Lawson’s review of Demon Bound (Guardians, Book 4) by Meljean Brook
Paranormal romance released by Berkley Sensation 4 Nov 08

I really, really need to get the anthologies that have the short stories that go along with the Guardians series. Not that reading the books isn’t enough, but Brook’s world is amazing and any chance to step into it is a memorable reading experience. This installment in the Guardians series follows Jake Hawkins, who had a secondary role in Demon Night, gets his story in this one. There also some major revelations about the Guardian history and Michael, which if I talk about in depth would just spoil everything. So I won’t.  😛

Jake starts off the story teleporting into an obscure temple in Tunisia finding Alice Grey, Guardian unofficial librarian who is called the Black Widow. Alice is excavating the temple in hopes that it will give her clues on how to help get her out of a bargain with a demon named Teqon. While there, Jake helps Alice with some of the work, some demons arrive looking for Alice, to give her a message from Teqon. Both Alice and Jake fight off the demons and they leave the temple.

Jake seeks some answers about Alice and learns of her bargain with Teqon and decides to help her, whether to save Alice by getting her out of her bargain or fulfilling it by getting Michael’s heart and giving it to Teqon. In helping Alice, Jake teleports her to new sites where other temples have appeared. The temples don’t always stay visible, as they are spellbound so that humans would not be able to find them.

As Alice and Jake discover more from the temples, Jake starts to control his Gift of teleportation a bit more and he sees Alice as more than the Black Widow, who is known more for her spiders and the creepy way she likes to scare the novice Guardians. Alice is forced to seek help for her problem with the bargain she made, which makes her have relationships with the people around her, and not just her spiders. Along with all that comes knowledge of things that Michael, the Doyen and head Guardian, has not told the Guardian community, from their creation, history to the present day.

Before getting to the plot, a bit about Jake and Alice. Jake I adored. He’s a smart guy, but he was caught up in in the draft and went to Vietnam. Though he didn’t do well in school, it was because he wanted more than his small town in Kansas and getting drafted wasn’t what he wanted. His tale of how he died and was transformed showed a sense of nobility, honor and caring that Hugh had as well. Jake is right next to Hugh, in my opinion, in the best heroes in the Guardian series (though remember, I haven’t read all the stories yet).

Alice at first was very prim and proper and almost cold. Her Gift is to communicate with spiders (which could be rather off putting to anyone who has any sort of fear or distaste for spiders), which does make her odd, it affects even the way she walks and moves. Because of her bargain, she’s used these things as an excuse not to get close to anyone and not let anyone know about her life. She does warm up over the course of the book, and her vulnerability, modesty and fears are replaced with her strength, knowledge and confidence in herself.

While the majority of the action in the book takes place over about two weeks, it does seem odd that Alice would drop her walls so quickly with Jake. They spend so much time together though, that it works and does make sense. Alice and Jake compliment each other well, with her Victorian style dresses that cover her from head to toe, which gives Jake lots to imagine and Jake’s vintage band t-shirts that Alice tries to decipher, thinking they’re message t-shirts. The dynamic between these two gives lots of steam and chemistry as they work together in different ways.

Unlike Demon Moon and Demon Night, Demon Bound focuses more on the history of the Guardians, rather than the present day. The prophecy of Belail is mentioned, from Demon Night, which also has to do with Alice’s bargain. What worked the best in the story was the revelation of the past. Instead of a retelling of the events, it’s continuing layers of world building in Brook’s world. Not only that, but it also expands on the idea that Heaven and Hell are in fact not so far apart, and their struggle has always been intertwined with humanity not only in the middle but an essential part not only for the souls but showing that even those Above and Below are subject to what we would think of as human nature and emotions as well.

As much fun as discussion about everything in the book would be, that would give away too many spoilers. Jake, Alice and their quest for her redemption is tied in well with the spectacular world of the Guardians and the new history revealed gives even more depth to the series.

Grade: A

Summary:

The seductive and dangerous world of the Guardians now yields a secret that threatens the soul of a woman and the fate of the universe, both DEMON BOUND.

Among the Guardians, Alice Grey is known as the Black Widow — a woman trapped in a web spun by the demon Teqon. To save her soul, she agreed to deliver to Teqon the heart of the oldest and most powerful Guardian of all, or else be damned for eternity. After more than a hundred years, Teqon is calling in his debt.

Jake Hawkins is a novice Guardian whose gift of teleportation could be invaluable to Alice in determining her next move. But in aligning himself with her he never expected to fall in love. Now, their passionate flight to escape Alice’s damnable bargain is threatening both their souls. For they’re about to discover a hellish secret about the Guardians — something that will change their universe forever.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: