Veena’s review of Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity, Book 9) by Alexandra Ivy
Paranormal Romance published by Zebra 28 Aug 12
As a reader it’s so easy to become emotionally invested in the characters of a story, the level of emotional investment being a testament of how good or great a story is. I believe it’s very difficult for an author to take an antagonist in a book that readers hate and turn him or her into hero/heroine material. However, Alexandra Ivy has done just that with Caine, the hero of her current Guardians of Eternity release, Fear the Darkness.
We first met Caine when he had imprisoned Haley, heroine of Beyond the Darkness, and was harvesting her blood to try to turn himself into a pureblood Were. He has, through out the series, allied himself with the wrong people in pursuit of his goal, and then he puts himself in front of Cassandra to save her from a demon and dies protecting her, only to come back to life as a pureblood. Just like that he moved from the side of the dark into the light and is a knight protector for her in this book. I would love to hear from readers about books or authors where you’ve seen a successful redemption of a villain.
Cassandra is a beautiful, vulnerable woman. She sees the fate of the world in the form of lucid dreams and loses all sense of her surroundings, when a prophecy comes upon her. She is one of quadruplet sisters, who were separated at birth. Her sisters have married powerful men, one the Anasso of the Vampires and the other the King of Weres, who have all their resources looking for her. In the last book, the Dark Lord had been able to partially manifest himself and even though he was contained behind the mists, he now has command of evil minions whom he has looking for the prophet. Protected by Caine, who has saved her life, Cassie is pulled along by the force and demand of the prophecy and belatedly realizes her attraction to the man.
Caine, who looks like a gorgeous surfer dude, has babes falling over themselves for his attention. He is focused on Cassie and her protection from the evil that is stalking her, as well as the good guys who want to reunite her with her sister. Deeply attracted to her, he reins in his desire in deference to her innocence until she suddenly emerges out of her prophecy fog to realize that she has sex on a stick on tap. There are some very hot moments where they explore the physical side of their relationship, but time is marching on and events are hurtling them towards an epic battle between good and evil.
Will the light be able to defeat the Dark Lord and contain him again in the dimension where he was once a prisoner? Or will the dark engulf the light, plunging all of humankind into a life time of darkness? As it seems in all those epic stories, everyone has to pull together in the same direction in order to win. Even the smallest being who fights on the side of the good counts, or so the prophet has intoned.
This is Book 9 in the series, and I have to say that I have really enjoyed every book so far. While each is standalone, there are references to events in the past stories that have a bearing on this book and a reader who hasn’t read the previous ones can be lost. I had been especially looking forward to this book because I really wanted the sisters to be reunited and happy. It has been very heartwarming to see men, who make the world shake in fear, give anything to see their mates smile.
The author has skillfully blended legends like Avalon and Morgan Le Fey, vampires, fey, shapeshifters, werewolves, human chalices, demons, jinns, and all other kinds of supernatural species in a very interesting way, but at heart the appeal like the King Arthur’s legends is about noble quests to root out evil and keep mankind safe.
Grade: B
Summary:
Her visions lead her to danger
Beautiful Cassandra is a Were, a prophet both vulnerable and defiant, blessed with visions that portend the fate of the world.
A rare and delicate creature, Cassie must be protected at all costs. Enter Caine, a powerful cur turned pureblooded Were whose recent tangles with a demon lord have left him in serious need of redemption. Caine is duty-bound to keep Cassie out of danger—and that means resisting his potent urge to seduce her…And only he can save her
As Cassie’s mysterious visions lead them in and out of danger, Caine believes he has found his true mate, the woman with whom he is bound for all eternity. Cassie is both charmed and frightened by Caine’s magnetism, and unsure if he–or her feelings for him–can be trusted. But Cassie can’t afford to
doubt Cain now. A deadly enemy bent on destruction is closer than they realize—and only they can keep chaos from ruling
the world…No excerpt available.
Other books in this series:
