Tag Archives: Julianna Stone

King of the Damned by Juliana Stone – a Review

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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 2nd 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


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Wicked Road to Hell by Juliana Stone – a Review

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Wicked Road to Hell by Juliana Stone – a Review

Wicked Road to Hell is the first book in Juliana Stone’s new A League of Guardians series.  There is also a prequel novella released a month prior to this release, Wrong Side of Hell.  Below is a description of Wicked Road to Hell, and then my review.

Description:
With the legions of the underworld gathering and chaos close at hand, Sorcerer Declan O’Hara’s deadly skills will be tested. But nothing will sway him from his duty, not even her…Rescued from eternal darkness, vampire Ana DeLacrux owes her life to a mysterious stranger who asks for only one thing—her absolute allegiance. She serves this master without question until Declan, the one man who can make her forget her vow, returns. His magic is stronger, darker…more compelling than ever. His blood awakens a hunger she must resist, or risk deadly consequences. As Ana and Declan join forces, the streets of New Orleans become a dangerous place for both humans and the otherworld. And the most dangerous place of all is a road Declan’s traveled before…the wicked road to hell.

Review:

We meet our hero, Declan O’Hara, just about from the start.   He is sent on a mission by a Seraphim, who is called Bill.  It is Bill, a very very powerful being, who saved Declan from the depths of Hell. Declan, who is a powerful sorcerer, now has a dark and more magical side to him, due to his 6 months being tortured by Lillith. When he was rescued by Bill, he became beholden to him to be a warrior of the Seraph, to help fight evil.

The mission sends Declan to find a target that the demons are also looking for, and to bring that target to the Seraphim. He has no idea who the target is, but using his magical ability, he ends up in New Orleans and to an old friend for help.  Ransome, is the alpha of the pack in New Orleans, and together they go to this old run down mansion, where Declan can tell a vampire is in residence with someone else.

Here is where we meet our heroine, Ana, who is a vampire. As it turns out, Ana was Declan’s long lost love, whom he watched get killed by his own father two years ago.  Declan is shocked to see Ana alive, and with mixed emotions, he pushes his way past Ana to find who she is hiding, and why.  

Ana DeLacrux is a tough kick ass heroine, who also unbeknownst to Declan, was brought back from death (though she is the undead), and hell by Bill.  The difference is Ana is likes Bill, and is loyal to him for saving her.  She is also on an assignment, to protect and take care of young boy from demons or even the Seraphim.  Bill obviously uses Ana differently then he does Declan, and the other Seraphs.  There is another ulterior motive that we are not privy to at this time.   Declan is confused, and unhappy that Bill has not told him about Ana being alive.  Ana is determined to protect the teenager, and despite her feelings for Declan, is willing to fight him to protect the boy.  Eventually Ana is able to explain that the boy is deserving of protection against the demons, and even the Seraphim who will surely kill him if he doesn’t turn to their way.  He bears the Mark of the Seven, that have unknown powers, which will either help or destroy the world, if the seven are all together.  Declan agrees to help Ana protect the boy, Kaden, and at the same time try to find out where the others are, and help prevent the wrong hands get ahold of the others.

What ensues is a wonderful action filled story in a dark and dangerous world, where there are demons, vampires, werewolves, seraphs, socerers, not to mention a full blown look at Hell.  All through the eyes and imagination of Juliana Stone, and Wow…what a ride this is.  As Declan must go to his worst nightmare ….back to Hell and Lilith.  He is propositioned by Samael, the chaos demon to find and bring back two other children with the Mark of Seven, who are now under the control of Lilith.  Without telling Ana, Declan goes on the ‘wicked road to hell’. 

Ana and Declan have acknowledge their love for one another, and Ana, once she finds out what Declan is doing, does everything in her power to meet him in Hell, and help him, even if it costs her whatever life she has left.

It was also a great romance between Declan and Ana. I loved them together, and it was their strong love for one another that will help save their lives.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching them rediscover their love, their sexual chemistry was great, and their determination to survive against insurmountable odds was awesome.  Ana was so great a character, and would do anything to save Declan.  Ana, as a vampire not only had to find a way to help Declan fight Lilith; save the children; and also to protect him from her own vampire council.  The last half of this book was totally non stop, you could not put the book down, and just when you think it’s time to relax, you are pulled back in.

Juliana Stone has done a fabulous job with this first book, and I for one cannot wait to read her new release King of the Damned.  A League of Guardians will continue with many of these characters that we have already met, as they will continue to fight evil, even if those doing the protecting have a bit of evil inside them.  Juliana Stone has created a group of Guardians who will come from all types or paranormals, such as the demons, sorcerers, shapeshifters that we have already met.  Of course, as in any story, we have our villains, and none could be worse then Lilith.  This series promises to be an exciting ride all the way through.  I am happy to have found this series.

Reviewed by Barb

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