Beware the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #14)
by Alexandra Ivy
Blurb:
There is only one thing more precious to
vampire Tarak than his newfound freedom after five centuries of captivity, and
that’s the promise of revenge. At last, he can destroy Riven, the merman who
has drained his power in order to make himself king. But at the very moment
when justice is a fang’s breadth away, Tarak’s quest is complicated by the
beautiful mermaid princess who kept him sane and fed during his ordeal.
Waverly hoped that once Tarak escaped, he’d
return to his own kind and enjoy the rest of his immortal life. She also hoped
she might one day stop dreaming about the darkly handsome vampire. Instead, Tarak’s
return draws Waverly into an unlikely alliance—and a passion that eclipses all
her fantasies.
Hatred for Riven has sustained Tarak this
long. But only Waverly’s love can give him the strength to claim eternity with
her . . .
Themes: Paranormal
Rating: 4.5 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
So the saga continues with the long awaited
return of the former right-hand man of the previous Anasso of the vampires,
returned from centuries of imprisonment. I have been looking forward to this
story for a while now, not only because I knew that Tarak would be an
interesting character but because I knew that it would open up a whole new plot
arc for a series that I have loved for years and I feared had ended. Alexandra Ivy has a way of pulling readers in
and investing them in the lives of her characters and making us root for not
just their HEA but their overall growth as a community and family. The strangest of bedfellows become lovers,
brothers, and best friends and I think that makes it the best of moral in the
truest sense of the word. Tarak’s story began in the previous novel when his
best friend managed to free him from his prison, but there is a bit of time
overlap in that we get to see him running from those chasing him in this novel
and how he manages to evade those after him while he is on his own hunt—for
those that captured him and kept him jailed all these centuries. While on the hunt he finds himself crossing
paths with the sweet and sensual merwoman who has been feeding during his
imprisonment and while he has resented her role in his life, she has also been
the closest thing he had to a friend during all that time so he doesn’t want to
cause her trouble, but she just won’t stand down. Waverly has been trying to protect the
stubborn vampire from himself since his escape and she refuses to give up, even
though she won’t admit even to herself why she’s so determined to see him
survive. When they are continuously thrown together in dangerous situations,
they soon see that the attraction they both fought all their acquaintance
wasn’t just a side-effect her feeding him, and only by working together will
they have a chance of surviving the danger they face in order to explore it.
Waverly and Tarak were both intriguing characters, with their flaws certainly,
but their strengths greatly outweighed those and made them more human. Waverly has been trying to keep her people
safe from a tyrant, but her rebellious nature won’t allow her to fully bow to that
bastard, so siding with Tarak seems perfectly natural, but when she starts
having feelings for him she isn’t sure how to handle it, but she refuses to let
the idiot get himself killed or recaptured.
Her determination, dedication to her people, sweetness without being a
wimp, and sensual draw made her the perfect foil for Tarak. Tarak is in kind of a nasty mood—but to be
fair he was imprisoned for a few centuries and drained of his magical strength
to feed an ego maniacal tyrant, so I can forgive him the attitude. He is
obviously a kick-ass-and-take-names kind of guy and I liked that about him,
even though I wished he’d think through a few of his choices a bit more here
and there. When he finally accepts that
the pull toward Waverly isn’t just gratitude for her friendship and service to
him during his imprisonment, and that she means so much more to him, he become
so sweet and loving but that love for her only made him a stronger opponent when his woman was threatened. I loved seeing these two come together to
fight their enemies, but even more I loved the side story that led to some
SERIOUSLY surprising changes for Waverly’s people. I am looking forward to reading more about
the Mer in future stories and possibly getting to see them more integrated into
the overall world of the Demon’s.
Another masterpiece of Magick and mayhem Ms. Ivy!
*ebook provided by publisher (via
netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.
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