Liviania‘s review of Guardian’s Keep (Unbound, Book 2) by Lori Devoti
Contemporary Paranormal Romance released by Silhouette Nocturne (Harlequin) 1 Jan 08

Kol Hildr, a garm (wolf shapeshifter of sorts), guards the portal located in the bar Guardian’s Keep. Based on the events of Unbound, the Garm Council feels Kol may no longer be the best guardian. The fact witch Kelly still snoops suspiciously around the bar, during a time of concentrated attacks, deepens their misgivings since Kol seems to do nothing about her presence. Kol will not act because he does not want to believe Kelly is his enemy due to his attraction.

Unsurprisingly, Kelly is not his enemy. She’s being manipulated by Aesa, a woman who claims her son went missing due to the activities at Guardian’s Keep. The rebel garm, who want portals of their own, quickly realize she is Kol’s weak spot. They easily manipulate the lovers because Kelly continues to be as dumb as she was in Unbound and Kol tends to descend to her level. It’s sad this is a romance focused on those two because there is some very interesting politics going on.

The most powerful garm, Fenrir, was long ago betrayed and trapped on Lyngvi. The gods feared his power and wanted him out of the way. It may just be that the Garm Council had a hand in his betrayal. After all, Fenrir does not seem like a menace. When he encounters Kelly and Kol, he helps them to survive. Fenrir and Aesa’s story caught my attention far more than that of Kol and Kelly. I wish the book could have given them more screentime. Aesa’s a strong female who sometimes makes bad choices due to her desperation. Many mysteries were left unsolved about the garm’s history and the future of Fenrir and his son, which left me disappointed. Those aspects of the book drew me in the most and I wish they were given more resolution. (That is not to say I did not love the bit of resolution they were given, which was quite sweet and showed Aesa’s determination.)

Another excellent aspect of the story is the relationship between the misfits that frequent the Guardian’s Keep portal and Kol. They show how good Kol is at his job and why he was assigned to such an important location. It’s an important part of his life for Devoti to illuminate since he tends to make rash decisions under the influence of Kelly. Actually, I did expect there to be more revelations based on the Garm Council’s efforts to keep Kol in their employ. The emphasis on his importance to them seemed like it would should go somewhere.

While Guardian’s Keep disappointed me, I am still going to read Wild Hunt. I hope the lack of Kelly will allow it to equal or surpass Unbound. I also hope to learn more about the hellhound society, even though the politics of the garm were interesting. Devoti has established an interesting world and writes entertaining action scenes. For now I will choose to consider Guardian’s Keep a fluke.

Grade: C

Kol Hildr had spent the last century battling hellhounds and warlocks who sought to usurp his portal’s magic. A mighty shape-shifter with the ability to change into wolf form, Kol made accessing the powerful gateway nearly impossible–unless you were a witch of Kelly Shane’s talents. She had a score to settle and would do anything to close the portal that led to her unearthly prison. Though an alliance with her compromised Kol’s purpose, something about the little witch overwhelmed his fierce, battle-worn soul. But when he learned Kelly’s life might be in jeopardy, could Kol put aside the one thing he thought he valued most–the portal–to journey to the other side and rescue her?
read an excerpt

Sandy M’s review of Guardian’s Keep (Unbound, Book 2) by Lori Devoti
Contemprorary paranormal romance released by Silhoutte Nocturne on 1 Jan 08

I’m fast becoming a Lori DeVoti fan. I fell in love with her shape-shifting hellhounds in Unbound, the first book in this series, last year. Her wolves now have me captivated, and we’re left wide open at the end of this book for more in her world of the garm.

Kol is a garm – half-human/half-wolf protector of portals – and he has protected his portal for hundreds of years. We met him originally in Unbound, and now Kelly, a twin witch, is back at Kol’s bar to make him pay for the death of a friend when. Kol is protective of Kelly from the beginning, although neither of them stop to think about why. Trouble is brewing and Kol feels it, knowing he has to be constantly on guard; therefore, he doesn’t need a pretty, but nosy, witch in the middle of things.

Kelly does have a legitimate cause that brings her back to Kol’s door. Her revenge is something she can wreak on him in the process, especially when she finds out he’s allowed children to be transported through his portal. Her current client is the mother of a kidnapped eight-year-old boy, taken as a pawn to use over his father, Fenrir, the most powerful garm there is. Trying to discover the secret to opening the portal is her first priority in rescuing the child, but Kol never leaves it unguarded.

The more these two are thrown together, the more their attraction grows. The emotion in the book also grows when both Kol and Kelly will do anything to save the other. The scenes that take place on the other side of the portal are quite intense.

Kelly is a strong woman, just like her twin. She knows how to harness her power and doesn’t hesitate to use it. Kol is definitely an alpha character, but I enjoyed how he let Kelly do her thing when they had their backs against the wall. As much as he’d love to coddle her and send her home out of harm’s way, he knows she can hold her own. I like these two together and the other regular patrons of Kol’s bar are an interesting lot – it’s fun to see them a little more in this entry.

While I like this book, I enjoyed Unbound more – the more tortured the hero the more I love their story and Unbound‘s Risk was seriously tortured. But Keep is action-packed, full of tension and suspense, betrayal, love and romance, too.

So far this is a great series, and I’m really looking forward to June 2008′s Wild Hunt, the story of Risk’s son, another very tortured hero.

Grade: B+

See my review of Unbound here.

From the back cover:

Only the strongest guard the portals and gateways to other realms

Kol Hildr had spent the last century battling hellhounds and warlocks who sought to usurp his portal’s magic. A mighty shape-shifter with the ability to change into wolf form, Kol made accessing the powerful gateway nearly impossible—unless you were a witch of Kelly Shane’s talents. She had a score to settle and would do anything to close the portal that led to her unearthly prison. Though an alliance with her compromised Kol’s very purpose, something about the little witch overwhelmed his fierce, battle-worn soul. But when he learned that Kelly’s life might be in jeopardy, could Kol put aside the one thing he thought he valued most—the portal—to journey to the other side and save her?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:
and coming in June 08, Venge’s story (Book 3), Wild Hunt