He saw her die in a vision… Fate had other plans—and she walked right into his life when he least expected it. For the last five years he’s avoided Vega whenever possible even while trying to keep an eye on her. But when she gets cagey with her pack and disappears, he has no choice but to follow her. Now, circumstances are forcing them to work together and he’s determined to protect her against any threat. If that means dying for her, he’s more than willing to. But she doesn’t want his protection. If anything, she’s determined to prove she’s stronger than everyone thinks.
She’s writing her own future…
Vega isn’t the same moody teenager who came to live with the Stavros pack all those years ago. With college behind her, she’s been recruited by a division of the government’s supernatural Black Ops. Trained and more than ready for her first mission, she doesn’t expect Gabriel to crash her assignment. To save her cover, they pretend to be a couple. But soon lines are blurred and neither can deny the incendiary attraction between them. As they race to stop a man who wants to sell out their people to the highest bidder, they find themselves fighting for a future together. With time running out, she has no choice but to rely on the irresistible male who’s turned her world upside down. Unfortunately, in order to save the woman he loves, Gabriel has to give her up.
Length: NOVEL
Author note: This is a stand-alone novel in the Darkness series complete with an HEA and no cliffhanger.
Darkness series:
1. Darkness Awakened
2. Taste of Darkness
3. Beyond the Darkness
4. Hunted by Darkness
5. Into the Darkness
6. Saved by Darkness
7. Guardian of Darkness
more
Vega is the pack princess, she is half wolf and half vampire. She has finished college and has been recruited by a special black ops organization for paranormal. Gabriel is her packs Guardian and was Vega’s bodyguard for years, until his attraction got to be too much and left. He knows they are mates but was shown the future and he sees Vega die in his arms, so he has kept his distance. The op she is on is to find a wolf who is trying to sell the location of paranormal. He is hiding on Gabriel’s cousins land. They go in as a couple to find out where the traitor hid the evidence. But the whole plan goes haywire when a dragon is on the property, voices are calling to Vega, and Gabriel is fighting his feelings for Vega. My favorite book in this series so far. It’s funny, exciting, sexy, and will keep you turning the pages until the very end. I hope she writes one about the dragon next. Told in third person and several pov. Ms.Reus has definitely written a winner in this one.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for Netgalley *
Stavros pack princess Vega is a unique individual. She’s half shifter, half vampire, with very powerful parents and friends. But she doesn’t want to be locked in a protective bubble forever. When she’s tapped for undercover work, she feels she’s finally found her calling. Except for one small snafu. Her longtime crush who also happens to be her father’s Guardian, Gabriel.
After a forced vision of his future showing his mate dying, Gabriel tried to change his fate by leaving his pack and joining the Stavros pack. All was well until Vega and her mother show up (Darkness Awakened) and throw his plans awry. Now Vega is all grown up, and Gabriel is finding it harder and harder to deny himself the one thing he’s ever truly wanted.
Guardian was a fairly fast-paced read. I loved the twists with Vega’s case and her team, Gabriel’s inadvertent family reunion, and updated progress on Finn and Lyra (Vega’s parents) relationship. I also liked the sexy tension between Vega and Gabriel. My only complaint would be with everything else going on, I felt like the relationship was squeezed in and rushed through. I was hoping for just a smidge more focus on Vega and Gabriel relationship. Otherwise, I found the story highly entertaining and I hope to see more entries in the future.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Great book. Love this author.
GUARDIAN OF DARKNESS by Katie Reus
Finally Gabriel and Vega get their book! This is the 7th book of the Darkness series and I have liked them all, but this is by far my favorite! Gabriel is the Guardian of the Stavros pack and also Vegas bodyguard, Vega is the daughter of Finn the Alpha and his wife Lyra, a vampire. She is all grown up now and has a secret job in the black ops she has been training in for about a year. Gabriel had a vision forced on him by a seer where Vega is killed after they mate so he is will not make her his own. I do not like to give too much away, but this is such an enjoyable read. These 2 have chemistry, great banter between them, and the action is nonstop. I received an ARC for my honest review.
I love courageous, independent, competent people who figure out how to be stronger together and kick ass. I’m also a big fan of Reus’s Darkness series. This can be read as standalone, but do yourself a favor and read the rest of the series.
Loved it. Another great read. This is Gabriel and Vega’s story. Filled with action, love, a stubborn male afraid to mate with his mate because of a vision and awesome sex makes for another fantastic story. 4.5 stars!!
Terrific paranormal! This is my first of the series and it is well written with a fantastic plot. A hybrid vamp/were determined to make her own way in the world and her werewolf guardian who harbors a secret desire to claim her. Fabulous paranormal world mixed with humans in the know. Loved Vega and Gabriel’s slow burn to love. Story is loaded with action, danger, suspense, intrigue and romance. Worth the read.
Have read the whole series….will keep reading the series!!!
I love these characters. Every book includes past characters as well as new. Each book builds on the last one in the series but has an original plot.
Fantasy meets romance in this series. Original and action packed, these can be read as a stand alone, but they are honestly better as a series read in order. The characters and alternate world that exists within the modern human world challenges your imagination, and pull you into a world of relationships and romance. Fantasy-romance fiction by a great author.
Gabriel may be the pack Guardian but he has been on the run from his feelings for Vega for some time. He knew her when she was a surly teenager and she has matured into brilliant and beautiful woman. Add in the fact that her dad is his Alpha and he has seen a vision of her death whilst wearing his mate mark and this strong male has turned tail and run!
Vega always thought that there may have been more between her and Gabriel but she’ll never know. He dumper her protection detail and ran home the pack rather than protect her. Now finished college, she has been recruited by a specialist supernatural black ops division. But before she even gets the chance to go on her first mission, Gabriel dumps himself back into her business and her life! Now they are forced to act as an about-to-be-mated couple to flush out a treasonous wolf. How did her life get so complicated?!?!?!
Vega was no pampered princess. She wants to do her part to protect her pack and supernaturals in general. Gabriel’s attempts to protect her, even from herself where laudable, even if he did take things a bit far by denying their mate potential! He also was ready to fight by her side rather than box her up and hide here away – even if it was going through his mind. Loved the fact that not everyone is a straight-forward vamp or shifters, there are intriguing blends and all kinds. And of course Dragons, there must always be dragons for a bit of ancient shifter shenanigans/keep the demons out!
Gabriel and Vega have been among my favorites from the beginning. Now Vega is all grown up and Gabriel is still trying to fight his attraction. He knows that she is his mate but is determined to deny himself that connection due his vision. Vega is determined to be her own person away from the pack.
Going undercover with Gabriel pretending to be a couple was never part of the plan Vega and the team had discussed but that’s exactly what happens. Will they be able to complete the mission and not let the pretense become real?
In addition to the developing relationship of Gabriel and Vega, there is lots of suspense and a few surprises.
Happy-Dance. I love Guardian-Protector heroes. Vega Marius Stavros doesn’t need any man to protect her even if she’s a wolf-vampire hybrid with powerful hell gate magic in her blood. Gabriel, wolf shifter, disagrees. He had a vision of her death before he knew of her existence and was determined to never meet her. He left his pack and moved to become the Guardian of the Stavros pack. When the Alpha of the pack discovers he has a teen aged daughter who comes to live with the pack, Gabriel knows to his bones she was the one he saw, his mate. Now he’s determined to never mate her and to keep her from his old pack as that’s where she died. The best laid plans…Vega, who strives to be independent of the protection she’s grown up with, has been recruited into a secret government paranormal black ops unit.They trained her to be strong and independent, honing the paranormal gifts she was born with. When she takes off on her first mission, well trained and ready, Gabriel follows. Oh I loved their journey to passion and commitment. It was filled with intrigue, spies, paranormal creatures and my very favorite, dragons! This is 200 well packed pages that were oh so satisfying, as opposed to the ARC I read just before it that was 300+ pages of the same thing but missed the mark.
Thank you Katie for this ARC for an honest review. Your stories are always top shelf!
Years ago Gabriel was forced by a seer to see his future. A future where his mate died. Fast forward a few years and he meets that mate while she is a young teen. As guardian of her father’s pack he watches out for Vega and befriends her. But once she grows into a woman he knows he must separate himself from her or risk mating and then losing her forever.
Vega has quite an exotic background when it comes to her supernatural abilities. Graduating from college she joins a covert group that helps to protect not only the government but supernaturals as well. Her heart was broken when Gabriel essentially walked out of her life, dismissing their friendship and keeping distance between them. Now he’s stepped into her business and has become a part of her first assignment.
I loved Gabriel and Vega. Loved them when I first met them and loved them even more now that I’ve read their story. Poor Gabriel. He was struggling against his very nature in order to protect Vega and in the process unknowingly breaking her heart. I loved the way he was committed to her even when he knew he could never mate her.
The storyline here was engaging and fast paced as a wolf shifter has stolen information and plans to sell it to the highest bidder, putting all supernaturals at risk. The secondary characters help to build the story, alleviate tension and lay the ground work for future books. The steam factor is a bit low but fit with the story in the only way that would work.
This book was perfect in so many ways. If you enjoy paranormal, shifter books, you definitely need to check out this series or at least this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I absolutely loved this story. I have read every book in this series thus far and this has to be my favorite book. The storyline is one all paranormal readers will enjoy and these characters definitely keep things interesting. The chemistry between Gabriel and Vera was undeniable. I not only enjoyed their back and forth banter, but I also enjoyed reading their letters that said what they couldn’t say to each other face to face. This story has suspense, action, romance, steamy scenes and a few surprises. I hope Mira and August characters get their story because there is definitely some attraction going on there. I look forward to reading more books in this series and I highly recommend this one for anyone that loves a good shifter romance with vampires, dragons and wolves. This one will not disappoint and I can’t wait for the next one.
I was so excited for this next book in this fantastic series…
This story we get Vega the daughter of Alpha Finn and his mate Lyra.
We saw the feelings for Gabriel aka Guardian of the pack and Vega grow through the last few books. Now that she is a woman Gabriel is finding it hard to keep his distance. But because of something he saw in his past he must keep his distance…. Can he?
Vega has become a woman on a mission. She has taken on her first job and hasn’t shared this with any of her family or pack. Things take a turn however when the one she has been trying to avoid shows up.
We get action in this book, suspense, betrayal and of course we get a visit from one of my favorites the Dragons. The author gives us what I am hoping is a look into the next characters book perhaps or it’s my wishful thinking.. I just love this series and this by far has been my favorite.
4.5 stars– GUARDIAN OF DARKNESS is the seventh full-length instalment in Katie Reus’ contemporary, adult DARKNESS paranormal, fantasy romance series. This is wolf shifter and Stavros Pack guardian Gabriel, and vampire/wolf hybrid Vega Stavros’ story line. GUARDIAN OF DARKNESS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary although I recommend reading the series in order for backstory and cohesion.
Told from several third person points of view including Gabriel and Vega, using present day and ‘letters’ from the past, GUARDIAN OF DARKNESS follows the hunt for a traitor, a shifter willing to sell secrets of the paranormal to the highest bidder. Vega Stravros is the newest member of the government’s supernatural Black Ops team, a position she has trained for the past few years. When her father’s Guardian, the man that calls to her heart but a man that refuses to acknowledge their attraction, walks in on Vega’s latest assignment, our heroine must come to terms that not everything is as it seems. Enter Gabriel, her one-time bodyguard, and the man with whom Vega is still in love. What ensues is the ‘pretend’ lovers relationship between Vega and Gabriel as the couple must go undercover in an effort to ferret out the traitor hiding in a place Gabriel knows only too well.
Gabriel walked away from Vega two years earlier when a seer showed our hero the future-a future wherein Vega would die in Gabriel’s arms. Gabriel intends to keep his distance believing he can change the future, a future he knows will break his heart. Vega Stavros has no idea why the man that she loved walked away without a backward glance. Intending to move forward without the man she believed was her intended mate, Vega will come to learn the truth about the past, the present and their future.
There is a large ensemble cast of colorful secondary and supporting characters, most are familiar but with the re-introduction of the Black Ops Team including August McGuire, Neema and Eli, and Gabriel’s cousin Judoc McGrath and his Pack, there is the potential for many more story lines especially with the discovery of a long, lost ancient.
GUARDIAN OF DARKNESS is a sexy thrill ride with sassy characters and an intriguing plot. The premise is entertaining and engaging; the characters are familiar and intense; the romance is fated and seductive.
Thrills and romance keeps reader glued to the pages of this exhilarating new Darkness novel by Katie Reus.
Vega and Gabriel are two electrifying characters that spark readers’ imagination as they easily draw readers into their story with their sizzling chemistry, steamy romance and charismatic personalities. The romance between these two have a rocky start but when situations arise, tempers spark and the truth comes out which keeps this romance on the fast track to happily ever after and the characters are life like, easily related to and sexy to boot which makes for one exhilarating love story.
The fast paced, action filled plot keeps readers on the edge of their seats with lots of suspense and thrills as Vega and Gabriel find themselves in hot water in a Black Ops mission where lines are blurred and tensions are high. To top it off the situation is further complicated by some surprising twists that lands the couple in a life altering, nerve-racking and frightening event.
The Darkness world is brought to vibrant life by Katie Reus’s brilliant words, thrilling plots and fascinating characters and I just can’t get enough of it. Guardian of Darkness had me spellbound from the very beginning and Gabriel and Vega was two very sexy characters. I can’t wait for my next visit to the Darkness World.