Guardian Extravaganza! Day 8 - Review: Demon Forged

Today, Meljean Brook is offering DEMON FORGED to One Lucky Commenter! In addition, comments will also count towards a chance to win the Entire Guardian Series!!! See below for contest details.

Review: Demon Forged by Meljean Brook

Releases tomorrow, October 6th!

Four centuries ago, Irena and Alejandro would have succumbed to the need smoldering between them — if a demon and a monstrous bargain hadn’t shattered the possibility of love. Torn apart by shame, Irena avoided Alejandro for centuries — until a vampire’s call for help throws her into his arms again.

Alejandro can control fire, but he’s never been able to control — or quench — the flames between him and Irena. And he knows Irena, hardened by her hatred for demonkind, will never accept that he now works at a demon’s behest. But even as he fights for a second chance, a shocking betrayal and a deadly prophecy shake the foundations of the Guardian universe, and all Hell threatens to break loose…

The Guardian Series Book Eight

Four centuries ago Irena's shame and Alejandro's pride destroyed a love that could have withstood an eternity. Now Irena's heart is as hard as steel and it only melts beneath Alejandro's dark and smoldering stares whenever they're forced to be in each other's presence.

Irena's sixteen centuries as a Guardian have sharpened her into a quick and blunt instrument delivering pointed comments with developed wisdom and at times, with unveiled anger. She is also often misinterpreted. Recently betrayed by Michael, leader of the Guardians, her mentor and the one she looked up to above all others, Irena's disappointment is known throughout the Corps but she'll not allow it to prevent her from protecting those who need it. She's a warrior, a hunter, quick to react and quick to judge every situation. Her hatred for demons is soul deep and the fact that the Guardians, in her mind, have become subservient to them only deepens her disappoint with Michael. As far as Irena's concerned, she's a being who lives for the hunt and the kill and her skills are not useful to the scheming minds of her fellow Guardians and their alignment with the hellspawn Lilith and the Demon Rael. Given the chance she'd slay them both.

Alejandro has loved Irena from the moment he laid eyes on her in Caelum four hundred years ago. He knew that it was she who made the beautiful weapons that the Guardians used with her Gift of manipulating metal. Her demon kills were and still are legendary and one would be wise to be worshipful and intimidated by her but instead Alejandro challenged her the moment their eyes locked. She kissed him that day after bringing him to the ground with merely a knife. Instead of humiliation he felt lust and determination to satisfy her wild soul.

No woman could be more Alejandro's opposite. He's well read while she could care less for words. He doesn't cultivate hated for demons while she burns with it. Irena was and still is warrior to the soul. A woman who detests politicians while Alejandro, a politician in his human life, has also played that role as a Guardian. And if called to do it again, he will even knowing that it will take him further and further from Irena's heart. It's only Alejandro's Gift of fire that meshes with Irena but it's also enough to fuel a combustible passion.

The world that the Guardians find themselves in DEMON FORGED is darker and more desperate then ever. Their numbers are devastatingly low while their threats have multiplied and converged into a power greater than they've ever faced. Emotions are taught while they all await the moment that their skills are tested and their lives may be forfeit. It's in this time that Irena's strength and natural ability to lead are needed. When the Demon Rael, a.k.a. Senator Stafford and political backer of the Guardians and their Homeland Security division of Special Investigations, is struck by the bullet that kills his wife during a political rally, the Guardians suspect foul play on the demon's part and launch an investigation. Because of the Rules, Rael could never directly kill his human wife but he could bargain with another being not bound by the Rules to commit the murder. If Rael is responsible, the Guardians will slay him and Alejandro will assume his position as Senator Stafford. Both Alejandro and Irena are assigned to the investigation.

For four hundred years, Irena has allowed Alejandro to think the worst of the catalyst that had ultimately drove them apart. Her shame forced distance between them but perhaps it's the recent doom that has settled over her and her fellow Guardians or perhaps she's just tired of fighting her desire for Alejandro but she feels that now is the time to tell him the truth. He's punished himself long enough. At the same time, Alejandro makes the decision to fight for Irena. He let her walk away four centuries ago and every day since then. Enough is enough. And when Alejandro and Irena finally come together, they collide like two fierce predators, each fighting for dominance, each stripped to their hot cores. They're rough with their strength, explosive with their emotions and blistering with their heat.

When the Guardian's worst fear becomes a reality, Alejandro and Irena are willing, determined even, to sacrifice their lives to destroy the evil intent on enslaving humanity despite the fact that they've have renewed their love and cemented their bond.

She might as well set it in stone now. "I will go first."
He looked out over the sea, his jaw white. "No."
"Do not argue."
"Do not pretend you can determine which of us will--" He shook his head, sharply. "No. I will be first."
"I will drag you down from the laps of the angels Above and kill you for leaving."
"You threaten me?" He narrowed his eyes, and humor came into their depths. "We will never agree on this, Irena. Admit defeat."
She sneered. "I will eat spiders in Hell first."
"Then you might as well surrender now. Even a woman of your deep hungers could not chew beyond a second leg."
She looked away before her laughter burst out. Two dozen Guardians quickly glanced in other directions. Most were smiling--or trying to surpress one. Good. Much better than quietly running as far out of the line of her and Alejandro's fire as possible. And now they would all know why he stood at her side instead of watching her from a distance, as he had at every other gathering.

DEMON FORGED © Meljean Brook

DEMON FORGED is by far the darkest novel in the Guardian Series and it's not just because of the events that occur but also because of Alejandro and Irena, their past, the dilemmas they face and the fact that they're more serious and seasoned Guardians. Alejandro is dark and sultry and embodies the deadly precision of a very skilled swordsman. Irena is solid in her stance, brutally direct with a temper that's like a constant lit fuse just waiting to burst into flames.

With Irena, you always know where you stand. She's not one to play games, she's lived too long. She's also a bit barbaric, a hunter of large game that eats the hearts of her kills. She's raw and simply fascinating. Although, having lived sixteen centuries, she's a bit set in her ways and a times, quick to judge without looking at all angles. But like the steel she works with, she will bend but not for just anyone. Her anger with Michael is justified and I felt deeply for her reasons. But even though she disagrees with her leader, she never abandons their cause.

Alejandro is achingly intense and a man who prides himself on his control. This is a common trait in Brook's heroes but to witness them when their rigid control snaps is like ambrosia for the hussy soul for it usually shatters during sex. But while each of Brook's heroes share this trait, they all break their control for different reasons. What was interesting about Alejandro was that although he was prideful, he wasn't necessarily arrogant. He's a silent man who rarely speaks unless the situation calls for it. He's dangerous and mysterious - a predator. Alejandro broke my heart on two specific occasions, both of which were incredibly heroic and are burned deeply within my reader heart. He and Irena were more than worthy for one another.

Obviously there is a lot more to DEMON FORGED than Alejandro and Irena, much of which are best experienced on ones own. I will mention though one new aspect to Brook's Guardian novels and that is the time she spends in POV's other than the lead hero and heroine. There are two other romances cultivating in DEMON FORGED in addition to Alejandro and Irena but all three snagged my undivided attention. Brook never fails to astound me. The world is evolving. Several plot arch's are converging and the novels are taking on a more Urban Fantasy feel but the romance is still very much center stage and the sex is still very integral to the growth of her characters. What Brook ends up delivering is my perfect romance novel.

DEMON FORGED took me on a journey through a miasma of emotions. I cried tears of indescribable awe. I laughed and cheered. I held the pages with white knuckled fingers and bated breath. I flung myself back into the couch with shock. I smiled and frowned. To encapsulate it all into one sentence: I loved.

A

Lost? Unable to Read the Series in Order? Check out The Guardian Series Primer!

Question for Meljean: One of my favorite aspects of the Guardians are their Gifts. What motivated you to give them Gifts? And have you ever been surprised by a particular Guardian's Gift? Why did you decide to tie a Guardian's Gift to something specific in their human life?

It's funny, but I guess I haven't thought much about why they have Gifts. It just seemed a very natural thing to do -- the concept of being having a special gift or being gifted by the angels tricking down through my subconscious, I guess. And I'm also such a huge, huge fan of superhero comics, and as I mentioned before, I started out in fanfiction. So the idea of giving each Guardian their own superpower (in addition to the powers that they all share) also felt natural.

Alice's Gift surprised me. Her ability to connect with spiders was something I'd originally just thrown out there ... but then I thought about it, and I realized how much I loved it. I'd always intended for Drifter's Gift to be about unlocking things -- because that was part of his background and how it related to his human life -- but it wasn't until I was in the second chapter that the lightning bolt struck, and I realized how very incredibly his Gift tied into the shielding spell, and how important it could be. I'd decided what Irena and Alejandro's Gifts would be long before I decided they would end up together, and it was just lovely that her Gift of metalworking and his Gift of fire complemented each other's so well -- I didn't plan it that way, but I definitely used that connection as much as I could.

The Gift reflects their human life for several reasons, but the most important one is that they can't forget who they are or where they've been, and how it shaped them. I think it would be easy for an immortal to lose touch with their history and their human side after hundreds or even thousands of years, but that Gift will always tie them to that history. That's not to say that their Gift is a constant, overwhelming reminder or that it prevents them from growing and adapting to their Guardian life, but that it provides a solid anchor to their past -- even if that anchor is a painful one (as in Alejandro's case, when he was burned at the stake.)

*Contest Open to All*

**Contest Closes today, October 5th at Midnight U.S. Pacific Standard Time and a Winner will be Chosen Randomly and Announced Wednesday, October 6th**

***Additionally, Comments will Count towards a Chance to Win The Entire Guardian Series Novels and Novellas. Contest Closes Tuesday, October 6th at Midnight U.S. Pacific Standard Time and a Winner will be Chosen Randomly and Announced Wednesday, October 7th. Entrants are limited to One Comment Per Day in the Guardian Extravaganza Prize of the The Entire Guardian Series Novels and Novellas. Contest is Open to All***