Shadowman: Alabaster Penitentiary, Book 5

To start off, if you haven't read the previous Alabaster Penitentiary books, start with Distorted. This is book 5 of an interwoven, multilayered, endorphin triggering, emotional, HOT AF series. There is a final book scheduled to be released in March. You absolutely should start the series, but BEWARE- it is highly addicting! It's full of humor and extremely well executed 🔥 scenes. There's no fade to black or cookie cutter bs. It's full of so many emotions 🥰🫢😍🫠🥵😭🤬🥵💔🥵❤️‍🔥🥵😑😫😰😱🥵🤯🥰🥰🥰🥵🤯!!! The characters are remarkably complex. The Found Family aspect of this series is one of most incredible I've had the pleasure of reading. You grow so attached to the characters, it feels like they are a part of your family as well 🥰. In Shadowman, some answers to questions we had from the previous books are revealed. Notice, I said SOME lol. Everything will come together in The Ivory, and I cannot wait!!! We do learn A LOT in Shadowman, though. Shadowman's MMCs 🥰, Byron and Trevel, are perfect for each other. Byron has always been on the outside.. or in the shadows. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride energy. Every time he found connection in his life, it was ripped away😥. He is a baddie 💪, and not only physically, but he fights pretty dang hard to hold onto the "straight" label 😂. Trevel's backstory is heartbreaking. His total focus is on vengeance...until he meets Byron. Then, it's Byron and Vengeance 😂. I can't say too much because I dont want to…

This is the longest book in the series. Like the others, there is past story and then current story overlapping the main story line. It was interesting to see a different side of Byron as well as a newcomer, Trevel, trying to join an established group

First things first. Before diving into Shadowman, you definitely want to do a reread of Fragments at the very least. While Nyla does give a recap at the front, there are so many easter eggs that you’ll want to remember the context. Those burning questions from earlier books in the series? A few of them get answered and I promise you, the result is nothing you could have guessed! Those of us who follow Nyla know this book took her years to write and it was well worth the wait! Nyla so clearly poured her heart and soul into every page and it shows with her masterful storytelling, intricate plotting, and multi-dimensional characters. Byron and Trevel simply blew my mind. I was always curious about Byron, who he really was and what got him sent to AP. Nyla took the one thing we were made to believe about Byron and flipped it on its head. And Trevel, sweet, broken Trevel. I loved him, I hated him, I wanted to throat punch him, then I loved him again. But honestly, it wouldn’t be an AP book if Nyla wasn’t constantly playing with our emotions. The found family vibes have always been a prominent theme throughout this series but in Shadowman they feel even stronger, culminating in THE moment of the book (for me anyway) when the entirety of the AP fam is reunited. The friendship, camaraderie, the romance, and of course the humor was everything! Ren’s zippy one liners (ahem, Flambo) had me cracking up and wanting more! It’s this unique combination of dark, swoony, scorching hot, and…