Cameo the Assassin (Trilogy of Shadows Book 1)

I bought this book back in July and finally had some time to read it. If youre looking for a classic good vs. evil book, you wont find it here. What you will find is a story full of action, surprising twists and turns and a cast of interesting and complicated characters. The story opens up with horrific attack upon Cameo when she was a young girl. While she lay dying, a mysterious stranger, Haffef, comes upon the scene, heals her in his own unique way and her life is forever changed. Fast forward years ahead and Cameo the Assassin has become a legend in her own time. She is a ruthless killer, accepting jobs from the witch, Wick, head of The Association. She moves from job to job with ruthless efficiency while consuming large amounts of alcohol to dull her own inner demons. Her life takes another dramatic turn when her coach is stopped and she is robbed by a pair of highwaymen, Opal and Bell. Against her better judgment, she develops a relationship with these two instead of killing them for stealing from her. This is where the story ramps up the action because everything Cameo does has consequences not only for her, but for everyone she associates with. My favorite character was Opal, the flamboyant dandy. His decisions and interactions with Cameo keep you turning the pages to the very last page. Throughout the book, Cameo is forced to make decisions that are not in her best interest, but she cant help herself because she finds that after all the years spent alone, she now craves the company of others especially Opal. Haffef comes back on the scene in the last third of the book, compelling Cameo to do a job for him. Because of her bond to him, she cannot refuse his request. Needless to say, a lot happens, relationships change, people die and Cameo must bear witness to it all knowing that all the suffering can be laid directly at her feet. I enjoyed this book, but I do have a complaint about the constant shifting of POV throughout the book. It took me awhile to figure out who was talking during some of the dialogue.

It was a refreshingly creative tale- It was my first read by the author and will hopefully continue this series- Even a book outside/apart from this Trilogy I would definitely give a chance- Good character development-

Cameo the Assassin is, for lack of a better or more descriptive term, fun. Its an adventurous fantasy with lots of traveling, highwaymen, assassins, and political mysteries and drama that plague our characters every steps. I was reminded of the Poison series, not necessarily because of similarities of plot or characters, but because of the sense of scale of the story. I definitely got the feeling with this story that there is truly a whole world to be explored and that were only seeing a small part of it, the part thats immediately important. Cameo has, by all accounts, had a terrible life. Attacked and left for dead at a young age, shes been making her living as an Association assassin, and is frightfully good at her job. That all comes crashing down when shes ordered to kill Black Opal, a highwayman who happened to rob the stagecoach she was on on her last job. When shes saddled with a partner who happens to be the worst, most despicable person she could be forced to work with, she eliminates him, which eliminates her protection under the Association in the process. Forced on the run, Cameo ends up joining forces with Opal and his partner in crime, Bel. Their journey takes them all over the countryside, trying to avoid detection and their own assassinations. To make matters worse, Cameo has a few secrets of her own, stemming from her vicious childhood, that she wants hidden. She feels like its enough of a miracle that anyone wants to associate with her and help her and that revealing all of her secrets would be extremely unwise. Going into this story knowing it was a planned trilogy was a big help in sorting out which details were immediately important versus which ones may be important in the next two installments. Cameo is in the unfortunate predicament of having to serve two masters, and while theyre both unhappy with her, life is very difficult indeed. I also enjoyed the hint of romance and attraction between Cameo and Opal. We see just a little, enough to wonder if theyre going to make a go of it or just leave it as another thing both of them want but cant have. Im interested in how things develop between these two in the next few books. Im always on the lookout for fun fantasy novels with adventure, romance, good details and world building, and I was very satisfied after reading Cameo the Assassin.

I struggled to get through this novel. The writing was weak and character development short-sighted. In fairness, I was never able to finish the book (I finally gave up at 78%) so maybe there is a radical and amazing turn around at the end, but I doubt it. This was a novel that started well, but lost me in the middle with a disjointed and rambling plot. It doesnt lack for potential and action, it just lacks decent writing.

Book One in The Trilogy of Shadows was interesting. The authors take on vampires was one Im not used to seeing. Unfortunately, this also meant that it was something I didnt immediately understand. I spent the first half of the book trying to figure out why Cameo wasnt being a vampire since shed been turned into one. I mean why didnt she defend herself?? Turns out, she wasnt. Shes an imorotal Thrall of a vampire. This means she received just enough vampiric blood to make her undead but not enough to make her a vamp. Instead she was referred to as more like a Zombie and under the compulsion of her maker. Super cool huh? This idea of dead but not dead, immortal but not a vamp, human but inhuman... I just wish I understood it better. I mean, why did she eat? Did she poop? Shes dead so no digestive system... There was also the issue of Shadow People who she seems to be able to give tasks. I think the author has a great imagination but was trying a little too hard to keep some things in her vest pocket. Instead of making me want to read more, it frustrated me because I didnt understand. Overall, this was an interesting and unique story, set in a world which allowed for some fabulous characterization and plot twists. If you like historical vampire pieces this one is well written and intricately conceived. Personally, it didnt spark my fire, so while I enjoyed Book One, I wont be reading Two or Three.

Cameo the Assassin is set in a past/alternative world that is both dark and bleak. As the story begins, Cameo is clinging to life, after a brutal rape and attack. But a vampire steps in and keeps her from succumbing. She survives, in a manner of speaking. She becomes the vampires thrall, half-living, half-undead. Years later, she has become an assassin. In the course of a hit, her path crosses with two highwaymen who rob her carriage. She lets them escape, but tracks one down later to get her things back. Its those same highwaymen who become her next targets for assassination. She would have carried out that mission as well, if her boss hadnt sent Gail with her as a partner. She was a victim of Gail, herself, once. And the urge to kill him finally gets the better of her. Now she is thrown together with Opal and Bel as they try to survive the next wave of assassins. Opal confused me a little as a character. He is flamboyant and over the top. He wears lots of make-up and Cameo asks more than once if he and Bel are involved. Yet, he is also painted as a rake who charms the pants off of women and develops a thing for Cameo, himself. Im not entirely sure what to make of him, even now. But I do know, that I found myself rooting for him and Cameo to reach out to each other throughout the course of the book. So maybe all the make-up and purple brocade were just lagniappe. Who knows? Joining our strange trio is a teenage acolyte named Kyrian. Cameo becomes his protector after his grandfather shows her a kindness. Theres mystery surrounding the boy, not the least of which is why Cameos master can barely stand his presence. And speaking of Cameos master... he is hardly a benevolent sire. Id kind of like to kill him myself. Despite the fact that he saved Cameo from death, all those years ago, he doesnt seem much better than the men who nearly killed her in the first place. Overall, I did like the book. It features vampires and ghouls, but it didnt feel like standard horror or Urban Fantasy fare. Cameo isnt your standard heroine, either. Most supernatural heroines these days are snarky/sexy/tough/witty women who kick butt on the side of right. Cameo is haunted and broken and surprisingly sympathetic. I get the impression that she kills because she doesnt consider herself worthy of doing anything better. The ragtag group that comes together in the book are likely the only friends she has ever had. Which makes me ache for her to have just a little bit of happiness with them. The ending of the book does wrap things up for the most part, but leaves several loose ends for the next installment,

This book was so mysterious. In a really good way! I really, really enjoyed it. Cameo is so complex. When I started out the book, I just thought of her in a very one-dimensional way; as a killer. But as the story progresses you keep unraveling more parts of her past and she just becomes so much more real and interesting! I really liked her, I was surprised by how compassionate she was. Black Opal was such a strange guy. He was peculiar, but I liked that about him. I cant wait to see what is going to happen between him and Cameo. Im really happy that he was such a major role in this story because I initially thought that he was only going to be a minor character. I also love how taken he is with Cameo. He goes out on a lot of limbs for her and I think that is just so cute. I was astonished by how many plot twists and surprises there were. It was awesome! I cant even tell you how many times I didnt see something coming. And I love it when that happens. When a book can totally surprise me, and catch me off guard, it makes me so happy! I want to tell you guys some of the things that blindsided me while reading, but not knowing was part of the fun for me, so I wont take that away from any of you. Just know that there are some really cool twists in this story. Once I got about 25 pages into this book I just did not want to put it down. At all. I had to know what was going to happen next. Would I be surprised again? Would I be able to guess what was going to happen? Not knowing if something was going to be revealed that would send the story in a completely different direction was really fun for me. I will say that sometimes the story switched between different scenes kinda quickly. I was left with an incomplete picture at times and then just shifted over to something completely new. I know that adds to the mysterious vibe that I really enjoyed about this book, but it also left me confused at moments. And the cliffhanger! Oh that cliffhanger- it definitely did its job, I want to read the second book right now! michelle @ [...]

What do you get when you mix a sort of undead assassin with a flamboyant highwayman and a 15 year old acolyte prospect? A great story! Cameo the Assassin was a very entertaining read, the characters where light, funny (but they also had serious sides, especialy Cameo) and made the book a gem. Cameo and her unique crew are on the run from Cameos old employer after she killed another member of the guild. This takes the band on many adventures and dangerous turns. Cameo was a great character, she is hard and her reputation precedes her as she has even turned into a sort of childs warning story. However, she does have moments of sweetness and my heart melted for her. Our highwayman, Black Opal and Bellamy were a great pair, very funny and charming. Bellamy was the more serious one who thought rationaly. Opal though was outlandish, sarcastic and rash. I loved him. He added the needed comic relief and the occasional fluffy/touching moment. He is also the man who gets Cameo out of her shell and starting to think shes not a monster. There is little swearing in this book and no sexual content, there are moments where romance becomes a maby, but this is more about action than love, however at the end there may the start of something more.. Cameo and the Assassin has a sequel, Cameo and the highwayman which I hope questions are answered and Cameo begins to like herself and othersmore.

I read this book. I should have gone back and read Amazons description. Without it, the book is hard to follow. The book doesnt make clear much of anything. Not the period of time it is occurring, not the country, and very little about the characters. You have to fill in the gaps as you go along. It never really mentions she was raped. About the middle of the book, she finally mentions her sister and her being molested and left for dead. You run into a man who is involved with her abuse (I think) for a few sentences and then she kills him. But that is a bit vague too. It bounces around a little so you need to have a quick mind and good imagination to keep up. The male character she is having an arms length romance? with, appears to have been written by a drag queen. He uses lip rouge, makeup, frilly clothes and fancy boots he cant walk in. He is flamboyant in the extreme. A dandy indeed. I am not sure if the author intended to write this story in this manner or if the issues are with writing the first book. She is either a good writer or a sloppy one who got lucky. That being said, I actually enjoyed it. I liked Cameo. I liked Opal and Bel. I even liked the shadows. Im not particularly sure why other than they were quirky, odd, amusing, and a bit strange. I dont think Ive read a book quite like this one. I will most likely purchase the 2nd book and really am not sure if I want the writer to improve. It would throw the whole story off it the book actually got better.

Love the character development. Love the main characters, I also love the twist of the lead character. Very enjoyable read cant wait to start book two in 5 minutes!