Shannon C.’s review of Demon Bound (The Guardians, Book 7) by Meljean Brook
Paranormal romance released by Berkley 4 Nov 08
I emailed Meljean asking for an e-arc of Demon Bound before its release date, which was, for those of you paying attention, in November. She graciously sent me the book and then I promptly… didn’t read it. I realize that the book release date is not merely a friendly suggestion when presented with an ARC, and Ms. Brook doubtless would have appreciated the positive review at the actual, y’know, release date. So if she’s reading this, she has my permission to tell Sybil to beat me, whip me, and make me write bad checks. Because I loved this book.
I honestly wasn’t sure that Alice would work for me as a heroine. Creepy Victorian woman with a gift for skulking and a penchant for spiders who’s supposed to bring the heart of the leader of the Guardians to a demon? I wasn’t interested. I should have trusted Ms. Brook’s storytelling better than that, because eventually I came to love Alice. She’ll never be a Lilith or a Savi, but we can’t all be that flavor of kick-ass. And I think that drawing distinct characters is something Ms. Brook does well. I can tell the difference between Charlie and Lilith and Alice in their dialogue from book to book, same with Jake and Ethan and Colin.
Jake, our Vietnam war soldier turned novice guardian, is very compelling as well. I loved that he was kind of an idiot, and had to grow up over the course of the story. I love that his relationship with Alice makes him a better person, and not because Alice is so gosh darn pure that he can’t help himself. No, it all flows together naturally.
I wouldn’t recommend reading this latest entry in the Guardians series if you’re not a little bit familliar with the world. Yet again, Ms. Brook shoves the reader into the plot and expects us to keep up. And the plot here is intricate and byzantine enough to satisfy me.
There were a few things that I noticed that drew me out of the story a bit. The first is subjective, and likely won’t matter to anyone else. But Jake’s Kansas is straight out of the Wizard of Oz movie. I promise, the entire state does consist of other things beyond flat boring wheat fields. And sometimes I find the way Ms. Brook introduces future characters a tad jarring. They’re just kind of there, with no prelude or mention of them at any time previously.
The Guardians series is meaty paranormal romance at its best. It’s the epitome of what the genre can be but so often isn’t, and I highly recommend readers start at the beginning, with Demon Angel [Ed.: or the short story in Hot Spell.] and fall in love with this world as much as I have.
Grade: A-
Read other reviews of books in this series by clicking on its tag.
Summary:
Alice Grey is known as the Black Widow – a woman trapped in a web spun by the demon Teqon. Jake Hawkins is a novice Guardian whose gift of teleportation could be invaluable to Alice in determining her next move. But can they survive when fear and secrets threaten not just their lives and souls, but the fate of the universe?Read an excerpt.
Other books in the series, in reading order:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
