Beneath These Shadows (Beneath, #6)

by Meghan March

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

Beneath These Shadows is the 6th book in The Beneath series and it can be read as a stand-alone. This book has sat on my kindle since the day it was released, but I kept pushing it back. I am not sure why, especially given the experience I have had with the series. Well, better late than never.

What the story is about.

Beneath These Shadows tells the story of Bishop, a tattoo artist and Eden, the daughter of New York’s notorious mob boss. Running from his past, Bishop came to New Orleans to start over. He kept a low profile and tried not to bring attention to himself. All that changed, the day he rescued a beautiful woman who appeared lost and totally out of her element. In the process, he would discover that the past as an uncanny way of coming back to haunt.

Eden lived a sheltered life. She never experienced the beauty that life offered. Constantly surrounded by bodyguards, her life was a virtual prison. When her father’s business came under attack, he sent her away for her protection. Eden saw this as an opportunity to experience freedom for the first time in her life. Her desires led her to the City of New Orleans where she met a walking sex on stick tattoo artist, who helped her to discover all that life offered.

The Characters.

Bishop is the epitome of an alpha male. He is smart, determined, loyal, understanding and protective. His protective nature became evident in the manner in which he treated Eden. He recognised her innocence and naivete and appointed himself her personal saviour. In doing so he opened himself to the thing he had been running from. He knew the risks, but he willing accepted them to ensure Eden’s safety.

Eden is one of those heroines I had a hard time warming up to. I understood her need to experience freedom, but I had difficulty wrapping my head around the careless risks she took. Being innocent and naïve is not a crime, but when you add stupid behaviour to the mix, then we have a whole new scenario. The unnecessary risks taken put herself and Bishop in danger.

The Supporting Characters.

The story featured characters from the previous instalment. We are given insight into the current events of their lives. I enjoyed the bond that Bishop had developed with them. I also appreciated the manner in which they embraced Eden in their fold, knowing what she meant to Bishop. I loved how they rallied together to help Bishop when they thought Eden may be in danger. The introduction of new characters added to the suspense factor of the story and helped to make things intense and interesting.

The Romance

True to Meghan March style the romance packed heat and sizzle. Their attraction to each other was as clear as day. I appreciated that they took time before giving into the sizzling attraction between them. This helped to make their romance engaging and believable. What started out as an unlikely friendship, slowly grew into an undeniable explosive attraction.

The Story

Aside from my issues with the heroine, I thought the story was well-written. It was a tad bit predictable in some areas, but it did not take away from my enjoyment. There was one aspect of the story that I was hoping that the author would have developed further. This had to do with Eden’s relationship with her father. After all that had transpired, I was expecting to a deeper and loving bond develop between them, but their relationship remained static throughout the story.

There was another aspect of the story that I found annoying and which I believe did not add value to the story. The women who kept throwing themselves at Bishop even when he showed no interest. What I did not get was did he have history with these women or was it a case where they wanted to fulfil a fantasy.

Conclusion/Recommendation.

The story did not deliver all I expected. It was not my favourite of the series, but I still found it enjoyable.