Any Price by Gail Faulkner

I know I have read this author in the past, but after finishing this book I can see why I did. I’ll start off by saying I did enjoy this book, but I’ll also admit that at the beginning of the book I was having a hard time getting into it. I was having a hard time because I became a bit confused at the lack of exposition at the beginning. I know that the “man behind the curtain” is usually explained at the end, but there are at least some bread crumbs to tide you over. I felt as if I had no clue why Lore and Kenna were so drawn together and their paranormal gifts were just shoved in my face. Whether these two issues have any grounds or make any sense, they are MY opinion.

Moving on….

The more I read the more I liked Kenna. I do wish I could’ve had more of a background on her – as far as her grandmother and her family knowing their true ancestry. The same I could say about Lore. I wanted more of a glimpse into his past before he became King. What I enjoyed most was the dynamic of the Keepers. At first glance I had the impression that the Keepers were meant to “serve” the One and the Keeper of the Treasure. After reading more I was happy to discover that between the Keepers there wasn’t a caste system, they did not live to serve the One and the Keeper. It was more like a large family whom were further enhanced by the Keeper of the Treasure, Kenna, and the One, Lore.  I enjoyed the variety of secondary characters that Gail Faulkner used. Case in point, the Keeper Boris whose family originated in Egypt, but in order to survive had to assimilate by intermarrying into European culture.

The chemistry between Lore and Kenna was so intense my laptop monitor was literally smoking. I found myself chanting do it every time they had a moment alone together. GF is very good at teasing the daylights out of her readers. As for the secondary characters, the inner circle of Keepers, I appreciated the individuality of each of them. They all had their own strengths, i.e. powers, and their own personal connection to the Keeper of the Treasure. At the precise moment where I decided I needed to know where these Keepers came from and how they evolved into them GF dropped that info into my lap. I wasn’t distracted by my ‘need to know’ and that was absolutely awesome. I became so firmly invested in Lore and Kenna’s story I was literally sick to see the About the Author page.  I’m happy to report that there will be more Keepers’ stories.

I give this series starter a Medium/High rating and definitely recommend it. To me, it would make an excellent series on the Syfy channel.   Hint hint : There is room now since Eureka is ending.

Darkness Dawns ( Immortal Guardians 1) by Dianne Duvall

Once, Sarah Bingham's biggest challenge was making her students pay attention in class. Now, after rescuing a wounded stranger, she's landed in the middle of a battle between corrupt vampires and powerful immortals who also need blood to survive. Roland Warbrook is the most compelling man Sarah has ever laid hands on. But his desire for her is mingled with a hunger he can barely control . . .

In his nine centuries of immortal existence, no woman has tempted Roland as much as Sarah. But asking her to love him is impossible -- when it mean forfeiting the world she's always known, and the life he would do anything to protect.

This is my first time reading Dianne Duvall; though, I have heard her name mentioned in a few of the reader’s groups I belong to.  On reading the synopsis my first thought was oh another guardian of humanity book, but after reading an excerpt or two I decided that didn’t matter. These ‘protect humanity from the things that go bump in the night’ books are a favorite of mine. I don’t mind reading these just as long as there not the same story. The only overlap I want to read is the fact that they’re protecting humanity.

From the first page I was yanked into this story. I admit I did have to read the first few pages twice because I wasn’t sure who the villain was – the man being left for dead or the ones standing guard to make sure he was dead. I thought the hero being in trouble and in need of rescue was a good way to shake things up. Sometimes the hero is portrayed as being invincible and always one step ahead, but I appreciate a good dose of reality. My favorite character out of this entire book has to be Sarah. She was the perfect combination of damsel in distress and Xena Warrior Princess. If her back was against the wall she could defend herself, but she still would need rescuing from her Immortal Guardian lover. Roland was a runner up. DD did a good job of making Sarah and Roland the perfect couple. Sarah was open and aggressive where Roland was silent and brooding. She drew him out of his shell and the readers, as well as the other guardians in the book, were able to see a different side of Roland – the direct opposite of his previous persona.

I think it’s very important to point out that this book is NOT chocked full of love scenes. If plentiful sex scenes are a necessity to you then you would NOT enjoy this book. Personally, sex scenes are a necessity, but there doesn’t have to be one in every chapter. I can honestly say I could’ve done with one more, but I still loved this book. There was enough scheming, conspiracy and conflict that I was satisfied.

I was intrigued by how DD explained the guardian’s existence, tying it in with vampirism and attributing it to being a virus that not everyone can survive. I was especially intrigued by the fact that the leader of the guardians, Seth, had some secret knowledge about their origins but kept it to himself for the ‘greater good.’ The fact that your chances of being successfully transformed into a guardian is dependent upon your status as psychically gifted or not reminded me of another author’s series, but that’s where the similarities ended. These psychic individuals are not just mates for guardians, but are potential guardians themselves. I also thought it was great that Seth had a connection with each of the guardians as well as the potentials. He could tell when a potential guardian was born, when one was converted and when one died. If there was any doubt on how heavy Seth’s burden was this clarified it. I am already anticipating his story. All in all, this was a good read and I recommend it and the series.