determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. When it ends up bringing light to the unknown reason his parents pulled away and turned everything over to him when he was so young, Geno must decide how best to proceed. Discovering that the women who is meant for him may be involved is a blow he was not expecting.

Amaranthe has spent years hiding her true role while traveling as a primera ballerina of her dance company. But her presence in Ferraro territory when trouble starts and the mystery of her persona have landed her at the feet of Geno and the Ferraro mystery. Divulging her past as a Shadow Rider is not something she's ever considered, but to save the people she's come to know and preserve a possible future with Geno, she must open herself to new possibilities.

Together, Amaranthe and Geno must discover the true story behind what happened years ago and who was involved before more lives are lost.

ok future Ryan DO NOT READ anymore of these books they ARE NOT for you.

truly would murder a man who treated me this way.

Slower-paced, lower level of suspense, although the storyline was high stakes it just felt less to me, fewer sex scenes and interestingly, their first sexual connection was not satisfying for both partners and it was something they had to work on together which I give Christine Feehan credit for including in this story.

Too much world information and repetitive introspection took away from the romance storyline ,and the feeling of connection for me as a reader to Amaranthe and Geno.

I feel like this story is being used to set up for upcoming books in this series.

3.75. This insta-love didn't hit with me but the plot and seeing most of my favorite characters from previous books kept me interested and coming back for more.

I'm only halfway through the book but want to review it before I forget my thoughts. I own dozens of CF's books, including this whole series so far. The repetition is getting annoying. Her characters constantly have the same thoughts over and over, as if she or her editor think the readers will forget their motivation. I've made it to the first sex scene and the choreography is inconsistent. Is she on her back, her side? If she's facing away from him how can he see her lashes flutter? Same thing happened when Amaranthe was in bed after being injured but could apparently see the full view outside the window, as well as the hardwood floors.

These seem like little things but for such a prolific author come off as careless to me. These small things kick me right out of the story as well. At this point, I might skip the sex scenes just to get on to who dunnit.

Just did a reread of this one and it seems like maybe the author was rushed to get it out? Or, she didn’t have an editor or her beta reviewers read it for her? It was a little discombobulated from the beginning. I love these books and feel like I pick something up each time I reread them. This one had me realizing it’s an age gap romance. Geno says something Amara about not being born when he was 13 years old. His parents stepped area when he was that age and it had been 18 years. So now, he’s 31 and 13 years older than Amara making her 18 years old which is kind of ick.

3 and 1/2 stars

Ms Feehan you have written another amazing shadow rider book. These Ferrera men are super steamy and possessive of their women folk. They treat them with respect but love them like crazy. Can’t wait to read what kind of woman you find for Dario. The chemistry between Geno and Anaranthe was off the charts. They both had very strong feelings about things but they listen to each other and worked things out. Enjoyed all the cousins coming together to help. Loved this story.