Description
It's been a hell of a day for Abby Barlow. In just a few hours, she's survived an explosion, watched her employer die, had a startling dream, and now she finds herself in a seedy Chicago hotel with the sexy, unearthly Dante, a man she both desires and fears. For 341 years, Dante has stood as guardian to The Chalice, a mortal woman chosen to hold back the darkness. A terrible twist of fate has now made Abby that woman. Three hours ago, Dante would have used all his charms to seduce her. Now she is his to protect. And he will do so until his very death. A terrifying plan has been set in motion, one that will plunge Dante and Abby into an epic battle between good and evil - and a desperate race to save their love...
Reviews
When Darkness Comes
Abby Barlow has never wanted a day to end more. What starts out as a bad day quickly turns into a horrendous one. First, she breaks a priceless Ming vase and gets caught trying to hide the evidence by her employer's annoying houseguest and probable lover, Dante. Then, she finds herself the victim of an explosion and finally, after hallucinating and passing out, Abby wakes up in a run down roach infested motel room with her now deceased employer's boy toy. The fun, however, is only just beginning. It seems Dante is a vampire and his new assignment is now Abby.
With the death of Selena, Abby's employer, Dante could taste freedom. After the explosion involving Selena, an innocent move from Abby once more ties Dante to a mortal woman called The Chalice. Abby is now under Dante's protection and guardianship whether she likes it or not. Freedom for Dante is just a fleeting memory now because he once more vows his protection of The Chalice with his life.
Dante and Abby find themselves fighting the forces of evil at every turn as well as battling their fierce attraction for one another. Their playful flirting has turned into desire which becomes an all consuming passionate love. Will these two unlikely lovers find forever, or will the dark evil that stalks them bring about their demise?
In When Darkness Comes, Alexandra Ivy has woven a completely compelling twist to vampire lore. Her characterization of Dante had me riveted to the pages because of his complete commitment to Abby's safety. What starts out as a job for Dante quickly becomes more and while he yearned for freedom from his guardianship of The Chalice, Dante finds himself wanting Abby forever. I loved reading every moment of his succumbing to Abby's down to Earth and often naïve personality. She was attracted to Dante but scared to reach for him because of how she grew up. When she finally decided that Dante was the man for her, life was good.
When Darkness Comes is the first book of a new series called `Guardians of Eternity' and I find myself perusing the coming soon pages for insight and information on the next installment. Alexandra Ivy can't write the next book quick enough and if it is anything close to being as wonderful as When Darkness Comes then it will be completely magnificent.
Talia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
Three and a Half Stars
Following an incident in her employer's house, Abby Barlow has become the Chalice. She and Dante (the Chalice's vampire protector) set out to discover how this has happened and if there is any way for this process to be reversed.
I've been reading a lot of first books in a series, recently, and this (Book 1 of the Guardians of Eternity) is a definite improvement on most of them.
The book starts with a bang, and the plot doesn't let up 'til about page 180. Unfortunately because it starts at this breakneck speed it does have some uneven pacing, with the middle of the book lagging a little before picking up again.
The characters are well written and there is an undeniable chemistry between Dante and Abby. Dante has a dry sense of humour, with which he is only too happy, to provoke Abby. And the banter between the pair really brings them to life. Though I could have done without being constantly reminded how terrible Abby's early life was.
The secondary characters are well fleshed out, in particular Viper who on first meeting Abby practically oozes sex across the page. I wish we could have spent more time with him and also Troy and The Shalott. (But it isn't their book, fingers crossed we will be seeing more of them in the future). The bad guys are not two-dimensional and their motivations are well explained.
It's not perfect, as well as the above-mentioned pacing problem, there is a reliance on some coincidences to keep the plot moving and I noticed one slip in continuity.
However, it held my interest and I'm looking forward to picking up the second book in the series Embrace the Darkness which will feature Viper and The Shalott.
Almost didn't-glad I did!
When I purchased this book there was no reviews yet and was uncertain if to buy it after reading the back cover. I decided to give it a try based on the author Lynn Viehls comments. I bought it and finished it in the next day! I thought the book was great and look forward to reading her next book, "Embrace The Darkness" to read Viper's story. I base a lot of my purchases on the online reviews I read but I try to look at them all to get an a broad picture. Reviews can help but sometimes it is worth it to just go for it and give something a try regardless what the reviews say. You just might find a "keeper" that way.
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