Demon Night (The Guardians, Book 3)

I loved, loved, loved this book!!! And I know I'm going to love, love, love this series! Meljean Brook is a superb writer and storyteller, and the way she can bring a (very) long and complicated story together without reading you to death by boredom is something I haven't seen in many authors. The whole way through this novel I never forgot the review I read by Marjorie M. Liu (writer)..."A read that goes down hot and sweet-utterly unique-and one hell of a ride." Amen sister!!!

Charlie Newcomb has finally put her life back together with a lot of hard work and she is close to finishing her schooling for the next step. The night she is almost attacked by three vampires has Charlie thinking twice about what her life now consists of. Why would they pick her out? Ethan McCabe has been a guardian for several hundred years and he has never been distracted from his assignments. However, after shadowing Charlie for a while now, Ethan is highly attracted to her, and that has nothing to do with his Guardian duties. Guardians are to protect and Ethan feels an overwhelming need to protect Charlie from the vampires and demons hunting her that has everything to do with being a man. Ethan and Charlie have discovered that the link between her and the vampires is her sister and the research she is currently doing. Ethan and Charlie are slowly figuring out the intricacies of the Seattle vampire community and the fierce determination of the demon that wants Charlie. As they discover exactly who is hiding the demon within and just how complex the scheme really is, will Ethan and the Guardians be enough to protect her from the new reality of her life? Demon Night is the highly complex and intricate story of Charlie and Ethan and how they come to have their forever. Charlie has messed up her life and just now has about claimed it back correctly. Ethan made a decision that led to his becoming a Guardian and he has not forgotten why he had to make that decision. Ethan and Charlie at first try to ignore the feelings that are springing up between them, but you just cannot ignore the red-hot passion once it has taken over. I was once again intrigued by a plot from Ms. Brook that included not only danger from several angles that seem to include some folklore but also never let you lose track of the romance. Demon Night will take you on a wild roller coaster ride that paranormal lovers will not want to miss. Jo reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Before reading Demon Night I just couldn't imagine 'cowboy' guardian Drifter, who was a very minor character in Demon Moon, being a very interesting leading man. Well I'll admit right here, I was wrong. But then I should know better, after all author Brook managed to make the very vain vampire Colin in Demon Moon into a great leading man and she does an even better job here with `Drifter' Ethan McCabe who is really no cowboy. For 140 years Ethan has been a Guardian, fighting demons and protecting humans. When the lovely but seemingly fragile Charlie is targeted by a group that plans to turn Charlie into a vampire to use her to `motivate' Charlie's research scientist sister to their cause, Ethan is assigned to protect Charlie. Ethan plans on keeping Charlie safe from a distance, because up close there is something about Charlie that is just too distracting and in his business distraction could cost Ethan his head or Charlie her life. But when the villains become bold, Ethan's plans change and suddenly keeping Charlie very close seems like a very very good idea. Charlie sees a hero in Ethan, but he's never been a white hat kind of guy. While Ethan is a Guardian he's no angel, before becoming a Guardian he died an outlaw's death in the old west. But Ethan is so solid and gorgeous that Charlie can't help but want him, even as she tries to keep herself from needing him, because Charlie doesn't allow herself to be needy and dependant, she is no longer that broken woman. Soon the connection between Charlie and Ethan grows and Ethan promises to `provide' everything she needs, but what Charlie really wants from Ethan, what she really needs from him is the one thing she can't ask for. Ethan is a great hero and Brook does a terrific job of giving him the feel of being from another time. There's something just a bit quaint in way he strings together the words he uses when he speaks, even after taking into account the "aw shucks ma'am" affectation that he uses to get people to underestimate his intelligence. Also there's a difference in his attitudes that make him not a modern man, from his physical modesty to subtle way of expressing his feelings and the difference in what his words mean to him that Charlie doesn't pick up. Ethan is also puzzle. The prolog gives a hint of his unsavory past, but when Charlie first gets someone to tell her about Ethan's past it is hard to reconcile the difference between his beginnings with the outlaw thief and murderer became, We just have to wait until Charlie hears it from Ethan's own lips to figure it out. Part of what makes Ethan such an effective romantic lead is the way that he holds himself so tightly. Ethan's rigid control could have stolen emotional intensity from his relationship with Charlie, if Charlie didn't challenge his control so thoroughly. But instead, Ethan's restraint actually builds the tension between them so that when Ethan's restraint breaks from time to time he and Charlie really sizzle. I h

I loved Demon Moon and didn't think anything in the series could be better than that, but I was wrong. Demon Night is excellent! Highly recommended! The characterization was fantastic; the interaction between the h/h plus characters from previous stories was just wonderful. 5 stars all the way. I am eagerly looking forward to the next in this series! Kudos to Meljean Brook. You are getting better and better.

Meljean Brook is the type of author who continues to blow away readers with her incredible writing. Demon Night is another wonderful submission to her world that showcases the war between the Guardians of Heaven and the Demons of the underworld. And of course don't forget those vampires and other creatures that are bent on destruction. But with Demon Night, you have two incredible and endearing characters that will go against all odds to be with each other or die trying. Ethan a.k.a Drifter, is a Guardian (angel) who lived during the Old West. He is a true cowboy and his twang is his trademark. He mission is to protect a human woman, Charlie. But Ethan is quite stumped over Charlie. He has a bit of a crush on her. Charlie is unlike any woman he has met. Charlie is damaged. She has quite a past from problems with alcohol, disappointments and trouble seems to follow her where ever she goes. But she is a survivor and her days are filled working as a bartender and keeping in touch with her dear sister, Jane. But when her new neighbor, Ethan moves in next door, her life changes forever. Charlie is being watched and stalked by the undead who want to make her their own. Ethan must keep her alive and protect her. But what is an angel suppose to do when he falls in love with a human? How can they be together? If you are a fan of paranormal, fantasy, spiritual and scorching hot romance, Demon Night is the must read. Charlie and Ethan's romance maybe a bit more subtle than her past books,(remember Hugh and Lilith's?) but you will be amazed yet again and will not be able to put this book down till the very end. Past characters show up along with new ones. Even though some may think this is an everyday ordinary romance, it truly isn't. Demon Night is so much more and beyond anything you will read. I recommend you start from the beginning of this series to get the full taste of what you will be in store for. Kudos to Ms. Brook for her imagination and coming up with the characters of Charlie and Ethan and their quest for happiness and love. Katiebabs Hot Spell Demon Angel (The Guardians, Book 2) Demon Moon (The Guardians, Book 4) (Berkley Sensation)