Rocked by Love

Gargoyles #4

by Christine Warren

Bestselling author Christine Warren returns to the secret world of gargoyles-where legends come alive, and lovers are caught between a rock and a hard place...

Kylie Kramer knows that she's putting her life in danger when she decides to investigate her friend's mysterious death. What she doesn't know is that she's being watched over by a powerful protector. A legend in stone who has defended humanity throughout the ages. A rock-hard savior who swoops down from the sky, scoops Kylie into his impossibly strong arms, and draws her into a world that no mortal woman can imagine...or resist.

ROCKED BY LOVE

As the strongest of the gargoyles, Dag is sworn to destroy the demons that threaten Kylie's world before returning to his stony slumber. But the burning desire she ignites in him is even harder to fight-an all-consuming force that, once unleashed, can never be tamed. As their passion grows, so do the ranks of a demonic army plotting to take over the earth. When the ultimate battle begins, Dag and Kylie must face some demons of their own-to carve out a love that's stronger than time...

"Fiery, fierce, and fun." -Publishers Weekly

Genres: Romance, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Shapeshifters, Magic

310 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

Born and raised in coastal New England, Christine Warren lived in the South and the Mid-Atlantic before hopping to the other side of the country to take up the life of a transplant in the Pacific Northwest. She completely bypassed those states in the middle due to her landlocking phobia. Hmm, need to research a scientific term for that...

When not scrambling frantically to complete her latest writing project, Christine spends most of her time as a crazy animal lady, hanging out with her dog Levi (he’s the one with the hair) and pretending to train him to have some manners. She also hangs out with her horse, Cal—a thoroughbred with a craving for strawberry licorice twists—her goddog, Merlin; and her best friend, fellow author Hannah Murray. In addition to playing with her pets, Christine’s hobbies include identifying dog breeds from photos of their underbellies, appreciating fine and not-so-fine wines, shopping for the perfect pair of Christian Louboutin shoes, and most of all reading things someone else had to agonize over.

She enjoys hearing from readers and can be reached via email sent to Christine@christinewarren.net or by postal mail to Christine Warren, PO Box 871900, Vancouver, WA 98687-1900.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/christ...

Reviews

[Carol [Goodreads Addict] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rocked By Love is book four in the Gargoyles series by Christine Warren. This book was generously provided to me in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and by the author. Although this book can be read as a stand alone, there is a constant theme and recurring sexy guardian gargoyles and their mates so you would gain much more enjoyment from these if you read them in order.



Kylie Kramer is first and foremost, a computer genius geek. She is a self made millionaire but all this really does is allow her the freedom to spend more time in her computer cave doing what she loves. If you have read the other books in this series, you know how this goes. Kylie has been investigating the death of her best friend, Bran. She is on her way home one night and as she passes the gargoyle statue, she is attacked. You know what happens from here. One stoney gargoyle comes to life to save her.



Dag is the fourth of the guardians to be awakened from his slumber. At first, he and Kylie don’t get along very well at all. Dag is completely confused by Kylie’s slang terminology. Part of Dag’s discontent, though, isn’t that Kylie annoys him but that he can’t get her off his mind. What is it that draws him to her?

Dag is reminded of the stories he heard of the seven original guardians and their mates. Could Kiley be his mate? Was it destiny that she was the one who woke him?

“He believed that perhaps he had been summoned for this purpose, for this woman, to exist wholly and solely for her. It hit him like a revelation, and it felt like a blessing.”

“It no longer mattered what Fate had decreed, or what the Light had intended. Kylie was his, and he would wage war on the whole of the universe in order to keep her.”

Dag and Kylie, along with the three other guardians and the women who are their mates, are soon able to piece together the latest threat. The Nocturni were trying to find a way to awaken one of the Seven demons of the Darkness. They can’t allow this to happen. They have to find a way to stop them.



As I said, this is the fourth book in this series. I did fall in love with this series right from the start with the first book and loved the second and third one as well. I have to admit that this one wasn’t my favorite. I can’t really say why. It took me almost half of the book to really start connecting with Kylie. At first, I just couldn’t relate to her brash personality. But, as she softened towards Dag, I felt myself softening as well.

Together the guardians and the women try to devise a way to stop what the Nocturni are planning. I loved seeing this big, tough guardian gargoyle fall for the tiny human. And they do steam up the pages. These guardians are most definitely skilled in many ways.



So, while this wasn’t my favorite of the series, I still enjoyed it. I do plan on sticking with the series as the search for the other three guardians continues so that together they can defeat the demons of the darkness.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - "Time to nut up or shut up." Stars!

Rocked by Love is definitely one of those books that sits in the fifty-fifty bracket for me. I loved the continuation of the general story arc, in relation to the release of the fourth Guardian, and the developments in the strengthening powers of the Order of Eternal Darkenss against them, but once again I struggled a little with the author’s characterization of her lead female character Kylie Kramer.

"How you made it to adulthood with that tongue still in your mouth is a mystery."

It wasn’t any one thing in this instance but a whole host I am afraid, Kylie is your typical computer geek, her connection with the previous couple in the story is that she was Bram Powe’s best friend, and six months after his death she is still searching for answers as to what happened, his sister Wynn’s (book three) lame excuse that he had a heart defect isn’t sitting well with our little nerd, and she takes it upon herself to investigate further.

"Magic? Me?"

All was well for the first part of the book but as it progressed I found the constant (and overuse) of Yiddish slang extremely grating, Kylie for the most part came across as a petulant tween and not a grown woman, and to say the connection between her and Dag was tenuous for most of the book would be a vast understatement. I get that Christine Warren likes to make her female leads sassy, snarky, full of confidence and attitude, but there is a fine line for me, and we went well past it into outright annoying for some parts of the book.

"Get over yourself."

And I think this is why I struggled to actually feel much of a connection between her and Dag for most of the book. I loved Dag, like all the previous Guardians, he has a bluntness of phrase and absoluteness of action that leaves you knowing exactly where his heart and his loyalties lie, but it felt more like he was trying to keep a troublesome teen in check a lot of the time, added to the spoiled bratty behavior from Kylie it really didn’t gel for me between them on this occasion.

A warrior from the moment of his summoning to his last gasp of air.

This is definitely a case of me not getting on with a characterization more than anything else, as the writing and story-line is still sound, and pretty entertaining when the rest of the gang were in the picture, I think mainly because is watered down some of Kylie’s annoyingness a little.

We have three guardians left to have their story told, and I cannot wait to see where on the planet Christine decides to release the next one and to whom as his Warden, Europe is looking like a possibility, and I really hope that is the case as it brings the adventure to my neck of the woods.

No news that I can find as to when the next book is due, but I hope it’s soon as things are really heating up between the forces of light and dark.

ARC generously provided via Netgalley, and it was my pleasure to provide the above honest review.

[Marta Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this authors work so had to start reading this series about gargoyles. This is the fourth book and sort of carries on the story so I'd say perhaps nor really a standalone . I had such high expectations for this book as we briefly became aware of the heroine Kylie in the last book Hard as a Rock.
Kylie would admit that she's a total geek, has wicked computer skills and the ability to see code that most of us would never understand. She has put her immense talent to good use and now is a self made millionaire with time to do just what she enjoys most. Kylie enjoys being plugged into the virtual worlds but when her friend Bran is reported dead all her spidey senses come on line! So here she is tracing down leads when she is attacked by masked men . Now luckily there's a rather special gargoyle in the vicinity and Kylies plight causes Dag to wake up! Dag might not be the biggest of his kind but he can still pack a wallop and saves Kylies life . Fortunately they both quickly realise that the demons and Nocturnis that destroyed Bran seem to now be aware of Kylie and Dag offers ( actually insists!) his round the clock protection. Alone in a house together anything could happen and as Kylie would say " oh vey"!
So Dag is the fourth guardian to be called forth to battle the Nocturnis and prevent evil running rampant. So far each guardian has mated with the female warden who woke him but does that mean that Kylie is also a warden? Dag is constantly confused by Kylie and dare I say a little irritated? Well actually as a reader I found Kylie irritating as I understand she is half Jewish but admits to not practising and avoiding kosher so why so much use of Yiddish words? I understood her thoroughly modern ways would blindside the old fashioned and ever so proper Dag but really struggled to like her. I thought about it though and in hindsight as she spent so much time alone perhaps her people skills would be a mite rusty.
Ok I admit I love these growling gargoyles but I felt let down by this book. Far to much time is spent at home on computers or eating endless take away meals . There is action but it felt rushed and I wanted more but I will continue with this series and hope the next book will see it returning to form.
I was gifted a copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[a. · Rating 1 out of 5]

i found this book while i was googling specific yiddish phrases and immediately knew i would have issues with it after reading the first few pages on google books. this would be a pretty unremarkable, run of the mill shapeshifter urban fantasy/romance, complete with destined mates and insta-love. it was for the most part competently written. however, my issue is with the main character's religion (or lack thereof) and the fact that christine warren really doesn't fucking understand judaism and shouldn't be writing about it.

the first "issue" that i noticed was the way kylie uses yiddish in the book. no one actually uses yiddish like that. there are, of course, communities who speak yiddish regularly, as a first language--see any number of hasidic neighborhoods in new york, for example, or lakewood, and also there are yiddish speaking communities that remain in europe. however, the way kylie would have learned it--from her grandmother, in pieces, would NOT have her speaking the way that she does in the book. kylie's first language is english, and while many jewish people do use some yiddish words in their speech (drek, schlub, etc.--all of those in the place of another word would be normal) i have yet to meet someone who uses yiddish the way kylie does, throwing random words or phrases in there for flavor. no one would use a yiddish phrase in her thoughts and then immediately translate it into english afterward! it just sounds weird, awkward, and wrong. and she gets it wrong a lot of the time, too. while it would make sense (barely) for kylie to call her male cat bubbeleh (it's a term of endearment that means little grandmother and is used mostly for women), she definitely wouldn't call him bubbee, which just flat-out means grandmother. then there's the fact that most of her dialogue is just lifted straight from online lists of yiddish proverbs--there's more to the language than spouting proverbs like a fortune cookie. further, there is no indication that esther is a hasid (especially if her son married outside of the religion and she's apparently cool withat, or with stumbling on her beloved granddaughter shaking up with a goy), or that she's an immigrant, or that she speaks yiddish as a first language in her day-to-day-life. idk. there's just so many layers of grossness about this entire thing--even down to warren noting that esther's HARSH NEW YORK (read: jewish) ACCENT has been SOFTENED BY LIVING IN CONNECTICUT FOR FIFTY YEARS, oh, of course, except when she's angry.

but that's the problem that i had with the book--kylie's jewishness isn't real jewishness, it's set dressing. her jewishness is a chance for warren to play around with a culture and a religion that's not hers--for flavor, for entertainment--but it's so goddamn clear from reading the book that she has no clue what she's talking about, and it's incredibly offensive. i was keeping notes as i read, and the issues are legion and mount quickly. as a first note, no matter how close kylie was to bran, any comment about her sitting shiva for him was inappropriate. she would not sit shiva for him--as close as they are, he is not her family (AND NOT EVEN JEWISH!) and it would be inappropriate for her to even be joking about sitting for him. those who are classed as "mourners" in the sense that they would be sitting shiva are generally spouses, siblings, and children. no one else. similarly, a comment about kylie's bubbe sitting shiva for her is wrong--although esther would certainly mourn for her, it would not be her place to sit. that honor and responsibility would go to kylie's father.

then there's the fact that kylie isn't "really" jewish, per the character's own thoughts. she is half jewish on her father's side. as noted, judaism is passed down through the maternal side. depending on what sect of judaism the family practices, a child born to a jewish father with a gentile mother would not be considered jewish and would actually have to convert. as of the 1980s, reform judaism accepts children who are jewish through their father--so if she was a reform jew, she would consider herself jewish. HOWEVER, despite all of the flavors of jewishness tacked onto her, despite her connection to her grandmother, all of the references--warren makes it clear that kylie herself does not consider herself jewish! there is actually a conversation where she states that "because she is not a practicing jew, she's not jewish." i say bullshit. there are thousands (probably hundreds of thousands) of jews out there who don't practice, but who still consider themselves jewish. it's called secular judaism and it's a Big Thing, especially among people of kylie's demographic (young, smart, urban). it's not something you can stop being, even if you are not actively going to synagogue. most people i know who have one jewish parent still consider themselves jewish, still think of themselves as jewish, whether they are practicing or not. it's more than just a religion: it's a community. that's why i find this entire thing so offensive. warren wants to use the references and the language, but she can't take the risk to have the character actually be jewish and actively practicing, or have a real connection to her religion beyond the superficial cultural trappings that she can't even get right anyway. would that have been too much effort? she clearly put in some cursory research but not enough thought.

the other problem is that she clearly a) doesn't understand a jewish mindset and b) her research was only cursory and she didn't bother to talk to an actual jewish person before filing it. otherwise, some of the extremely offensive things that made their way into the book wouldn't have been kept in. for example, kylie says that she is half jewish, and that her father is a jew but her mother is just a capitalist (the implication being, i guess, that jews are rich capitalists? if that wasn't her intent, this was a bad way to phrase it. idk, i would have given this a pass from a jewish author but coming from a goy this sort of stereotypical shit is just gross). other things that i HATED was kylie's non jewish friend CALLING HER A SHIKSA and kylie laughingly agreeing with her????? even if she's not practicing that shit is SO OFFENSIVE and if she had any REAL connection to judaism she would have been offended and not laughed it off. shiksa isn't a nice word, it's not a joke, and intermarriage is only recently being considered really acceptable--i grew up with friends whose parents wouldn't let them go to prom if they went with a non jew. kylie should have been offended and furious by that comment--she wouldn't have agreed to it! and how fucking offensive is it that warren has a non jewish character police a jewish character's religious identity, and treat it as a joke when this is something very real and very hurtful that children of interfaith marriages have to deal with???

similarly, there were other little things like kylie's grandmother owning a chanel bag that put me off. many older jewish women of that era (i.e. came of age during WWII) would not buy anything produced by chanel because of the nazi connection (or maybe warren didn't realize that coco chanel was a collaborator who used the aryanization laws to steal companies from her jewish rivals--again, sloppy research). (and again, this is where i have to ask--was her grandmother actually an immigrant? because if she was, she probably would have been a holocaust survivor which isn't mentioned at all and WOULD DEFINITELY PRECLUDE HER FROM OWNING CHANEL). and again, even though kylie flat-out tells people she's not jewish, there's a line that she doesn't want the techs to think they were kidnapped by a crazy jewish lady--so she's jewish in THAT sense, an entirely negative sense--but not when it actually matters? also the gross line where dag smells her and she smells like israel. or even her comment that because she's half-jewish she's half shit at magic--ignoring CENTURIES of mysticism and kabbalah and lore like golems (which again, i don't want warren going anywhere NEAR, but the fact remains she doesn't fucking get it). like, come on--christians aren't supposed to be using magic either (or did you forget about all of the witch trials, warren?), but she doesn't have any problem with wynn being a witch, huh? kylie's hereditary jewishness (which, you'll note, KYLIE DOESN'T THINK MAKES HER JEWISH when she's discussing her own religion with dag) makes her bad at magic, but wynn's hereditary christianity doesn't?

she also has no idea about jewish concepts of the afterlife. while kylie clearly thinks in terms of a christian heaven and hell (cherubs, demons, fire), warren seems to have no idea about the existence of sheol in jewish lore, or the fact that judaism has angels in its lore as well (granted, they're no cherubs, but they're there, they play a huge part in the mythology of judaism, and if warren had done any research at all she would have discovered this).

those things were the most glaringly offensive to me.

then there were just a lot of other things that pinged as "wrong" to me. like kylie casually referencing eharmony (owned by christians, notoriously christian, a jewish person probably wouldn't be super comfortable signing up for it) instead of jdate; or a specific comment about kylie's "strong nose" which in the face of all of the other gross jewish pagentry stuck out to me like a sore thumb; or kylie calling non-jews "gentiles" instead of "goyim" (which, trust me, if she uses yiddish as fucking much as warren has her use yiddish, she sure as hell uses the word goyim); or just weird lines like "charming as Shabbat dinner" or downright creepy "feasting on her like Shabbat dinner" that no one would actually say because it's fucking creepy and disrespectful; or her grandmother getting mad that she didn't come home for passover of all things rather than the actual high holy days, like rosh hashannah or yom kippur. like passover's important, but out of all the holidays a real bubbe would be mad about? not at the top of the list. she doesn't even get the food right. of course, kylie doesn't keep kosher (lol why would she keep kosher, she doesn't even consider herself jewish!) but she eats her bagels with butter alone (i have never, ever heard of anyone doing this) and thinks fish for breakfast is disgusting??? again, this reads like "she's jewish, but not too jewish" -- fish at any meal is very common and traditional and especially breakfast, and there's many more varieties than lox. there's a hell of a lot more to jewish cuisine than rugelach, bagels and lox, and pastrami... not that warren cares.

i guess my main issue with this book is that warren was so very eager to make a jewish character, but didn't actually consider anything that really goes into judaism or, apparently, talk to any jewish people prior to writing the story. it's all fun and games to her to try on someone else's religion and culture (a religion and culture that are still very much alive, and whose people are still very much dealing with negative stereotypes and antisemitism) but if you're going to do that, take it fucking seriously and get it right and do it respectfully. don't put in this offensive mockery of a jewish character because lol lox and bagels!!! lol the gargoyle tasted like bubbe's rugelach when she kissed him!!!! lol overbearing grandmother!!! because clearly most of the people who have been reading this don't know shit about judaism or jewish culture either, and i suppose i have warren to thank for perpetuating gross stereotypes and ignorance.

we are a real people, with a real history, we still exist, and many of us care deeply about representation in the media and the way we are portrayed. i'm always thrilled to see more jewish characters in the media, but not like this. i can only hope that in the future, christine warren will either do herself a favor and talk to members of the religion she's writing about prior to publishing, or stay in her fucking lane.

[Vashti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew that I would develop a passion for gargoyles,and with this 4th installment ,yep,I am sold! Enjoyable entry and looking forward to the next in this pnr series.
The heroine in this latest is half Jewish and with her constant internal and external dialogue with some Yiddesh phrases throw in,I now want a pastrami with coleslaw sandwich with Gludens spicy brown mustard,a toasted garlic bagel with lox,cream cheese ,tomatoes and onions and life would be great!

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Thoughts - 5 out of 5 Unicorns - I loved it!!
***Received the ebook from St. Martin’s Press for an honest review

The cover has both the gargoyle and man. Very nice!

This is the fourth book in the series. While it isn’t mandatory for you to read them in order, I do think you will like it a whole lot more if you do read them in order. It adds to the history and richness of the characters. Of course this is for adults only due to the steamy content.

Kylie’s story is my favorite yet. I really connected with her and her nerd-ness. I love how computer science is even making it into paranormal romance books. Dag starts like a caveman where you aren’t sure what to think of him. By the end, I think he learns faster than the other Guardians. Lots of action in this story, and I love that everyone was part of this story. I can’t wait to see where the next story goes, but my guess is we will be visiting another country. Yay!!!

I recommend this whole series to all PNR fans, and highly recommend to gargoyle and magic fans. Definitely an awesome series!!!

[Lover of Romance · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

In Rocked By Love we have a suspenseful and edge of your seat story that continues on from book three. Ever since book one I have been consumed by the plot of the series. Seeing these guardians and their mates or the "wardens" fall in love with each other. What has left me spellbound has been the plot and the world building. For those of you who have never heard of this series....let me tell you a little bit about what it going on here. There is a evil order called "The Order of Darkness" whose plan is to destroy all the guardians and wardens so they can bring demons and spawns of evil to the world and practically destroy it. In the previous books, we learn that the Warden headquarters were destroyed including the library and any documents to knowledge of this "Order". When Kylie (our heroine) goes out to meet with someone with information on a friend that was killed, she almost gets killed herself until a "guardian" comes swopping down and saving her. But now she has a big grumpy gargoyle man to contend with. One who is insistent on protecting her and staying as close to her as possible. Kylie is just a computer geek, she doesn't deal with the real world that much. But now she is learning that she has magic of her own, and that Dag is her "mate" and her best friend has been lying to her.

It was very interesting to see how this story played out. Now at first the story picks up very quickly, but then the pace of it falters and becomes a bit boring. I honestly think there were multiple factors on why I struggled so much with this book. One is the heroine...she kinda drove me nuts. Her personality just rubbed me wrong, and even though some of her puns were pretty fun, I just couldn't understand her or the way she treats Dag. She acts like he is this modern man who should understand all of her TV references when he has been asleep for centuries. Quite frankly I was more on Dag's side than Kylie's because I wanted to growl at her too!! Another is the lack of actual romance in the story. I do feel that it was quite lacking in this book and it left me disappointed. However the actual plot and world building of the story is what kept me reading this book. Its really the one saving grace for the whole series to be honest. I just gotta find out what happens. And it was the actual built up of the plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat here. I truly liked seeing old characters from previous books play such a vital role in this story.

Even though this story lacked quite a few things that are vital for a story....it had some redeeming qualties. Rocked By Love is a story that is thrilling and exciting, a never ending mystery that keeps you on your toes!!

 



 



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[Amber .:★Wild Heart Reviews★:. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rocked By Love is the 4th novel in Christine Warren’s Gargoyles series. It is a full length novel with an HEA and a semi cliff hanger. By this, I mean that it finishes out the story between the main characters, but the over-arcing story line, overall plot, does not finish here. In my estimation, you’ll need about three more books before that happens. (That is a guestimate off of what the characters have said within the book.)

It is written from a third person, alternating point-of-view between the two main characters. While it is the 4th novel in the series, it can be read as a stand alone. I walked into this series on this book myself. I don’t feel as if I lost anything by not reading the rest of the series, save for a few one liners and nicknames between the characters from the other books. Your focus really does stay on the characters within this book.

While I thought the writing itself was fantastic and the heroine was down right hilarious at moments, this book couldn’t completely keep my interest. That’s not to say it’s bad, I’m not sure what it was exactly, I can’t pinpoint it. I hit the 70% mark in the book and just lagged out. I finished it, but it took me five days to do so. Again, I really doubt that is on the author or the story. I enjoyed the story when I got back into it, but I think the lag out caused me to just want the book finished.

It has a great ending, and can draw you into a world full of gargoyles, demons, wardens, and magic. A fun paranormal read and a perfect change of pace. I would recommend it.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the Gargoyles series. I’ve been patiently waiting for this to be available. As I’ve mentioned before, I LOVE GARGOYLES!!! I especially love Christine Warren’s Gargoyles. They are total sexy alpha males.

In my opinion, you definitely need to read the other books in this series before this one. Each book adds a layer to the battle that will eventually take place. The author has built a world where evil darkness is so close at hand. Only the Guardians and their Wardens can save humanity. Each of the books has it’s own battle with the darkness but each one escalates in intensity.

I really enjoyed Dag and Kylie. Dag, of course, is sexy and like the other Guardians takes a while to adjust to the lingo of this day and age. Couple that with Kylie’s Yiddish and it’s pretty funny. I learned a lot of Yiddish from this book and I loved it.

It was nice to see the characters from the other books again but my favourite secondary character was King David the cat. He was a pretty awesome cat. Basically a stray that comes in for frequent visits and has his own chair. He also was quite the hero in one scene.

http://wp.me/p18bP3-2yO

[Heather andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dag is a headstrong male that boy always wants to get his own way, "another swift move had their positions reversed, and Kylie gazed up into a very smug, smiling face. “I told you , I do not wish to let you go, and as it happens I have a few ideas of my own regarding activities that you and I need to perform right away.” Just like his brothers when it comes to women Dag is entertaining, "Dag’s wings rustled, and his expression shifted from grim stoicism to clear confusion. “I do not understand what you speak of. Of course you bathe regularly, and what does my slumber have to do with any of this? I allowed an outsider to stumble upon us without knowing he approached, and I allowed him to see your nakedness. I should have guarded you better. The failure shames me.” I really like this series the men act like caveman and I love it.

[Eva Millien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attacked while investigating her friend’s death, Kylie Kramer finds herself being rescued by a rock-hard savior who swoops down from the sky in this exhilarating paranormal romance.

Sworn to destroy the demons that threaten the world, Dag is startled to feel a burning desire for the mortal women he rescued and the reader can’t help but get caught up in all the excitement as Dag and Kylie must face some demons of their own if they want to survive the ultimate battle. The attraction between Kylie and Dag is pretty stunning to say the least for this couple, not only were they unsuspecting but they are very resistant to fate’s decree and since both have strong, distinct personalities it makes for some interesting and challenging encounters as they try work out their relationship, please be prepared for a few chuckles and at the very least, some smirks, because these characters demand that you pay attention during their fast paced and smooth flowing plot that is full of suspense, excitement and romance.

Expectation sets the senses tingling from the very beginning when readers begin to realize that Kylie has put herself in a very dangerous situation and her rescuer flies her away? Well, that right is enough to keep me hooked but the story didn’t stop there with the characters facing some surprises and the danger escalating in a battle against evil, the story gets the adrenaline pumping as well, and the ultimate battle is an intense and exhilarating experience that had a very realistic feel to it. The scenes are well written with great details that make it easy to picture each of the scenes and really get to know the characters of this fascinating world.

While, it’s not the first story that I have read by Christine Warren, it is the first one I have read in this series and I must tell you that I could kick my own behind for that, but I had no problem figuring out where the characters stood in the overall scheme of things and of course I will be doing some catch up while I await the next Gargoyle’s arrival.

4 ½ STARS

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 4th book centered around Boston, Massachusetts, the millionaire hacker friend of Wynn's Kylie, and one of the oldest surviving Guardians, Dag. The bad guys have gotten bigger, the threats have intensified and gone global in this installment. What hasn't intensified is the passion and one-liners that I have come to expect from one of Warren's Gargolye books. I expected more with Kylie. She should have had far more spice and zing to her character, at least that is what I hoped for after meeting her in Wynn's book. She came off so loud and spunky when she came onto the scene, but in her own book she seemed mellowed out. The scene with her grandmother was utterly priceless. And her relationship with Dag was good, they even had some really good chemistry after she stopped fighting the whole mate thing, but I guess I hoped for more from her character. The conflict didn't disappoint, it has progressively gotten bigger and more daunting with each book and I loved having all of the previous couples come together in Boston to fight as a united team. Fil's spunk was ever present (love the scene in the living room when Dag opens his mouth and inserts his foot-promise no spoilers- and she asks if they had time to get the popcorn before Kylie responds to his comment was utterly hilarious). I also enjoyed the intimate scenes between Kylie and Dag later on in the story, those were perfectly sweet and real. Overall, I did enjoy the book, but I wanted more from Kylie as a character. No one new was introduced in this installment, so I am very curious to see how and where Warren takes the series next.

[Ishabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I've always loved Christine Warren's brand of paranormal romance. I absolutely enjoy reading her The Others series every now and then. Her stories have that sex and action that's so well-combined. I think hers was the first erotic paranormal romance that I found enjoyable without being too smutty. The steam was just enough to get a reader hot, but it was never too much that it compromises the plot by focusing too much on the sex.

As much as I love Ms. Warren, I have to admit that I've never really read this series. Fortunately, this book can be read as a standalone, so even if this is already the fourth book in the series, I didn't feel as lost as I initially expected. I like the arc of this series because it dwells on the Gargoyle world. We normally read about vampires, shifters, witches, fairies, andgels and demons and even gods and goddesses. However, I don't remember many books about gargoyles.

I think I will be looking for the previous three books now that I've read this. I ended up really getting hooked into the story and the characters. I think that with Ms. Warren being the author, the other three books will be just as good, so I am going back to read them as well. I hope there will be more books in this series. I still consider The Others as my favorite from her, but this series is also a very good one.

[Douglas Meeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, let me see, this is a better book than some of the others and it came closer to book 1 which is still my favorite.

The random use of Yiddish throughout the book was distracting, on a similar note the Grandmother was vastly underused and could have made this a better book. "You hurt my Granddaughter and I will make you wish your mother stayed a virgin"

The actual couple after they got a few wrinkles ironed out was excellent and I laughed more during this book than most of the others.

The big action sequence seemed a bit off and the buildup was about to get boring and these anti-climatic endings are getting old but I can see the author is trying to work us up to a big finish but we need a bit more progress on the overarching plot.

The initial meeting and the romance did not click as well as some of the others but they were still more entertaining so it might be a trade-off.

Bottom Line: I still enjoy this series and think this was the best book since book 1 in several ways and not in others but overall, I enjoyed it, I laughed and I was holding my breath during the "big finish" but was left a wee bit unsatisfied but this may be my own impatience rather than the authors lacking. 4 Stars and will be reading the next one.

[Kitten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic addition to the series.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Amber Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

No. No. No. I hated this. I forced myself to finish it and that is never something you want to say about a book. I definitely can't finish this series. My main issue with it is that the main characters are totally interchangeable. They have no distinct personalities. They are identical other than their line of work and that isn't really a personality trait. They all have that sassy, smart mouth thing going on that drives me absolutely INSANE. If I knew an actual human being who spoke the way these women spoke, I would probably hurt them bodily. Repeatedly. It isn't cute for grown women to speak like a 12 or 13 year old girl. It's annoying. Period. I also hate the way they behaved when they first met the Guardians/gargoyles. Every damn one of them make jokes about the size of these guys like it's something clever. They are huge. We get it. They are not human. We get it. We don't need to be beaten over the head with these facts. You do not have to call them all "big guy"...although their actual names are no better: Kees, Spar, Dag, and Knox. Seriously. I'm not even going to comment on the personalities of the gargoyles because they have none to comment on, they're all identical in every way, basically. The main plot is as lukewarm as they come and it shouldn't be considering it's about evil, disgusting demons trying to take over the world. It is so dull I couldn't care less about it. I couldn't tell you anything about it, really. And the one sin that I might be most pissed about: the sex isn't even that hot. The one thing that MIGHT have made these books worth reading just isn't there. I knew after I read the third book that I probably would not like this one because Kylie appeared briefly (or I read an excerpt of this book) in the last one and I hated her and she is the main character in this one and is the main reason I found this book to be absolutely excruciating to get through. She's half Jewish and speaks a lot of Yiddish which is not a problem in and of itself, but she thinks she's so damn cute with it. You are not the only human being on earth who can speak some Yiddish! Ok, I'm done with this...I can't talk about it anymore. Avoid at all costs.

[Kl · Rating 1 out of 5]

So far I haven’t even finished the first chapter.
But I already do like Kylie, not even a little bit.
She’s very entitled.
“…Kylie hated to lose even more than she hated to be ignored”
“Kylie felt a little bad about drawing in a stranger while harboring an ulterior motive, but not enough to shrug off a missed meeting” (the guy thought it was a date)…”the guy would have walked away from the encounter unharmed, unhiton and perfectly safe. All she wanted from him was information”

Well…this doesn’t make for a very good story. The heroine is selfish, entitled, and could care less about anyone but herself. So…romance will be interesting. Poor guy. I already feel sorry for him and he has yet to be introduced.

She’s admitted her parents don’t even like her but can’t ignore her because she won’t let them. They are just thankful she lives in another state.

What’s not to like? Lol she’s an admitted brat. And that just chapter 1

Well I’m half way through the book and she’s still a Bee. She acts like a child most of the time. What I can’t figure out, is why he even likes her. He does stuff (like kiss her) because she’s driving him insane with her constant chatter. Then he leaves for days. She can see him but he’s outside or wherever she isn’t. But she’s gonna “teach” him a lesson. She has yet to do anything worth…

I’ll probably finish this book because I like the characters in her other books and they are about to enter this book. But Kylie is a Bee and I wouldn’t read anymore about her, if I hadn’t already begun this story with other characters.

[Lenna Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF... I didn’t care for Kylie, she made herself spoiled and well off by the age 23. Her language was confusing that I got lost trying to figure out what she said. I mostly read from Dag’s p.o.v since I got lost in Kylie’s. I’ve read the first 3 and I never had a problem until now. I’m off to read #5.....

[Mitzi Roadcap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best one yet!

Another Guardian rises and finds his mate! This is the best novel in this series so far and the female character, Kylie Kramer, makes the story. She's a highly intelligent, self made millionaire with an extremely snarky mouth and a magical gift for all things tech. Great installment in the series.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story continues

I would highly recommend reading the first 3 books before reading this one. The is Kylie's book and I wish I had the tenth of her computer skills. Also her grandma is not to be messed with! I can't wait to see where this goes next.

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally finished this book. I really could not connect with the characters in this book, nor wast the story interesting enough to keep my attention for long. I am not sure if I will read the next book in this series at this point.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely a standout in this series to me. The female protagonist was someone I could identify with because she was a huge nerd. I really enjoyed all the hidden references that some readers will completely miss if they don't live the nerd life.

[Sandy Frediani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I haven't read any others in this series, I quite enjoyed this. It works well as a standalone. Kylie's quirkiness adds some extra fun as Dag tries to sort out what-in-the-world she's saying. I only came across one typo. Characters and storyline both engaging and intriguing. Well done.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite of the series so far!

[Pretzel Biscuit · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Phylisha Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
I am enjoying this new series by Christine Warren. I hope there are more books in the series.

[Dawn Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good storyline

[Ken Liljengren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really fun! I laughed out loud several times.

Thank You very much Ms Warren

Ken

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

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