Born of Legend: The League Nemesis Rising

So much love for Sherrilyn!!!! I received my book last night, so I've only just started it. I can say this; Sherri writes with a freshness and descriptive ability, without being dry, that makes each of her books capable of turning their own pages for you. I have not found a book of Sherri's that I can put down unread.

Love you Sherrilyn Kenyon!!!!

Sorry, just wasn't impressed. Too similar to several other stories in the series. Lacked originality and depth. Julien may have been a sympathetic character, but I didn't really get that impression. Ushera, as well, was lacking. Knowing her ex-husband had been a traitor and s list, why would she claim that he was a "peacemaker?" Plus, the book was too repetitive. Sadly, she has lost the imagination and creativity of the first few books and now, all of them seem cookie cutter.

For the love of the Gods stop with the never ending "POOR ME". I don't see how an alpha male, warrior, badass, can spend so much time thinking and talking about how people were mean to him and the abuse he suffered. We get it, your childhood was horrible and you are more than justified to be a mess inside. I just didn't want to hear about it for 500+ pages. And panic attacks??? Sorry, you don't get to talk about what a super hero you are when you have a panic attack every other day. The hero is supposed to be strong and invincible. Not whining all the time. Also the time jumping confused me. First the kids were babies then they were old enough to walk just in a few pages. Confusing and disappointing.and usually I love her books. Also how is it that whoever the book is about is the best at everything? Nyk was the most amazing assassin every created in his book. In this one Dagger is the bigger bad ass. Syn is a computer whiz without equal in his books. In this one Dagger easily trumps him. I will read the next one but I really didn't like this one.

Sorry, just wasn't impressed. Too similar to several other stories in the series. Lacked originality and depth. Julien may have been a sympathetic character, but I didn't really get that impression. Ushera, as well, was lacking. Knowing her ex-husband had been a traitor and s list, why would she claim that he was a "peacemaker?" Plus, the book was too repetitive. Sadly, she has lost the imagination and creativity of the first few books and now, all of them seem cookie cutter.

For the love of the Gods stop with the never ending "POOR ME". I don't see how an alpha male, warrior, badass, can spend so much time thinking and talking about how people were mean to him and the abuse he suffered. We get it, your childhood was horrible and you are more than justified to be a mess inside. I just didn't want to hear about it for 500+ pages. And panic attacks??? Sorry, you don't get to talk about what a super hero you are when you have a panic attack every other day. The hero is supposed to be strong and invincible. Not whining all the time. Also the time jumping confused me. First the kids were babies then they were old enough to walk just in a few pages. Confusing and disappointing.and usually I love her books. Also how is it that whoever the book is about is the best at everything? Nyk was the most amazing assassin every created in his book. In this one Dagger is the bigger bad ass. Syn is a computer whiz without equal in his books. In this one Dagger easily trumps him. I will read the next one but I really didn't like this one.

This would have been an AWESOME book if it had been about 300 pages shorter. We understand the that things are not always as they seem, don't judge a book by its cover, don't judge a person unless you walk in their shoes lesson, etc... etc... etc.. But as I said enough is enough. I am a voracious reader so have read many, many books, Acheron is in a tie as my favorite book of all time but with your doom, gloom, betrayal, abuse, rape, assault, etc.. that all your heroes have been suffering lately you have completely turned me off of your Dark Hunter series. Styx was the slamming of the door on that one for me, you just went too far! Now you are ruining your League series for me too. I can understand you had to make us understand why Julian was or appeared to be the way he was but not every other line needed to go back in his memories on how he was abused in that situation! Seriously! If you had left out a chunk of his memories, they were time wasters (do you get paid by the word or something?) this book could have been epic! You just carried it way too far, not his story but your telling and telling and telling and telling of his memories. I had been thinking of giving this book only one star but I find myself really liking Julian so you accomplished something positive there. Also you need to fire Holter Graham from narrating your Dark Hunter series, BORING, and contract Fred Berman to do all your work. Fabulous narration! I wish I could have heard the accent he would have come up with for Acheron!

I love Sherrilyn books I read just about all of they and was so excited to read this book. Usually I will read her books almost non stop, but this book dragged on and then skipped around and with so many people it was sometimes hard to keep track. It also seemed that one page the kids where all small and then the next they were old enough to run around and talk. I kept losing interest but kept reading hoping it would get better and it didn't and the ending was lackluster and rushed. I am disappointed that I spent the $14.99 on it.

So, 46% of the way through this one and I'm wondering where the heck is the story. I mean, c'mon. Poor Jullien, Oh whoa is him. I miss the feelings and excitement of the first few books. I mean, Nykyrian and Syn were my all time favorites. They're what made me fall in love, and yeah, they were damaged goods but they weren't overly tortured souls that you couldn't enjoy the story. I just feel that it's getting long and drawn out and for no reason. A lot of repetitive things going on. I mean, Dagger is safe, then he isn't, then he is, then he isn't. He's in love but he's leaving, he's staying, he's leaving, he could never leave. UGH. IF you think this sentence is too long, try reading the book!

From the beginning we've hated Jullien. Now, my feelings for him went from dang, that poor guy, to STFU, already! I wish they had cut out about 350-400 pages already. I would have left liking Jullien. This is my all-time favorite series but it seems like it's going downhill fast. I don't want to lose what I've come to love.

Can I just say that the amount of characters and family lineage is driving me nuts. I cannot in anyway keep it straight in my head. I'm all over the place. Especially, since I listen to most of the story while I work. I cannot figure out who's who and related to what and when and so many different species. I gave up.

Now 56% of the way through and I'm starting to get angry. It's hard to listen to Jullien not like Darling and the rest of the clan that I've grown to love. Not to mention I think its starting to drag a and on. Let's get to what we've all been waiting for since Born of Betrayal. I mean, I can only hear so many times how much he can't believe Ushara loves him even though he's scarred. Sigh.

Not much passed where I left off I want to throw my Kindle, my cell phone, and anything I'm reading this on across the freaking planet. I hate everyone and everything in this book. I hope he dies, I hope he falls out of his spaceship or whatever they call it. I hope everyone burns in flames.

I can only listen to so many times about him hating his grandmother and him crying over toys Nyk left behind. I can't take it anymore. Honestly, this is ridiculous. It would have been much better of a story had we not gone into all this frivolous detail. There was absolutely no need for it. None at all. Let's be honest, I've skipped a full 3 minutes in the story and we're still talking about him showering. This has no relevance to the story. Not to mention, we keep commenting on the bedroom decor he hates. UGH. It's stuff like this that adds nothing to the story but you find riddled throughout the entire drawn out story. So disappointed, I should have read something better.

I sincerely hope that this is not the way all of The League novels are going. That would be totally and utterly disappointing.

Okay, so finally, 88% of the way through the book we finally get to what I've come for. I actually started liking the book again, until I remembered what it put me through.

I'm sorry but I hope this is not the trend of what's to come for The League. I loved the series as one of my favorites but it's getting ridiculous now. Too many characters, too many family trees that don't make sense to me and just plain too much.

Yes, I read all 726 pages of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s BORN OF LEGEND, which must say something favorable about its readability, in that I’m not as keen, these days, as I once was, to finish each and every book I take in hand. That said … at completion, I ended up with the distinct impression that I’d overdosed on redundancy. In that, the whole book is chockablock with the whining of a protagonist who admittedly came from a dysfunctional family, and, as a result, feels so down and out and worthless, as a result of his extreme mental and physical abuse that he’s even attempted suicide. Along the way, as he runs-on about how he’s a no good bum, not worthy of love, he’s introduced to characters who befriend and love him, while, each and every time, the protagonist bemoans just why he’s so unworthy of their friendship and love to the point of actually doubting them.
Interspersed with his non-ending soliloquies of worthlessness and unworthiness, as regards anyone’s treatment of him, bad or good, are some brief incidents of mundane living, like christenings, baptisms, births, religious ceremonies, all juxtaposed against equal interruptions of violence that take our hero away from any aspects of normality and plunge him back into a world wherein he’s loathed by just about everyone, including his grandmother who has issued a kill-order-with-torture on his person; neither his mother nor father giving enough of a damn to intervene.
Granted his family is more brutal than most, as regards their treatment of this guy; but, then, most everyone in this universe is amok in deadly warfare, even the killing of family, so, it’s hard to believe, as book draws to its conclusion, that so many of them seem totally surprised and remorse to learn that they’d actually participated in any of the bemoaned abuse of the hero.
Speaking of his family, it would help this book tremendously to have had the author provide a diagrammed family tree: the inter- intra-relationships are so many and complicated, concerning as they do, at times, a seeming cast of thousands. Granted, this book is the 9th in a series, but, even if I’d read all of the preceding eight books (which I haven’t), I doubt I’d have any clearer picture of whom is related to whom and why; even more than one character exhibits surprise to find an existing family connection.
Yes, I finished the book, but I’m not enticed to read any of the author’s other books. For those readers, though, who do like epic sci-fi, complete with a hero who is so lovable, despite himself, as to be able to choke up close to weeping on occasion, who loves children and is loved by them, in return, as well as gets himself involved in a series of sex scenes utilizing the c***k word, I’d recommend you begin with the first book of this series and not with this one.

I have to believe that these raving reviews before me are from hardcore Sherrilyn Kenyon fans who will simply read and but everything and anything she puts out. I have read all of her league books and while I've had issues with some, they are mostly good stories. This one was a fair story, however, it needed more time and pages. There are SO many time jumps in this book that it drove me insane and one towards the end was not even explained!!! SHe had just written that it had only been a few months and the next thing, it was obviously much further ahead in time with no explanation! (I'm trying to write this without spoilers of any kind! or i could better explain!) More story instead of time jumps, and yes, i understand that sometimes when an author is trying to tell a story over a lenght of time you have to say...six months later, but Sherrilyn used this technique to a point of annoyance throughout this story leaving it feeling rushed. This is also backed by the fact that a couple of major plot points were rushed, including the ending. When Sherrilyn wrote Styxx you walked away knowing every detail of his life and horrors he had been through and such, you can tell this is the same affect she wanted with jullien but she didnt give it nearly as much as it needed for details...readers were left instead with a few memories and then hints at things that happened to him.
Moving on, Sherrilyn used the fact that Jullien is half human/half andarion to grant him every single ***RARE*** power that he could possibly have received. Again, its clear she just wants everyone to love him and think hes awesome, and yes, these are sci-fi, romance fiction books, but after Jullien was given yet another set of extraordinary powers, my sister and i were both saying, "oh, come on now!!!!!" IT also took the reality/believably/connection out of it, as did some other ridiculous mirables that occurred in Jullien's favor. (Mirables is how Miracles is spelled in this book which is riddled with typos).
Disappointed and feeling like SHerry is definitely just trying to turn out too many books per year at this point. SHe usualy talks about the league series as though its her own child and this being the big character who she was taking from a bad guy to a good guy, i just couldn't believe this was it and less than two weeks later, her Facebook page had the banner up for Dragon mark coming out only nearly one month after this and is already advertising a pirate dark hunter book and a chronicles of nick also came out about this time. I think its time for Sherrilyn to start reciting, "quality, not quantity." :(

Review & Giveaway: Born of Legend (The League: Nemesis Rising) by Sherrilyn Kenyon [...]
Publication Date: June 21, 2016
Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Reviewed by: Reading in Pajamas/ Cori
Rated: 5 Stars

REVIEW:
I fell in love with Jullien/ Dagger and I didn't think that possible. It took me while to read and review this new release because it is such a heartbreaking story. Dagger Samari is an alias for Jullien eton Anatole, the twin brother of Nykyrian Quiakides/Nykyrian eton Anatole. If you have read this series you probably hated Jullien in the previous books. His story reminded me a lot of Styxx's book in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter Series and this quote from Styxx fits this story perfectly.

"Just because you had it bad doesn't mean I had it good." -STYXX

I was an emotional mess reading Jullien's story. I kept asking myself what else could possible happen to him and then something horrible kept happening. It's one of those incredible books that rip your heart out but you want to read it anyway because it's just epic. So that said this book ripped my heart out but everyone should read it. I loved it. Born of Legend will take you on an emotional ride full of action, adventure, danger and romance. Just have tissues handy when you sit down to read it.

If you're new to the series I would recommend you start at the beginning to fully enjoy it. Each book has a HEA ending for different couples, but the series needs to be read in order to fully appreciate the characters and the series storyline. I can't wait for the next book!

*Review copy provided by St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

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Note about the League Series:

I’ve received some comments from other Dark-Hunter fans about their reluctance to try the League series because of the space setting so I wanted to let everyone know that if you love Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter Series you will love The League Series too. It’s not really about the setting for me. It’s about Kenyon’s writing style, her characters and their stories. They’re just epic and I love them all!

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Thoughts: I’ve been a Kenyon fan for years and never have I loved a book of hers as much as I loved this book. I loved it so much that as soon as I finished it I had to read it again. (From the time I got this book till now I’ve read it 4 times)

Kenyon is known for taking those characters we love to hate and making us love them. She did it in her Dark Hunters Series with Zarek and Styxx to name a few.

When it comes to Dagger however I have to say that I didn’t remember him from the first book, so he was a character that I wasn’t invested in.

From the first paragraph I was hooked on this book and read it straight through into the morning as I had to see how Dagger’s life plays out, as this book takes place over a 5-year period.

Dagger by his own explanation is a cantankerous bastard and yet underneath it all he has the most sensitive heart and capacity to care for other people. When he saves Vasili he has no clue how his life is about to change. His reaction to his new life is so honest and pure that there will be times when you will need to have some Kleenex handy.

Ushara is one of Kenyon’s best heroines ever. Yes, I said it, one of her absolute best heroines. From the moment that she realizes that Dagger saved her son he begins to steal a part of her heart. From the beginning she knows that loving this very damaged man won’t be easy and yet she’s helpless to stop.

A couple of things to know about this book, the cliffhanger that happens at the end of Born of Betrayal doesn’t happen until the end of this book and let me tell you there is so much more to that event than we saw in Betrayal. Second, because this book takes place over a 5-year span there are things that are mentioned/happen that we’ve seen in the other books only this time we’re seeing them from Dagger’s point of view. Third, the cast of secondary characters in this book are absolutely fantastic and I hope we get to see more of them in this series.

Whether you’ve read this series before or not if you love a good sci-fi romance then you won’t want to miss this book. And because it takes place over that 5-year span that the other books in the series happen and those characters are only mentioned in passing you don’t have to have read them to read this book…though you will want to after reading this book. (I know I went back and read several of them)

In this reader’s opinion this is one of Kenyon’s absolute best books. (I’ve read all of her books so I feel qualified is stating that)

Grade A
Review by: Heather
[...]

This book SERIOUSLY needed editing, the story would have been good at 350 to 400 pages instead of 736. Plus all of the typos were annoying.
Having the lead character talk about his horrific childhood does make him sympathetic as a character however when he REPEATS himself often and almost verbatim it just makes him annoying.

The thing that saved me from rating this book lower is that I did like his snarky attitude at times.

If you decide to read this book you could probably read the first couple chapters and then skip to the middle of the book and not miss much of anything.

I also suggest saving your money and getting it from the library as it's not a book you'll want to read again.

Born of Legend by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Paranormal Romance -June 21st, 2016
5 stars

Born of Legend is an epic futuristic soap opera. It spans the life of the abused and vilified Prince Jullien eton Anatole, (AKA Dagger Ixur). While this could be read as a stand alone. I highly recommend not doing so, as the previous books in the League series give great insight into this sprawling novel. Unlike Sherrilyn Kenyon's previous books, the story of Dagger spans many years in depth as Dagger finds uncompromising love and is able to share it with his children. I feel that this book is perhaps the closest to the author's heart.

Dagger Ixur has had a hard life -unloved by either of his parents and tortured by his cousins and grandmother. As a result, he is actually relived to be disowned – if it also didn't come with a huge bounty on his death. On his last dregs he is prepared to die and decides to do on good dead and leave the universe with a big bang. With the last of his strength he saves a kidnapped young man. But finds himself redeemed instead. For the young man's name is Viasili. And his grateful mother is the powerful Admiral Ushara of the Gorturnum Nation. As a result of her and her son's gratitude he is nursed back to health, given food and lodging and a place on their world. Dagger begins to blossom under the people who have given him a chance and begun to trust him and even obtain citizenship. As he makes friends he finds a happiness that scares him. But his past and his unique hybrid status make him an easy target for hatred. And with a bounty worth a fortune anyone who cares for him will be hurt, too. His only option. To hurt them before they harm those he loves.

This book is a monumental journey of an extraordinary hero. I loved how it chronicles his feeling of worthlessness and then his slow climb to respect, admiration and love by those that come to know the real him. Dagger has known no love in his life until he meets Ushara and Viasili. Sherrilyn Kenyon portrays a hero that quietly helps others despite his own suffering. Dagger's nobility, serious combat skill, brains, and hunky good looks make him a hero for all the ages. But what I felt was special about this book is how Ushara and Viasili quickly see in the good in Dagger and support him. The author does not drag on the question, if he is loved but how much and can he accept it. Usually romances end with the heroine pregnant but in this case Dagger has found a ready made family and fatherhood suits him. Because this book goes over in detail Dagger's trials and tribulations I felt like I knew him better and love him more than any other of Sherrilyn Kenyon's previous heroes. The heroine Ushara is a woman of great understanding, compassion, and guts. She will do anything to protect those she loves. She is not fickle or weak. Ushara is the woman meant for Dagger. This book spans over seven hundred pages and the reader will savor each. While this is not the last in the League series I felt so blissfully satisfied with this novel I wouldn't mind if the author stopped the series after this book – it was that amazing. If you love futuristic romances and complex word building plus depth of character you will not be disappointed in this story!

This book is the story of a hero's journey into light through hardship, adversary but with deep love. An emotional roller coaster you won't want to miss!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

Julien eton Anatole is Dagger Ixur. He's been on the run for the last five years. When he spies a young boy in the hands of slavers he takes action to rescue the boy. Dagger hands him everything he cherishes telling him to run home to be with his family. Urshara "Shara" Altaan has been frantically searching for her son Vasili since he was kidnapped three days ago. Shara never expected to find her son rescued from slavers by a tall and handsome man either in dire need of medical attention. Dagger never expected to find succor in the Tavili Nation yet here he is. Shara doesn't understand why Dagger wants to keep his old clothing patched and frayed as it is. Shara is startled to learn that Dagger is really Julien eton Anatole no longer obese but a packed and powerful figure that makes her want things she thought long gone. Dagger becomes Jules Ixur while in the Tavili Nation. He's finding it difficult to keep his thoughts to himself concerning Shara. Shara is vice admiral and takes her duties very seriously.

Shara's family isn't happy that she's becoming involved with Jules which only angers her. Shara has waited a long time for Vas to open up again. Jules is ever patient with Vas never complaining. Jules still has to hear about his family exploits thru the media. Jules becomes a cock(Tavili in Training) with Shara's cousins. Shara has a bad feeling but doesn't find out until later that Jules is sold into slavery. Shara is horrified to learn that her family condones this. Shara tells them that they sold Jules the last remaining heir to fyreblood heritage. Shara brings Jules home but he's confused and hurt. Together Jules and Shara pick up the pieces of their lives. Can Jules overcome his past? Will Shara be there for Jules? Will Jules be able to let go of the past? How will Vasili help Jules? Who is Jules fyreblood heritage? Your answers await you in Born of Legend.

I'm absolutely floored by this novel in so many ways that I can't even count. I'll be honest I never liked Julien's character at all. I personally hoped that he would die in a hole somewhere in the universe. I caught a glimpse of him in the last novel but thought nothing of it until I started reading this one. I didn't think there were any redeemable qualities in his character. I now eat humble pie because I was totally wrong about everything regarding his character. I don't generally give out a lot of 5 Star Ratings. I typically give 4 Star Ratings in general. I'm so sad that this novel is done for the year. If you're new to the series I'd start with Born of Night then go forward. Kenyon's writing is top notch I've seen how a writer can keep you in suspense for an entire novel. I highly recommend this series. You won't be disappointed. Happy Reading!

I love this series and indeed think it's probably the authors best work so I'm always jumping up and down with eager anticipation for the next League book. Strong characters, amazing world building and oh such hot romance. Soooooo what about this one?
I was very surprised when I realised that the hero is Julian as he is one of the most hated and reviled characters in the series. The things he has done to his twin brother Nyk and others who were at school with him just begged belief and yet the author decided to redeem him. If you have read Styxx you might just be reminded of this trope. You see we are given a version of events as experienced by Julian and although admittedly he does have a mean, violent side there's also been so much manipulation from others . In fact his own family are just the nastiest, vilest creatures I've ever read about!
So here we have Julian going under the name of Dagger and what do you know he's not exactly the insane bad guy he was painted! Nope Julian is hurt , down on his luck and yet finds it in him to save a young stranger which leads to a whole new life but you just know this author likes to torture her heroes and yes it's all going to get very messy indeed .
Ushara is the woman who will stand by her man but it's a shame her family start to meddle because when they stick their collective noses in it things end pretty badly for Julian. Lucky he's used to being neglected and thrown to the wolves but Julian is a fighter and I did like that this couple would do anything to see the other safe and happy .
There are tender sweet moments I won't lie but at times I thought there were superfluous pages . It's complicated, lengthy and there's a wealth of information about Julian's family to digest but for this reader just wasn't as riveting as previous books. Although my biggest gripe has to be the brief mention of Nero. Come on its high time he got a book! Introduced in the first book when he saved Nyk and yet here we are at book 9 and I'm impatiently tapping my foot!

Starts out with Nykyrian's twin brother, Jullien eton Anatole on his last legs, slowly dying from a knife wound and since he did some things he regretted in his life - he decided to make his death count, not in dishonor but by saving a kidnapped boy Vasili from being sold into slavery. Given his ring and wallet with belongings to use to get the boy home to his family, Vasili realizes who Jullien aka Dagger Ixur is and sees him as his hero that his own dead father wasn't, tries to get him to come with him before the bad guys come for him. Vice Admiral Ushara Altaan arrives, pulling a gun at first thinking Jullien is the bad guy that took her son until Vasili stops her, asking her to help him. Ushara, honor bound to bring him aboard her ship after she realized how injured Jullien is and his sacrificing his life for her son by giving his loaded pistol to her son and later she realized he kept the spent one. Ushara's the first to EVER treat him with kindness in his ENTIRE life. In this book, you began to see Jullien is the way he is and why. He evolves, stepping up and becoming a hero of legends. It's a really BIG book and as you go along the plotline get spread out over many years to fit in the some characters' events from other books. You see what I mean when and as you read them. FYI, the most graphic violence is mostly toward end.

Oh my! I absolutely LOVED this book. Sherrilyn Kenyon has a way of showing us that the "bad" guy is not really a bad guy, just completely misunderstood. That is the case for Dagger. I will not post spoilers but damn, he did NOT have an easy life. I can't blame him for some of the things that he actually did. Ushara, she is a total badass. Vas, what a sweetheart!! I read this book in about 10 hours or so. I plan to read all over again soon. Yes, it was THAT good!! I can't wait to read Bas book! Feb is too far away! I hope Dagger will be making more appearances in the books. I want updates on Thraix! Again no spoilers, so you will not read why I want those updates. I have a theory that Thia will end up being with Kyr. *In the 3rd book of the series it states shes been missing for years*. I think that where she will be. And I have a feeling that is why Kyr wasn't around. I can't wait to see where this series goes from here. I hope Jules and Nyk will be able to work together more often.

I highly recommend this series!!! There is some sex scenes but that its to be expected. Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of my favorite authors and I can't express how much I recommend ANY of her books! Take the chance, take a look at her website to make sure you get the reading order correct! And look at the character profiles!

Overall I like the book. I feel like too many characters are being used in too many scenarios. I have read all the books in the series and still have trouble remembering who everyone is and their connection to each other. Maybe if there was a chart in the front of back of the book it would help. I also feel like there are far too many scenes. Do we really need that much story? A lot of it felt unnecessary to the overall plot and conclusion. There was a definite ending and no major cliffhangers, which I appreciate immensely. I will still read the next book even though I am not being forced to by using a cliffhanger. I wish more authors would do that. Write good stories and we will come back. Don't force us by holding an ending hostage.

I have been a longtime fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon. I started with her original three League books and of course Fantasy Lover. I have never been disappointed by her writing. I don't know about anyone else, but I feel like she had to leave out parts of this story (example: we leap from the christening of the twins to Jullien being Trajen's field admiral) we do not have the opportunity to read about the wedding or Jullien's hazard. That is not to say I did not enthusiastically enjoy every minute of this book. I love how she portrays the children in this story; they are so true to life and adorable. The overall plot continues and you will not want to wait for the next installment. In this book she again shows that in truth there are always three sides to every event yours, theirs, and what really happened, as a police officer will tell you no two witnesses see the same event the same way. Ms. Kenyon uses this phenomenon very often to excellent advantage in her writing as well as making you understand that sometimes a villain is not a villain at all but someone who is just trying to survive in unspeakable circumstances. I have to respect Ms. Kenyon in that she illustrates we should all try to get along with each other and not judge each other. I highly recommend you check out this or one of Ms. Kenyon's other books. They entertain while giving you essential life lessons we should all employ, just one heads up this is part of an ongoing series to truly appreciate it you may want to start at the beginning. You will understand the dynamics between the characters better, but it can be read as a standalone if you must.I think there should be an extra star for authors of this caliber.

This is the 9th League book and i am not bored yet!!
I love the imagery of not just a couple, but of all the different characters. Everything is written beautifully.
These books actually capture me emotionally, whether being happy, sad or indifferent, sometimes i just cant read quick enough.
This book has absolutely everything in it, suspense, a few twists and turns, romance, characters to hate and to love, great sarcastic banter, friendships, sorrow and It keeps you interested and wanting more. The reason for only four stars was i did feel there was quite a bit of repetitiveness, all relevant i suppose but it was just the same thing being said, but just in different ways. It didn't spoil it for me, it just made the story sag a bit in places. Most definitely would recommend this series and will be keeping an eye out next year for the next one.

What was a promising story was totally beaten and neglected by a blindingly naive heroine and repulsively self loathing (whiny) leading man. Every meaningful exchange or event is interrupted with his flashbacks/stories of his horrible family and her shock at, yet another "heart breaking tearful memory." We get it. His life sucked, and he has trust issues. Yeah... after a few chapters, I was totally over it. So, I did a lot of skipping paragraphs. I wanted to enjoy it, but found myself muscling through just for the boss fight and info necessary to to understand the next book.

I really loved reading Born of Legend. I think it might be her best League novel to date.

Not only was the story itself enjoyable, the author had spent a lot of times in previous books building this character that we have all come to dislike, despise, and maybe outright hate.

In a previous novel (Styxx), the author finally gave her readers the back story on a character that they disliked. This is more of the same. And it was done beautifully. In this book, we learn the why's. We learn what shaped Jullien. We learn things from his perspective. I'm sure we have all wondered what made him do the things he did. We get our answers here.

A very wonderful, powerful, compelling, and hard to put down book.

I have to believe that these raving reviews before me are from hardcore Sherrilyn Kenyon fans who will simply read and but everything and anything she puts out. I have read all of her league books and while I've had issues with some, they are mostly good stories. This one was a fair story, however, it needed more time and pages. There are SO many time jumps in this book that it drove me insane and one towards the end was not even explained!!! SHe had just written that it had only been a few months and the next thing, it was obviously much further ahead in time with no explanation! (I'm trying to write this without spoilers of any kind! or i could better explain!) More story instead of time jumps, and yes, i understand that sometimes when an author is trying to tell a story over a lenght of time you have to say...six months later, but Sherrilyn used this technique to a point of annoyance throughout this story leaving it feeling rushed. This is also backed by the fact that a couple of major plot points were rushed, including the ending. When Sherrilyn wrote Styxx you walked away knowing every detail of his life and horrors he had been through and such, you can tell this is the same affect she wanted with jullien but she didnt give it nearly as much as it needed for details...readers were left instead with a few memories and then hints at things that happened to him.
Moving on, Sherrilyn used the fact that Jullien is half human/half andarion to grant him every single ***RARE*** power that he could possibly have received. Again, its clear she just wants everyone to love him and think hes awesome, and yes, these are sci-fi, romance fiction books, but after Jullien was given yet another set of extraordinary powers, my sister and i were both saying, "oh, come on now!!!!!" IT also took the reality/believably/connection out of it, as did some other ridiculous mirables that occurred in Jullien's favor. (Mirables is how Miracles is spelled in this book which is riddled with typos).
Disappointed and feeling like SHerry is definitely just trying to turn out too many books per year at this point. SHe usualy talks about the league series as though its her own child and this being the big character who she was taking from a bad guy to a good guy, i just couldn't believe this was it and less than two weeks later, her Facebook page had the banner up for Dragon mark coming out only nearly one month after this and is already advertising a pirate dark hunter book and a chronicles of nick also came out about this time. I think its time for Sherrilyn to start reciting, "quality, not quantity." :(

Review & Giveaway: Born of Legend (The League: Nemesis Rising) by Sherrilyn Kenyon [...]
Publication Date: June 21, 2016
Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Reviewed by: Reading in Pajamas/ Cori
Rated: 5 Stars

REVIEW:
I fell in love with Jullien/ Dagger and I didn't think that possible. It took me while to read and review this new release because it is such a heartbreaking story. Dagger Samari is an alias for Jullien eton Anatole, the twin brother of Nykyrian Quiakides/Nykyrian eton Anatole. If you have read this series you probably hated Jullien in the previous books. His story reminded me a lot of Styxx's book in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter Series and this quote from Styxx fits this story perfectly.

"Just because you had it bad doesn't mean I had it good." -STYXX

I was an emotional mess reading Jullien's story. I kept asking myself what else could possible happen to him and then something horrible kept happening. It's one of those incredible books that rip your heart out but you want to read it anyway because it's just epic. So that said this book ripped my heart out but everyone should read it. I loved it. Born of Legend will take you on an emotional ride full of action, adventure, danger and romance. Just have tissues handy when you sit down to read it.

If you're new to the series I would recommend you start at the beginning to fully enjoy it. Each book has a HEA ending for different couples, but the series needs to be read in order to fully appreciate the characters and the series storyline. I can't wait for the next book!

*Review copy provided by St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

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Note about the League Series:

I’ve received some comments from other Dark-Hunter fans about their reluctance to try the League series because of the space setting so I wanted to let everyone know that if you love Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter Series you will love The League Series too. It’s not really about the setting for me. It’s about Kenyon’s writing style, her characters and their stories. They’re just epic and I love them all!

~*~*~*~

This book was so full of adventure, humor, heartache, passion, and action. I loved finally getting to see Julien's story, and just like with Styxx, we didn't know the hell he was put through growing up and the hardships he had to overcome. This book was long, 836 pages to be exact, so unlike the others that seemed to go too quickly, this one took its time and told his story right. Ushara was a great partner for the scarred and distrusting Dagger aka Julien. Ushara and Julien's story was so passionate and the conflict and plot were so strong. I loved Julien as a character, he was so dynamic, complex, flawed, and lovable. He was such a humorous character with such dry witty sarcasm that I loved all of his dialogue; Kenyon did an excellent job giving him such a vivid personality on the page. The book is so full of great plot and conflict details. I definitely think the character development was the best part. They jumped off the pages and I'm glad that in the end, his birth family finally got to know some of the hell he had been put through and that the road to forgiveness and redemption was accomplished.  I loved the whole thing.

Thoughts: I’ve been a Kenyon fan for years and never have I loved a book of hers as much as I loved this book. I loved it so much that as soon as I finished it I had to read it again. (From the time I got this book till now I’ve read it 4 times)

Kenyon is known for taking those characters we love to hate and making us love them. She did it in her Dark Hunters Series with Zarek and Styxx to name a few.

When it comes to Dagger however I have to say that I didn’t remember him from the first book, so he was a character that I wasn’t invested in.

From the first paragraph I was hooked on this book and read it straight through into the morning as I had to see how Dagger’s life plays out, as this book takes place over a 5-year period.

Dagger by his own explanation is a cantankerous bastard and yet underneath it all he has the most sensitive heart and capacity to care for other people. When he saves Vasili he has no clue how his life is about to change. His reaction to his new life is so honest and pure that there will be times when you will need to have some Kleenex handy.

Ushara is one of Kenyon’s best heroines ever. Yes, I said it, one of her absolute best heroines. From the moment that she realizes that Dagger saved her son he begins to steal a part of her heart. From the beginning she knows that loving this very damaged man won’t be easy and yet she’s helpless to stop.

A couple of things to know about this book, the cliffhanger that happens at the end of Born of Betrayal doesn’t happen until the end of this book and let me tell you there is so much more to that event than we saw in Betrayal. Second, because this book takes place over a 5-year span there are things that are mentioned/happen that we’ve seen in the other books only this time we’re seeing them from Dagger’s point of view. Third, the cast of secondary characters in this book are absolutely fantastic and I hope we get to see more of them in this series.

Whether you’ve read this series before or not if you love a good sci-fi romance then you won’t want to miss this book. And because it takes place over that 5-year span that the other books in the series happen and those characters are only mentioned in passing you don’t have to have read them to read this book…though you will want to after reading this book. (I know I went back and read several of them)

In this reader’s opinion this is one of Kenyon’s absolute best books. (I’ve read all of her books so I feel qualified is stating that)

Grade A
Review by: Heather
[...]

This book SERIOUSLY needed editing, the story would have been good at 350 to 400 pages instead of 736. Plus all of the typos were annoying.
Having the lead character talk about his horrific childhood does make him sympathetic as a character however when he REPEATS himself often and almost verbatim it just makes him annoying.

The thing that saved me from rating this book lower is that I did like his snarky attitude at times.

If you decide to read this book you could probably read the first couple chapters and then skip to the middle of the book and not miss much of anything.

I also suggest saving your money and getting it from the library as it's not a book you'll want to read again.

Born of Legend by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Paranormal Romance -June 21st, 2016
5 stars

Born of Legend is an epic futuristic soap opera. It spans the life of the abused and vilified Prince Jullien eton Anatole, (AKA Dagger Ixur). While this could be read as a stand alone. I highly recommend not doing so, as the previous books in the League series give great insight into this sprawling novel. Unlike Sherrilyn Kenyon's previous books, the story of Dagger spans many years in depth as Dagger finds uncompromising love and is able to share it with his children. I feel that this book is perhaps the closest to the author's heart.

Dagger Ixur has had a hard life -unloved by either of his parents and tortured by his cousins and grandmother. As a result, he is actually relived to be disowned – if it also didn't come with a huge bounty on his death. On his last dregs he is prepared to die and decides to do on good dead and leave the universe with a big bang. With the last of his strength he saves a kidnapped young man. But finds himself redeemed instead. For the young man's name is Viasili. And his grateful mother is the powerful Admiral Ushara of the Gorturnum Nation. As a result of her and her son's gratitude he is nursed back to health, given food and lodging and a place on their world. Dagger begins to blossom under the people who have given him a chance and begun to trust him and even obtain citizenship. As he makes friends he finds a happiness that scares him. But his past and his unique hybrid status make him an easy target for hatred. And with a bounty worth a fortune anyone who cares for him will be hurt, too. His only option. To hurt them before they harm those he loves.

This book is a monumental journey of an extraordinary hero. I loved how it chronicles his feeling of worthlessness and then his slow climb to respect, admiration and love by those that come to know the real him. Dagger has known no love in his life until he meets Ushara and Viasili. Sherrilyn Kenyon portrays a hero that quietly helps others despite his own suffering. Dagger's nobility, serious combat skill, brains, and hunky good looks make him a hero for all the ages. But what I felt was special about this book is how Ushara and Viasili quickly see in the good in Dagger and support him. The author does not drag on the question, if he is loved but how much and can he accept it. Usually romances end with the heroine pregnant but in this case Dagger has found a ready made family and fatherhood suits him. Because this book goes over in detail Dagger's trials and tribulations I felt like I knew him better and love him more than any other of Sherrilyn Kenyon's previous heroes. The heroine Ushara is a woman of great understanding, compassion, and guts. She will do anything to protect those she loves. She is not fickle or weak. Ushara is the woman meant for Dagger. This book spans over seven hundred pages and the reader will savor each. While this is not the last in the League series I felt so blissfully satisfied with this novel I wouldn't mind if the author stopped the series after this book – it was that amazing. If you love futuristic romances and complex word building plus depth of character you will not be disappointed in this story!

This book is the story of a hero's journey into light through hardship, adversary but with deep love. An emotional roller coaster you won't want to miss!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

Julien eton Anatole is Dagger Ixur. He's been on the run for the last five years. When he spies a young boy in the hands of slavers he takes action to rescue the boy. Dagger hands him everything he cherishes telling him to run home to be with his family. Urshara "Shara" Altaan has been frantically searching for her son Vasili since he was kidnapped three days ago. Shara never expected to find her son rescued from slavers by a tall and handsome man either in dire need of medical attention. Dagger never expected to find succor in the Tavili Nation yet here he is. Shara doesn't understand why Dagger wants to keep his old clothing patched and frayed as it is. Shara is startled to learn that Dagger is really Julien eton Anatole no longer obese but a packed and powerful figure that makes her want things she thought long gone. Dagger becomes Jules Ixur while in the Tavili Nation. He's finding it difficult to keep his thoughts to himself concerning Shara. Shara is vice admiral and takes her duties very seriously.

Shara's family isn't happy that she's becoming involved with Jules which only angers her. Shara has waited a long time for Vas to open up again. Jules is ever patient with Vas never complaining. Jules still has to hear about his family exploits thru the media. Jules becomes a cock(Tavili in Training) with Shara's cousins. Shara has a bad feeling but doesn't find out until later that Jules is sold into slavery. Shara is horrified to learn that her family condones this. Shara tells them that they sold Jules the last remaining heir to fyreblood heritage. Shara brings Jules home but he's confused and hurt. Together Jules and Shara pick up the pieces of their lives. Can Jules overcome his past? Will Shara be there for Jules? Will Jules be able to let go of the past? How will Vasili help Jules? Who is Jules fyreblood heritage? Your answers await you in Born of Legend.

I'm absolutely floored by this novel in so many ways that I can't even count. I'll be honest I never liked Julien's character at all. I personally hoped that he would die in a hole somewhere in the universe. I caught a glimpse of him in the last novel but thought nothing of it until I started reading this one. I didn't think there were any redeemable qualities in his character. I now eat humble pie because I was totally wrong about everything regarding his character. I don't generally give out a lot of 5 Star Ratings. I typically give 4 Star Ratings in general. I'm so sad that this novel is done for the year. If you're new to the series I'd start with Born of Night then go forward. Kenyon's writing is top notch I've seen how a writer can keep you in suspense for an entire novel. I highly recommend this series. You won't be disappointed. Happy Reading!

I love this series and indeed think it's probably the authors best work so I'm always jumping up and down with eager anticipation for the next League book. Strong characters, amazing world building and oh such hot romance. Soooooo what about this one?
I was very surprised when I realised that the hero is Julian as he is one of the most hated and reviled characters in the series. The things he has done to his twin brother Nyk and others who were at school with him just begged belief and yet the author decided to redeem him. If you have read Styxx you might just be reminded of this trope. You see we are given a version of events as experienced by Julian and although admittedly he does have a mean, violent side there's also been so much manipulation from others . In fact his own family are just the nastiest, vilest creatures I've ever read about!
So here we have Julian going under the name of Dagger and what do you know he's not exactly the insane bad guy he was painted! Nope Julian is hurt , down on his luck and yet finds it in him to save a young stranger which leads to a whole new life but you just know this author likes to torture her heroes and yes it's all going to get very messy indeed .
Ushara is the woman who will stand by her man but it's a shame her family start to meddle because when they stick their collective noses in it things end pretty badly for Julian. Lucky he's used to being neglected and thrown to the wolves but Julian is a fighter and I did like that this couple would do anything to see the other safe and happy .
There are tender sweet moments I won't lie but at times I thought there were superfluous pages . It's complicated, lengthy and there's a wealth of information about Julian's family to digest but for this reader just wasn't as riveting as previous books. Although my biggest gripe has to be the brief mention of Nero. Come on its high time he got a book! Introduced in the first book when he saved Nyk and yet here we are at book 9 and I'm impatiently tapping my foot!

Starts out with Nykyrian's twin brother, Jullien eton Anatole on his last legs, slowly dying from a knife wound and since he did some things he regretted in his life - he decided to make his death count, not in dishonor but by saving a kidnapped boy Vasili from being sold into slavery. Given his ring and wallet with belongings to use to get the boy home to his family, Vasili realizes who Jullien aka Dagger Ixur is and sees him as his hero that his own dead father wasn't, tries to get him to come with him before the bad guys come for him. Vice Admiral Ushara Altaan arrives, pulling a gun at first thinking Jullien is the bad guy that took her son until Vasili stops her, asking her to help him. Ushara, honor bound to bring him aboard her ship after she realized how injured Jullien is and his sacrificing his life for her son by giving his loaded pistol to her son and later she realized he kept the spent one. Ushara's the first to EVER treat him with kindness in his ENTIRE life. In this book, you began to see Jullien is the way he is and why. He evolves, stepping up and becoming a hero of legends. It's a really BIG book and as you go along the plotline get spread out over many years to fit in the some characters' events from other books. You see what I mean when and as you read them. FYI, the most graphic violence is mostly toward end.

Oh my! I absolutely LOVED this book. Sherrilyn Kenyon has a way of showing us that the "bad" guy is not really a bad guy, just completely misunderstood. That is the case for Dagger. I will not post spoilers but damn, he did NOT have an easy life. I can't blame him for some of the things that he actually did. Ushara, she is a total badass. Vas, what a sweetheart!! I read this book in about 10 hours or so. I plan to read all over again soon. Yes, it was THAT good!! I can't wait to read Bas book! Feb is too far away! I hope Dagger will be making more appearances in the books. I want updates on Thraix! Again no spoilers, so you will not read why I want those updates. I have a theory that Thia will end up being with Kyr. *In the 3rd book of the series it states shes been missing for years*. I think that where she will be. And I have a feeling that is why Kyr wasn't around. I can't wait to see where this series goes from here. I hope Jules and Nyk will be able to work together more often.

I highly recommend this series!!! There is some sex scenes but that its to be expected. Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of my favorite authors and I can't express how much I recommend ANY of her books! Take the chance, take a look at her website to make sure you get the reading order correct! And look at the character profiles!

Overall I like the book. I feel like too many characters are being used in too many scenarios. I have read all the books in the series and still have trouble remembering who everyone is and their connection to each other. Maybe if there was a chart in the front of back of the book it would help. I also feel like there are far too many scenes. Do we really need that much story? A lot of it felt unnecessary to the overall plot and conclusion. There was a definite ending and no major cliffhangers, which I appreciate immensely. I will still read the next book even though I am not being forced to by using a cliffhanger. I wish more authors would do that. Write good stories and we will come back. Don't force us by holding an ending hostage.

I have been a longtime fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon. I started with her original three League books and of course Fantasy Lover. I have never been disappointed by her writing. I don't know about anyone else, but I feel like she had to leave out parts of this story (example: we leap from the christening of the twins to Jullien being Trajen's field admiral) we do not have the opportunity to read about the wedding or Jullien's hazard. That is not to say I did not enthusiastically enjoy every minute of this book. I love how she portrays the children in this story; they are so true to life and adorable. The overall plot continues and you will not want to wait for the next installment. In this book she again shows that in truth there are always three sides to every event yours, theirs, and what really happened, as a police officer will tell you no two witnesses see the same event the same way. Ms. Kenyon uses this phenomenon very often to excellent advantage in her writing as well as making you understand that sometimes a villain is not a villain at all but someone who is just trying to survive in unspeakable circumstances. I have to respect Ms. Kenyon in that she illustrates we should all try to get along with each other and not judge each other. I highly recommend you check out this or one of Ms. Kenyon's other books. They entertain while giving you essential life lessons we should all employ, just one heads up this is part of an ongoing series to truly appreciate it you may want to start at the beginning. You will understand the dynamics between the characters better, but it can be read as a standalone if you must.I think there should be an extra star for authors of this caliber.

This is the 9th League book and i am not bored yet!!
I love the imagery of not just a couple, but of all the different characters. Everything is written beautifully.
These books actually capture me emotionally, whether being happy, sad or indifferent, sometimes i just cant read quick enough.
This book has absolutely everything in it, suspense, a few twists and turns, romance, characters to hate and to love, great sarcastic banter, friendships, sorrow and It keeps you interested and wanting more. The reason for only four stars was i did feel there was quite a bit of repetitiveness, all relevant i suppose but it was just the same thing being said, but just in different ways. It didn't spoil it for me, it just made the story sag a bit in places. Most definitely would recommend this series and will be keeping an eye out next year for the next one.

What was a promising story was totally beaten and neglected by a blindingly naive heroine and repulsively self loathing (whiny) leading man. Every meaningful exchange or event is interrupted with his flashbacks/stories of his horrible family and her shock at, yet another "heart breaking tearful memory." We get it. His life sucked, and he has trust issues. Yeah... after a few chapters, I was totally over it. So, I did a lot of skipping paragraphs. I wanted to enjoy it, but found myself muscling through just for the boss fight and info necessary to to understand the next book.

I was re-reading the whole series with the release of Born of Vengeance. A lot of authors redeem characters in a series. We love it we hate it usually there isn't an in-between with readers. I have to say that I have never read and author who can take a hate with your whole heart character and redeem them like Sherrilyn Kenyon. She has done it in some of her other series too and you go in thinking there is no way you will love this character. You can understand and maybe sympathetic but NEVER would you come out rooting or loving this character. But she's done it again. She took the same things that made us HATE Jullien and remind us that things are never black and white and there is always a second version. What I really love is she does it realistically. He admits that there are some things he was forced to but in the heart of him he knows that there are some sins he will live with and regret always. That there are some things that can't always be forgiven. He takes full responsibility for the wrongs but still tries to change. It's horrible and heart wrenching but at the end of the day and book you leave feeling hope! As always she is an amazing story teller and I thank god every time I read one of her stories that she never gave up in the beginning despite set downs and personal issues and finally found a place for her voice to share her stories.

I really loved reading Born of Legend. I think it might be her best League novel to date.

Not only was the story itself enjoyable, the author had spent a lot of times in previous books building this character that we have all come to dislike, despise, and maybe outright hate.

In a previous novel (Styxx), the author finally gave her readers the back story on a character that they disliked. This is more of the same. And it was done beautifully. In this book, we learn the why's. We learn what shaped Jullien. We learn things from his perspective. I'm sure we have all wondered what made him do the things he did. We get our answers here.

A very wonderful, powerful, compelling, and hard to put down book.

I love this series just as much as the Dark Hunter's series. Sherrilyn Kenyon is by far my favorite paranormal romance author. With that being said, there are some of her books, that were ok, some good, some great. This one was great. I even though I didn't pay for it(download from my library) its worth every cent b/c it was long enough, full of surprises and a worthy love story of endurance & patience. I had at least 7 books I had to read before they expired, this one beat them ALL! This book is the Dark Hunter version of Styxx. When you get to read both sides of a story, it proves true its 3 sides to a story(his, hers & yours).

This book CRIES out for an editor. It is still an entertaining read but it could be better. At 700 plus pages, it is bloated. The story of the main character and relationship is compelling.

Many of the events in this book happened in earlier books in this series; the events are told from a different perspective in this one. I expect some of that in a series but there was an unusual amount of that in this book.

The characters in this series are often related to one another in some fashion and the author has dropped every name and relationship from this series into this book. Some of this detail drives the story and a lot of it does not. As I read, I wondered if she was ending the series because everyone is named here and there's a lot of conflict resolution. Toward the end it felt like a soap opera that has been cancelled and is hurriedly tying up loose ends.

There are time shifts that occur so abruptly you check the pagination, thinking some pages were left out of your copy of the book.

Born of Legend is Ms. Kenyon's best League story. She reminds us things are not always as they seem. How do we know what is the truth? Is redemption available to all? Must those we love, love us back for us to be loveable? Ms. Kenyon's stories explore these themes.
Born of Night introduced us to Julienne Eton Anatole, Nyk's fraternal twin brother, the vile, evil, cowardly, self-indulgent villain (you get the picture) who was out to do away with his brother, or at least make his life as miserable as possible. Now we get a chance to see Julienne from a different perspective.
In Juli's world his parents were madly in love but not willing to leave politics for each other. He was a twin, but his parents only loved the 'dead' twin. He was heir to two thrones, but was rejected by both. He grew up in the palace and somehow survived nine assassination attempts before he was twelve. He had no power, personal or political, yet he was the most hated royal of all time. In the previous book, Born of Betrayal, revolt put his mother on the throne and he became a man without a country. No one in the nine league worlds would provide him sanctuary. All he wanted was to protect his loved ones, even if they did not love him. Was a little peace too much to ask for? Welcome to Juli's world.
Ushara just wanted to raise her son in peace. When the dying warrior saved her son's life, saving his in return was the least she could do. Sometimes, unexpectedly, the heart wants what the heart wants even when everyone else says it is wrong, don't go there. A strong woman makes up her own mind. As Ushara learns more about Juli she can't turn away from him. They need each other. They were meant for each other and together they can change their world. Until once more Juli reachs out to save his undeserving loved ones. Can they ever change the bigger world around them?
If these were real people I would want them to be part of my family. She is always there for him. He is always striving for peace and love. What a sweet spirit is housed in his scarred body.
When I read this I had to go back and read the rest of the series AGAIN to see if the clues were there. On second reading of the series I still say it is the best of the bunch, but keep them coming anyway.

This is my favorite Kenyon novel. I borrowed this book through the Sacramento Public Library via the Kindle the store program. But I am going to purchase a copy to read again later. I appreciate the love story between the major characters, appreciate that there was love making without gruesome explicit detail and love how fathers were portrayed. yes there was episodes of abuse and violence but it was written to explain attitudes, habits, and some character flaws. But over all an excellent read.

Absolutely love love love! I hated that I couldn't read the whole book straight through and needed to take time to sleep and go into work. I hated more that it ended. Definitely my favorite by far in this series!!!!!! And the door is now open for so many possibilities...FYI I won't show as a confirmed buyer because I purchased from a different venue but wanted to make sure I reviewed everywhere.

Love the League Books one of Sherrilyn Kenyon's best series. Took me several days to read all 726 pages to read Dagger ' s story. I cheered, I laughed and I cried for Dagger and his family of his heart. Loved every word on every page. This story handles some tough emotional roads that too many have walked down with a sincerity and a validity of spirit that most all of Sherrilyn ' s books offer. Her League Series is one of the best out there and each story stands alone but meshes with all of the others. If I could give her 20 stars I would.

What a smorgasbord. WOW. Like eating thanksgiving dinner everyday for a year might compare to this marvel. I took my time because I did not want to miss a simple detail. So many questions I had were answered and yes more I want to ask. I love the way everything tied in with the other books. I want to praise Sherrilyn Kenyon for her imagination, patience and time.

No words to describe this masterpiece.
BRAVO

(I was beginning to think the pages were adding to themselves..lol)

I actually read Jullien's story twice and then went back to read the others again as I just disn't want to let these characters go. I love this series and this is my favourite in the series without doubt. While the common theme of a tortured soul finding redemption through love in a brutal world is repetitive, Kenyon has fully developed the Ichidian Universe and there is a .lot of thought and character development that has evolved throughout the series. I enjoy the politics, culture and history of their world as much as I love the characters. I was always a fan of the Darkhunter series and have read most but the last few have not been up to par and I can't help thinking the series is running out of steam. The League series by comparison is getting better with each book so I hope this is where Kenyon focuses on in forthoming books. I would like to see her take the League saga to its end and perhaps into the next generation. In the mentime Trajen, Nero, Saf, Drake and Thia all deserve to have their stories told. Maybe even Kyr but perhaps he is too far beyond redemption even for Kenyon to tell another side...

While the story is good and the back story interesting, I have a problem with the author creating the "super hero" each time she creates a villain. She did it with Styxx and Acheron and here again with Nyk and Jullien (maybe it's a twin thing).

For so many books we are told how badass and un-defeatable Nyk is and how no one beats Syn on programs and computers. How fierce Hauk is and here comes the "villian" and he is the super hero. No need for any of the others because Jullien is better than Syn on computers and badder than Nyk and fiercer than Hauk.

Actually THEY are the ones who did HIM wrong. And why is it that all the parents in her books hate their children? I cannot see a parent who just lost one child completely turning their backs on the remaining child they have. But maybe that is me as a parent.

I am all for redemption and multiple character views but somethings don't make sense. Heck if Jullien at 7 could kill a guard, why not just kill your grandmother and end it. Why the drawn out constant torture and torment??? If Jullien is the be all and end all, then make him King of the world and let the others go.

Sorry just my rant.

I have not laughed and cried during the course of one book as much as I did with this story. I was on edge the whole book waiting for events to proceed to the rescue message from Talyn's book. I love how all these little details pieced together and explained how some things happened that should not have like Dagan's expedited DNA before his sentence was actually Dagger working in the background with no thought for being recognized . excellent story can't wait for next

Born of Legend started out with a great big bang and ended with a very feel good ending with I always love in reading Ms. Kenyon novels. Love the HEA!

However, all of the torture and Daggers's family members hating him and disowning him was a bit much to me the novel started to remind me of The Dark Hunters series that feature the life and trails of Acheron which became a complete turn off for me. The repeated I'm unworthy and no one loves me became redundant and I started fast forwarding through the novel skipping over those parts of the story.

Loved, Loved Trajen and Thraix and was happy that Thraix found Mary but was hoping that Trajen would find love again in this story but no go. Hated that one of Ushara's sister was murdered. Although they never found a body she might not truly be dead one can only hope that she will come home to her family then that would put the icing on top of the cake for Jullien and Ushara's story.

Overall not a bad book had a few typos but considering how long it was it wasn't unexpected. I'm looking forward to the next one and hope that all loose ends are tied up. Love the League series and their kick-ass hero's and heroines that make for a interesting read.

Jackie

I loved the first, like. 25 of Kenyon's books. The first few League books were excellent also!

...These newest books feel painfully stretched out, and are riddled with misspellings, it's very disappointing. I'm glad I just checked this out from my local library instead of paying for it.

I simply love this book and have read it more than a dozen times now. Dagger is the sweetest most awesome male ever, and Shara is so fierce and loving. They really are awesome together. I simply love reading this book. It cleared a few details from previous books and how Dagger/Jullien came to be a hero of his own story.

I was not impressed with the last Kenyon book I read but I saw this and thought I'd give her one more try. Big mistake. This was one of the most painful reads I've ever experienced. Not to mention confusing and so depressing. I found myself skipping paragraphs and then just gave up halfway through. Jullien makes Debbie Downer look like a ray of happy sunshine. It was a nonstop pity fest. No doubt that changes towards the end... I just couldn't spend any more of my time on it. One star in memory of the Dark Hunters.

I love the League series, I do. I also love how Ms Kenyon can re-look at a character's life and make us love him. She did it with Styxx in the Dark-Hunters and Fain in the last book of this series.

The issue with this book is two-fold. (1) The timeline is so long it's difficult to mesh what happened when in relation to the other books. (2) Jullien's abilities and contributions are just not realistic . (Don't want to spoil anyone's parade but he can't be a super-everything!)

I think I'd liked it a lot more if the author had not tried just a tad too hard to squeeze too much into this book.

Holy Samari! Fantastic read, the emotional, get sucked in and cry along side the characters, rage against the dying of the light and feel the love swell when the the main character finally gets the well deserved happy ever after that he never ever thought he would get or deserve. Enjoy!

Geez, Sherrilyn Kenyon sure does know how to write a tear jerker! This book (along with pretty much all of her other ones), is happy, sweet, action packed,, sad, and heartbreaking. It is Jullian's book, which whom I hate grow to hate through the series, man did I learn so hard truths. Ushara is amazing and perfect for him.

great book but I feel it was just a different version of Styxx. a two sides to every story like Acheron and Styxx. ever since Acheron the books have been getting a little darker and getting more in depth with everyone's tragic past. i will still read every book that is written by Sherrilyn. i was just sharing my opinion.

This is definitely my favorite Sherrilyn Kenyon novel. It takes a great writer to not only find reasons for the villain to act as he does, but also make every reader pardon him, and with this book, Kenyon does. My heart broke a hundred times over for Jullian and he is now--along with Darling--among my favorite characters.

I've read the entire series, and this book isn't one of my favorites. For some reason this book just dragged for me even with the surprises that were in it. Jullien story is a heartbreaking, and shows the damage caused by have emotional and abusive childhood.

So I made the mistake of reading this book first. Didn't know it was a series. Checked it out at my local library. It was so thick and I just knew it would be awesome. AND IT WAS!!! AND I WAS PISSED! I had to go back and read all the way up to it. I hate how much of a villain he is in the other books. They always bring him up and I'm just like UGGGH!!! But I'm in love with this series, I feel like I'm apart of this world. Now can we get a TV adaption pls????!!!!!

I am totally reading out of order but I love the depth of the characters and their interactions with each other. Every time I finish a book I want to read more with the other characters. History, characters, suspense, action, and romance......this book has it all!

I absolutely loved it took me 5 hours but I finally got there. Loved Daggers character he encapsulated the strength, joy, peace and happiness that a tiny drop of love can do. I Loved his story I wish sherrilyn had made his reunion with his parent and the whole sentella group fuller however I believe she like Nk final was everyone realising that he is no longer known has Jullian but now Dagger. The ending seemed a bit rushed like everything was quickly tied up. however can't wait for Bastien's story but seriously (February 2017) thats just like too far. But I can't wait for it to be out; I hope Kyr gets his own story soon and Trajen and syr then jayce & lea-lea's story. The way I look at it lots of books to read. Sherrilyn please please please don't make the release so far-off.
Highly recommend this book to everyone it had about 777 pages but for some reason I didn't feel like skipping any page cos the story was captivating from line to line. Every fan of The league series has got to read it Its a master-class of true brilliance

This book was absolutely amazing. Words cannot express how much I love this book. I really wish that Sherrilyn would add an index with all of the meanings of different words and phrases in the League series.

I chose this book because it was on my library's "Best Books of 2016" list. However, I was dismayed by the poor writing. The author actually cut and paste exact passages from one section of the book to another. The repetitive descriptions of the main chatacter's childhood abuse almost put me to sleep. A few chapters each had a beginning and an end, but no middle. It seemed as though the story was purposely made longer without any attention to quality. I liked the characters and story line, but felt cheated.

I was re-reading the whole series with the release of Born of Vengeance. A lot of authors redeem characters in a series. We love it we hate it usually there isn't an in-between with readers. I have to say that I have never read and author who can take a hate with your whole heart character and redeem them like Sherrilyn Kenyon. She has done it in some of her other series too and you go in thinking there is no way you will love this character. You can understand and maybe sympathetic but NEVER would you come out rooting or loving this character. But she's done it again. She took the same things that made us HATE Jullien and remind us that things are never black and white and there is always a second version. What I really love is she does it realistically. He admits that there are some things he was forced to but in the heart of him he knows that there are some sins he will live with and regret always. That there are some things that can't always be forgiven. He takes full responsibility for the wrongs but still tries to change. It's horrible and heart wrenching but at the end of the day and book you leave feeling hope! As always she is an amazing story teller and I thank god every time I read one of her stories that she never gave up in the beginning despite set downs and personal issues and finally found a place for her voice to share her stories.