Guardian's Joy (Guardians of the Race #3)

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Guardian's Joy (Guardians of the Race #3)

by Jacqueline Rhoades (Goodreads Author)

4.34 of 5 stars 4.34 · rating details · 29 ratings · 6 reviews

JJ Justice has spent her adulthood lost and alone and vulnerable to the haunting of a past she can’t remember. It’s no wonder she feels different from other people and not surprising that she chose the police force as a way of standing up for others who are defenseless against the evils of the world, but when her only friend and partner is brutally murdered by a creature n...more

Kindle Edition, 330 pages

Published July 11th 2012

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Oct 01, 2012 Sandy rated it 4 of 5 stars

GUARDIAN’S JOY (Guardians of the Race #3) by Jacqueline Rhoades

GUARDIAN’S JOY is the third storyline in Jacqueline Rhoades Guardians of the Race series.

Some background: The Guardians are of the Race, with superior strength and speed, descended from Gabriel who are on earth to protect the humans and guard the portal, ensuring the demons do not cross the barrier. When a Guardian dies and his heart still remains within his chest, he is changed into vampire, and must be destroyed before the blood r...more GUARDIAN’S JOY (Guardians of the Race #3) by Jacqueline Rhoades

GUARDIAN’S JOY is the third storyline in Jacqueline Rhoades Guardians of the Race series.

Some background: The Guardians are of the Race, with superior strength and speed, descended from Gabriel who are on earth to protect the humans and guard the portal, ensuring the demons do not cross the barrier. When a Guardian dies and his heart still remains within his chest, he is changed into vampire, and must be destroyed before the blood rage consumes. The women in the storyline are the Daughter’s of Man and the descendants of one of the original matings. All males of the Race are born with a tiny red tear drop over their left chest muscle. When they mature, the lilies bloom (it is not a tattoo). When they are initiated into the Guardians, the skull and tears appear. Once they are mated, a rose will bloom with the lilies. A white rose for a mated pair, a red rose for a blood bond pair.

Guardian’s Joy focuses on Joy JJ Justice, a cop who recently tendered her resignation following the death of her partner. Joy has a special ability to ferret out ‘demons’ and vampires, and takes it upon herself to track the evil beings. But on the night in question, JJ will find that she is overpowered by a demon and the man who is trying to help, believes she has killed an innocent victim. When the demon poison takes hold, Joy will find herself alone and slowly dying from an infected scratch.

Bernardo “Nardo” believes he has found his mate in JJ. With her ability to call forth a power, the other women in the Guardian House believe she is a Daughter of Man, but JJ only knows that her mother believed her to be a witch. Without the benefit of knowledge, JJ was placed in a commune with others of her ‘kind’. But it is the missing memories that continue to haunt when she is unable to remember the past and the Guardians will discover that Joy is something much more.

Canaan’s Guardian House was losing money. Their finances were a mess and an investigation would reveal that someone was skimming from the outside. Meanwhile there were drained bloodless bodies of young female Paenitentia discovered throughout the city, 14 missing male Paenitnetia and the rumors of a blood-lust vampire were on the rise. Upon further bloodshed and investigation the Guardians would discover the resurrection of an ancient brotherhood from the past breeding hybrid vampires and demons. But Joy’s past will catch up when she recognizes those in power hoping to bring a new breed of Guardian into the world.

Nardo and JJ’s relationship is very slow to build. Injured and fighting the demon poison will find JJ in bed recovering for a period of time, and Nardo’s ill-timed declaration that JJ ‘is mine’ raises the young woman’s hackles and screams ownership. She is determined never to place herself in the position again. She has issues of trust and it would a long time before she felt she could trust anyone ever. But it is her ‘tattoo’ that will have everyone wondering what it means to the House of the Guardian.

GUARDIAN’S JOY is another exciting and wonderful storyline in Jacqueline Rhoades’ Guardians of the Race series. I like Jacqueline’s ability to blend the previous storyline characters into each successive novel, and it doesn’t hurt that everyone lives together in the same house. There is bound to be plenty of interaction. Dov and Col continue their puppy-like antics much to the chagrin of their Lord Leige, but like every patient parent, the household women become protective of their little cubs. And another positive aspect of Jacqueline’s series, she includes much of the Guardian’s backstory and history with every novel, which helps the new readers to the series.

see all of my reviews: thereadingcafe.com(less)

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Sep 18, 2012 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: epub, reviewed-for-the-jeep-diva

3.5 stars

Joy Justice (JJ) has had a rough life. She doesn’t have anyone that she can count on and when she meets Bernardo ad Tormeo (Nardo) she doesn’t think she can trust him much less love him. As she learns about Nardo and the Guardians of the Race she discovers things about herself and her past that could come between her and her future.

Nardo has watched his Liege Lord and fellow Guardian Nico find their mates and he wants nothing more than to find a woman of his own. When he meets JJ he fi...more 3.5 stars

Joy Justice (JJ) has had a rough life. She doesn’t have anyone that she can count on and when she meets Bernardo ad Tormeo (Nardo) she doesn’t think she can trust him much less love him. As she learns about Nardo and the Guardians of the Race she discovers things about herself and her past that could come between her and her future.

Nardo has watched his Liege Lord and fellow Guardian Nico find their mates and he wants nothing more than to find a woman of his own. When he meets JJ he finds her strength and honor compelling and quickly falls for her. As he fights through the barriers her past has erected he discovers a love that he has only imagined.

I really enjoyed the role reversal in this story. Nardo falls for JJ quickly and has to convince her to give him a chance and believe in him. JJ has blanks in her memory and they cause her to have panic attacks and not trust what Nardo says and how he acts. He has to work extra hard to earn her love. I liked the fact that Nardo didn’t shy away from his feelings for JJ and was up front with her from the beginning that he wanted to be with her. On the other hand, once you learn about JJ’s past and learn more about her, it’s understandable why she is resistant to the idea of being in a relationship with anyone.

Once again the secondary characters where great. They added a lot of depth and humor to the story. I am loving the little pieces we get of the couples from the past books. I like to see how their lives have progressed. I will say that I was surprised by how much time had passed for the characters. It is mentioned in this book that it had been two years since the Liege Lord mated and his was the first book. It isn’t really relevant to this review but I was just surprised that so much time had passed. But given the developments in this story with the Liege Lords funds and other events, that passage of time makes sense. I am very intrigued by the matchmaking cat as well. I have been trying to figure him out but so far…no luck.

I was very happy that this book had a different set of villians than to last two. I am really enjoying where the story arc is going and I am very interested to see what happens in the next book with Faith and the rest of the gang. (less)

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Oct 18, 2012 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nook-own, vamp

I believe it was Stephen King who said, 'Good books don't give up all their secrets at once.' And Guardian's Joy is a good book that definitely follows that motto. The two leads in this book are Joy, JJ, and Nardo who are both very different from the leads in the previous two books. Nardo was quick to fall for JJ and knew she was meant to be his, he just needed to convince her of it. Joy comes to the Guardian house with a huge hole in her memory that hides a dark and troubled past. With the help...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Georgianna Simpson rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone who loves a good story!

Shelves: favorites

OMG! This is great! What a page turner! It's getting better and better as the series goes along!

What a marvelous story and so much mystery and action! Love all the characters in this series! I feel like I know them all... I like when I know who's talking without being told, because they have their own "voice" and way of speaking.

Joy is my kind of lady! Each of the females in this series have their own style and they each are so different and yet so loveable! The storylines just keep getting mor...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars

5 stars! Great book. The author left me wanting...needing more. Oh it was a perfect combination. It made laugh and swoon and smile. As always...Dov and Col were funny as hell. I laughed so much. Love you boys. Need book 4 now!

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Jan 04, 2013 Tammy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, goodreads, kindle, own, paranormal, romance

Dear Jacqueline Rhoades! Please write faster!

This is another solid installment in a great series. I was given the first book in the series free as a request to review it and I have since bought books two and three because I enjoyed the first so much. I'm happy to say that nothing has changed with this the third book. More interesting and solidly thought out characters introduced.

I can't wait for the next installment.

Tammy

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About Jacqueline Rhoades

Jacqueline, known as Jackie to her friends, lives in rural southern Ohio with one lovable husband, one spoiled dog and one disinterested cat. She believes coffee is a food group and therefore necessary to survival. She always has a pot brewing. When not writing, she can usually be found with her nose in someone else's book or working in her garden. She also spends a great deal of time chasing deer...more

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Guardian's Hope (Guardians of the Race, #2)

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