Alexis Morgan’s Paladins Series Synopsis

Paladin Series

DARK PROTECTOR – Book 1
Release Date: June 27, 2006

How many more times must this immortal warrior die before he can claim the only woman he desires?

Devlin Bane: Born a Paladin, his is a member of an a ancient band of warriors locked in a centuries-old war against evil.

His destiny: To die over and over again to protect mankind from the Others, only to be revived each time by his mortal Handler.

But his fierce strength and courage cannot save him from gradually becoming one of the monsters he was born to destroy.

Dr. Laurel Young, who has spent years training to become a Handler, must remain detached from her patients. But each time she revives the darkly compelling Devlin Bane, he claims a little more of her soul and incites in her desires that grow wilder and wilder—even as he inches closer to losing his humanity. As the war against the Others grows more desperate, Laurel and Devlin can’t help but give in to the fierce hunger that’s sizzled between them for so long. Now they’ll face the ultimate battle together—to save a dark, passionate love that goes against every rule as they join forces t fight an enemy who is closer than they ever imagined . . .

Comments:
This is a story about a love that could not be denied (granted, aren’t they all).  I loved this book and it was the first I read by Alexis Morgan… It verified me as a fan.  I love her warriors, men who feel they are only born to fight to hold the enemy back from crossing the barrier into our world, with no hope of recognition or a love of their own.  It is a lonely life where they live to die, be brought back from a gruesome death to die again.  Devlin is one of the best fighters they have, he is their leader, the one they all depend on… but he has died too often, soon he will have no humanity left in him to hold on to.  Laurel is the Doctor who cares for him, and comes to love him with all her heart and soul.  She is the one who keeps him sane in a world of brutal battle for survival.  She is his world and reason for living.

DARK DEFENDER- Book 2
Release Date: December, 2006

As a Paladin warrior, Blake Trahern fights and dies again and again to keep mankind safe from the Others. Sensing his humanity slipping away with eachbattle, he retreasts from the world . . . until the one person with a hold on his soul needs his help. It’s been twelve years since Blake vanished from Brena Nichol’s life, years that have turned her from a love-struck teen into a headstrong, sensual woman. He’ll fearlessly give his life to protect her–yet he dare not risk his heart.

Brenna is stunned by Blake’s reappearnace, and by a shocking discover about her father. Everything she has ever believed is thrown into question–everything except the desire that Blake still ignites. But as they search together for a traitor among the Paladins, danger looms: the next battle could tip Blake into madness, destroying his life, his soul . . . and the only woman he has ever loved.

Comments:
This book carries on from where Dark Protector leaves off… this time with Blake Trahern… Devlin’s second in command… another powerful warrior.  Another man who fights to keep our world ours, like his boss he had fought and died time after time and is on the cusp of being lost.  Brenna is his anchor, his salvation, his light.  It is a touching story, and you really feel for these men who fight with no recognition and no hope for salvation… But they are beginning to find that there is hope for them, for each one who finds love, finds a reason to hope for the future.  Hope is everything, hope is the light at the tunnel that lead them home.

IN DARKNESS REBORN –Book 3
Release Date: June 26, 2007

Once a warrior for the Others, Barak q’Young is caught between two worlds—exiled from his homeland, and a pariah among his enemies, the Paladins. While hunting a betrayer who’s selling the precious blue gems that light the Others’ world, Barak must aid geologist Lacey Sebastian in her research for the Paladins. Barak is instantly drawn to the fiery, beautiful woman, but Lacey initially despises the enemy intruder. Soon she sees beyond his violent past, though, finding the dark warrior intriguing—and extremely sexy.

Though neither can resist the passion that blazes between them, Barak is torn between loyalties, hiding a secret gift that could prove useful to Lacey’s research, at the sacrifice of his own people. But when Lacey is kidnapped and held hostage, Barak realizes that he will do anything to save her . . . even risk his own life.

Comments:
This third book three is about a forbidden love… the story of the sister of one of the warriors who guard the barrier from invasion, and one of the invaders… he is not just any invader though, he is one of the chosen guardians from the other side… he is a man of honor caught on the wrong side, for we find out here that as we have guardians on our side of the portal the keep the enemy out, the enemy has a form of law enforcement on the other side, trying to keep their people in their own word… it is hard to do though when the world they live in is one of many controlled by a son that is dying… here we find that they crave the sun, the light we take for granted.  But in finding it they find madness… not all are susceptible to the malady though.  Barak is one who is safe, and saved by the warrior’s sister. (Her brother is not at all happy about this and it causes a fair amount of trouble, until Barak can prove himself worthy.

REDEEMED IN DARKNESS –  Book 4
Release Date: December, 2007

A female leader from the Other world, Lusahn q’Arc can’t forget the Paladin warrior she met in battle–his chiseled body and piercing, thoughtful eyes still haunt her dreams. When Lusahn learns that her missing brother Barak is alive and working with the enemy, she arranges to meet him–but it is not Barak who apears, but Cullen Finley, the Paladin who torments her memory. Intense attraction instantly burns between them despite their rival loyatlies, and they can’t help surrendering to passion. Yet their time together is limited, for soon Cullen must return to his own world–with or without Lusahn. But when carefully laid plans go awry, they must fight for their forbidden love–and to keep one another alive.

Comments:
Barak’s sister Lusahn  is one of the best enforcers in her world, she fights to keep her world safe and sane under the influence of a dying sun… She meets one of the warriors from our side of the barrier, and against the laws she is sworn to maintain she protects him and guides him back to the barrier and safety.  Theirs is a love that cannot be denied, on her world there can be no future for them, but Cullen will not leave her and together they will fight to make a life for themselves… You find there are sides to the worlds you never suspect, for even on a dying world there are those who would profit from the misery of others, and trade the best from their world to those on the other side who do the same.  It shows how much people are alike no matter how different they are or how far apart.  The story plot winds around you and pulls you further into the series.

DARKNESS UNKNOWN – Book 5
Release Date: February 2009

Gwen Mosely’s life changes forever when she stumbles across a handsome stranger, unconscious and left for dead in the woods behind her farm. Cut up and bleeding, he’s barely survived a vicious battle, but the real shock is how quickly his wounds heal—a gift he shares with Gwen’s teenaged half-brother Chase.

Jarvis Donahue can’t keep his eyes—or his strong, capable hands—off the sexy redhead who rescued him. He finds warmth of Gwen’s smile and the desire in her eyes are impossible to resist, but there’s a problem. Jarvis immediately recognizes Chase as a fellow Paladin in the making, a warrior born to defend mankind in the relentless battle against the Others. Neither Gwen nor the boy know it yet, but Chase will need Jarvis’s help coping with the compulsion to fight that is written in his blood and in his bones. Although Gwen may hate him for it, Jarvis is duty-bound to secretly introduce Chase to the dangerous fate they both share.

As the barrier between the two worlds weakens, the threat grows perilously close to Gwen’s farm. Jarvis is torn between protecting his lover, but without revealing his true identity, or betraying his people’s secret and risk losing her forever.

Comments:
A wounded warrior, a soft hearted heroine…  who can resist… they find they share similar backgrounds… that of the DNA which connects them as members of the Paladins… he also finds a love he never expected…  more and more you are pulled into their world, and you find out secrets as they do as they explore more facets of the world around them… it leaves you looking for more… someone is manipulating things about them, dealing in things best left alone… it is almost like an ongoing mystery.

DEFEAT THE DARKNESS – Book 6
Release Date: March 2010

Hard-eyed and hard-bodied, Hunter Fitzsimon isn’t what Tate Justice expected in a tenant for the apartment above her garage. Terse and intensely private, Hunter’s mission is to protect a narrow stretch of the barrier between Earth and Kalithia against the Paladins’ ruthless enemies — a job that would be much easier without his sexy landlady nosing around. So when she follows Hunter into the woods late one night, he decides to teach Tate a lesson with a passionate kiss that brings her to her knees…and unexpectedly ignites red-hot desire deep in his soul. But the warrior’s dark and dangerous world is no place for his fiery lover. Does possessing Tate mean turning his back on his brethren…or will Hunter forsake the woman of his dreams for the harsh duty he’s always known?

Comments:
Again our drool-worthy Paladins are out looking to find the holes that allow the invaders to cross the barrier… Hunter is a surly male, no doubt about it, but he doesn’t stand a chance against the heroine… She hasn’t a chance of resisting the lure of the hero… standard paranormal romance… no doubt… but the scenery is so worth it.  And the story pulls you in further as the plot thickens.

BOUND BY DARKNESS – Book 7
Release Date: May 2011

As the daughter of a Regent, Sasha has long known about the secret underworld of the Paladins and their work protecting her kind from the dark forces on the other side of the energy barrier. So when she is sent on her first solo investigation, on the path to becoming the first female Regent, she is determined to get the Seattle Paladins in line. Offering sanctuary to their Kalith enemies is simply unacceptable!

But when she meets Larem, she is inexorably drawn to a dark and valiant warrior who is not at all what he appears to be. As the power struggle between Regents and Paladins rages on, someone starts making attacks on her life. Sasha must choose between loyalty to her own kind and the warrior she loves . . . with the very fate of humanity hanging in the balance.

Comments:
Larem is one of the others, an alien… Sasha is law enforcement…  it is an attraction they both must, but cannot fight… watching the battle of wills between the two of them is not only amusing, but interesting as they pit their minds against the corruption of their worlds. 

THE DARKNESS BEYOND – Book 8
Released June 2011

D. J. Clayborne has finally met his match. After weeks of playing cyber tag, a mysterious hacker bests D.J. at his own game. His nemesis downloads a top-secret history of the Paladins, forcing him to go on the hunt. The trail leads D.J. straight to Regina Morrison, a woman who is as sexy as she is talented in the cyber world.

Reggie has been working around the clock to stop a legendary computer hacker from accessing her clients’ files. She just hasn’t told her boss she found the intriguing culprit weeks ago. The last thing she expects to have D.J. show up on her doorstep and that he’s even sexier than his evasive avatar. Now they’re flirting with a dangerous line between duty and desire.

Reggie’s deep investigation gets her kidnapped by the Others and forced across the hostile energy barrier into an alien world. Now it’s up to D.J. to track down the captivating woman whose ability to break through his firewalls is also breaking through to his warrior’s heart.

Comments:
DJ is a computer wizard who works behind the scenes (and at the front when need is there)… he is legend in the computer world, though no one knows who he is… except Reggie… she has cracked his system, but it brings danger  It is DJ to the rescue… and the competition between the two hackers is lots of fun as well. 

DARKNESS ON FIRE – Book 9
Released September, 2011.

Penn has struggled for years to overcome a devastating injury to his sword arm. He’s been forced to sit on the sidelines and watch his friends fight and die while all he can do is watch.

Then Devlin offers him a mission: a mysterious woman called to warn them that someone is threatening the stability of the barrier near the Yellowstone caldera, which could destroy both worlds. Penn packs his guns and his sword and heads for Wyoming to assess the situation.

Brought to our world as an infant, Jora b’Larth has spent her entire life living in fear of being discovered by her people’s enemies, the Paladins. But now the stakes are too high to worry about her own safety.

Penn and Jora join forces to face a common enemy. To save their worlds, they’ll risk their lives-and their hearts.

Comments:
There is a lot of action in this one, and it cannot be the end of the series… members of the elite from both sides are joining forces to keep their worlds safe…  they are bringing the ones who threaten the safety of our world to justice… and as they do they are finding that there is more than unity in their fight… but love.

Final Comments – Paladin Series:
The series pulls you into their world, it makes you understand what makes the aliens tick… and exposes the weaknesses on both sides of the barrier, for you find that these valiant men and women who fight so hard to secure and balance the worlds involved are Betrayed by the very ones who are the ones who are meant to guide them.

Synopsis done by MaryAnn and Barb