"Locked in Silence," Shiloh Walker

Pros: Delightful tale with fun characters, plenty of chemistry, and a climax that left me in tears
Cons: Took me a few minutes to sort out who the characters were (and weren’t)
Rating: 4 out of 5

Review book (e-book) courtesy of Shiloh Walker

Vanya had to grow up fast when she was forced to kill her possessed sister. With little left to care about, she waged a one-person war against those demons she could find—until a mysterious man in white offered her a deal. She can die and become one of the Grimm, a more-than-human group of men and women who have hunted and killed demons throughout the ages. Vanya can feel that her time has come, and she’s eager to move on.

Silence has been one of the Grimm for many years, and his inability to speak—not to mention the plethora of scars on his skin and his soul—keep most people at bay. Now Will, the leader of the Grimm, has assigned him to teach and mentor Vanya, and Will has an agenda he isn’t telling Silence about.

When Vanya awakes as a newly-made Grimm, the hard part of her life is just starting. But she figures if she gets to spend it around someone like Silence, it’ll be worth it. And he finds it impossible not to be drawn to the one person who can touch his mind, and hear his voice. Of course, if they don’t work out their tumultuous feelings quickly, the distraction could get them killed…

Here I go again missing a few books and needing to catch up on a series! I admit it, I’m addicted to Shiloh Walker’s books, so now I have the complete Grimm’s Circle series-so-far (Locked in Silence is book 5). I can already tell you that it would be helpful to read them in order; it took me a few pages to sort out the characters, which I don’t think would have happened if I’d had the background on them. That said, I still enjoyed the hell out of this installment despite that.

The Grimm are a rather fascinating concept. Many of them are quite old, and some of them have obscured the truth about themselves through myth and legend. Thus, some of them are the basis for the fairy tales of our own time. They’re stronger and faster than normal humans, and some of them have unusual gifts (Vanya, for instance, is a psychic). They spend their time hunting down demons, including incubae and succubae (demons that feed on sexual energy), as well as soul-suckers called orin. Some of these demons are smart, and being a newly-made Grimm is more than a little dangerous.

The story and the demon-hunting ripple with tension. The longing between Silence and Vanya tastes oh-so-sweet, a rather different sort of feeling to pair with a snarky, independent young woman and a quiet, dangerous man. As always Shiloh’s sex scenes set the pages on fire! Yes, there’s some mildly kinky sex in here, as is rather inevitable when you deal with demons that feed on sexual energy, and Shiloh handles it beautifully.

Locked in Silence is a fun, sexy ride that will make you want to read the whole series if you haven’t already!