King of the Damned by Juliana Stone – a Review

Description:
For millennia the struggle between light and dark, between the upper and lower realms, has been policed by a secret group of warriors culled from every fabric of existence. They are both otherworld and human, male and female. They are light and dark themselves and known to each other as the League of Guardians. Their pledge, to protect the line between dominions and make sure neither side grows too powerful. If they fall, so shall the earth, the heavens and hell. And there will be no more.

With darkness all around him, The League of Guardians is his only means of redemption…

Review:
King of the Damned is the 2^nd book of Juliana Stone’s A League of Guardians series.  When we left off at the end of Wicked Road to Hell, we met Azaiel, who is our hero in this book. 

Azaiel is a fallen angel, who was saved by the Seraphim Bill, who secretly heads the League of Guardians.  Azaiel, due to his previous deeds, that led him to become a fallen angel, is not liked by most of the Guardians.  Bill sends Azaiel on a mission, to find out who killed one of their own Guardians, Cara, as well as to ensure their secret group has not been breached. 

We meet our heroine almost at the start.  Rowan James comes home to see her grandmother, after running away to escape her duties as a powerful witch, as marked by a master demon.  Mallick, the powerful demon, has been looking for Rowan for a long time.  He marked her as a child, and now that she is grown up, he wants her for himself.  However, Rowan’s grandmother used her witch powers to hide the mark on Rowan, and Mallick nor any demon can’t find her.  But now that Rowan comes home, she finds out her grandmother is dead, and probably killed by Mallick.  Knowing that she cannot hide anymore, Rowan decides it’s time to step forward, and at the risk of her life, gather her coven of powerful witches to fight Mallick at the Samhain.

Azaiel meets Rowan, as she comes home to find out about her grandmother.  Rowan is now coming into her powers, as she will become a very very powerful witch, due to the ancestry of her father.  Azaiel senses her power, which she has not fully harnessed.  When they first meet, Rowan senses he is not human, but of the otherworld.  Azaiel says he will help her find out who did this to her grandmother, and at first Rowan did not want his help.  But demons were coming out to find the witches of her coven, and trying to kill them. Mallick wanted Rowan, and he had no problem sending demons to kill all to find her. 

Rowan is also a good fighter, and she holds her own with Azaiel as they fight the demons.  She knows she needs all the help she can get, and she begins to trust Azaiel.  We get to meet Rowan’s cousin Hannah, and that was an explosive meeting, as years passed with some resentment of her leaving town.  But with more demons arriving, they must join hands, and bring back the other witches to help Rowan find a way to stand up and defeat Mallick. 

Azaiel knows they have no chance to win this alone, so he requests help from the Guardians.  Shortly after, Priest and Nico (we saw him in Wicked Road to Hell), arrive to lend a hand.  The ladies certainly are in awe of these gorgeous specimens that have come to help.  🙂   Azaiel, as I mentioned earlier is not liked by the men, though Nico was way over the top with his hatred of Azaiel.  But Priest was more in control, and he handled most conflicts.  I really liked Priest in this book, and I hope he is one of the next Guardians we learn more about. 

This was a pretty exciting story, and some wonderful characters.  You begin to see the romance build up between Azaiel and Rowan, which has no possible future for either of them.  Him being a Seraphim, cannot be with a human, and she facing almost sure death.  But it was a wonderful romance that grew slowly, with you finding yourself rooting for them.   What made this story so good, was not only the fight with the demons, Mallick, the romance; but it was the mix of characters brought into play, part of whom are Rowan’s family (mother, brother, etc), that made this story so interesting and fun. 

King of the Damned was a great fun read, well done story by Juliana Stone.  I could not put the book down, as it kept my interest throughout, without a dull moment.  Wonderful characters, great story, excitement, tension, family disagreements, and a wonderful couple.  Another terrific book in Stone’s League of Guardians.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher