This was sort of meh? I don`t know, it feels like i expected more. I did not care much for the characters, sadly.

ARC from NetGalley

With the way this started, I was expecting to hate it. There were a few mistakes that should have been caught, and the dialogue was really, really angsty teenager, but it grew on me.

You want to read this if you like paranormal romance with a lot of feisty, witty banter and a fair degree or relatively explicit sex scenes. the story itself is only okay. This book is all about the dialogue and the sex.

Lyric's dad is a real dick. Her life is really controlled. He makes it very clear that he holds no love for her. She spends almost all her time learning to fight before she is essentially sold off to the ruler of the shadow realm. I don't want to give any spoilers, but there is a bit of weirdness with the ages, as there often is in this kind of story. People who don't like the whole alpha male trope will hate this and probably think the relationships are borderline abusive, but if you think that kind of thing is hot, you'll like this.

It made me chuckle a few times. The dialogue is really modern with a lot of modern references which only fits if you think that Lyric was raised on earth and learned a lot of this stuff on modern-day earth. It is semi-unbelievable since she never left her father's compound and apparently learned everything from television, but whatever. It was funny. I'd like to read the next one.

This is the second book I have read by this author and this one was again a five star read for me.
I really enjoyed this a lot and managed to complete this in one sitting.
Genre-wise this is a paranormal/fantasy romance probably more heavily slanted towards the fantasy side as this mostly takes place in a demon realm in another dimension.
We are only on earth for the beginning of this here and we don’t really experience anything other than the compound that Lyric grew up in.
lyrics father is the head of a demon family and she has been raised by her father and uncle to be tough, self-sufficient and to rely heavily on herself.
Her father totally deserves the crappiest parent of the year award.
He is the gatekeeper of the portal to the demon realm and unbeknown to Lyric she has been promised to the lord of shadows as a weapon when she turns twenty-eight.
Events occurring in otherworld push forward the timeline and Lyric discovers just who she has been promised to on her twenty-first birthday.
So this was fabulous and such an easy read I adored how bad-ass Lyric was she really was the whole package.
Courageous and stubborn and all sorts of quirky with a spine of pure steel while at the same time still managing to retain her compassion and overall integrity I found her a breath of fresh air.
I especially adored her inner monologue she was such a weirdo and totally owned it.
I was also equally impressed with Draven.
Not only was he a wet-dream walking he also had a list of redeemable quality’s that just made him extra delicious.
Alpha and totally in control he was not afraid to show his softer side to Lyric while still completely retaining his street-cred and total bad-assery
He knew what he wanted and went for it no games and I really appreciated his honest transparency in regards to his new mate.
He had so much patience with Lyrics skittishness and was completely loyal and prepared to settle for what she could initially give him.
He hated that he had to withhold information but his hands were tied in this and all he actually wanted was to reveal all.
The characters here were all really well developed and this had such an easy flow to the whole story.
There were surprises and reveals and this managed to retain my attention right to the finish.
If your looking for a good fantasy romance where the female is encouraged to be all that she can and not tethered in any way then this is your story.
Draven actually appreciates and revels in every one of Lyrics many abilities and qualities.
This also had a rich cast of secondary characters and excellent world-building.
This gets a big thumbs up from me it was fabulous.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of Shadows Lyric.

~ ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~

I'm struggling to find the right words for this book and I'm afraid nothing I could come up with will reflect the pure awesomeness of it.
Lyric is a kickass heroine, with parts in her upbringing that made me cry.
Draven is ... no words available at the moment to describe his perfection.
Their story is ACOMAF level!

Kickass heroine - check
Alpha hero - check
World building - check
Plot - check check check

Beautiful story, kept me up at night even after finished it.

Yes, I'm babbling, is beautiful, I can't recommend and praise it enough! 😍

5 amazing stars

Shadow's Lyric was the first book I've read from the author - and it was great.
I loved the story, the characters, the sass, the humour but also the great love story. The story itself is an easy-read.

Lyric is really a fighter and a strong woman. She knows what she wants and says it. Even though she is shipped to another world with people she doesn't know, she stands her ground and she manages well. Of course, because there is a certain Shadow that might make life a bit adventourus, steamy and interesting.

The story itself has a nice world-building and offered some adventure, but it was focussed on the couple, which I loved as I am so into romance especially in a fantasy setting. And oh my, the Shadows know what they do and want and they take it.

It was fun, romantic, erotic and an adventure, and I can't wait for book 2 to come.

***

Shadow's Lyric war mein erstes Buch der Autorin und ich bin begeistert.
Die Dialoge, die Protas, die Geschichte, alles hat mir mega Spaß gemacht. Es ist ein toller Schreibstil, und sehr leicht und flüssig zu lesen. Die Geschichte ist in sich abgeschlossen, aber es sollten noch weitere Bände kommen.

Lyric selbst ist eine starke Prota, auch wenn sie es von Anfang an schwer im Leben hatte. Doch sie lässt sich nicht unterkriegen, selbst als man sie in ein fremdes Land abschiebt. Und da es da auch noch sehr attraktive und anziehende Shadows gibt, wird die Reise abenteuerlich.
Die Geschichte bietet Spannung, Abenteuer und eine Menge Romantik, und fokussiert sich auf das Paar und somit perfekt für Romantasy Liebhaber, welche es gern heißer mögen.

Ich freu mich auf jeden Fall auf den nächsten Band und kann es nur empfehlen.

Full review appeared at Reader's Edyn on 6/23/20

Lyric is one helluva badass thanks to her father’s relentless training. A honed weapon, reliant on no one but herself. Not one prone to showing or even having any emotions, her father made sure that she was battle-ready. He was beyond hard on her, oftentimes inflicting the lessons and the pain that went with them himself. He promised a weapon and a weapon he will deliver in the form of Lyric. But despite the difficult conditions she grew up in, Lyric has maintained a fire inside her, and equaling her mad weapons skills is her penchant for snark. In fact, her mind often conjures up some of the most inappropriate images and she isn’t always able to keep her mouth from spewing out her thoughts. Complicating matters is Draven’s ability to read her thoughts. Crap. Given the way her mind darts off in several directions simultaneously, he’s constantly treated to one heck a show. But being from completely different worlds, he doesn’t always understand her references. One thing she absolutely cannot hide is her fierce attraction to Draven. And what the heck is that all about anyway? He’s supposed to be a feared being capable of all manners of evil – yet she experiences none of that with him. The more time she spends with Draven, the more she realizes that she’s never been enlightened about the truth of anything. And it figures that Draven is unable to give her certain details; literally because of a fricking blood oath made when she was an infant. Of all the asinine things. Struggling to wrap her head around the truth as it reveals itself, Lyric is forced to quickly decide how she will process the information. She might have been badass to begin with, but her potential now is beyond anything she ever thought possible. First things first though – she must recover the missing weapon then deal with this tangible attraction between her and Draven. Anything beyond that will be dealt with as it comes.


Draven has been waiting for Lyric for a very long time. He’s been patient until this past year. Upping his time frame for her arrival when a precious weapon goes missing, he is filled with a deep need to claim Lyric in every way possible as soon as she steps into his realm. Her new home. And he’s never letting her go. But she isn’t yet aware of that fact. However, he has the upper hand because he knows the truth of everything while Lyric is only getting bits and pieces at a time. Had he understood what kind of hell this gag order within the blood oath would be, he would have never agreed to the damned conditions. But there are loopholes to be found if one knows where to look. He wants to tell Lyric everything but realizes that she will need time to assimilate her truth and the lie that is the life she’s led up to this point. But no matter what it takes, Draven will help her along and bring her round to his side of things. He may be feared by all, but patience is how he plans to win Lyric over. He knew she was magnificent, but once he had her in front of him, he realized just how insignificant a word magnificent was for her. Lyric was everything he could have ever wanted, everything he never knew he wanted or needed, and the best damn thing that ever happened to him whether he deserved such good fortune or not. Yeah, he really has no other option but to coax her along and help her to see just how perfect they are for one another. Because his future was nothing without her.

Oh, mah gawd! I absolutely adored this book! I seriously did not put it down until it was finished. I was completely captivated from the start and never once lost interest. Not even a little. This book begins strong and never eases up as it progresses. It’s action all the time and the mystery surrounding Draven and Lyric is crazy. As the lies of omission are unraveled and the true character of some people is uncovered, I began to see just how tangled a web Lyric was caught up in. Some people, who I had made my mind up about, ended up having reasons for doing what they did that I didn’t see coming. Reasons that had me quickly backpedaling and reassessing my initial impressions.

Draven – yum – was sex on a stick! I immediately liked him and couldn’t wait for him to be able to come clean about everything with Lyric. His immediate acceptance of Lyric and his fascination rather than irritation at her odd antics won me over immediately. In truth, he seems more entertained by her thoughts and behaviors than annoyed. While he did have to put his foot down in a few instances, his deep love for her was obvious. And Lyric is a gem. This girl could be my best friend. Her snark and sass are off the hook. The most entertaining character I have come by in quite some time, I am hoping to get more time with her as the series progresses. Her wild and chaotic thought process sometimes sends the mind reeling, but never in a bad way. She was always presented as quirky and entertaining. I appreciated this quality because it could have easily crossed the line into aggravation, but Ms. Worley did a fantastic job of balancing Draven’s serious with Lyric’s whimsical. They paired together perfectly. And their chemistry together – yikes! So dang hot! But while I loved this book and eagerly await the next installment, I do have a few questions.

Potential slight spoilers – if you don’t want to know, skip this paragraph! You’ve been warned! I found Draven’s shock at Gabrian’s tactics somewhat contradictory. He mentions at one point that he knew he would be a shitty father, but then says he’s shocked at his lack of affection toward Lyric – or even giving her the slightest thought for a special occasion such as a birthday. Also, what the heck happened when Draven ghosted with Cree? It wasn’t really explained other than the result was one Draven did not wish to repeat. Then nothing. Details. Details would have been nice. And what’s with the giant white head that was coming out of the water? Draven’s instinct was to flee while Lyric felt no danger. So was it some sort of animal? Do animals just come to her to seek her aid? Can she communicate with them? There was only that one instance and then nothing came of it later on. I felt like that could have turned into something much bigger but it came off as a new power and then disappeared. Odd. Then there is the fact that Draven is stupid powerful, yet his abilities are barely touched upon. By his own admission he keeps himself reigned in, but if he let loose, what could he actually do? Does he have any limitations? Would his people fear him more than the fear his reputation provokes now? So many questions! And I do love me some epilogue, especially when it helps to round out the end of the book and add a bit more as to what is going on with the main characters. Bummer that it was completely predictable given the huge flashing sign of a hint provided earlier in the book. That said, I did like the way Ms. Worley went about writing the epilogue even though I already knew what was coming. It was still endearing to read. I wouldn’t call any of those complaints though. Just curiosities left unanswered. What I did take issue with was the junk formatting. It could have been something that happened between downloading from NetGalley to my device, but several of the words were jumbled together which took a slight amount of time to decode. Also, there are two places in which the sentence abruptly cut off. What I believe happened is that the words jumbled and for some reason appeared out of order. If I picked those two paragraphs apart, it made sense when rearranging the words. Hopefully, this was something only I had an issue with. While it slowed my reading progress just a bit, I still remained deeply connected within these pages.

You guys, the snark is on point! For those of you who enjoy paranormal romance with a crazy amount of snark, you’ll instantly love this book. A kick-ass heroine who can give a whooping to anyone without the slightest bit of hesitation. An intriguing hero known as the Shadow Lord – yes, he actually turns into a shadow – how cool would that be? A web of deceit and lies that must be unwound for the truth to be realized. A love so deep it would make anyone envious; crossing time, realms, and species. I came across this book during a book tour and was immediately caught up in the blurbs. If you read my chosen excerpt and highlight and are intrigued at all, then definitely grab up a copy of this book. The blurb doesn’t hint to how fabulous this book truly is, but the snippets I included in my full review will give you a good taste to determine if this book is a good fit for you. Lovers of weirdos who embrace their oddities are sure to enjoy this captivating read set briefly on Earth and then largely within a demon realm. If you aren’t a big fan of fantasy, this just may be the author to bring you over to the dark side. And all my fellow people of snark – you know who you are – you will easily immerse yourself into this sexy romance with little to no effort. One thing I can guarantee – if this writing style is typical for Ms. Worley, I will remain a fan forever.

Kindle version provided by Xpresso Book Tours/Author in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley in return for my honest opinion.

WOW, the world building here is amazing. I loved the layers to the world and the demon dimensions. This is my first book by this author and I will admit I was drawn to the beautiful cover initially. It is a well written story that I was able to read in one sitting due to the fact that I did not want to put it down.

I love that Lyric is no one's doormat. She carved her own path. I am looking forward to book 2.

This is my first book by this author and I was not disappointed. The world created is realistic and well developed. The characters are fleshed out and engaging. The story was fast past paced and kept me turning pages. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next book in this series.

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange of an unbiased review.

This book was amazing. It was fun and witty, while also being intense and emotional.

I loved the characters in this book and the world building was interesting, a different spin on demon lore.
I could not put this book down once i started reading and it was a very late night, or i should say early morning before i went to bed.

Lyric is sent through a portal to help a Shadow Lord and betrothed (for the lack of a better word). Her life has not been simple she has been brought up unloved by her abusive father who sign away his daughter to a stranger from another world. Luckily for Lyric she was taught how to fight and she was good.

Once she arrives on the other side things are not what they appear. Her would is turned upside down and she doesn't know how to cope, which is where the whit and humour come into play. Lyric is no ones doormat she is mouthy and will fight for respect and honor.

I loved this book, Draven and Lyric are an amazing team. there was so many laugh out loud moments between these 2. There love story was as real and honest (as could be). Draven knows who he wants and there is no playing games, he is bound to keep secrets but he is as honest as he can be about how he feels for her,

The secondary characters are also great. I really need to read more in this world with these characters. The author did such an amazing job bringing them to life.

I am having book withdrawal which is a sign of an amazing book.

My only fault was the version provided by Netgallery was so badly edited and words joined up all the way through it made it difficult to read in parts. This had no bearing on the story.

Lyric has spent her whole life training for a mission she knows nothing about. Her father is indifferent, her uncle her trainer and her friends non-existent. Every year on her birthday she is taken to a portal to another realm and is made to stand there and absorb the energy, her own soul brushing against someone else on the other side. On her 21st birthday everything changes. Lyric is to step through the portal and begin her mission to serve the Lord of Shadows. Her instructions are vague and she doesn't know what to expect on the other side. What she finds is more than she could have imagined - the Lord of Shadows' reputation is that of a murderous tyrant, yet Draven is kind and fair and very attractive - also he can read her mind.

Lyric is sarcastic, funny and reminds me of Deadpool. Draven is simply wicked. They are quite a match. If you are looking for a paranormal romance with heat - look no further.

C.A. Worley's Shadow's Lyric was an intriguing read. The elements were very well blended and I liked the depth of character Lyric's father was given.

Just when you think you've read all the fantasy plots, Worley gives you a new turn. I loved how Lyric got to be the hero of this novel.

I think the Lyric's beau should have been a little less chauvinistic and not have overpowered her at some point, but then this is common in many fantasy novels.

All in all, a good read

Lyric is a half demon trapped in a world of men who have all the power. Lyric, though is one bad ass woman who meets all those men head on. She Is especially fond of her katanas and bourbon.

I loved that Lyric didn’t shy away from challenges but embraced it, There is also a smoking hot romance lead where Lyric literally meets the man that also rocks her socks off. There were tons of steamy sex scenes so it won’t leave you disappointed,

I would rate this a five out of five. I loved the plot and it was unique to it’s core. You just fall in love with all the characters! I hope the author continues this I would love to see how Lyric’s friends and family find their happy endings. I give props for all the creative swear words. It mades me feel inspired to get creative with mine :) This ARC was provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I will admit, in order to do this book justice, I also downloaded the sample from amazon. You see, I tend to struggle with major formatting issues when it comes to reviews. (What I really mean is they irritate the snot out of me and make me generally want to stop reading; same for major spelling and grammar issues.) I really liked the content and had to make sure that the arc copy was definitely issued before it took a final pass before publishing, or that it might be a Netgalley copy only issue. From other reviews I’ve seeen, it seems to have been isolated, so the final looks like it was a LOT better to read.

Now, having read this focused on the content of the story, I can honestly say that this was a fun, exciting read. This is a story about a neglected half demon whose father is the local faction leader and basically crossing guardian. They have multiple realms that can only be reached through magical crossings, and long ago he made a deal with another leader for his daughter.
This book has insta- heat and fated mates, but not all are perfect matches, and yes, the bond has to be accepted on both sides. I enjoy the perfect mates idea, it wouldn’t have worked in this, but fated mates as a guidepost? Totally worked for these characters. I loved that the character was a strong female, skilled in combat, but also still true to her emotions. Yes, her big flaw was her desperate need for love and acknowledgement, but her counterparts more than make up for what she had missed out on. If you’re looking for a good series starter with demons, a multilayered universe and some combat, I think you will like this.

Lyric was brought up in a world of darkness and abuse by her father. On her twenty first birthday she is sent away to Draven. She is fearful because she has heard stories of his cruelty. He may show that to his enemies but he and his staff treat Lyric with a kindness and respect she has not experienced. This story is lovely and the characters are humorous and bond to the reader. I enjoyed this book immensely. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Really enjoyed this book. Lyric was such a great character to follow. Her strength and determination were more then I think would be possible for most in her situation. The way the story developed, the characters coming together and the big bad coming out was great. I am very excited for book two in the series.

I just could not get into this book and personally I didn't like the characters too much. The plot was interesting and unique, but ultimately I was trying to push through this book and I wasn't enjoying it. Not for me, but I appreciate the opportunity to read it.

3.5 Stars
Overall I enjoyed Shadows Lyric. This is a new to me author and I’m glad I gave it a shot. I really liked the story and adventure. The world was great; it didn’t feel recycled or like a reflection of other books. I liked the demons and their powers. With that said there were some drawbacks. The formatting was atrocious. It was incredibly distracting to have to figure out where spaces should be between words. My other quibble was Lyric. Although overall I liked her she was often stubborn (overly so) and purposely obtuse. Despite that I would definitely look for more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

I just finished reading this book. I liked the fantasy, adventure and personalities. I also liked the way Draven has the ability to listen to people’s minds, especially Lyric’s, it was fun to read how Lyric was dealing with it. What I didn’t like was how much erotic scenes there were in this book. I think it was too much for a fantasy book but I can see how it works for others.

I absolutely loved this book and glad it is a series as I am eagerly awaiting book 2. Sci-fi/fantasy usually isn't my go to genre but after seeing this beautiful cover and reading the premise, I had to read this. This book has everything! A kick ass hero? Yes. Lyric seems demure but she is quite tenacious. Hot sex? Unexpected, but yes and it happened with the unlikeliest of people. Evil and danger? Yes and yes. And to top it off, Lyric, our heroine isn't even human, not really.

It was hard not to race through to the finish to see how this all ends, and gosh oh geez! You NEED to read this! Even if you don't like fantasy books, this will change your mind. It was that good.

Thanks to Netgalley, CA Worley and CA Worley publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. How soon is book 2?

Available: 6/1/20

This was a new to me author and I’m glad I took a chance to try her work! I was intrigued by both the plot and the book cover when I came across it on NetGalley but I was hesitant to try it since I’ve started and stopped many seemingly similarly set stories on Kindle Unlimited lately. It was refreshing to find that my initial preconceptions were totally off base. Though I do think readers (and KU subscribers) will love this story, it is much better written than a lot of the PNR I’ve come across lately.

This story is set in multiple demon realms but takes a unique approach to the traditional demon storyline/background. Lyric is our heroine who is traded to another powerful and highly feared Demon King (Draven) by her abusive and despicable father. She’s a well trained warrior who far surpasses her peers in her skill set but is viewed as an outcast due to her mixed heritage and her father’s obvious disdain for her. She has never met Draven before but from his reputation alone she expects to either die by his hand or in service to him.

Obviously a lot happens in Lyric’s journey and not all is what it seems but I can’t give any of that away without making this spoilery! I will say that Lyric is an awesome heroine. I’m so sick of reading about the doormat heroines and asshole heroes who people like to pretend are super sexy but really they’re just awful. Lyric and Draven aren’t like this at all! There’s a good mix of comedy and action and I look forward to reading more by this author in the future!

I should also mention that my copy of the book had some major formatting errors that I notice other NetGalley reviewers noted as well. I think this issue was specific to the NetGalley copy only. If it effected the published version I probably would have given the book a lower rating because it was really frustrating to navigate through and I think readers would be too distracted to finish the book. Assuming that it’s not an issue for the final published version then I give this book 4 out of 5 stars!

ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.