I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Demon Marked
by
Meljean Brook
paranormal romance in a paperback edition that was published by Berkley on September 6, 2011 and has 292 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include The Iron Duke, Must Love Hellhounds, Angels of Darkness, Wild Thing, Demon Moon, Demon Night, Wild & Steamy, Heart of Steel, First Blood, Demon Bound, Demon Forged, Riveted, Guardian Demon
Seventh in the Guardian paranormal romance series revolving around a group of Guardian “angels” and the vampires and humans who aid them. The couple focus is on Nicholas St. Croix and Ash.
My Take
Khavi and Ash are both so literal! Khavi is…sort of…a crack up. She’s so literal in her understanding and in how she responds to that. It’s rather cute how very clinical Ash is, how very honest in her bemoaning her inability to come up with a clever plot against Nicholas, not knowing how to be a good demon. It’s also one of the craziest romantic developments I’ve read in a long, long while. And surprisingly believable.
Oh, wow, it is so twisted what happened to Rachel when she died. She sacrificed herself to save Nicholas. She should have become a Guardian…so why didn’t she?
Nick is pretty conflicted about Ash. Demons lie. That’s a fact. Yet, Ash is just not behaving as a demon. She certainly is pretty clueless about how to use her wings.
The Guardians have a pretty good argument to force Ash to leave Nicholas. Unfortunately, Madelyn has a better one. But Ash is a smart girl and finds ways to indicate the problem. Then Ash continues to draw it out, creating problems by being a very obedient little demon. It just about killed me to have to wait and read my way to the resolve!
I did love it when Khavi crashed Nicholas’ therapy session! Leslie is gonna need her own disbelieving therapist! Then again, Khavi can be a real pain in the butt with her damned pronouncements of “no, no, I’ve seen it…blah, blah, blah…”
Oh man, no, that’s just wrong. Betrayal. We can only hope that Khavi truly is on the side of the Guardians.
The Story
Somehow Ash has escaped from Nightingale House and she’s blindly following memories she’s doesn’t remember. A house she knows but has never been inside. A man she’s never met, but feels familiar. Unfortunately for Ash, Nicholas St. Croix has no compunctions. He knows she’s a demon and deserves to die.
Only it is just possible he may be able to use her to find the demon who destroyed his family. He will endure anything to find it, kill it. Events, however, are happening faster than they can move. From the murder of Rachel’s parents to the demon who feels her pain and attacks.
Lucifer has found Michael in the frozen fields and knows how best to torture him. Knowing this spurs the Guardians on even more to find the spell to release him.
The Characters
Ashmodei “Ash” has been an inmate of this expensive asylum for three years. She has no idea who she is and she does as she pleases even if it does terrify those around her. She also looks exactly like Rachel, minus the tattoos.
Nicholas “Stone Cold” St. Croix is a man with a mission. To destroy the demon who murdered his family. He has built his company, Reticle, up enough that he has enough money to pursue his vendetta and has left it in capable hands. Reginald Cooper is the London private investigator he hired to look into Ash’s story. Leslie Sinclair is his skeptical therapist whom he’s been seeing for twenty years.
Madelyn St. Croix built her husband’s accounting business up into a powerhouse; Rachel Boyle was Madelyn St. Croix’s personal assistant and in love with Nicholas. Both disappeared when Madelyn and her son argued over business matters. Dr. Ian Cawthorne is a disgrace. Blackmailed to keep Ash a patient.
Taylor is the Doyen, charged by Michael to create new Guardians while he is trapped in the ice fields for his deeds. She was a police detective with the San Francisco PD before she sacrificed herself to save another. Other Guardians include Rosalia, Marc Revoire in the Midwest, Jake with his two Gifts, Alice, Selah, Radha is a master of illusion and pretending to be Rachel in London, and Pim is their healer now. Khavi is grigori with the ability to see the future. Lyta is her hellhound. And Sir Pup is very interested. Lilith and Hugh Castleford are both human now — Lilith when she won a bet from Lucifer and was stripped of her demon powers. Hugh when he Fell for her although he retains his Gift to see lies. Sir Pup is Lilith’s hellhound.
Steve Johnson was a willing victim when the “ghost” of Rachel Boyle encouraged him to destroy her parents.
The Cover and Title
The cover is blue, green, and black. The cool fires of hell surround the blonde-haired, tattooed figure who is supposed to represent Ash (the real Ash is tattooed on half her face). This one is wearing a black leather motorcycle jacket open to reveal the cropped, scoop-neck white top she’s wearing with that Wonder bra.
The title is all about Ash. She is, after all, Demon Marked.
