REVIEW: Shadow Rider by Christine Feehan

In Shadow Rider (Shadow #1) by Christine Feehan, Stefano Ferraro oversees his family in their many endeavors which ranges from multi-million-dollar businesses to some less than legal activities meant to keep his neighborhood safe. It is both his blessing and his curse to have been born into a family of shadow riders, people who can use shadows to move place to place without detection. Stefano knows his duty to carry on the family tradition means finding a woman with the same abilities. He all but gives up on the hope of finding a love match until he meets Francesca Capello. Protecting her, his dolce cuore, becomes priority for both Stefano and his family from that moment on.

“…I was born into the family business, trained for it, and have people depending on me. My life has never been my own. I’ve got all the money in the world, and nothing that I want. Until you. I want you. You’re what I want for myself.”

Francesca has lost everything she ever cared about–her parents, her sister and their home. Now on the run from her past, she moves to Chicago near her friend Joanna to stay under the radar. But she almost immediately finds herself tangled up with the Ferraro family, Stefano Ferraro specifically. The playboy-slash-businessman and his brothers are forever in the news for their escapades, so what he would want with her, Francesca has no idea. Stefano steamrolls into her life, staking his proverbial claim on her in front of his family and neighbors. But she can see underneath the bravado that he truly cares for her. As much as she doesn’t want to pull him into the bad things headed her way, she has to admit she’s too attached to let him go.

She sucked in her breath sharply. “Defy you?” She forgot all about being afraid or intimidated by him. “Like I’m some errant child you have to reprimand? You have got to be the most arrogant, annoying, bossy man I’ve ever encountered.”
“That about sums him up,” Taviano agreed, his grin widening.

Christine Feehan did exactly what she does best with Shadow Rider: she gave us a ruthless bad boy alpha who loves completely, and a selfless, absolutely lovely heroine who didn’t put up with her man’s B.S. What a wonderful way to begin this new Shadow series!

‘Stefano was larger than life. A throwback to an era gone by where men were fiercely protective of women and children. Where having a code meant something. Giving his word and keeping it was a matter of honor.’

I thought Feehan created such a cool concept when I read the book synopsis. I mean, people who can travel in the shadows, using them like portals to move from place to place and city to city was something I had never read before. And the way each scene was described it was something I could visualize easily. The other interesting part was that this was based around a tight-knit family who operated outside the law to protect others and who ran legitimate businesses as well. This had a tough organized crime feel to it but I liked that the Ferraro family basically stepped in and took care of situations that the law couldn’t or wouldn’t handle, making them–well, okay, not good guys–but dark heroes.

Stefano was an interesting guy to get to know and I found that he was sort of a study in contrasts in some ways. He was the driving force behind taking care of the family’s not so legal business and was an absolute badass, but he was extremely caring and unerringly loyal to the people he watched over in his Chicago neighborhood. And we got to see his alpha side in how strongly Stefano protected Francesca and then his tender, loving side as he fell in love. I adored how awed he was by not only finding a love match he never thought would happen but also how deeply he was captivated by her. Feehan did a fantastic job of conveying those emotions in their scenes together. And Stefano’s inner thoughts about how much Francesca meant to him were truly swoon-worthy. *sigh*

Francesca was a pretty tough cookie. She’d lost her entire family through the years in traumatic events, so her self esteem took a hard hit. I really enjoyed her character development through the course of this book, seeing her go from being unsure about herself to finding her place in the Ferraro family and their neighborhood. I had to chuckle when Francesca showed her true spirit and called Stefano on his attitude. (And his use of profanity! LOL) She was a good balance to the darker side of his personality, I thought, where she was an extremely caring, almost innocent individual. Stefano had never had anyone look out for him before, he was the one to look after his family, so seeing Francesca step in and protect him was a wonderful thing to watch. I just loved their chemistry and the way they doted on each other.

Shadow Rider paired together elements that turned this into an explosive start to a brand new series. It had sweet romance with passionate, erotic love scenes. (With a little light BDSM) And it even combined a bit of gritty crime fiction with the paranormal theme. It all added up to an intense and exciting story that will leave readers wanting more of the Ferraro family.

Book Info:

Publication: June 28th 2016 | Jove | Shadow #1

The #1 New York Times bestselling “queen of paranormal romance”* is back with a sexy new series starring a Chicago crime family that hides a dark, mystical secret…

Whether it’s fast cars or fast women, Stefano Ferraro gets what he wants. When he’s not fodder for the paparazzi, he commands Ferraro family businesses—both legitimate and illegitimate.

While their criminal activity is simply a rumor yet to be proven, no one knows the real truth. The Ferraros are a family of shadow riders capable of manipulating light and dark, an ability Stefano thought ran in his family alone—until now…

With little left to her name, Francesca Cappello has come to Chicago in hopes of a new life. She wasn’t expecting to attract the attention of a man with primal hunger in his eyes, driven to claim her as his to protect and to please. And if he discovers her secret, it could ruin her…