Dark Shores Series Book 0.5: Tarnished Empire by Danielle L. Jensen

Dark Shores Book 0.5

DEFIANCE IS TREASON. TREASON IS DEATH.

A siege is laid against the last resistance to the Senate’s rule. As the battle rages, a commander, a soldier, and a rebel will decide how far they are willing to go for victory.

THE COMMANDER

Marcus is forced to choose between destroying the rebel forces and liberating his legion. He must face the true cost of being a leader. And an oppressor.

THE SOLDIER

Agrippa sets his sights on glory to fill the deepening void within him. He discovers that the price of fame might not just be paid in blood, it might be paid by his heart.

THE REBEL

Silvara joins the rebel forces to fight against the legions who would see her family dead. While she dreams of being a warrior, she finds her sharpest weapon is seduction. But to defeat the Empire, she’ll have to betray the young man who now has her heart.

Inspired by the harsh world of ancient Rome, readers are obsessed with this martial tale of fiery romance, friendship, and enmity. Told from three points of view, TARNISHED EMPIRE is filled with twists you’ll never see coming but will keep you turning the pages all night.

TARNISHED EMPIRE is set in the world of Danielle L. Jensen’s DARK SHORES. But readers new to the world can begin here.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55873646-tarnished-empire

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

Loved this story! I will say that the other two books in this series were a bit slow in the beginning, but Tarnished Empire definitely was not. We jumped right into the action and this story was fantastic and has me excited for the final book coming out in the near future. This book follows three point of views, Marcus (who we know from Dark Shores), Agrippa, and Silvara, who are both two new characters. And I have to say Agrippa has become one of, if not, my favorite character from this series. He is absolutely hysterical and I was always looking forward to what he was going to say next. But not only that. He is brave, honorable, and loyal as hell to his brothers in the 37th. And though him and Marcus can butt heads a bit, both are still loyal to one another. 

This story follows one of their sieges and everyone is basically put in a horrible position. Marcus is determined to do whatever to protect his men. He'll take the beatings from the horrible leader of the 29th legion, he'll protect his men the best he can even if it means following the law. His goal is to get them out of this siege alive and out of the control of the 29th legion. And when given the opportunity, he knows he has to take it. He'll die before he watches his men be slaughtered. Agrippa is loyal to his men whom he considers his brothers. But being in the place where he was born makes it difficult. He knows he needs to forget but he can't shake it. And then his world is turned upside down when he meets Silvara. Different from any girl he has met, he can't help but be pulled toward her. And all he wants is to protect her and get her out of this place of war. Silvara wants to help her people. But she is never trusted to do anything. She wants to fight but no one will give her a blade. So they send her out to seduce Marcus. Her looks are apparently the only thing she has going for her. But instead of grabbing Marcus's attention, she grabs Agrippa. Put in a terrible position and not knowing what she is doing, she soon realizes that she has genuine feelings for Agrippa. And she is reluctant to hurt or use him. But with the pressure of having to get information from him hounding her, she is constantly battling with herself between the boy she is falling for and the soldier who is trying to take over her home. 

Like I said, I really did love this story. It just gave us another piece of characters we love and new characters to love. I am so excited for the final book of the series because I need more Agrippa especially. Especially with that cliffhanger ending. It will be great to see how everything plays out after all of that. And how everyone ends up connecting to one another. Great story!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.