Cover Image: Shadow Flight

Shadow Flight

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I absolutely loved Tiavano and Nicoletta’s story! I read the previous books and can say that this is by far the most anticipated and favorite book in the series. I feel like we have seen these two characters throughout the books and it is so fulfilling to see how perfect they are for each other. I loved seeing all the character growth in Nicoletta and how she has been able to overcome her abusive past to work as an equal partner with Taviano. The story plot was amazing and we really get to see the build up for any future stories in the series. I was thrilled that we learned more about the LA and NY Ferrero cousins and really hope the series continues with them after Emmanuelle’s story!

Christine is an amazing author that continues to amaze me with each story! Each story is unique and I love how she is able to tackle very sensitive topics with endless hope and gentleness. I cannot wait for the next book!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group!

Was this review helpful?

Ever since Nicoletta's character was introduced in this series, I've been so excited for her story to be told. Even in my impatience for it, I understood that there needed to be the buildup through the series and it wasn't just because the character needed time to grow up and heal. It was also because boy did the readers need to have time to prepare. Nicoletta's journey and relationship with Taviano was a beautifully told story by Ms. Feehan. The time and care that went into handling such a delicate subject the right way is obvious and it didn't sacrifice the style and love that we expect from her novels. There were also surprises in store. I expected this book to be fully about Nicoletta and her journey and while it was there was a carefully woven secondary plot that was unexpected with Taviano but it fit perfectly with their love story.

I love the supernatural aspects but Christine Feehan also never skimps on the beautiful world and relationship building found in all her series. I cannot wait for the continuation of the series with Emanuelle's story. And I really hope that perhaps the other extended family might get books too! This is a series you definitely don't want to end.

Was this review helpful?

I've done my usual jumping into a series instead of starting with book one. I have done no research on this series because I do like to have honest reactions as uncover the details. I gotta say this is one storyline I don't think I have read before. It was different and unique in a way that made me really enjoy finding new discoveries. After finishing this book, I am pretty eager to go back to book one and see what unveiling I have missed in those books.

This unique storyline is enough to peak my interest in the series, but what really pushed me to loving Shadow Flight was Taviano Ferraro. In the beginning he had this intense focus on Nicoletta Gomez that I love to see in a hero. I know there is more of a back story with these two after reading this and I'm excited to be able to go back and see their beginning even if they were only side characters in previous books.

Taviano's devotion to Nicoletta is an addictive thing to read. I'm such a softy when it comes to heroes who clearly know who they want and will treat that woman like a treasure. Nicoletta has had a very horrible thing done to her in her past and the way he loves her, and focuses on her healing above his own desires was incredible.

Nicoletta is also a character easy to really like. I don't know if I will feel the same with the version of her before her change, which is mentioned in this book. This is one thing I am glad is spoiled for me because I can tolerate bad behavior if I know it is also the catalyst to their change...well, most of the time. It really does depend on the bad behavior. In Nicoletta's case, I know enough that she didn't do anything unforgivable. Her devotion to Taviano was just as intense, and good, and positive. She was a heroine worth this hero.

The hardest part about this book is the constant mention of the violence done to woman. That is something that is heavily mentioned and could be hard for some readers, myself included. What I do like is seeing these woman get their justice, to see these women heal at the hands of a loving male to show that there is good in the world. For me there has to be a balance like that and I do think the author accomplished this.

Overall, I just really like many things about the main characters, side characters and the uniqueness of the story line that I will be pursing the rest of this series.

Was this review helpful?

Shadow Flight is book six in CF’s Shadow Riders series. I’ve enjoyed this series from the first book. I do have to admit that it’s an acquired taste. The men are overly alpha and take care of their women. That’s just not for some people.

Nicoletta Gomez came into the Ferraro’s lives through violence and heartbreak. Nicoletta’s mom and dad died in an accident and she is sent to live with her three step-uncles. Step-uncles that sexually assault her and pass her around. Her life is literal hell. Just when she decides to end it all, the Ferraro’s show up in the house she is living in and kill her step-uncles. Nicoletta is too far gone to be shocked by the violence. All she know is she’s out of the hell that made her almost take her own life.

In the years that follow, Nicoletta finds her place with her foster parents. She’s deeply loved, but demons still follow her daily. Taviano Ferraro is there when her dreams become too much and she can’t handle the pain. So the problem I have here is that Nicoletta was fifteen when she came into the Ferraro’s lives. Fifteen. Taviano knows that Nicoletta is the one for him because of how their shadows connect. He just has to leave her alone until she’s older.

Fast forward. Nicoletta is eighteen. Eighteen. No thank you. That’s way too young of a heroine for me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, but I just couldn’t really abide a heroine that was that young and a hero that was in his late twenties. I did like this book. I liked the action and I love seeing how the Ferraro’s bond with each other. Taviano and Nicoletta were really suited (except for the age) and I enjoyed reading their story (except for the age). I look forward to Emmanuelle’s book next.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Was this review helpful?

I have been waiting for this one to be available. I love love love this series. Christine Feehan is the best. 5 stars is not enough for this story.

Was this review helpful?

Finally we get the story for Tervino and Nicolette. We have only been waiting for it since book 1. The rape descriptions, while hard, are done well with tact and compassion. What might not be to everyone's taste is the relationship. It is very controlling Alpha male and submissive female. All of her books are like this though, so if you are reading the shadow riders 5 you should know this. As always they are well written, well timed and well thought through. Feehan is great at this type of romance. She really knows her genre. Now all I need is to see Emme HEA.

Was this review helpful?

Three years ago, Taviano Ferraro helped rescue 18-year-old Nicoletta Gomez from her three horribly abusive uncles and the leader of the Demons, a gang that traffics young girls. From the time he met her, he has known about her past and the abuse she suffered because of living with her three uncles from the ages of 15 to 18. Because she feels shamed by what happened to her, Nicoletta has acted out and behaved poorly at times. Nevertheless, Taviano knows that Nicoletta belongs to him. Their shadows are intertwined and he is perfectly content with that. He has been impatiently waiting for her to get old enough for him to claim her as his own. She and her friends are attending a concert in LA. During the concert, one of the Demon gang members recognizes Nicoletta and makes a grab for her and her friends. In the ensuing chaos, one of them gets caught. Since Nicoletta knows firsthand how horrible they are to females, she doesn't want to leave her with them for any longer than needed. She persuades Taviano to let her help with rescuing her friend. This means that Taviano has to fill her in on 'secrets' about his life that only spouses should know. Since Nicoletta isn't yet a spouse, Taviano expects repercussions. Nevertheless, she adapts to shadow riding eventually, and helps to get her friend back.

This book moves at a breakneck pace. Be prepared to put everything else aside and focus on this story until the end. The tension is high and the action is relentless. In case you were wondering, 'justice is definitely served!' This book gives a bit more backstory about the Ferraro family, and it helps the reader understand just a little bit more about why Eloise behaves the way she does toward her adult children and their significant others. This doesn't excuse it, but it does give it some deeper perspective. Ms. Feehan does an excellent job of presenting the motivations of each character and laying them out for examination by the reader. It all fits together beautifully! This is an excellent addition to the Shadow Rider series, and is one of her most heartfelt entries in this series. She makes the reader truly care about the fate of these protagonists.

Was this review helpful?

Shadow Flight by Christine Feehan is the newest addition to the Shadow Riders world featuring Taviano and Nicoletta. - a fast paced paranormal romance. Love everything about the Ferraro family who ride the shadows dispensing justice. Can't wait for another in the series!

Was this review helpful?

Shadow Flight is a stunningly breathtaking masterpiece that is sure to leave you with happy tears and a full heart. This story tackles a brutal topic with such gentle hands and endless hope. I couldn’t get over just how tender this wonderful story handles every facet of Nicoletta. It more then proved just how precious and powerful love and hope can be on a destroyed life. We can easily the beauty and potential in others but we can never see it in our self which is why we need each other in this life to lift up and encourage each other. This journey was a very hard one to endure, but it was so worth the pain and emotion that ripped right through me. It is worth everything!

Nicoletta was raised a happy, content little girl who watched her world fall apart one day. She was thrown to the lions, and they devoured her bit by bit until there was almost nothing left of the girl she once knew. Her demons were content to watch her suffer as they took everything from her and then left her in the shadows to lick her wounds. Taviano has been restless for as long as he can remember, but once he sets eyes on Nicoletta his mind settles and his heart locks on her. Only with her is his patience and love endless. No matter what she does to push him away, he continues to hold on and hold her even closer as she wrestles with her demons in order to exorcise them little by little. He will have to decide if he will rick it all for her, or walk away let another claim her for their own. When her past dares to come calling for her, he finds his decision has already been made. Will Nicoletta accept Taviano and all he wants to lavish on her, or will she turn and run not wanting to disappoint a good man with a broken woman?

I couldn’t help but fall in love this with marvelous family that took in this scared and battered girl who wanted nothing more than to live in peace. They helped to build her back up into the fearless fighter that she was born to be. Being surrounded by their patient love is the only thing that held her together and helped her to fight her way up from the black pit she found herself in. Like a phoenix, she rose from her ashes and began to unfolder her delicate wings to show the world just how strong and resilient she truly is. What a fantastic family of incredible people! This is one magnificent couple that I will not be forgetting for a very long time.

Christine Feehan is a phenomenal author who shattered and rebuilt my world so meticulously and methodically that I was left in awe of what the end result was. I never saw this coming, and while I had a hard time with it, my emotional distress was countered by the wonderful family she surrounded Nicoletta with. They didn’t leave her alone to suffer. They built her up and gave the means to find her strength and courage and hope once again. That is true beauty! This is a story that will etch itself on your heart for all eternity!

Was this review helpful?

I love this series and enjoyed Nicoletta and Taviano love story. This story so many various aspects to it that it kept my interest all the way through. It shows the wonderful family unity and love. I look forward to the next one.

Was this review helpful?

Ahhhh....finally! There has been so much tension between Nicolette and Taviano for a while and I was beginning to wonder if they were going to get their own story. I loved the way this story went. I sincerely thought it was going to go in a completely different direction but Feehan just reiterated why I love this series so much. Great installment!!

Was this review helpful?

Christine Feehan just keeps getting better!! Shadow Flight is another amazing story in this Shadow Riders series and in this book we finally get to read Nicoletta's and Taviano's story and what a story it was. We have known from the first moment that Nicoletta appeared how terrible life had been for her, but we had no idea as to the horrors that Taviano had lived through. They have both suffered much, but they are both willing to risk it all for their love. This story is full of sexy scenes, loving scenes, sad scenes, and you cannot put it down until the very end! Can't wait for the next book in the series!!

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely love the Shadow Rider series!! Finally getting Tiavano and Nicoletta's story, and seeing how Nicoletta in particular has overcome her abusive past with her family in order to work as a partner with Tiavano was very heart rending. I loved the action scenes and the lengths that Taviano went through to protect his wife, and I also appreciated the depth of feeling that Christine Feehan drew out of his character when talking about how broken he was when thinking about what his wife had gone through. My only complaint is that while Nicoletta has come into her own when it comes to training, riding shadows etc., I was somewhat irritated with the way that she seemed incapable of understanding that Tiavano had already intended to pursue her and develop a relationship with her. While she seemed perfectly capable of reading most other non-verbal cues, I found it somewhat far-fetched to think that she couldn't read that one, or that Tiavano wouldn't think about talking about how much he loved her when they got married. But besides those two points, an excellent and enjoyable read!

Was this review helpful?

Ok, I'm hesitant to say this - because I'm a* huge* fan of Ms Feehan, and this series in particular - but this book underwhelmed me. And it's probably a classic case of "it's not you, it's me", because I had SUCH high hopes for these two... but I kept waiting for something. Heat. Passion. Connection. That tummy flip. I'm not sure what to call it, but it's been alluded to this big chemistry between Taviano and Nicoletta, this timeless longing and slow burn - and I found it fell flat. I was properly impressed with Ms Feehan's writing of a rape survivor - specifically Nicoletta's journey back to healthy habits and thoughts, and also with Taviano having done his homework and committing to patience and acceptance - but with him recognizing her as "his" 3 years prior and not being able to act on it, it rather effectively snuffed out the flames that Ms Feehan usually fans. By the time we get to present, it's just a stated and accepted fact that he loves her - there's no pursuit, no chase, no game. You don't get the opportunity to fall for him while he falls for her. We don't ever get to FEEL him as a tortured hero, an alpha recognizing his woman... it all seemed complacent and passive to me, when I was hoping for raging lust and primal passion and "oh, finally!".
There were a number of annoyingly long sequences of his brothers making kills. Quite frankly, I skipped them; they added nothing to the plot and the amount of detail was bizarre and uninteresting. If it were the last book in the series, I could see little where-are-they-now "coupley" segments, but this was not about the brothers and their women, and I'm thinking Emme's book is still to be written, so it's not even the last? So neither scenario seems to suffice.
The whole situation with the Fererro matriarch also confuses me. The woman (head injury or not) should not have been allowed presence. Throughout the series, she proved herself unacceptably rude, and the brothers allowing her opportunities to disrespect their wives doesn't suit the protective/loving/alpha characters Ms Feehan has otherwise cultivated.
I'm still a huge fan, and I'm so excited for Emme's book (and everything else Ms Feehan writes), and I will absolutely recommend this book to my girlfriends because it's an important step in the series - just not my personal favourite.

Was this review helpful?

This long anticipated addition to the Shadow Riders series follows the long-teased story of Taviano and Nicoletta. The youngest brother of the Chicago Ferraro's, Taviano has been in every story with a big build-up of what his relationship with Nicoletta might or might not become. Because Nicoletta was only seventeen when she was rescued by the Ferraro's in the first novel, Shadow Rider, and each of the next three novels happened in a shorter time period, there needed to be a significant time jump so that Nicoletta is at least over twenty before this story takes place.

Nicoletta has been putting in her time in therapy and school ever since the Ferraro's rescued her from the extreme situation she was in after her parents died. She has finally begun to come to terms with her past and relies heavily on her self-defense training with the Ferraro's. She is excited to have a girls day with her friends and go to a concert in Los Angeles. No one ever thought that the gang that was after her when she was a teen would stumble across her at the concert. But when the worst happens she follows her training and trusts that Taviano can get her and her friends safely out of danger.

The resulting events of the evening lead the Ferraro's to realize that not only does Nicoletta possess the Shadow Rider lineage that would have made her capable of riding the shadows if she had been trained properly starting at two years old, but her heritage and abilities mean that she could very well become a shadow rider this late in life with the proper training, which is unprecedented.

Taviano and Nicoletta's journey to each other is a wonderful addition to this series. This novel also started to introduce more of the Ferraro cousins, which I'm assuming after Emmanuelle's story, would be the next Shadow Riders stories that Ms. Feehan would jump to. I also really loved the addition of some added explanation for their mother, Eloise and her crazy behavior.

Was this review helpful?

Just keep writing Christine. I am a big fan of all of Christine Feehan's books. This was is another great read. I liked that the sex wasn't a huge part of this book like in some of her others. Good plot and can see the build up for more in this series - but she must write faster!

Was this review helpful?

Another great edition to the Shadow Riders series! This is Nicoletta and Taviano's story. Nicoletta was rescued from a sex trafficking ring as a teen, and Taviano, is a member of the Shadow Rider family who serve "justice" when it is sanctioned. When Taviano rescued Nicoletta, he realized that she was the one for him. But she had been horribly abused and was too young for a romantic relationship, so he became a friend who would do anything for her. Nicoletta feels unworthy of love so she's shocked when she realizes that Taviano, wants to marry her when she turns 21. When she is almost kidnapped by evil men from her past, Nicoletta and Taviano work together with the rest of the Shadow Riders to keep her and the family safe. Recommended.

Was this review helpful?

Shadow Flight is the latest installment of the "Shadow" series by Christine Feehan. There is something so fun about this Italian family that we have become so familiar with and at this point, they feel so real and vibrant. Throughout the whole series, we have been able to see this family's growth and the way love has turned their hearts even more golden than ever before. I went into this book not even having read the "blurb" because I honestly don't need to with this author. She always delivers the best delights and I was so ready for this adventure and boy what a fun-filled journey Feehan delivers to us but I am all for it and adored every beautiful moment in this book.

Taviano and Nicolette and both kindred spirits and fully understand each other. Taviano was sent away from his family to learn training in the shadow tunnels but was abused as a boy by some distant cousins. Our lovely heroine was rescued (book one) when her parents were killed and she was sent to live with her father's family and sexually abused in the worst of ways. And even though she has done much healing, she doesn't know if she can ever be worthy to be Taviano's wife as he desires her to be. When an event occurs and Taviano and Nicolette are to marry out of convenience....something more substantial is part of their bond and they will have to face their pasts and their inner fears to embrace the beautiful future that is in store for them.

Shadow Flight was such a delicious read and I had such a blast with this book. But honestly, does this come to a surprise to anyone???!! lol probably not. This author is my auto-read list, I never have to read a book synopsis (blurb) because I know she always will deliver such a solid romance and boy does she on this one. We got the last playboy brother and now we have the sister and yes I can't wait for that one. I think all of us that are fans of this series have been wanting her and Val's book from the very beginning when we were first introduced to this family. I am very eager to see how Feehan will develop that book and all the hidden vulnerabilities in those characters.

This story, however, was truly such an emotional read and it really worked all of my feels in only the way that Feehan knows how to do it. Nicolette is a character I have been watching for, I knew she would be a heroine in the series and what a power keg she is. I just love her inner strength of steel that we see from her. I honestly, never expected to see that but very impressed to see her depth of character and how at ease she is in becoming a shadow rider and how strong-willed she is especially in how she fights for her own happiness and fights against the mother of the clan. The theme of sexual abuse that both characters have suffered is handled with delicate perfection and I really feel like with Christine Feehan's personal work in this area really played a role in how she wrote this theme here. Very impressed with seeing the panic attacks and anxiety that comes with healing from this type of abuse.

Overall I found Shadow Flight to be an edgy story that is full of tender romantic promise, fighting plot points, dynamic family entanglements and plenty of sensuality which fills the pages in such a majestic way you won't resist putting this one down until you reach 'the end' ....PHENOMENAL!!

Was this review helpful?

Loved this addition to the Shadow series! I have waited a long time for Taviano and Niccoletta to get together. I love that the book doesn’t make you wait for it either. They are moving and action filled the whole time. Can’t wait for Emmanuelle up next!!

Was this review helpful?

Nicoletta is just really cute, “I think I’m so tired there aren’t any words. You took off your shirt. It’s kind of distracting.” The man appreciates when his woman is saucy, "Taviano could barely keep the grin from his face. His woman was no shrinking violet..." I liked this book, I loved how Nicoletta and Taviano made a good team.

Was this review helpful?