I didn't expect to love this book because most readers think this is one of the weakest books in the series, but I guess I'm not "most readers", LOL. I loved it!

Ryland was the perfect hero: protective but not overbearing, and not shy or afraid of his feelings for Lily. Once he knew she was the woman for him, there was no turning back. Lily wasn't so "perfect" - either physically or emotionally - but that only made her more real to me. Her fascination, as a scientist, with her father's work, despite some of the horrors behind his actions, was understandable and fit her character. Speaking for myself, I wouldn't find it hard to react like her because, in concept, his father's project was fascinating.

And that's the main reason I loved this book: the plot. It's PNR but it's so close to reality that I can see it happening. I found myself paying close attention to all the scientific "mumbo jumbo" uttered by Lily, even though a couple of times I couldn't understand what she said. I guess I'm some kind of science geek to love that stuff... ;) Anyway, all the talking and researching gave the book a slow pace at times - especially in the beginning, when Ryland and his team were still locked up in the lab - but, in the end, I thought that was important to "set the stage", so to speak.

Final verdict: It looks like I'm hooked to another series! :)

This was total pulp. I just needed something easy to read at the moment. I would not ever recommend this book to anyone who can read. The plot was about a military psi-ops group gone wrong and sex. Mostly sex. Psychic Dream Sex, Sex Sex, and Oral Sex. Also, Sex.
I blushed.
I thought to myself, "Who is this lady author with all the sex in her head anyway?" so i flipped to the back to see if she was brave enough to put a picture of herself on her Excuse To Write About Incredible Sex That Can Not Happen Ever or "book" as she probably calls it. And yes, there's a picture. And oh my goodness, she looks like a sunday school teacher or something wholesome like that. because, you know, obviously.
It's always the quiet ones.

Rounded up to 4 stars. Pretty good but the insta lust and insta love was a bit much. Lots of ‘raw hunger’ and other phrases of this ilk repeated on many occasions...story itself was an interesting premise.

I have very few complaint about Christine Feehan, and I have fallen in love with the 'Ghostwalker Series', this is the second time that I have read Shadow Game and it was good to read this one again, and I plan on reading the rest of the series. This is the first book in the Ghostwalker Series, with Cpt. Ryland Miller and Lily Whitney has the main characters. Lily has grown up with mental abilities and is a anchor and is able to help others that have issues controlling their mental powers. Her father Peter Whitney brings her on to his latest project. Peter Whitney brought in a group of men that were in the Special Op's division of the military, the best of the best literally. Peter manipulated their minds so that they had mental abilities, and put them in cages in a secured location. The moment that Ryland and Lily meet, the ground shifts and there is a instant connection between them. Ryland is amazed, because the moment Lily enters the room, all the pain in his head disappears, and he is able to concentrate clearly and efficiently. Ryland and Lily have a strong connected to each other, and are able to communicate mentally, and Ryland is desperate to get his men out of their prison and be free once more. Ryland is losing one of his men slowly one at a time, and knows that he and his men must escape as soon as possible, or they will all be dead. After Peter Whitney is killed, Lily although grief stricken, finds some truths about her father and her childhood that haunts her. However, despite all that she is suffering, she manages to help Ryland and his team escape, and transfer them to her house. One of his men Jeff, is injured, and she slowly helps him recover. Together as Ryland and Lily work toward the mysterious of Lily's past, the passion and the connection them becomes stronger and deeper than ever.
This is a exciting adventure with twists and turns of intrigue and sizziling passions and intense suspense that keep you on the edge of your seat. Definitely a page turner, and the characters both main and minor characters, thoroughly charm its readers. I found myself being drawn to both Ryland and Lily, who are both strong characters and have powerful abilities, and are able to work together to discover the mysteries of Peter Whitney. Although Ryland hates the man, he fells what Lily feels and is able to help her in her grieving for her father whom she loved. Lily however discovers a powerful secret about her childhood. Lily and other young girls had natural mental abilities, which Peter Whitney forced them to use and hurt themselves in the process. It wasn't until Lily hurt her leg in a accident, that Peter Whitney finally faced himself and he found the other girl's homes and raised Lily as his own. This is a deep and emotional story that will tear your heart asunder but will endear you to the story and its captivating characters. This is definitely a read you don't want to miss out on!

Rating: 4 1/2 stars


Looking for a dark, urban paranormal thriller with a sexy alpha H and a delightful, smart h? Then Shadow Dance is the novel for you. There’s tender romance, humor, nasty bad guys, and a believable plot with loads of military intel and sci-fi intricacies that artfully explain telepathic enhancement.

Ryland Miller is a hot, ruthless alpha male who knows how to love and care for a complicated, damaged woman like Dr. Lily Whitney. If I thought that sometimes Lily was TSTL, then I knew I could count on Ryland to handle things without breaking her spirit or crushing her independence.

The supporting characters (Ryland’s men, Rosa, Arley, John, General Rainier etc.) were brought to life by the narrator, Tom Stechsculte, so that I could easily distinguish everyone. At first, I had to get used to the narrator’s voice and his pronunciation. His depiction of Ryland was so amazing and intense I knew he captured this character so vividly. The interpretation of Lilly’s voice and character was impressive considering the actor is male. There were times when I felt I was listening to a lecture, and his broad accent trickled into words like “body” which was distracting.

There were a few issues that didn't feel were resolved. Lily's father, Dr. Peter Whitney, was a man who committed some atrocious acts and crimes. When he did change, I don't believe that he redeemed himself in any way at all. The consequences of his actions where all left on Lily who sometimes comes off as a martyr. Lily is so brilliant, she also shifts into cold, calculating scientist mode. Ryland drags her back into humanity. I found myself feeling at times that he invested more into their relationship than she could. Outside her superior intelligence, and willingness to help Ryland and his men, I didn't see Lily as being extraordinary until she was confronted with situations where she saved herself and didn't need Ryland there. That is when she truly surpassed herself.

Christine Feehan did an amazing and excellent job writing this novel. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance.

Psychic Super Soldiers!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance:

5 Melting the Ice Princess Stars

*Spoilers*

n  n


"Am I tempting you, Lily? You always look so cool. I always have a mad desire to melt the ice princess."


Wow I love Christine Feehan. I read all of her Dark series and loved them . I put off starting this series because I was afraid it wouldn't hold up to her Dark series. I should have known better than to doubt Christine's mad skills. This book was so dayum good!

"I don't care if they find us locked together. Do you know what it feels like to have you so deep inside me?"

What this book is about


"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are, Ryland?"

Captain Ryland Miller and his men are the best of the best. They all signed up to let Dr. Peter Whitney do experiments on them in the hopes of turning them into an elite military group with psychic abilities. All is going well; They are growing stronger in their psychic abilities and training. But then some of the men start having seizures, others bleeding on the brain, and some dying. Now they are in cages locked away from each other and being treated like lab rats. Ryland doesn't know who he can trust or what to do all he knows is he has to save his men before anymore die! Dr. Peter Whitney brings his daughter Lily in to help with the experiments and to figure out why they are starting to fail. The second Ryland sets eyes on Lily he knows she is his forever! When Lily's father is murdered leaving Lily a message to save the men and right his wrongs, Lily and Ryland will have to work together with the team to find out who is killing off the men and trying to sabotage the project. Will Ryland be able to keep his men , his woman and himself safe? Will he be able to get Lily to stop over thinking their relationship and trust her heart when it comes to him?

"It isn't a game to me, Lily. I saw you. I knew you were meant to be mine the moment I laid eyes on you. It doesn't matter that we're in the middle of all this bullshit. You're forever. You're real."

Ryland:

n  n

"Yes, you can, Lily," he said softly, lifting his head, sucking the taste of her from his fingers, "you're going to take all of me deep inside you where I belong. I want you to know what no other man will ever do for you. I'm going to know you so intimately you're never going to think of leaving me."

Ryland is everything you want in a hero. He is sexy, kick ass, protective, bossy, fun, and sweet all rolled up in a yummy hard body! He is so sweet to Lily making her laugh every time she was sad. I love Ryland, he is so charming. Loyal to his men, strong for Lily and supportive. He alone made this book a 5 star book for me. He was just freakin Awesome.

"Lily, can't you see there's more than just something physical between us? I ache for you, I won't deny it, but I feel sad when you're sad. I want more than anything to make you happy, to know you're safe. I think about you every minute of the day. You refuse to see what's between us. I look at you and see clouds in your eyes when you're looking back. Does it matter so much to you the why of it?"


"Your name is Lily Whitney. You are the woman I want at my side night and day. I want you to be the mother of my children someday. I want you for my lover. I want you for the person I turn to when the world gets to be too much."


"You're magic, Lily, sheer magic. And you're mine, Lily, my everything. I'm drawn to you because you're Lily Whitney with more courage in your little finger than most people have in their entire body. You have a brain, a sense of humor, a smile that knocks me over, and every single time I'm near you, I want to tear your clothes off. And damn it, I'm not going to lose you."

Lily:

n  n

"Go away." Her voice groaned the order. "I can't possibly move. Not ever again. Can someone die from making love too many times?" His teeth nibbled on the nape of her neck. "I don't know, but I'm willing to try if you are." It was sheer joy to wake up with Lily in his arms. "I want this for the rest of my life."

Lily for me is great one minute and the next I would want to shake her and I am not the only one since Ryland does shake her a few times in the book! Lily is so very smart she would try to use logic to push Ryland away and that drove me crazy. It was like she had two sides. The smart Ice princess, and the funny, kick ass passionate lover. I love that she is very brave and that she doesn't let any man walk on her. When she figures out that she is in love with Ryland and stops fighting her feelings Then I loved the hell out of her!

"You're making a total ass out of yourself," she pointed out, "but fortunately for you, I'm in a forgiving mood. We elitists learn that at an early age when they put that silver spoon in our mouths."


"Really?" She looked down her nose at him, princess to peasant. "Men obey your orders because of your rank. Women think things out and decide all by their little lonesome what to do." She patted his head, her fingers lingering for just a moment on a spiral curl. "Don't worry, now that I know about your little ego problem, I'll do my best to look all gushy when you pound your chest."


"I do love him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. This is your home. It will always be your home. You're my mother and no daughter could love you more than I love you. If you truly don't want Ryland and these men here, we will leave. All of us. I'll go with them."

n  n


"Just ask him. He thinks he's responsible for the entire world." The flat black eyes swung to taunt Ryland. "And you're making a damn fool out of yourself looking at her all goofy that way. You're making the male gender look bad."

Ryland and Lily have some serious heat! They burnt up my kindle! I love how when Ryland touches Lily she goes from Ice princess to wild woman in no time flat! I love the other team members they are all so funny and loyal. Standing by each other and pickin on each other like brothers. Shadow Games has a great plot, with lots of lovable characters. The world was built up well. Not only was this book smokin' hot , but it was funny. I love it when a book can make me laugh and this book made me laugh and smile a lot. Great read I can't wait to start the next book. Below I leave my favorite moment from this book:

"I don't think you had sleeping in mind," Kaden ventured. "I distinctly heard you say Ryland was interested in bondage. Are you planning on putting cuffs on him, because I want to stay around for that." "You were watching my movies," Arly accused. "What movies?" Gator chimed in. "Are you holding out on us? You have some good bondage flicks and you're not sharing?' "You're all obsessed with bondage," Lily felt compelled to point out.

http://jessicasoverthetopbookobsessio...

Reread on Audiobook done in July 2020

I don't have much to add. I get something new out of these books every time I read them and I love them so much. While this one is a little more slow paced and has less action than the following books, it has a special place in my heart because it introduced me to these characters that I love so much, and the captivating world of the GhostWalkers.
**************************************************
Reread/Buddy Read With Lacy (Read in May/June 2016)

My sister and I decided to do a buddy read because I have been talking incessantly about this series for years and I wanted my sister to share the joy of the GhostWalkers. I ended up finishing long before Lacy has (she's still reading it.). So here are my thoughts. I will add questions to/from Lacy when she finishes the book.

I had forgotten some facts about the series to my great surprise. And I have to say I love this book even more each time I read it. I appreciate the more subtler nuances of the characters (Lily, Ryland, Team One GWs). Ryland is such an awesome hero. He's alpha and possessive, but also tender and gentle. No overcompensating with him. He loves Lily as is. It's nice to see Kadan before he became Crazy Kadan (who I love dearly), and as always, I loved the friendship/bromance between the GhostWalkers. In short, I think this is still a fantastic start to a fantastic series.

*****Reread May 3-7, 2012****
My Thoughts:

This series remains one of my all-time favorites. I love this concept and the characters. The suspense/action elements are easily as strong as the romance, and it satisfied my multi-faceted reading nature with both.

Ryland--

Ryland is one of those sneaky alphas who acts like a beta towards his woman. He was adorable at how in love he was with Lily. But don't be fooled. He is a lethal, fierce man. Very droolworthy. Even though I love some of the GhostWalker men more, it's a relative thing, because I realize on reread how much I love Ryland. I think for a nine (soon to be ten) book run, having only mildly disliked one hero (Mack) and loved all of the others, that's saying something.

Lily--

Lily is a multi-faceted heroine who I love and admire. She is wicked intelligent, with a highly cerebral scientific nature balanced by a fiercely loyal, caring, passionate and loving heart. I liked her in this book a lot, and it's great to see what a lynchpin she is for the GhostWalkers in the later books.


Together, their chemistry is sighworthy and hot! If you like plenty of love scenes, Feehan won't let you down.

Team One--

I adore all these guys. I love their strong bonds and their loyalty to each other. Not to mention their soldier bad*ssedness! They know how to joke around, but they also know how to take down the bad guys. It's great to see each one with their women. Going back and rereading this makes me even more excited for Sam's book. (big smile)

Final Thoughts--

I never find Christine Feehan a quick read, but I love her books all the same, particularly this GhostWalkers series. I am glad I did a reread and was able to dive deeper and appreciate things I may have missed the first time around, or just to immerse myself in this book world I love so much.
Mind Game is next and I am so looking forward to it! Glad to get GhostWalker fix. I an a stone cold addict for this series.

Check out my  GhostWalkers pinboard!




Original Review


I gave this book five stars because I enjoyed it so much. I have heard that it is not the best of the series. I am happy to say that if this is not the best, then it will be a pleasure to read the rest of the books. Right from the start, I knew I would like Ryland, the hero. He came off as a principled, caring person, although with a dangerous edge (which I like in a hero). I liked his immediate attraction to Lily, and how he saw the beauty in her although she never thought she was beautiful. Lily is a good heroine with some qualities that make her stand out from other cookie-cutter heroines. I like that she has the tendency to be a nerd/brainiac type and is very cerebral. She can get sucked into her research and be cranky at times. It's refreshing to read about heroines who aren't goody-goody all the time, although they are good people all the same. It is clear that despite being a very scientific person, she also cares about people and about doing the right thing. I definitely saw the chemistry between Lily and Ryland and hoped that they would get together. I loved that they had a psychic bond that helped each other, when either was feeling pain or anguish. By the time the love scenes came, there was already a deep emotional connection that made the love scenes that much better.

I also liked the premise of the story. It's cool to read a paranormal with humans who happen to have enhanced mental powers. I loved how the Ghost Walkers could tell someone to look away and not see them, and persuade them to do things, yet they never used these powers in a cruel way. I thought the science was plausible, although clearly Feehan made an effort not to bog the reader down with it. The romance and the relationships were the strong focus, yet set in a world that is very exciting and interesting.

I also liked Ryland and Lily's relationships with the other Ghost Walker men and also with Lily's family of employees that have been with her since she was a small girl. I would say that Feehan has a skill at writing about relationships and the intricacies of those interrelations with people. She shows the turmoil that Lily had about her father and her discovering that her father did do some less than ethical experimentation on her and other young girls in his quest to develop psychic powers in human subjects. All the characters in this book were interesting, and I had quite a few good laughs as they joked with each other.

The action scenes were exciting and well-written, showing that this was another area that Feehan is good at. I love reading about tough people who can kick butt, and this book has this in spades. Also I liked seeing the Ghost Walkers and Lily use their powers when they got into fights and went on missions. It reminded me of the X-Men movies, comics, and tv show.

I can heartily say that this book was enjoyable and I am adding it to my keeper shelf. I am eager to read all the books in the series.

5+++
Ok, so WOW… This is my first book by this author and I LOVED IT! This was an amazing, sensual, well-written, suspense filled, hot, hot, sizzling story where I was hooked from the first and just did not want to put this one down. As there are many reviews already written, I will forgo the synopsis and just give my impression. This story flowed, captured and captivated me. I am trying to think of anything I didn’t like and I can’t. I loved it all!

Too often, when I choose a Romantic Suspense novel, I find there is more suspense than romance. In Shadow Game this mix is perfect. Ryland, oh my, who wouldn’t love him as well as Lily. They,along with the other men of this Special Group, are full of courage, integrity, and loyalty. And I loved that Ryland and Lily had this hot, drowning stark need for each other. And there is no doubt from the first that these two are soul mates.

For me, this book had all the elements of a great paranormal, romantic suspense story including laughter. I give this one 5 stars. I am hooked, excited and can’t wait to read all in this series.

*********Possible Spoiler Alert****************
My Favorite Quotes:
--“The moment he saw her face, the moment she entered the room, his soul seemed to reach for hers. To recognize hers.”
--“Lily looked up at Ryland, drowning in the stark need in his eyes. No one had told her it would be like this, a wild craving that crawled over her skin, heated her blood, and created a hunger so deep, so elemental she could hardly bear being separated from him.”
--“You are the woman I want at my side night and day. I want you to be the mother of my children someday. I want you for my lover. I want you for the person I turn to when the world gets to be too much.”
--“Lily, I want this night for you. I want you to feel how much I love you. When I’m touching you and kissing you, when I make love to you, I want you to always know it isn’t just about sex. There’s so much more between us.”

4 stars – Paranormal Romance/Romantic Suspense

This is an exciting, promising start to what appears to be a thrilling series about a covert experimental government program designed to enhance the paranormal abilities and various psychic powers of a group of elite soldiers called the “GhostWalkers”. It’s a cool premise, and I liked the combination of paranormal elements and romantic suspense. Captain Ryland Miller is a yummy alpha hero who falls hard and fast for fellow telepath, Dr. Lily Whitney, as they race to expose the dangerous conspiracy that’s threatening the lives of Ryland’s men.

The romance between tough, sexy, protective alpha Ryland and spunky, independent virgin Lily is blistering hot. My only complaint is that the story dragged a bit for me in places. I think it’s partly due to the usual first book of a series world-building and also because of Feehan’s exceedingly detailed, overly descriptive, and extra wordy style, which I liked for the sex scenes (steamy!) but it tended to slow down the flow and action at times.

Overall, I enjoyed Shadow Game, particularly the intriguing, unique premise, interesting characters, and strong romantic element, and it’s definitely sparked my interest in reading more books in the series. 4 stars!

Ugh. I feel like I just lost a chunk of my life I can't get back...

Quite simply, this book was DULL. With a capital everything.
I read this book concurrently with Kresley Cole's Kiss of a Demon King, and maybe comparing the two isn't fair since they're pretty different in tone and style, but I can't help comparing two books I'm reading when one absolutely grabs me by the balls and won't let go, and the other has me praying for the end. Ya know?

Where Cole is writing romances which combine a rock 'em sock 'em adventure, unforeseen plot twists and a truly unconventional romance, Feehan managed to pair a stale and cliche conspiracy story with a "love at first sight for no reason" romance. Ick.

So basically, it was just boring and predictable, but I do have some more specific complaints:

1. The dialogue was really awkward and sometimes just plain weird. Characters that had supposedly known each other for years would suddenly stop mid-conversation to give the other a run-down of their own mutual history. I know this is done for the readers sake, but it was done so clumsily. People do not talk like that! I do not explain to my friends how long I've known them, how we met or what their role is in my life when we meet up.
Characters would also often say things that just didn't make sense with what they were talking about. They would start off talking about one thing, then say something completely different as though it were all one coherent thought. Several times I found myself saying "Huh? What does that have to do with anything?" The dialogue in this book did not sound the way anyone talks and it drove me nuts.

2. The conspiracy itself didn't really make much sense. I don't want to say too much about why for those of you who may still decide to read the book, but the motivations of the bad guys were never really clear. Oh, they explained it just fine, I just didn't think it made sense.

3. The ending was WAAAAAY too easy and convenient. You just happened to find a recording of an extremely explicit and all-inclusive confession? PLEASE.

4. I got really tired of reading about Lily's generous breasts.

5. Did I mention the love at first sight thing? I really hate that.

But I finished, and now I can move on and read something that I will hopefully actually enjoy, so there's a silver lining...

(P.S. - I shelved this as paranormal romance because there are paranormal elements, what with the telepathy and telekinesis and what-not, but it really read more like romantic suspense which may have been part of what bored me. At least the heroine wasn't a divorced single mom in Kansas.)

I've had this series on my to-read shelf for quite a long time now and I'm so happy that I've decided to start reading it.

The first book in a paranormal romance series can be confusing at times because it is the book where the author world builds. There was a lot of scientific terms because the heroine generally goes off on tangents when she's putting two and two together and trying to figure out the situation. It did get confusing and I often found myself reading what she is saying but not actually absorbing it. Still, I understood enough to know what's going on so it wasn't like I was lost by the time I finished reading. Thank goodness!

Lily is a very logical and cerebral but we did get to see her emotional side throughout this book. I enjoyed her as a heroine even though I couldn't always relate to her. I loved Ryland. I loved the fact we got to know about his past and his sweet relationship with his mother. I loved his relationship with his men and how loyal they all are to one another. I found their group dynamic hilarious so it added humour to the book. But when in danger, they are all very protective of each other and have each others backs.

The relationship between Lily and Ryland was heartwarming. It was love, lust, want, need, desire at first sight. Ryland was sure straight away in their relationship and how he felt about her. And although it look Lily a little longer to come in touch with her feelings for him, she eventually did and it made it all the more beautiful. The sex scenes were UNF, especially that kitchen scene, but their love for one another really shone through those scenes and it made it even more hotter.

I'm very curious about a lot of things. Especially about those young girls who were sent away. Will they be the future heroines in this series? I'm looking forward to finding out and I'm excited to read the next book in the series.