From goodreads: Sean has a reputation for brutality, and it is well-deserved. Centuries of inflicting pain and punishment on anything and everything he deemed worthy slowly stole whatever light had been in him when he was born. His angelic nature fell victim to the god of war within him, just as Ares had intended.
After an enigmatic encounter, a vision of Ruby comes to Sean and changes all of that. Her piercing blue eyes bore their way into his soul, awakening it as though it had never slept. Struggling hard against his inner darkness to keep that light from fading again, Sean eventually goes to extremes to ensure that it won’t.
But will the price he paid prove too costly in the end?
It’s no secret that I love the Caged Series and I love Sean even more, that’s exactly why I needed Tarnished. Don’t even get me started on the prologue and epilogue because they are BRILLIANT! This novella has answered so many questions that everything makes sense and I’m able to truly understand the “why” behind Sean’s actions.
“The child that once glorified him is gone. The warrior that idolized him, jaded. The heir he so painstakingly groomed, lost.”
If Sean was mysterious before, we get to see a whole dark and twisted side to him in this story but he’s still wrapped up tightly in mystery because in typical Amber fashion, she likes to keep it interesting! There were a few times I found myself saying…OHMYGOD…NOOOOOOOOOOOO! He has very little light to his overpowering darkness and the little light that existed was brutally extinguished and my heart hurt when that happened to Sean. The plot twists and turns were giving me an ulcer!! And am I the only one that thought Persephone was creepy?? Okay, creepy might be a bit strong but I thought Sean and Persephone’s interaction was mildly disturbing!
“And in return, the one you believe you are unable to kill will be the only one who can take your life.”
As with any novella they are short but Tarnished was very much-needed and in this case, a lot of information was packed in but not in a way that’s information overload and frankly, I didn’t want this story to end. I wanted more because I’m very greedy and I’m not ashamed to admit that out loud!
“With her, I was a true expression of both who and what I was-what I wanted to be-for better or worse. With her, I could best my destiny. With her, I felt whole.”
If you haven’t experienced the Caged Series by Amber Lynn Natusch…you are missing out in a big way. More like, HUGE! She’s an incredible storyteller, an amazing writer and she creates characters that are complex yet incredibly relatable within the supernatural realm. I’m not sure how much longer I will have to wait for Strayed (Caged #6) but I know it’ll be worth the wait!
