Customer Reviews

Sequel to When Darkness Comes - By: Lesley70, 21 Feb 2008
Embrace the Darkness is the second bookin the Guardians of Eternity series. Following the eventsin When Darkness Comes (Book 1), Viper (chief of a vampire clan) buys the Lady Shay (last of the Shalott demons, though technically she's half human) at auction. This annoys her more than a little asin the previous book she did save his life. Though Viper's motives may appear nefarious, he actually wants to protect Shay. However, unknown to both of them, she's actuallyin a lot more danger than they suspect. To survive, they'll not only have to depend on each other, but also their friends - both old & new.

I have a problem with this book, it was just so nice. Too nice. The bad guys were bad (or misunderstood), the good guys were good. It was well written. There were nice (there's that word again) comic touches from Levet, the heroine's gargoyle companion. But I don't think it's quite for me. I'm finding I prefer urban fantasy with its darker undertones, over paranormal romance.

Having said that, Shay & Viper have some strong dialogue & a great chemistry. I found Viper to be the more well-rounded character of the two, Shay was not quite so interesting. Levet is a little gargoyle with a big heart. He works as both a sidekick & a conscience & has some of the best lines.

There are some inconsistenciesin the plot, or maybe I didn't pick up on all the subtleties. Specifically relating to Shay's curse. There's also a tendency to pull back from things, for example when Viper talks about the time before he was a clan chief how terrible things were for him. Shay questions him, but he just says - 'you don't want to know'. Also about the powers of each vampire clan chief - it's confidential. I'll make allowances for this oncein a story, but more than that & it starts to annoy.

Alexandra Ivy does know how to keep her readers interested. New vampires are introduced here - Styx & Santiago. And there's mention of a 'young & fierce werewolf'. She putsin just enough to keep you interestedin where the story is going. I also like that she makes the bad guy a little more three dimensional than your standard evil overlord. We get a glimpse of the hero he might have beenin the past.

It's a nice story, well written with engaging moments. Slightly too light for me. The humour, & chemistry between the characters lifts it above a lot of the other paranormal romance out there. Recommended for fans of Jacquelyn Frank & Alyssa Day.

Book 1 - When Darkness Comes (available)
Book 3 - Darkness Everlasting (May 2008)