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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780425213476
ISBN number: 0425213471
Label: Berkley Sensation
Manufacturer: Berkley Sensation
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 432
Printing Date: January 02, 2007
Publishing house: Berkley Sensation
Sale Popularity Level: 187576
Studio: Berkley Sensation
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
All hell breaks loose in Meljean Brook's erotic, supernatural debut novel.
Lilith, a demon, has spent 2,000 years tempting men and guaranteeing their eventual damnation. That is, until she meets her greatest temptation: the man whose life mission has been to kill her.
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Rated by buyers 
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HARD TO FOLLOW:
Part 1 of the book is 97 pages. Hugh a human and Lilith a demon meet. Hugh becomes a guardian. Then he and she meet each other 172 years later, have a conversation and separate. They subsequent meet 72 years later, have a conversation and separate. This continues for about seven meetings. In each conversation the reader learns a little about their worlds, but the scenes are confusing. For example, in one scene a cathedral is burning, but the reader doesn't know who set the fire or why or why Hugh and Lilith are there.
Part 2 of the book has more of a plot, but that too is hard to follow. Throughout that part I had many unanswered questions. Some of them were answered later and some were not. It was hard keeping track of who the bad guys were. It was hard to know what was going on and why. In general it was unsettling.
CLIFFHANGER WRITING STYLE:
I've read enjoyable mysteries and suspense stories which switch scenes among characters, time, etc. But, this author switched scenes too abruptly at cliffhanger moments, which frustrated me. For example, A and B teleport to a place they believe is safe, but accidentally end up in a place of horror and fear (page 267). The author then switches to other characters and scenes. I wanted to know where they were and what would happen to them, which was not answered until page 347. Page 347 has a short scene in which A got out, but I still didn't know where they were or why. The author switches to other characters and scenes. On page 362, the author states that B got out of that place. Finally, on page 369 the author describes where they were and why. Some mysteries are important to keep hidden, but I didn't see this as one of them. Knowing the why and where earlier would not have detracted from the good guys vs. bad guys plot. Instead of anticipating and/or experiencing an adventure, I felt annoyed. There were a number of cliffhangers other than this that added to my frustration.
CAUTION SPOILERS:
CHARACTERS DIDN'T DRAW ME.
Lilith and Hugh loved each other, probably from the beginning. It is Lilith's nature as a demon to lie, but she is also half human. She lies to Hugh about her feelings for him and about her knowledge of Hell and the world. Hugh holds back from his feelings for vague reasons. This was partially explained on page 346 when he said "Four days are not enough to make up for the eight hundred I was too foolish to take for my own, yet I would try." He is talking about having a loving/sexual relationship with Lilith.
The romance between Lilith and Hugh for the majority of the book felt like too many mind games. An example from page 229: She said "You cannot save me." He said "I can try." She said "I hate martyrs." The conversation continues for a little while. Then she said "And when you are kind to me, when you touch me, I desire what I cannot have." Lilith then has a few inner thoughts as Hugh is walking down the stairs, leaving. I didn't understand why they couldn't be together and why Hugh left. I felt like I was hanging, without answers.
ON THE POSITIVE SIDE:
The ending was creative and enjoyable, but not enough to make up for the hours spent with the rest of the book.
Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: six. Setting: 1217 to 2007 various locations in Europe, US, Caelum (a heavenly place) and Hell. Part 2 is set primarily in San Francisco. Copyright: 2007. Genre: fantasy and paranormal romance.
SERIES:
The very first four books in this series are:
3 stars to FALLING FOR ANTHONY, in Hot Spell anthology
1 star to DEMON ANGEL
(not read) PARADISE, in Wild Think anthology
2 stars to DEMON MOON
Rated by buyers 
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Ms. Brook has crafted one hell of a great narrative in her book Demon Angel. It is a powerful story of love and redemption, heaven and hell, and the complex forces that make up the human condition. I couldn't put it down, on the edge of my seat until these fabulously unique characters triumphed over evil and found their happily-ever-after. Ms. Brook's story has the complex world building and epic struggles of truly great sci-fi/fantasy, with all the true love I crave from the romance genre. I cannot say enough good things about her story or her writing.
This book wins the Best Line At-First-Sight, when the hero very first sees the heroine: "No beauty was she, but broad-beamed and flat-featured, like an ill-tempered cow," (p 9).
Another line I like, just to illustrate Ms. Brook's talent: "the familiar verdant landscape receded under the fog as it smudged groves of trees into vague shadows, erasing distance and detail with unrelenting gray," (p 3).
As you can see, Ms. Brook's writing is both humorous and eloquent. The book begins in 1217, and the language patterns reflect the time period. As the centuries progress the hero and heroine's language does as well.
When the hero, Hugh, and the heroine, Lilith, very first meet, Hugh is a virtuous young knight and Lilith is a conniving demon. Their relationship is torturous and complex; they are two halves of a whole, one whose gift is truth, the other whose gift is lies. When Hugh sacrifices himself for another and becomes a Guardian, whose purpose is to protect humans from the manipulations of hell and the danger of nosferatu, he and Lilith begin a centuries-long contest; one to save humankind, the other to damn it.
The centuries are hard on both, and Hugh finally must end it. He choses to Fall, living out the remainder of his life as human, haunted by his actions and his memories of Lilith. But the devil has other plans, and when he sends the nosferatu to kill Hugh's students, Hugh is brought back into the struggles he left behind. Ultimately they must use their gifts and each other to find redemption.
The passion is hot. The hurdles are many. What would you sacrifice for Love?
Rated by buyers -
Amazon provides a decent synopsis, so I won't repeat that here.
I greatly enjoyed this book. I like that Meljean Brook seems more in tune with a younger audience. Or at least, with a geeky demographic of readers. Seriously - quotes from Yoda, and then a hilarious reference to "All your base are belong to us" (a swf of a badly translated console game from awhile ago).
Brook's universe is an interesting one. In Brooks world, you have the usual fall from Heaven, Hell below, and Lucifer's minions - demons, as well as hybrids created by Lucifer from creatures he called out of Chaos. There are the Guardians above, who protect humans from these demons. Both Guardians and demons are bound by rules - they cannot interefere in a human's free will to choose, or outright kill a human.
Lillith should be a creature of complete evil; however, the method of her creation has her at odds with herself. While she serves Lucifer, it often seems that she targets humans who deserve to go to hell - murderers, rapists, and abusers. I suppose Brooks has to find a way to soften her character, to avoid alienating the reader from the character. All the same, her moral ambiguity (willingness to lie and steal and arrange matters to her advantage) makes her quite an interesting character. She's tough, yet has her own vulnerabilities that the reader can relate to.
Then there's Hugh, who is as stalwart and honorable as the knights of our romances. Yet he carries an enormous amount of guilt from actions he took as a Guardian and for actions he took against Lillith, whom he believes dead.
The romance between Lillith and Hugh is quite poignant and angsty, as you have two individuals who have spent a millenia fighting - both for souls and against their own attraction - who are caught up in political mechanisms beyond their control. Watching them overcome their differences with each other, as well as overcome the situation they find themselves in is fascinating.
My only problem with the book was the amount of dialogue. Some of it which didn't add much to the overall plot or character development. Particularly in the end. There was so much dialogue going on between characters, which didn't provide much to the climax and denouement of the plot, I got lost and confused as to what was going on and who was speaking. I found myself quite frustrated in the last 100 pages as the plot slowed and the characters spent way too much time in dialogue about their angst, or their situation, or explaining things. I'll likely go back and try to reread the end, because I have no idea why they did what they did, and what it was supposed to do.
But at the same time, I found myself buying the other two full-length novels in this series, and will likely look for the anthologies containing the short stories.
I do recommend DEMON ANGEL. It's definitely one of the better paranormal romances out there.
Rated by buyers -
It was kind of tough to get through the very first part of the book; it seemed to drag. But in hindsight, it was necessary to build the backstory, and most importantly, to really drive home the love between Lillith and Hugh. As you read through it, you'll see why all that backstory is important, not just for the action, but to say, "So that's why he did that? That's so sweet!"
This was my very first introduction to the Guardian series (never knowing such a series existed). I would have read this book a long time ago had I known about it! I decided to take a chance because Borders has that buy 4 get the 5th free promotion and I was looking around for a 5th book (Nalini Singh's psy-changeling books were in there along with some witch romance stories, just in case you were interested. Can you tell I love paranormal romances?). Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed Lillith's strong, tough personality that was tempered by the humanity she so desperately tried to hide. Hugh was the pitch-perfect hero, who understood Lillith in ways no one was able to. He was strong and protective...and incredibly sexy. The secondary characters were well developed - I totally adored Sir Pup!- and they really added to the life of the story.
The action was great; the plot suspenseful and exciting. The sex scenes were super HOT! OMG, they were soooo good! But the greatest thing was the love story...it wasn't preachy or moralizing in a way a typical angel vs. demon setup could be. Instead, it was really about love between two people and those they cared for. It wasn't about good and bad, so much as it was about making difficult choices and loving someone enough to fight together and for one another. I'm really happy I stumbled upon this find. I'm definitely reading Savi and Colin's story next!
Rated by buyers -
Demon Angel (Guardians book/story #2) tells the story of Lilith (half-demon) and Hugh Castleford (a Guardian). From the very first moment they meet, their relationship is a battle of wills, wits and then swords. Spanning nearly 800 years from the 13th Century, to the present day where Hugh and Lilith face a possibly unsurmountable threat to themselves. This is a much more complicated story than boy meets girl, boy saves girl, they live happily ever after.
I had read very good reviews of this book, but when I started it I was slightly wary. Number one, because it starts in 1217 and I am not a big historical fan and also I really am not keen on the cover (I know it's what's inside the book that counts but there you go.) However, my bias was quickly swept away as I was drawn into Hugh and Lilith's tale.
Lilith is another of what I'm coming to think of as 2007's demon heroines (see also Jesse from Hell's Belles and Georgina from Succubus Blues). What I find interesting about her is how complex she is, in parts of the book she seems to revel in what she does because it's necessary. And then there are the parts where she is disgusted with herself - both facets of her character equally well written.
Hugh is perhaps the perfect hero for Lilith, in that he doesn't let her get away with anything - even when, perhaps, he should. Their relationship is a very slow burn, starting out more adversarial than romantic, but in the end they are both willing to give up everything for the other.
It's great to find another series with well-developed characters and plot (more on that in a moment). The secondary characters - Colin the vampire, Sir Pup, Savitri are not just there to support Hugh and Lilith - they have their own problems to deal with. Problems which appear to have far-reaching consequences.
I've mentioned how much I loved the complexities of this story and it's characters and I apologise if I appear to contradict myself here. If I had a problem with the story it was that in places I was left scratching my head as to what exactly was going on and at some points what the characters were talking about as well. This is probably most in reference to the bargain made towards the end. Though it happened in a couple of other places. If you can bear with that, this is a book that is well worth reading and the start of another must buy paranormal series.
Short Story - Falling For Anthony (Guardians 1) in the Hot Spell anthology released November 2006
Short Story - Paradise (Guardians 3) in the Wild Thing anthology released May 2007
Novel - Demon Moon (Guardians 4)is out June 2007.
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