Reviewer: Holly Guardian Demon by Meljean Brook
Series: The Guardians #8
Also in this series: Demon Night, Demon Bound, Demon Forged, Demon Angel, Demon Moon
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: August 6th 2013
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 576
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Series Rating:
The new novel in the Guardian series from Meljean Brook, bestselling author of the Iron Seas novels...
After a terrifying encounter in Hell destroys her trust in Michael, the Guardians’ powerful leader, former detective Andromeda Taylor is ready to call it quits as one of the angelic warriors and resume her human life again. But when demonic forces threaten her closest friends and she uncovers a terrifying plot devised by Lucifer, Taylor is thrown straight into Michael’s path again…
To defeat Lucifer, Michael needs every Guardian by his side—and he needs Taylor more than any other. The detective is the key to keeping his own demonic side at bay, and Michael will do anything to protect her and keep her close. And when Taylor manifests a deadly power, her Gift might tip the scales in the endless war between Heaven and Hell…or it might destroy them both with a single touch.
This is the book I’ve been waiting for. Though the leader of the Guardians hasn’t always been my favorite character, I have to admit he’s intrigued me from the beginning. I meant to re-read the series to prepare for this book, but once I received it I couldn’t wait and dove right into it. Though I’d forgotten many of the details of the previous books I felt Brook did a credible job of bringing me up to speed without bogging the story down. I would say this is a book best read as part of the series.
This novel is split into two stories. Story One is that of Taylor and Michael. Not just their romance, but the growth and changes they experience as individuals. Taylor is still trying to come to terms with her new life as a Guardian, and Michael’s betrayal of her in Hell makes her adjustment that much harder. As she struggles to find her new sense of self, she grapples with the decision of whether or not to continue on as a Guardian or go back to being human; not a decision to be made lightly.
For thousands of years Michael has held the esteem of his fellow Guardians. To have lost that, along with Taylor’s good opinion of him, sends him reeling. Plus, he was more attached to Taylor than even he realized. When she rejected him it caused more damage than he could have predicted. He wants to have what time he can with her, because the final battle their faced with will probably destroy him. But it’s hard for them to get quality time together when she’s terrified of him.
Story Two is that of the final confrontation between Lucifier, Belial and his demons and the Guardians. Brook’s world is so intricate. There are a million threads leading a million different place. She pulls them all together here and it culminates in an epic battle between the good, the evil and the lesser evil. One of the most fascinating things about this series is the gray area. The gray area is what made this book so emotionally compelling. Good is good and evil is evil..except when evil is good. This multi-faceted and three-dimensional world held me firmly in its grip until the very last page, and beyond.
I laughed, I cried, I broke out in a cold sweat.
Though I’m sad to see the series end, I have to admit this was the perfect way to close it. Michael didn’t disappoint. As much as I enjoyed the romantic aspects of the story, I was really drawn in by the final battle between the Guardians and the Demons. A dramatic and stunning conclusion to the series.
5 out of 5
This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
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