Silver Shark (The World of Kinsmen Book 2)

While I enjoyed "Silent Blade," the first book the Andrews team wrote in this world, I enjoyed "Silver Shark" even better. You don't have to read "Silent Blade" to understand this one; the short introduction of the world they wrote does a good job of that. It was fun, not too short, and we even got a glimpse of Meli and Celino. Excellent writing, once again.

I wish the story was longer. Yes I know that this is the danger of reading a novella, but I was left wanting more resolution at the end. I also know that it is good marketing strategy to leave your consumer wanting more and that is certainly true. I love both the Magic and the Edge series that Ilona Andrews writes, but I would love to see a full length sci fi book from them. They create incredible worlds for their books and I would really like to see this one explored in more depth.

A perfectly written tight novella.
Great backstory and world building-
good character development with, high tension and wonderful romance.

And though a bit too pricey for only a little over 100 pages,
I'd definitely buy more stories from this world.

It was great! "Billionare and his secratary" indeed. Nalini Singn was praising this short novel on her blog and I read the excerpt and had to buy it ASAP. Just a perfect SciFi / angsty romance that I adored. Now off to read the backlist!

Short on romance, big on explanations of the technology. Cool world, powers and futuristic hints. But the romance seemed to take a backseat to the techy parts. It also lacked any of the humor I've come to expect from her.

Loved Silver shark.... Ilona Andrews, are eloquent writers, I love the way they describe the scenery in this book, makes you feel
Like you are living in the future... And the romance is awesome!!! Totally recommend it

I have never read Ilona Andrews works before, but I really loved this book. It takes place on another planet in a different time, but I did not think it was too difficult to get into the world. The heroine and hero were very likable and interesting! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes Sci-Fi Urban Fantasy.

This couple's books get better with each one! I will get everything they write! The worlds they create are well thought out, and including the couple from their earlier story of this world set was pretty cool as well!

Since I adore all of the Ilona Andrews' books I thought I would give this a try. Although science fiction is not my favorite genre, I am very glad I did. The world building was excellent. Just enough detail to make it interesting and not enough to bog down the story. I really liked the characters and just wish the story was longer!!

I LOVE with a fanatic passion everything by Ilona Andrews....but I couldn't give it more stars, I just couldn't. There is a great buildup, a great back story then BANG DONE! I will say that you will like this book and it's a fun ride, and you have to get it right now.....just be prepared to read another IA book when done to get a good fix in.

Love this series!!! Want more! I adore how the characters are completely different but all associated. I can't wait for another spellbinding story to this and Silent Blade. They are fun, intense, amazing reads.

Another great short story from husband and wife team Ilona Andrews! The second installment of the Kinsmen series, Claire and Venturo heat up the pages and I was very happy with my Ilona Andrews fix. I most enjoyed the wee glimpse of Meli and Celino from Silent Blade.

I would be very interested in seeing an actual full length novel from this world written <wink, wink, nudge, nudge>.

It was a nice change to see the Ilona Andrews team do a harder SF story, tho I do love the Edge and Kate Daniels series.
Other reviews seem unhappy with the ending but I think another fight scene would have been unnecessary in a novella & I thought the letter was a cute way to conclude the story.
This was an excellent novella: exciting, well written, great character development.

Very enjoyable quick read, although the plot in the final third of the book was a bit hurried. You get the feeling this was a plot for a larger book and their editor advised them to write up as a short story. I wish it had been longer.

This book kept me up all night reading. It was extremely hard top put down and I loved the description and details of the world. I love Ilona and have been a big fan for years so I may be a little biased.

The Ilona Andrews team has pulled another magic rabbit out of their hat of master story telling. Saying more would cheapen the novella and ruin the ending. Read it it slowly my friends and savior a new time and world that only Ilona Andrews could craft.

Ilona Andrews is one of my favorite writers and this novella is definitely one of my favorites. Worth more than every penny, the plot is intriguing, unique, and fun. Other reviews have already provided a synopsis so in short, definitely worth the read.

I discovered this writing pair about three or four years ago and have enjoyed everyone of their novels at least once if no twice. My favorite series is Kate Daniels. Have just finished the latest and look forward to the next.

I am a big Andrews fan and have read almost all their work. I wanted to like this but could not get into it. Claire has unusual mental power, is forced to use it as a warrior. Her side loses the war and she is deported, to survive she must hide her deadly skill. From there it comes apart, the characterization never reaching interesting and the story never becoming believable.

I really enjoyed this novella and was swept away by the characters. I am a big fan of the Ilona Andrews writing team. They never cease to take you places you never imagined and introduce you to characters you've never seen before. It's always exciting and fun. However...this story ended so abruptly, with a really akward and anticlimactic sex scene that I was pretty disappointed.. I've noticed in other novels by these writers that their sex scenes are always off, as if the writers are not very comfortable writing them. They have the romance and anticipation down, but when it comes time to do the deed it's always rushed and not very imaginative. I look forward to Ilona Andrews growing as awesome, sic fi, paranormal romance writers and finding a better flow and groove to the love scenes. We want to see these great characters make great love!

Ilona and Gordon Andrews always do a great job of world-building, and even this short novella is no exception. Gripping read - I only wish it had lasted longer! Would love to see more in this realm.

I love Ilona Andrews' novels and this is no exception.
While it is the second book in the Kinsman Series, it is a stand alone novel.
The characters are well developed in a few well-chosen words, giving you context for the story without slowing down the pace.

Between 4 & 5 stars for this sci fi romance novella. It's set in the same world as Silent Blade, but you don't have to read one to understand the other. It was a treat getting an update on Meli and Celino, though.

Ilona Andrews referred to this one as a Billionaire and His Secretary romance, except that the secretary can kill you with her mind. This is my kind of romance.

For the sci fi fan, there are biologically enhanced psychic warriors (called psychers), bionet computers that psychers jack into and interact with, and the issues of refugees from one planet trying to assimilate to life on a new one. You also have a planet that while beautiful to look at, is ruled by mafia-type families whose feuding often leads to bloodshed. Only the strong survive and thrive here. I really liked the bionet scenes, there was a lot of action and imagery.

For the romance fan you have a smolderingly hot male lead, Ven, who can't seem to find the right girl to settle down with. You also have Claire, the ultra powerful psycher from a war-torn planet who must pretend to be normal to have a chance at a new life on a world that appears to be a paradise compared to her home. I like that although there were secrets and miscommunications, there was a really good reason for that - Claire is terrified of being deported or killed for her abilities.

The attention to the small details that I've come to expect from Andrews is here from the comparisons of the different planets, to the discovery of new enticing foods, to the interactions between the characters. There is also some subtle humor, especially in Claire's asides. A very fun romantic getaway, with a good dose of action too.

[I received a review copy of this novella.]

I had read Silver Shark several years ago and I had forgotten just how good this story is.
Clare was born on a world constantly at war. The war had destroyed everything good and the people lived in abject misery. Since Clare was a high grade psychic, she was removed from her family at fourteen, trained to be a lethal killing machine, and spent her life in the bio net fighting her countries enemies. When her country lost the war, those who were left alive were deported and told if they ever returned they would be executed. The only reason Clare was left alive was because she disguised her identity. She fooled them into believing she was just an average citizen with no psychic talent.
Clare is sent to the planet Rada. She is placed in the southern city of New Delphi. After spending her life on a barren, gray planet, the beauty of her new home is overwhelming. She is given a place to live and enough money to last for three months but, after that, she must find employment to support herself.
She is given the name of a possible employer, Guardian Inc. : Security protocols and biocybernetic safety. Realizing that working in a place with security psychics is the last place she wants to be but, not wanting to raise suspicion by objecting, she goes to the interview.
She manages to pass all the testing with flying colors and the last thing to do is to meet her new boss. Venturo Escana is a kinsman of unimaginable power. Tall, fit, and blond, his mind is the strongest she has ever sensed. She knows she's in trouble and just hopes the shell she has placed over her mind will hold.
I will leave it there and let you enjoy the rest of the story as it unfolds. As usual Ilona Andrews, (Gordon and Ilona), have written an addictive story. I know you will love it as I did.

Silver Shark is the second in the Andrews' Kinsmen series but can be read as standalone. It provides extra background into psychers, which are one branch of the Kinsmen.

In Silver Shark, we get the story of Claire Shannon, a native to the plant Uley. She's been involved in a war between two rival corporations for the past eight years, as a high-ranking psycher. When the war abruptly ends, she finds herself making a new life on the planet Rada.

Venturo Escana, Claire's new boss, is a psycher almost as powerful as she is. Unfortunately, she must hide her abilities from him. Venturo is from a powerful Rada family and takes a unique interest in Claire.

Although we spend little time on Uley, the differences described between its landscape and that of Rada, as seen through Claire's eyes, are remarkable. The Andrews created a vivid world where I was able to picture all the colors and buildings shaped as flowers. I enjoyed the details on the abilities of psychers as well. The things they can do with their minds are astounding. I also appreciated the character development of Claire and Ven - so well done in so few pages. We get to see that both Claire and Ven are talented, powerful, and extremely loyal people. They also happen to be hot for one another! ;)

The excitement and tension provided through Claire hiding herself, seeing Rada via Claire, and her attempts at repaying a debt to a fellow refugee was all I could have hoped for. The description of the inner - and outer - workings of a psychers mind was fascinating. And, of course, the sexual tension between Claire and Ven was quite fun.

I am anxious to finish this series as well as pick back up with their other series as well.

This is a great book. You truly get an intimate feel for the lead character and what she's going through. You have empathy for the struggles she's going through and you care what happens. When she goes to a different world you really get a true sense of the wonder she goes through and it's delightful. Each step of the way you feel like you are walking there beside her while it happens. Brilliant character development. You cheer for them and are sad for them. It's great. The story line is inventive and unique and interesting and I love the space aspect and the cool technology aspect and the fact that it's incorporated with beautiful landscapes. Very varied and dynamic environment. I was sad to come to the end of this story as it was brilliant. Really one of Ilona Andrew's highlights. Brilliant writing team with clever ideas and an ability to truly immerse you in new and exciting worlds completely foreign to you. Love it. Highly recommend this to anyone who likes scifi stories and who is looking for something new and interesting. I only wish she had continued this series as it is a very interesting world she developed and I find myself wishing to know more about it.

I'm not a reader of short stories, I don't read romances, and haven't read much sci-fi, so when the opportunity presented itself to read not one, but two short sci-fi romance stories then I jumped at the opportunity to do so, obviously. Ilona Andrews is one of my favorite urban fantasy authors, top 3 easily, and actually my favorite author duo. There's no competition what so ever, bar none, they're at the top. So yeah, I took a chance to read something outside my comfort level since they are worth an hour or so of my time at the very least.

Both Silent Blade and Silver Shark are set in the same world, in a series that's called World of Kinsmen. Far in the future humanity has colonized planets, and through technological advances they have enhanced their genetic make-up to gain "superpowers". These people are called kinsmen. Seeing value in exclusivity, they started controlling their numbers and sabotaged research into the technology so that their descendants and themselves would be the only ones to benefit from these technologies. So now we live in a world which kinsmen control, and they behave as the mafia would including family loyalty as the most important of laws, which if broken penalty is often death.

Silver Shark takes us to a different planet, one which is controlled by two warring kinsmen families. It's a never ending war that has been going on for about a century, and society is a militaristic one in which displays of emotions are frowned upon. Very violent too. It reminded me of the movie Equilibrium in some aspects. Main character, Claire, is a powerful kinsmen psycher, and due to some circumstances she's deported from the planet and transported to the same planet of Silent Blade, only taking place some years later. Once there she has to hide her identity as a kinsmen and she's forced to take a job or face deportation back to her home planet in which she'll certainly be executed. As fate would have it, she ends up taking a job in a psycher security corporation, a place full of psychers like herself in which she'll find hiding her identity an almost impossible task. Here we meet the romantic interest. In contrast to Silver Shark, while the story has a romance focus too, it's more balanced with a corporate intrigue plot and there's a decent amount of action and a bit more sci-fi oriented. The story and the world is more polished, and once again an enjoyable read with likable characters. If I have one complaint it would be that I really wanted to see the final action sequence, though I understand the omission of it. But it would had been a good prize to earn after going through the romance portions for me. I would certainly read Silent Blade before this since there are some cameos, but no need to do so if you really want to jump in and read Silver Shark. Book is written in 3rd person limited, which I thought worked better, and it was a bit longer too. It has been recently published.

Very much worth checking for all Ilona Andrews fans, particularly those that have enjoyed their The Edge series. Much like their other books, this story focuses on powerful female and male protagonists, which is something I like very much, and as mentioned before, likable characters. And they're fun. I'm not much of a sci-fi reader, but I think if you're a person that likes a lot of science in your fiction, then this will probably not work out for you, but for those that like character driven stories with a science-fiction setting as a backdrop, then this should be to your liking. Even so, I would welcome more stories set in this universe, romance and all, and I'll surely read them as soon as they come out.

Silver Shark is a book which I got to read thanks to the authors' benevolence. I had no idea as to what it entailed or even much about the blurb. All I knew that it had elements of SF as well as romance. The story opens up in the middle of a war, there's the planet of Uley wherein two corporations have been fighting a war since the last sixty-eight years. Claire Shannon is a mentally trained warrior called psycher. She leads a team of trained psychers into battle on a daily basis. Things however turn bad for her corporation and she gets deported to the planet of Rada wherein she finds a totally different civilization. They are the same people however their outlook towards life and general attitudes makes them almost seem alien.

Claire soon finds a job as a non-psycher as to be discovered otherwise means deportation to Uley and certain death. She finds employment in Venturo Escano's company however finds that she is turning into a different person on this new planet. Thus begins the plot which will have Claire fight with her emotions as well showcase her iron will and determination which has seen her survive the Uleyian purge and perhaps conquer her heart's desire after all.

While I have no idea about what kind of story this would be, I was certain in my mind that it would be worth my time solely because it was written by Ilona Andrews. The talented duo has shot up within my reading ranks since the past year and if I get a new book from them, it rapidly jumps to the top of my reading queue. This book shares certain characteristics with the Kate Daniels series namely it has a very strong heroine who's fun to read about, the world building is also intriguing and while its not unique, it does have its own flavor.

The biggest plus point for this story was its narrative energy, from page one the reader gets rapidly introduced to Claire's world and its from there on we are shown all her struggles and the plot twists, never once even losing any of its energy or becoming dull. The action in this book is top notch and while the novella structure robs the story of its full fledged potential, it does give out a tightly wound story which gives the reader no respite and demands for the reader to turn the page and know what happens next.

This book is a kind of a sequel to the novella Silent Blade which was set on the same world but featured different characters. Both those characters make an appearance and readers of the previous book will get a nice peek into their lives. For those of us (like me) who haven't read Silent Blade, this does not become a problem as the characters appearance and presence is smoothly explained in the story and is vital from a plot point as well series continuity. Lastly there's also the romance aspect to the story which I must say is nicely wrapped in the SF trappings of the story and for readers who like me don't really care for romance tinged stories, this hardly becomes an issue as the authors have given us a very character driven story and this just makes it an enticing read. This novella seems almost set to be translated to the big screen and if this should ever happen I would be first in line to see it.

Now for a couple of foibles about the story, the world building is nicely done and is a bit dystopian as well, however readers will have to take certain things with a pinch of salt as certain plot happenings have a bit of loophole-ish quality to them however in the overall scheme of things don't cause much of an issue. The biggest quibble could be the ending as the authors leave the stage set and then give out a coda about what happened while this again can be explained by the novella structure, certain readers would have definitely loved to read the happenings. The authors have even commented on this aspect saying that their editor Anne Sowards would have almost certainly never let them get away with such a thing.

CONCLUSION: I thoroughly enjoyed this story because of its quick pace, plot twists and good characterization. Ilona Andrews have given a quality story which will be enjoyed by readers who have or haven't read their previous work. Dive in if you would like to read a terrific story about a woman whose life is turned upside down and has to re-learn how to live life all over again to get what she wants. Highly recommended for fans of Paranormal Romance books as well as for fans of Ilona Andrews.

Wednesday, Mrs. Andrews was asking on Twitter which blogger would like to review their (Ilona Andrews) last book, Silver Shark, at the offer I raised my cyber right hand and crossed the fingers on my left one. Soon after, when Mrs. Andrews told me she was sending me a copy I may have squee like a teenager at the Twilight premier. Please give me the benefice of the doubt; I said I "may" have.

Silver Shark is book two in the Kinsmen series by Ilona Andrews. (What happened to me that I didn't know about this series *headdesk*)

At fourteen years old Claire Shannon was recruited by the Brodwyn Corp. to joint their army in their fight for the planet Uley against the Melko Corp. After many years of battling, the war comes to an end with Brodwyn as the loser.
Claire is a very powerful psycher, she has the ability to telepathically attack the minds of others. She knows if she is discovered by Melko because of her status in the war and her military rank she will be "eliminated", that is why she tightens her mental shields and pretends to be somebody else, a normal woman. As all the other members of Brodwin she is deported; Claire is sent to the planet of Rada.
At her arrival to Rada she is given some job referrals and is assigned an apartment; she is also informed that she will have three months probation in the planet, during this time she would need to find a job and she cannot get in any trouble, if she fails to comply with any of those, she will be deported back to Uley where she will be executed.
Claire finds a job at Guardian Corp. as Venturo Escana's assistant. Venturo Escana is the owner of Guardian and also a psycher as powerful as her. Because of her mental shields he doesn't know what Claire really is or what she is capable of, but without a doubt there is an immediate connection between them.
Compare to Uley Rada is a paradise; Claire is content in her new job and with her boss, she is settling down, but her secret is gnawing at her, she wants to be able to trust somebody, especially Venturo but trusting anyone is a risk too big to take, being discovered by the authorities could mean her death.

I really liked Claire, she felt real to me; her fears and emotions were genuine and never over exaggerated. Her discoveries of new and simple things as flowers or fruits were innocent and pure.
Ven is one of those males with a very strong presence; he is not just yummylicious, he is smart, kind and caring too.
Even though I wanted to see their relationship being a bit more developed I can say that their feelings and the attraction they felt for each other were believable and hot!

My final thought: As with all Ilona Andrews' books the world building in Silver Shark is top notch, very innovative and beautiful. The narrative is fluid and nice paced. The characters are truly likeable and interesting. The only complaint I have, if I can call it a complaint is that it was a bit short, just 96 pages, I really would have loved if I could have seen a bit more into Claire and Ven's relationship after they got together, just couple of more pages to tide the story a little bit better.
Silver Shark is a great and fun read, a book I recommend to anyone who would want a quick, fun, sexy and well-written story.

This is the second novella in the Kinsmen series by husband and wife writing team Ilona Andrews. This was another fast-paced science fiction story laced with romance. I really enjoyed reading it. I didn't like it quite as much as the first Kinsmen novel, Silent Blade, but it was still a great read.

Claire Shannon is a psycher, she's been trained to wage war with her mind. When the decades long war on her home planet ends Claire is deported and forced to hide her psychic abilities to survive. She arrives at a new beautiful planet and interviews for a job as an admin with the handsome Venturo Escana. Venturo is as deadly as he is handsome and Claire is drawn to his powerful psycher skills even as she is forced to hide her own psycher talents. When Claire tries to help out some people from her home planet she finds that she hasn't completely left war behind.

This was a very good novella. I really enjoy the Kinsmen world and wish that Andrews would do a full length Kinsmen novel so that we could learn even more about this world. I love reading about the psychers and their powers and enjoy reading about all the worlds where the characters come from.

As with all of the Andrews books, the characters were wonderful and absolutely sucked me into the story. The romance between Venturo and Claire is perfectly balanced; they have wonderful chemistry together.

The plot was fast-paced and I never found it to be boring or too predictable. The story was wrapped up nicely too.

Overall I really enjoyed this novella and am glad that I bought it. If you enjoyed the previous novel, Silent Blade, then I think you will enjoy this one as well. If you enjoy the Kate Daniels book, you will probably enjoy this too. There is a good mix here of science fiction, action, and romance. Can't wait to see what the next Kinsmen novella brings.

Claire has lived her entire life surrounded by war. She was forced into military service at 14; her psychic gifts, powerful enough to kill. But now, the war is over and those very same abilities have turned her into a target. Such a powerful Kinsman could never be kept alive. So Claire must hide her skills and appear as a normal person in order survive.

She is forced from the bleak, war-torn world and becomes a refugee on a new planet. There, she goes to work for Venturo Escana, a Kinsman whose power rivals her own. He doesn't know who she really is, but... like calls to like. There is an undeniable connection between the two of them. The feelings are as alien to Claire as the beauty of her new home. But despite the happiness she finds in Ven's company, she lives in constant fear of discovery. If anyone figures out her secret, she'll lose everything she has worked so hard to build.

I really, really enjoyed this novella. Ilona Andrews is pretty awesome at world-building. Part of what makes it so good is the seamless way it's incorporated into story. The characters are three-dimensional and engaging. And I never feel compelled to skim over the narrative. (That's a mighty big compliment too, because it's an urge I am forever having to fight. Too many authors fill up chunks of space describing every detail from the wallpaper to the shape of the sconces on the wall. Andrews sticks to describing only what truly adds to experience of the story.)

The tension Claire feels is palpable; the danger is real. The pull between her and Ven is fantastic. And omigod, the payoff is so hot.

So why am I not giving it 5 stars? I felt like there should have been more, especially toward the end. As hot as the sex was, I would have liked to have seen a little more of the relationship work out on-page after the truth came out. And I felt cheated out of the action referenced in the Epilogue. I wanted a full length book, dammit. The potential is there. I hope Andrews revisits this world again in the future. 4 1/2 stars.

Claire Shannon was born in a country at war. Brodwyn has been at war with Melko since before she was born; her entire life has been one of service and sacrifice - hot water, food, happiness, her life - all given up for the war cause. Claire is a soldier; she has been since the age of 14 when she was taken from her sick mother's bedside. She's a member of an elite team of "psychers", or soldiers who fight with their minds instead of their hands. Claire can disarm or kill any threat in a matter of seconds.

Claire's team is on a mission when she finds out the war is over and her side lost. They're killing all the psychers, so she's forced to hide her identity and manages to get deported to the planet of Rada, where she must learn to assimilate and hide her abilities or be killed immediately, no questions asked.

When she gets a job with Guardian Inc. as an assistant to the handsome and powerful Venturo Escana, she thinks all she has to do is hide her "talent" and blend in. Then, one of her countrymen gets into some trouble and Claire is the only one who can help, but by helping will she destroy everything she has done to survive?

My thoughts:
Silver Shark is the second book in Ilona Andrew's Kinsman series, but it can absolutely be read as a stand-alone. I read the first book, Silent Blade, because I have Book OCD and couldn't read out of order - with Silver Shark it really wasn't necessary.

I consider myself a "light" sci-fi reader, and Silver Shark was a nice fit for me - not too complicated as far as world building, and a bit of romance to keep me happy. The world building was very good: I loved the contrast between Claire's home planet - grey, drab, depressing - and her new home, the planet Rada - colorful, friendly, vibrant. You would think she would be thrilled to be there, but the mindset she was raised with is difficult to shake off, as when another refugee meets her on the street and tells her she stands out, which is a bad thing on her home planet. She's scared but determined to adapt to her new life.

Silver Shark actually had two different types of world buiding - the physical world and the world Claire enters when she hooks into the system to use her psycher abilities: This world is lush and full, as if Claire could escape her physical surroundings when she went to work. I love that her "mental" world also changes after her deportation to reflect her new surroundings.

Claire is a great heroine - smart and resourceful, ruthless yet at times compassionate in her psycher mode. Her attraction to her boss is achingly wonderful - she cannot reveal herself but yearns for him nonetheless. I liked Venturo but feel like I would have benefited from knowing more about him; he was a good match for Claire though.

My main issue is with the ending - we're rolling along and the story is moving nicely and then BAM! It's over. Don't get me wrong - I'm happy with the outcome, but it was fast.

Silver Shark is a captivating short story, wonderfully descriptive and with a nice romance that doesn't overpower the plot. I would absolutely recommend Silver Shark for readers who aren't sure if they'd like sci-fi and are looking for something to try, or for seasoned sci-fi readers who are looking for a quick, entertaining read.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this novella. I read book one (review to come) right before this one because my need to read series books in order wouldn't let me do otherwise, however, this book works well as a stand alone. The characters from the first book make an appearance in the book, but not so much that they overpower the storyline being told in this novella, and no knowledge of the first novella is needed to appreciate their appearance.

Claire was one of my favorite kinds of heroine. She was strong, independent and while she wouldn't let anything get in the way of what she wanted, she remembered those who had helped her family out when times were hard. What I liked best about this novella was I felt like I was going through the adjustments to the new planet like Claire was.I really felt for her having to deal with emotions and sense that were totally foreign to her. Venturo was a great love interest, but honestly, I wanted more of him and just a little bit more romance.

One of the fears I always have with starting a sci fi romance is that I'll be overwhelmed with terms and technology that will bore me-a handicap that comes from having a father who reads hard core science fiction books. However, I worried for nothing because everything was explained really well, and when Claire went on the Bionet (think matrix) I felt like I was right there with her going after the bad guys and trying to correct a wrong.

All in all this was a fun story and I had it read in one sitting. I want to say more about how much I loved the storyline-but am afraid I'll give too much away, I'll just say if you are looking for something new to try, then give this series a try. You won't regret it. This is the third sci fi romance I've read this month, and it looks like I have another genre to add to my list of genres that I read. :)

I'll begin by the worst fault of the book - the absolutely heinous, most maddening, unpardonable of all its flaws - it's too short.

The premise is set beautifully. The first 25% of my ebook takes me from a war torn world, where existence is a punishment to be endured in service of a cause beyond your understanding and with loyalty to an unfeeling corporation trapped in an unending battle began and run by greed, to a planet where every colour is bursting with life and touch, scent and taste are allowed to bring forth the best and the worst of your emotions.
Claire Shannon leaves her dreary, apparently inescapable life in Uley and arrives in Rada, in the flower province of Dahlia.
If you've read the first Kinsmen novella, Silent Blade, then you know about this province. You know the wealth and power the gifted Kinsmen wield and their constant battle for supremacy tempered by tradition, protocol, customs and alliances.
Here Claire arrives as a refugee after enduring a painful scan by the immigration officers that could unveil her secret- that she was a trained psycher in Uley and that she can kill with her mind. She passes the test and her brain is declared inert. She is given a job recommendation and arrives at Guardian Inc. for her first interview. Here she meets the head of the Escana Kinsmen family, Venturo Escana, who looks at her drab clothing, chemical stained hair and hires her out of pity. She becomes an Admin in his office. She leaves Guardian Inc. that first day her mind reeling from the beauty of the Adonis who had stood in front of her and the startling brightness of his powerful mind, and coming to grips with her chagrin at being pitied by some one as magnificent as him.

And so the preview ended. I was almost panting for what came next. The authors were ridiculously good with the details and made sure I appreciated her position perfectly. They described both her home planet and the new one that she was coming to love with vivid strokes from a mixed pallet.
This could have gone in so many ways, and while I stewed over what can happen next for two weeks (till the book came out), I knew I could safely leave the story in the hands of two of my favourite authors. My imagination frankly couldn't come up with anything remotely satisfactory.

The best part is that they skimmed over EVERYTHING I would have wanted them to go into.
The worst part is that they SKIMMED over everything I would have wanted them to go into.

There was the office romance, there was the fight between Claire and Venturo in their psycher forms (inside the bionet), and there was the final 'F U' to the bad guys when her truth came out and the two ganged up to teach the idiots a lesson, there was even a little disapproval from a family member to keep the plot well rounded - but dammit, why did they have to make it so short? It seems such a waste of a wonderful plot-line filled with so much...potential!

I can't get over that. I'm going back to my kindle app to read it again. Maybe I'll feel less emotional about it tomorrow. Probably not.

VERDICT: Loved it.

Any of you that have been following my reviews for a while know that I love books from the Author duo that is Ilona Andrews. Let me tell you now that Silver Shark is no exception. And before you say "Oh, but it's the second in the series, I can't read it before I read the first." let me set you at ease. Silver Shark easily stands on its own.Even if you're not a big sci-fi fan there is still a big chance you will enjoy Silver Shark. I was immediately enveloped into this rich world that continuously grew around me as I read. Then there are the characters.

Claire is this amazing woman that we get to see all sides of. At the beginning she is tough-as-nails military hard ass. Then the war is over and when she is deported to another planet she has to hide what she really is or be killed. I could since the fear and vulnerability in her and I felt for her. As part of Claire's refugee agreement she must find employment. This is how she meets Venturo, and oh what a meeting. In all honesty I grinned through the whole meeting. Once you read it you will understand, the scene was fun, sad, and charming all at the same time. I loved Venturo. He is this strong, intimidating, and powerful psycher who will try to hide from his aunt at the drop of a hat to avoid going to some big family social thing.

The chemistry between Claire and Venturo was so good and amazingly unrushed. The more I think about Silver Shark the more I wonder how Andrews packed so much story into 96 pages, but it was all there and I enjoyed every moment. I can't wait to visit this world again.

Happy Reading,
Rebecca

Silver Shark was just the little bit of fun and entertainment that I needed to start my weekend with. The world building was well done and the book was not overly technical. The bionet concept was quickly and clearly explained. The parts of the story that took place in the bionic were almost like a dream sequence but with definite ground rules. I know some readers dislike dream sequences, but bionet interactions were limited and shouldn't prevent these readers from enjoying the story. I loved Claire and Ven and wish the story had been longer. Claire was just delightful as she experienced her new world and I sympathized with the limitations and frustration her new identity caused. Ven was an honorable and nice man and I would have loved more character development but it was understandably limited by the novella's size. I was happy that Andrews has been able to expand on The Kinsmen series and all I can say is - MORE!

Verdict:
Silver Shark was a fun novella with characters I enjoyed. Readers who don't normally go for the sci-fi genre should enjoy this. It's not a heavy duty sci-fi read but a nice little treat of a story. Fans of Andrews will definitely enjoy this one.

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Its not a secret I have read, enjoyed and recc'ed the Andrews Duo's books countless times. So its not hard to imagine my happy delight when I got a chance to read their newest novella "Silver Shark" ahead of time. This is set in the same universe as their futuristic romance "Silent Blade" published by Samhain a couple years back. The two stories can be read independent of each other, though "Silent Blade" is set in New Delphi and it wouldn't hurt to have read it since it explores a different track in the world ("Silent Blade" was all assassins and kinsmen battles, "Silver Shark" is more about the trained psychers). Also "Silver Shark" has a field day with science fiction-y stuff.

In a word: riveting. The world that Andrews built in "Silent Blade" is let loose and has a freedom to play. The novella begins at Uley, a world torn between two fractions building their military might to wage a three centuries and plus war against each other for planet and cause no longer viable. The story then moves to Rada, which is where "Silent Blade" takes place, and the stark differences between the two worlds is more than a little problematic for Claire who was raised to believe that attention to oneself is the worst possible situation.

The situation, at least as its presented to Claire upon arrival on Rada as a refugee, isn't strictly fair and it was a little convenient that her first job interview went so smoothly. This was more or less my one complaint with Claire--not that she's too good or too powerful, but that happenstance favors her a lot. Within her first day on Rada she lands herself an enviable job, with a boss she's attracted to (on multiple levels) in a job that comes easy to her with a firm that specializes in what she was trained to do for years. When a personal debt threatens the life she was building, that doesn't so much faze her as give her some hiccups and momentary panics.

This deeper look into the world of the psychers, as the psychic-powered bionet users are known as, was mesmerizing. I said in the "Silver Blade" review that the kinsmen set-up is nothing so much as Mafialand--I stand by that. The bionet evolves and changes for each user in response to their own perceptions--for one it might be a jungle filled with jungle animals and dangers, for another its an ocean with sharks and coral reefs. Claire's Bionet 101 about halfway through was more telling then showing, but within the confines of the mission it made sense.

"Silver Shark" focuses less on the romance angle (much of it reserved for the latter third) and more on the world/characters. We learn more about the kinsmen and their oddly archaic system of dealing with things (duels!), but also how it affects the civilians. The matter of fact way the Immigration Officer let Claire know that savage fights in the streets are pretty standard between kinsmen and she should basically just hide in a corner until its over with had me smiling a bit.

A regret I have though is I wish there had been more time for Venturo and Claire to play around in the bionet together. A confrontation that must have been pretty spectacular is briefly mentioned at the very end and I have to admit it was fun reading about how Claire outwitted folks. If anyone deserved to be able to swagger about because she's that good its Claire. A little too good at points; she makes a big deal about the different tests they use to find Psychers, but she manages to pass them all, rather easily. Its excused as part of her training--from a very young age she was taught discipline and control, but it couldn't have been mentally or physically healthy for her to constantly keep such tight shielding or to crack it occasionally.

The Andrews have made science fiction accessible to those who are wary of the science-babble, even with "Silver Shark" (which is more scifi focused then "Silent Blade") there wasn't a time when I had to step back and try to figure out what they were trying to explain with all the jargon. I'm crossing my virtual fingers that there will be more tales in the Kinsmen universe.

I'm a huge fan of Ilona Andrews... they're usually an auto-buy for me. But lately their books have seemed rushed. Short, lots of typos and proofreading issues, like they're just hurrying to get something out there. Hopefully the next book will be better. If not, I'll probably have to rethink that auto-buy status.

For those of you that are fans of Ilona Andrews, this is another good novella/short story in the world of Kinsmen. For those of you new to their work, this is a romance story that is set in science fiction-a time and place in the future where humans have colonized new planets, and humans have evolved some abilities and created technologies to enhance themselves-focuses on a single world, where the flowers are really bright and an important part of the culture, oddly enough. Unlike the prior novella which was primarily character development, the story does have some plot elements to move the romance connection along.

What really grabs me about this story is the use of cultural shock, creative descriptions and settings-I do not read a lot of science fiction that combines technology and biology in this way-so its worth a read just for the novel perspective.

I recommend this story to anyone looking for a good short story, and all of the Ilona Andrews books for the discerning reader.

I have glimpsed through the reviews that gave the story 3 Stars, and its primarily due to the ending of the story. I thought it was cute, but it will disappoint readers who want to know all the details.

reasons to like this book
1. if you like your romances to be UF with a Sy/Fi setting
2. if you like ilona andrews writing style
3. if you like well written finely crafted novellas
4. the main character was identifiable and likable
5. plot and pace were excellent

top criticsms
1. novella length left the male lead a little flat in character developed
2. nothing terribly original in the Sy/Fi trappings

this was a fantabulous read. proves that you dont have to invent everything to still have a great story. the plot and pace were great. sorry to have finished it. much better than silent blade.

As I said, Silent Blade and Silver Shark are really quick reads, so I don't want to give too much away. So let me just say this, if you're looking for a new world to explore with a lot of hidden possibilities and characters that are not only intriguing in what they can do, but who they are, then you definitely want to pick up from Silent Blade and Silver Shark Ilona Andrews. Considering Silent Blade is only $2.5o and Silver Shark is $2.99, there's really no reason not to get them. They are worth every penny.

For my full review, check out Literary Escapism.com.

Ever since Kate Daniels, I've been excited to find other works by the Andrews. The Silver Shark was no exception. I did like the ending. Yes it seemed abrupt, but not.
Since the book is so short, it probably got listed without an editor. If there was one, they need to read and not scan. Misspellings and punctuation. Since I read (and slowly at that) I tend to see all the stuff that others miss, like Except/Expect, Read/Rid, Of/Off, extra words commas/periods in the wrong place or missing.
All in all, I thought the story was great. I can't get enough of their stories.

Great story, the romance worked well for me, great characters, good snark, superb world-building in these few pages, with beautiful and vivid descriptions, definitely worth a full-length novel.

My only beef with this novella is the ending. WTF? That was such an infuriating place to finish the last chapter and with no sequel in sight. Argh.

I really, really like this on. Great fun.

I do like the Ilona Andrews writing duo. The are really good at drawing the reader in and keeping them interested. This short novella is a step away from fantasy and a jump into a more sci-fi genre. Once again the main character is a strong independant female, who knows what she wants and how to get it. Then to top it all off they throw in a hunk, but play out the emotions between the two much like watching ice cream melt. Starts slowly and then dissolves into liquidy yumminess. I would like to see the series in a longer version.

I loved both books in this 2-book series and would happily buy another other book added to this series. I thought the story line was a bit different from all the other books I've ready by different authors. A really interesting and fun rea.

I really was surprised. I hesitated a bit buying this book since I'm not that much into sci-fi, but given the fact that the ilona-andrews team is rather exceptional I believed this book would be worth a read. And it is.
A little sci-fi, fantasy mixed into it and romance. What do you need more?
The characters are strong and the heroine has a nice touch of sarcastic wit. The world created is exciting and nicely described.
I love this author-team.

Another fun and satisfying read from Ilona Andrews. I wish that I could write as vividly as the authors do to express just how much I enjoyed this story. Yes, it was short and it left me wanting more, but I think that is a good thing! The story was tight from start to finish. I loved getting more insight into the Kinsmen world, especially the psychers. Claire and Ven were likeable, interesting leads, despite their flaws (or maybe because of their flaws). I highly recommend it - and anything/everything else written by Ilona Andrews. This team of authors has yet to disappoint me.

I am hoping that there will be many more Kinsmen stories/novellas. It is a world peopled with characters that I would be happy to visit again and again.

I loved Silent Blade, and I love Silver Shark; I hope there is plenty more in the Kinsmen series. I really like the slight Italianate flavour to the setting. After reading Silver Shark, I was inspired to spend the day chopping vegetables and simmering sauces for an Italian pasta dish. Now what I want is a recipe for those passion cones!! With a glass of rose ... Maybe the authors should hold a competition at the next release of a Kinsmen novella, and whoever comes up with the best recipe wins ... I don't know, a free copy of the novella. Everyone gets to see the recipe, of course! ;)

I might add, I like the novella length for the Kindle - I don't actually like usual lenght books in it as much, the "flipping" gets too unwieldy.

I've read both books in the Kinsmen world, and although both are great, I liked this one more. The heroine is just so genuinely desperate that it fuels the story. Her fear feels very real. I'd love to read more books set in this world. You can't go wrong with Ilona Andrews.

I wish this had been a full length novel. I was left wanting more. Interesting world building, but would have liked more time for the relationship to developer. Even with the negatives I would recommend thus book to a friend

Yes its petty but it got my goat. I love Ilona Andrews stuff but for ONCE could the female be more powerful than the male not just more precise (see on the Edge for same description - male more powerful but female more precise)?????? It felt very "wash, rinse, repeat" for my liking.

I have been trying out a lot of new authors on the kindle,most are ok, some are disappointing. Ilona Andrews is neither a new author for me nor is she disappointing. They totally wrapped me up in this story as soon as I started reading it. I liked it a little better than Silent Blade, but, I did read this one first. I would love to hear/find out that this is a new series for this couple. Read this one, you won't be disappointed.

I really enjoyed this. The two main characters share quite a few traits with the leads in Andrew's Kate Daniels series, but they have their own distinct voices. And the storyline and world-building are unique and interesting. Just wish this was a full length novel.