Sawyer Matthews knows how to put one foot in front of the other, to keep moving while the nightmares haunt her, and her own failures taunt her. She’s become a master at doing awful things with good intentions, terrible things for the sake of those who need her. She’s long given up on being the hero, trying to find peace in no longer being the villain.When her past comes back and she finds herself … herself caught by the International Magi Police Organization, she’ll have to revisit her own personal hells and finally confront the very monster that made her what she is. The very monster that has already killed her once before.
Will the “dead” Magi assassin Shadow finally come out of the dark to begin a fight for a redemption she doesn’t believe she deserves? Or will her nightmares drag her back into the shadows that have defined her life?
This is an Urban Fantasy reverse harem series of full length novels where the leading lady doesn’t have to choose from her romantic interests. This series will have M/M content.
These books are rated for mature audiences, 18+ due to violence, language, and sexual themes.
This series deals with several triggering topics including, but not limited to, suicide, child abuse, rape, and PTSD.
“A Life of Shadows is one of my top reads of 2018. Sawyer is one of the strongest characters you will ever meet, and I fell in love with both her and her men more than once. These characters, as well as the book itself, are simply one of a kind.” Brandy Slaven, author of the White trash Trilogy, and the Lady of Darkness series.
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One of the best stories out there that mixes urban fantasy with real life grit!
Sawyer was an amazing character, very complex, strong, neither good nor bad. She was the soul of the book and while not always likable, she was incredible. It’s dark. But even darker would have been perfect.They can play Knights in shining armor. She is the strongest, period. Wolves pet. That has to be a point on itself. Wonderful harem. They’re not sappy or boringly perfect. They had substance and I can’t wait to learn more about them. Omg Quinn! Caveman met raised by wolves and the result he’s oh so lovable.
This was my first book I had ever read/listened to by Kristen Banet and I am super happy I added this to my TBR/TBL! I think Sawyer is now one of my favorite MCs and some of the guys are now on my book boyfriend list. I had been listening to some shorter audiobooks lately so it was nice to listen to a long/full length one. Already downloaded Book 2 and 3 on audiobook because this one was really good.
In this story, we get to know our MC, Sawyer, who had a horrible past that she has tried to distance herself from, but her past comes back to haunt her anyway. Sawyer has been dealt a horrible hand in life and did what she needed to survive and unfortunately it put her on the wrong side of the law. She makes amends by helping kids who were put in bad situations like she was, protecting them and teaching them how to protect themselves and their family members from abuse. She is forced to work with the group that is kinda like our FBI/CIA but for paranormals. She is reunited with her childhood friends and gets to meet their teammates. This team is fantastic and sorta disfunctional at times, but that makes me love them even more. I love how not all of them like her instantly but they slowly get to know who she really is and realize she isn’t the criminal they perceived her to be (I mean they are shocked when they find out who she was in her past life but hopefully in Book 2 they will get over it haha).
Speaking to the audio part briefly, this was my first audiobook narrated by Lucy Rivers and she did a good job. I think she did a good job with the different voices for the guys except Elijah. I know she needed to do a country twang but it was pretty bad for me. I think she did a good job with Quinn, Vincent, Axel, etc. I thought she did Sawyer perfectly. She had me almost in tears when she was telling the guys about her past. I was hit right in the gut and it was because of Kristen’s amazing storytelling and Lucy’s great delivery. I would definitely listen to other books she has narrated.
I would highly recommend this series, especially the audiobooks! I am listening to the first 3 books to help me get ready for Book 5’s release this month. I dont want to go too quickly but I want to be ready when the fifth and final book in this series releases on the 15th I believe. Amazing job Kristen and Lucy, gonna go start book 2 now
Loved it. Its sad she had to eventually spill the secret, but I still liked it.
RH, kickass former assassin heroine, supernatural abilities, darkish past, a slow burn so far. On the Ghost Bird to the Groupie scale its a 3.5. Looking forward to more Sawyer and her team. <3
This was a rather unique story from many I have read. I love that we have a MC that is unique and deeply flawed and knows it and doesn’t shy away from it. I love her heart and hearing her journey and how she overcomes her past to try to make a difference in the world. At this point in the story the guys seem to take the back burner some but I think that is mainly we were focused on Sawyers secrets and what she would do to protect them. I am excited to see how her relationships with these men unfolds as they all do have a quirks about them that makes them lovable in their own way.
This book was a fantastic read – I do love that the author doesn’t shy away from certain “trigger” topics such as abuse, torture, rape, and murder instead she jumps in with both feet and shows you how these things can affect a person, in both a good or a bad way – but that it doesn’t have define the rest of your life. I am extremely excited to start the next book to see where the author takes the Sawyer’s (and they guys) story!
Wow just wow. Sawyer is one amazing lead character. She kicks butt without anyone’s help and has a huge secret that could destroy her life. As Axel hints her down she taken by a group of men that could end up being her salvation. There are so many twists and turns in this story that I don’t even know where to start except to say that it will totally blow your mind. I am completely invested in the story now and cannot wait to get my hands on the next one to see what happens next. I loved every minute of it so I give it 5/5 stars.
This book caught me immediately. I had to keep reading til I finished the book. I hurried on to book two.
The broken heroin and her broken guys now have a permanent place in my heart.
This is my first read from this author and I’m already a huge fan. Sawyer is awesome! She’s such a strong lead character. I love her already. She doesn’t need anyone’s help to get things done. She has a huge heart, a dark past, and she’s a force to reckon with. I really enjoyed this book. I can’t wait to read the next one, this is one series that will get better and better. What I also really like about this book is that I like the story as much as I enjoy the RH. The characters, the plot, and the world building are all great. I will be reading the next installment.
Overall: 5/5
What an impeccable writing, renders me speechless. I feel out of breath as if I personally experienced this adrenaline-rushed read. And thank Kristen Banet, finally. Another badass heroine who is not impulsive. She’s just one of the very few, I swear. And I shiver just by reading her because she has this eerie and calculating vibe. She’s strong and what she says, she delivers. But that’s not to say that she’s a psychopath like Axel. She’s an inspiration to those who experienced injustices. Like the kids from New York. At first, the guys don’t really do a thing a for me. But I think it’s because the heroine is out of their league-ish. They’re slowly growing on me, though. And I find Quinn the oddest…so I think he’s my favorite lmao. (Jfc, kill me now for butchering this review.) PS I love those rugrats from New York.
Wow! Prepare for the book hangover. Sawyer is a strong, but flawed heroine. She has regrets, but perseveres. The story does have some triggering themes – abuse, PTSD, suicide. I liked that Sawyer owned the things she had done, but didn’t let that drag her down. I also like that the guys don’t just accept the things she has done, and we see them struggle with accepting the things she has done. It is raw and real. The guys also are misfits and have their own flaws. I think my favorite so far is Quinn. 🙂 I am looking forward to the next story in the series.
Full disclosure–I edited this book (I’m only human, so please, don’t bombard me with errors I made in the editing…but if you’d like to kindly point them out, I’ll pass them along to the author). However, I liked it. A lot. So much that I had to share it. This series may just fill a hole that I’ve dug in my devouring of urban fantasy books. I’ve pretty much given up on the genre after a multitude of “badass” characters, women (or girls) that turned out to be annoying, sometimes bitchy, and ultimately pridefully stupid damsels in distress, but The Redemption Saga may actually redeem the genre.
To start with, Kristen Banet’s book, A Life of Shadows, is the start of a new, grittier urban fantasy/supernatural thriller series. Already, she doesn’t shy away from the hard topics, with her earlier series dealing with parental abandonment, addiction, and child abuse. However, A Life of Shadows dives straight into the deep end with those topics. Through her characters, Banet manages to explore how torture, abuse, rape, murder, and guilt can shape a person–for better or for worse.
I applaud her for her MC. Sawyer is a flawed character, but she knows it. She doesn’t deny when she has done wrong, she doesn’t fight needing help, and she sure as shit doesn’t believe she knows everything. She has a touch of arrogance that seems to drive everybody mad, but it’s arrogance that has been earned. Her fears are real, and the outcome of keeping her secrets are plausible. Honestly, I was just really excited to read about a strong female character who really was those things that I feel make a character strong, regardless of sex. At the end of the day, Sawyer isn’t there to save the world. I think that might be the most refreshing thing about this. There are no prophecies. Nothing is foretold. There is just Sawyer, a former assassin, trying to redeem what little bit of a soul she has left.
Banet writes third person narratives with an omniscient narrator, but the narrator is not omnipresent. The narrator follows a specific character, often jumping to follow another in critical scenes. While this sounds like it may be jarring, it is, in fact, an excellent tool for rounding out the depth of character, aiding the reader in understanding who the characters are as well as what is happening in the story. Minor info-dumps aren’t too jarring and frequently last less than a paragraph. As they are information regarding the special abilities of the Magi, they will appear with less frequency as you get into the story, and I’m guessing they will eventually be nearly non-existent in the series.
While this series boasts a reverse-harem, polyamorous relationship, it is not the main driving point behind the story. In fact, there is very little romance at all in this first book. What is there is a LOT of discovery. You find out about Sawyer, her past, and the guys that she is living with. There are poignant moments that take your breath away and light moments that make you laugh, all mixed with horrifying moments that made me shudder. Banet truly has a gift for writing, entwining the history and present of her characters into a story that will definitely make you come back for more.