ARC Review: Between Shadows by Chanel Cleeton

Book Title: Between Shadows
Author: Chanel Cleeton
Series: Assassins #1
Release Date: January 19th, 2016
Genres: New Adult, Mystery/Suspense

A sexy new thriller about love and revenge from the author of the Capital Confessions and International School series…

X lives by three rules: Show no weakness. Trust no one. Don’t get caught. She lives by the rules they gave her.

The Academy—set in London, shrouded in secrecy—it trains spies, computer experts, and assassins. Their mission? Dispensing justice and altering the course of world politics. Or so they think. In a world where secrets are weapons and some kills are impossible to forget, everything X thought she knew about her life is about to change.

They taught her to fight. To blend into the shadows like a ghost, to operate on the fringes of society, to change her identity with ease. They taught her to kill.

She’ll need every skill they taught her, to stay alive.

After loving the Capital Confessions series last year, I was excited to dive into anything Chanel writes next. When she mentioned her upcoming novel is centered around assassins (which is one of my all time fav sub genre, no less!), I may have did a happy dance around my room when I got my early copy of this.

Between Shadows takes you on an action-packed adventure that centers on the teenage heroine only known as X. Along with her younger sister Grace, they're both part of an elite organisation called The Academy stationed in London whereby X is a trained assassin. When she is asked to pair up with someone from her past coupled with the threats of being followed, X begins to question the path that she has been led along.

The story definitely had me at the edge of the seats for the most parts and hardly a dull moment with X and Luke as they go against the Academy to uncover the truth behind their so-called organisation. Luke was quite the enigma in the start and just like X, I had my doubts to what his true intentions were. But there was no denying the chemistry between them even as they struggle to find trust in each other. 

I felt that the story plot definitely could have been expanded further as I found the climax of the story to have ended so quickly before I knew it. I was expecting more by the end of the story and at this point, this book reads as a standalone. There could be a possibility that the author may expand this series further with other side characters being the main of the stories. Who knows? But I'm definitely having my wishful thinking!

Overall a quick read that is fast paced and that had me finishing this in one sitting. Definitely looking forward for more!  

ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Originally a Florida girl, CHANEL CLEETON moved to London where she received a bachelor’s degree from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Chanel fell in love with London and planned to stay there forever, until fate intervened on a Caribbean cruise and a fighter pilot with smooth dance moves swept her off her feet. Now, a happily ever after later, Chanel is living her next adventure.

Law school made Chanel realize she’d rather spend her days writing sexy stories than in a courtroom, and she hasn’t looked back since. An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she’s happiest curled up with a book. She has a weakness for handbags, her three pups, and her husband.

Chanel writes contemporary romances. She is published by Harlequin HQN, Penguin/InterMix, and Penguin/Berkley and is the author of the International School, Capital Confessions, and Wild Aces series.

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