This is the sixth book in the Gargoyles series and it was an interesting read. When a human female and a make gargoyle meet for the first time so many interesting things start to happen. Is Baen and Ivy's attraction destined to end or just starting? Ivy isn't your typical; human she is special but then so is Baen. They must figure out if they can trust each other or will the dangers tear them apart? Thank you for allowing me to read this and write a honest review.

I read this one way out of order but that did not take away from my reading experience. I loved the concept. The Guardians are very unique and I loved that the women in the story were strong and capable. I'm definitely going to back track and get everyone's stories. I loved Baen and I felt he was a well crafted character. Ivy I struggled with. Ivy was a complete badass in the beginning of the book. She was confident and gutsy. But about a quarter of the way into the book she became less and less like the strong female character we were first introduced too. Sure she had moments of badassery but then she was just a damsel in destress. I wasn't thrilled with the back and forth. Overall though I would still call this a strong enjoyable story.

3 1/2 stars Guardians have always been the protectors of the world from evil. They sleep till they are needed and once summonsed protect the world. But there was a time when the guardians felt taken advantage of and decided they no longer wanted to protect humanity. Once that happened only the pleading from their destined mates could summon them. Now many years later that is only thought of as a myth, the guardians still protect when called upon but no one realizes that those ancient tales are true.

Ivy’s world turned upside down when she heard in her dreams her uncle and cousin being murdered. Now she does everything she can to protect the world by helping to keep wardens safe. While protecting and transporting one warden Ivy is put in danger when demons come to get the warden she is protecting. When a guardian comes and saves the day Ivy is shocked. Baen came and not only protected the warden but saved her life as well.

Since no one summoned Baen he knows that Ivy must not only be his personal warden but also his destined mate. And though saving the world especially with the state it is in is important Ivy’s safety is the most important. But Ivy is convinces Baen is wrong about both counts. With the world falling apart all around them and evil set on taking over the world all the guardians and their mates must work together to save humanity and Baen will do everything he can with every spare moment he has convincing Ivy she’s his.

Ok so fair discloser here I shouldn’t have read this book. Was it good, yes it was really good. I loved the writing style and the world this author created and I especially loved the two main characters Baen and Ivy. However I didn’t realize this was not the first in the series. Had I looked into it at all I would have seen that this was not book 1 but in fact book 6 but to be fair to myself this wasn’t numbered and Amazon does not have this listed as book 6 either I had to look on Goodreads when I stared getting confused.

So I am not the best to read this book. I really liked it but I was confused and their was so much going on I didn’t know about and so many charters that I didn’t know anything about that I know I missed too much and would have enjoyed it more had I actually started at book 1, and I know that’s all on me.

What I will say is this book is really good, the main charters were great and the story was great. I would be more inclined to call this urban fantasy, yes there is romance and great romance at that but there is also tons of world building and action. As I’m sure you can guess I don’t recommend reading just this book, this series should be read from beginning to end, but from what I can see( including being introduced to the previous main characters) this series is full of not only romance but a great story and tons of action while everyone try’s to save the world from evil.

*Thank you NetGallery and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Paperbacks for this ARC to read and review.

Review goes live on Butterfly-o-Meter Books on Nov 3 at 00.00 am gmt+2 and will show up on Goodreads sometime later.

In a Flutter: The snark power is strong with Ivy
Fluttering Thoughts:
Worldbuilding: I liked the world, even with this Light vs Evil theme that I’m not necessarily into. I liked the Guardians vs demons, the Guild vs the Order, nocturnis vs gargoyles, and the magic just tops it off. Nice mix of London&Paris settings too.
Characters: Ivy is genuinely cool. Clairaudience is a kickass gift to have, pretty original – this might be the first instance of it I read of – plus she’s action-prone ans has a snarkalicious sense of humor for the win.
Baen is a knight in shining armor, alpha badass with a righteous cause, and also snarky which is always a plus.
I loved their super hot chemistry and their banter.
Plot: The surprise/accidental meant-to-be-mates trope was entertaining, resulting in slow burn romance and loooots of yummy tension. Active pace of events, lots of action. Unfortunately, I got a bit disconnected from the story when the gang got together, since this is my first in the series and I was really invested in the Ivy/Baen tangent. It was still interesting from that point on, but things felt somewhat slower.
Writing: Third person, past tense narrative, his/her POV.
Curb Appeal: Cool cover, hooking blurb – impulsive buy material for my PNR needs.

I recommend Hard Breaker to fans of PNR with a bit more unusual beings – like gargoyles for the win – that include a good vs evil background, hot chemistry, and snarky banter.

The sixth book in Christine Warren's Gargoyle series is action packed with the world building a little bit more complex, the suspense thrilling plot a lot more mystery ladened and a couple of main characters establishing a romantic relationship in the middle of trying to save humanity. Ivy is a great character, she isn't a damsel in distress but she is a warden who has been kept ignorant of her powers. Baen pretty much is developed when he makes his appearance so character development wise this is Ivy's story. Still the romantic aspect is hot and heavy even in the middle of all the action!

Hard Breaker by Christine Warren is book Six in the "Gargoyles" series. This is the story of Ivy and Baen. I have read the previous book but do feel this can easily be a standalone book.
Baen is a gargoyle who is assigned to protect the humans from the Darkness. When been comes in to save Ivy he is immediately drawn to her and very protective of her. Ivy has special powers that have lead to some harsh things. Baen is a strong Alpha male type with Ivy who is very independent...she had to be really.
I enjoyed seeing these two come together along with the exciting story line. Not an easy book to put down for sure!
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I didn’t like this one as much as the previous books. Seemed a little rushed to me. Ivy spends the entire book doubting she is a warden and her relationship with Baen. The last guardian suddenly is located and they are off to seal the seven demons back into their prison.

This is a fast paced, action filled read that covers enough ground from the previous books that it can be read as a stand alone. I do think I would’ve enjoyed it more had I read them first however.
Ivy intrigued me with her gift of being able to hear what was going on at certain points and times. She is a strong heroine and extremely independent. The fact that she is a Warden and never knew is not something she accepts easily. Nor is the fact that she’s the mate of Baen – a gargoyle come to live in order to help fight the darkness.

I loved Baen and his overall need to protect Ivy and claim her as his mate as she was definitely his Warden. Even if she fought it.

While I enjoyed a lot of this book, I struggled with Ivy’s inner musings. Sometimes they were just so juvenile and began to wear on my nerves. I found myself skimming a lot of her thoughts.
Overall, I enjoyed it and wonder if I wouldn’t enjoy the previous books. I do think this will be the perfect read for someone who won’t mind Ivy. I definitely think this was a case of “it’s me, not the book”.

This is an honest review of an advanced copy provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press

Dual POV
Safe

I believe this is the concluding title to the Gargoyles series. Ivy has taken up helping Wardens to safety after the deaths of her uncle and cousin because she knows they are the only ones standing between the world and the Darkness. But when the latest escape goes really wrong, they are rescued by a Guardian who insists she was the one who had awoken him. But the end is a lot closer than they think and must partner up with the other Wardens and Guardians before it’s too late. I have been a fan of the author and this series since the beginning. This book was well-written and had a wonderful plot; I have to admit I was worried because the books could start to sound too similar, but Ms. Warren pulled it off. This book was different enough that I didn’t feel I was reading one I had already read in the series. One thing I do have to say is that I didn’t really click with Ivy as much as I would have liked. I found Ivy to be a tad immature. Well, immature isn’t exactly the right word, but I feel that having been around magic, she should have been a little more open to the idea of mates. However, don’t let that dissuade you from this book. I feel this was a very fitting ending book, and it was a great conclusion to a great series. Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Well this is the end of the Gargoyles/Guardian series and it went out with a book not as good as the one that it come in on IMHO.

I scanned large portions, the author spent inordinate amounts of time inside the heroines head in conversations with herself, subtract those pages and the multiple sex scenes and you have a great story of about 200 pages instead of the 336 it actually is but since I have read every one of these books and enjoyed them all to some level I am glad to see a decent closing to the series even if I thought the last couple were probably the worst ones of the 6 books.

Why 4 Stars then? Because those 200 pages I told you about, it was a great story, a great (if rushed a bit) ending and everything pretty much wrapped up nicely with a bow on top :)

So even with my scanning and dislike of the extra pages, it was a 4 star book as a finale.

Magic, gargoyles, and impending doom…

This is the sixth book in the Gargoyles series that can be read as a stand-alone. This reader happened to start with this last book in the series but I was able to follow the plot fairly easily as enough historical information was provided. I do think this reading would be enhanced if you’ve followed the series.

In this world, that which is the light created seven Guardian warriors to battle seven evil counterparts, these warriors in their natural form are gargoyles who sleep as stone creatures when the battle is done until awakened to fight again. The cycle is never ending for in order to have goodness in the world there must also be darkness. In the current iteration of the fight the servants of the dark have been slowly, so as not to attract attention, killing those who could defeat them and releasing the seven evil monsters one at a time. The world is in dire need of the Guardians but where are they?

Most of humanity has no idea that magic really exists or that battle between the light and darkness has been going on for centuries but the American Ivy Beckett does, members of her family have been part of the Guild and she has an ability of her own, the ability to hear distant conversations, though it’s one that she doesn’t think is worth anything. After hearing the deaths of her uncle and cousin she joined the fight against evil and is in London clandestinely transporting Wardens (those who can wield magic), who are being killed off by servants of the dark, to safety in France.

The Guardian Baen has been sleeping for centuries and is awakened by an attack in an alley, a woman is fighting humans taken over by the dark to protect a cowering male. He wasn’t summoned, the woman’s presence triggered his rising, she’s his Warden, his handler, his to protect and perhaps more if the old legends are true. Though Ivy knew of the Guardians having one literally drop in suddenly was a total shock, so was the fact that he’s gorgeous and sexy and presses all her feminine buttons which is an inconvenience, that he says she’s his Warden makes no sense, she cannot wield magic.

All hell is breaking loose, the Guardians and their Wardens are humanity’s only hope. Amid the exciting action and suspense scenes, in the face of impending doom Ivy and Baen must sync as they navigate the steamy passionate chemistry that crackles between them. Ivy’s sassy and snarky, a tough heroine with a multitude of amusing metaphors in her thinking, she analyzes everything to death but that works for her though it drives the possessive, protective, alpha Baen nuts, he doesn’t understand her reticence to accept what is. Not everyone can readily accept giving in to the hands of fate if you’ve never even believed in it. Will Baen be able to convince Ivy to trust in what they both feel?

Considering I started with the final book in the series I very much enjoyed this paranormal read, it has an intriguing storyline packed with much action and suspense, there was danger at every turn and betrayals to contend with, the fantastical world was fully developed and continued to be built upon as the story unfolded. The likable characters were often amusing, their issues were understandable, and their dialogue was intelligent, witty and heartfelt. One thing of note, there were numerous British words/phrasings that I had to look up.

An advanced reading copy was obtained from the publisher via NetGalley.

Hard Breaker is book six in the Gargoyles series by Christine Warren. I have loved this series since the beginning. I admit, some books I loved more than others, some I felt the connection between the characters more than others. But every one stole my heart as each couple both bonded as mates and stormed towards an epic battle against the darkness.

In this book we meet Ivy Beckett. She had a vague understanding of the world of Guardians and Wardens fighting to protect the world against the sinister demonic darkness. But she was never sure how much of it was in her Uncle’s imagination or how much of it was real, until both her Uncle and cousin were killed.

Ivy is a Clairaudient, she can hear events as they happen, sort of like a vision, just without actually seeing it. This is exactly how she knew that her Uncle had been killed, and exactly how they died. After that she plunged herself into the world she knew very little of, and worked to save the Wardens from certain death by getting them to safety in a sort of underground they had devised. If you have read any of this series, then you know what comes next. Ivy gets herself into a situation that she would not survive, until a newly awakened Gargoyle swoops in to save her.

Meet Baen, the sixth Gargoyle to awaken upon hearing the cries of Ivy. Baen easily accepts the fact that Ivy is both his Warden and his destined mate. Ivy not so much. First of all, Ivy doesn’t consider her Clairaudience a magical talent. All Wardens have a talent. And when she learns of the legends of the maidens who magically awakened the Gargoyles and became their mates, she is not on board with it. To have her significant other chosen by fate, not by her own choice, doesn’t sit easily with her.

Together, these two are thrust into the chaos as they are attacked several times just in the first forty eight hours since Baen awakened, at the same time, struggling with their new found connection. But let me tell you that Baen did not lack in his ability to make me swoon. That man, er, Gargoyle, was sex on a stick, or should I say rock? He knew exactly what he wanted, and he wanted Ivy.

“Baen might be immune to magic and toughened to the blows of his enemies, but this little human possessed the power to destroy him with a single gesture. The knowledge of it humbled him and made him determined to please her so thoroughly she would never wish to be parted from him.”

This is the final book in this series and we finally get to see all of our beloved characters united for one epic battle against the demons of the darkness. Be prepared for some surprises as well.

“I will not cease to love you for as long as there is Light in the universe. Because you are my Light, and everything aside from you fades into insignificance.”

I suppose you could read this as a stand alone. There is plenty of information given for you to jump in. But I do hope you’ll take a look at the whole series if you haven’t already. If you enjoy sexy Gargoyles, then I really believe that you’ll love this series as much as I have.

“They shared one heart and one breath and that was all they needed to survive. Each other.”

Ivy Beckett is reeling from listening to her father and brother's murder and, knowing that she has to get yet another Warden to a safe place in France. When she is surrounded by 3 demons, she knows she must fight or die. Suddenly, something huge, terrifying and gorgeous appears from the sky and destroys these demons. Baen is a Guardian who has been asleep for many years, only to suddenly be yanked from his rest by the smell of citrus??!!
Ivy always knew that she could hear people and conversations but, finds out that she is a Warden for Baen, even though she doesn't believe it! She has known about the stories of the Light fighting the Dark for mankind over the centuries but, she finds it hard to believe that she has a much more active part in this than she ever realized! And what's this about her libido and how out of control it is around Baen??!!
This book was an all-consuming,fascinating, STEAMY, roller-coaster ride and, I LOVED IT!!!

This series has been on my TBR list for a while. For some reason I’ve just never gotten around to them. So when I did decide to look at them, of course, I started with the last book in the series! Luckily, it is easy to catch up and follow along. There are enough memory jumps for established readers that this newbie was able to keep up with what was happening.

Christine Warren has a nice writing style that engages the reader. I enjoyed the world building and character development and it was a very satisfying ending to this series.

This book has certainly made me want to check out the rest of the series, and just for fun, I’ll start with book 1!!

For both established and new readers I’m sure you’ll enjoy this last instalment in the Gargoyles series.

This is the 6th book in the Gargoyles series. It can be read as a stand alone however you probably wouldn't understand the series story ARC that has been established since book 1. So I highly recommend reading the previous books first so you understand how they get to this point. All that being said, this book covers Ivy Beckett and Gargoyle warrior Baen. Ivy "heard" her uncle and cousin being killed and it forced her to make the decision to help other wardens to safety. She is just a step along that path to safety, along the lines of an underground railroad. She is helping a warden to the next part of his trip when she is attacked by the nocturnis. Now enter Baen, a gargoyle warrior who swoops in (literally LOL!) to save her life. From the start they are attracted to each other, but Ivy fights it the hardest. I truly don't want to give away the parts that happen after as I really love how this story plays out! There are twists that I never saw coming and the ending is beyond great!! I can honestly say you will love Ivy and all of her sarcasm and snarkiness! I hate to see this series end but the way it is done, ties up every loose end and lets you have a truly great happy ending! Loved it from start to finish!!

This was one of my very favorite books in the entire series! Ms Warren nails it! Loved every character & it was fast-paced, edge-of-the-seat reading! Can't wait for the new series to debut! Love this author!

This was an intriguing read for me. The idea of a gargoyle that comes to life and mates with a human was enough to snag my attention and had me wanting to read this series. I didn't start with book one. I had read book 5 when it got released at the beginning of the year. The overall series plot was good. It was interesting and kept my attention, but I will admit that having the heroine in book 5 as the gargoyle threw me a bit. I do love a woman with power, but I like for her to have an equal as a mate.

I admit, I loved this book more having Baen as the Gargoyle. He fit the idea of a Gargoyle to me. He was a big, strong and behaved more like a military man. His protectiveness towards Ivy was appealing. His acceptance of her as his mate was absolute. Then seeing him commiserate with his "brothers" over the stubborn female was entertaining.

Add in the way the author brought all the Gargoyles and their mates together to battle the ultimate evil and I was riveted to this story. I am a bit confused to if this is the final in the series. The evil is conquered but the book ended abruptly. No epilogue. I'm not sure if the author has something planned for their future or if that really is the end.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This series is just so good. I've enjoyed it up until this point and I think this is one of my faves. The story is so well written and with such fantastical descriptiveness it almost feels real. I love Baen & Ivy as a couple. Baen is well, everything a hero should be. He may be a tough guy but with Ivy he is sweet and gentle. I really like Ivy too, she is so down to earth and sweet.
The storyline is what fuels this book and it is amazing and you should really check it out as it is different from other PNR's out there. I really liked it!!!!

Christine Warren takes opposites attract to new levels in Hard Breaker, the 6th in her Gargoyles series. American Ivy Beckett has the gift of Clairaudience: “She can hear voices, feel events, and receive messages from great distances.” Sounds great, right? A “radio receiver inside her head” that allows her to tune into whatever, whenever. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.

Ivy never got to choose what she could hear. It only came to her at the moments she least wanted to hear, moments filled with anger or fear or soul-wrenching grief. It had to be powered by emotion, and somehow the most powerful emotions always seemed to be the most painful ones.

Clairaudial empathy, someone had suggested as a label. Ivy just called it her curse.

One night, in the “choking grip of sleep,” Ivy’s “subconscious recognized the fear in her cousin’s voice, the urgency in her uncle’s.” She listens, powerless, as they are murdered by the “servants of the Darkness.” Heartbroken, angry, confused, and at the mercy of her garbled gift of Clairaudience, Ivy moves across the pond to Croydon, South London: “Situational awareness had become a hard-earned skill of hers since she’d gotten involved in her little side business here in London.” Her side business is running an underground railroad of sorts—shepherding Wardens from England to safety in Paris. Slow down—Wardens? Are we in Harry Potter territory, magic all around us Muggles but we can’t see it? That’s not far from the truth.

Warren subtly reveals the struggle, hidden from ordinary humans, between the forces of Dark and Light, a battle that has been fought for centuries. A fight that continues in the present-day, which is why Ivy has allied herself with the Light while almost totally discounting her own supernatural abilities.

Only those gifted with the ability to wield the energy of magic could affect the Darkness and its servants. These few joined together as Wardens, forming a Guild to stand against evil, but even they lacked the strength for victory. They needed a weapon of immense power, something that could only be granted by the Light itself. Joining their magic, they performed a spell of summoning and brought forth the Guardians.

Working her side business one evening, camouflaged like a native, Ivy maneuvers through a crowded pub. She approaches an unassuming man wearing “tortoiseshell glasses that give him the air of an insecure junior accountant.”

“Hello, sweetie. Did you order me a drink?”

She kept her tone breezy and her voice just loud enough to be heard at the neighboring tables. Her accent sounded like a careful combination of RP and the Estuary accent. Think Judy Dench meets Russell Brand.

With a quick “Ta for that,” Ivy slides in beside Martin, calming him down while she saucily talks about their upcoming weekend. He’s visibly nervous which is the last thing Ivy needs. She hisses at him to relax.

“Take a few deep breaths and remember the plan I e-mailed you. Did you memorize it?” Ivy waited for his jerky nod before she continued. “Good. Then everything is going to be fine. I have it under control, okay? I’ve done this a dozen times. The nocturnis are not going to get their hands on you, but you need to calm down and remember your part. I’ll get you to the Guild, I promise.”

Martin and Ivy run into a spot of trouble after they leave the pub. English understatement: they’re attacked by three demons—Ivy has no backup and “holding her dagger in front of her,” she prepares “to die fighting.” But no—she stares “into a wide barrier the color of dark, aged granite.”

She blinked, then shook her head and blinked again. The view didn’t change. Gradually her brain caught up with her corneas, and she realized that what had looked like a barrier of solid stone was actually a pair of wings. Huge wings, each easily twelve or thirteen feet from base to tip, leathery and membranous like a bat’s.

And they were attached to the broadest, most muscular back she had ever seen. A back that could only conceivably belong to one of two things:

A dragon.

Or a Guardian.

Meet Baen. A Guardian newly awakened from centuries of sleep. Baen knows immediately something is very very wrong—why is the Guild searching for Guardians? Where is his Warden? Baen snarls at the very un-presupposing Martin that his “last Warden was from the House of Beauclerk. Henry Fitzallen Beauclerk.” However, Martin is not Baen’s Warden. Ivy is. A supposition she disagrees with entirely.

For Pete’s sake, she had barely had time to get a good look at the Guardian, and now he was trying to tell her she had been ordained by Fate as his magical P.A. Did he think her degree came from Hogwarts?

Speaking of getting a “good look,” Baen “looked as if Smaug the dragon and a male model had managed to conceive a love child. Only, you know, hotter.”

It doesn’t take Baen long to realize that Ivy is almost totally ignorant of her magical gifts. He sternly tells her that “magic is merely the deliberate use of energy to accomplish things that may or may not be accomplished otherwise.” What is marvelous about Baen, other than his massive strength and blinding hotness, is his complete confidence in Ivy’s neglected abilities—when she learns to channel her instincts, who knows what she’ll be capable of?

Another part of Ivy has been neglected, but when Baen leans close to her, she must “fight hard against a shiver of awareness.” Her Guardian “radiated heat, a heat she wanted to lean into and absorb through direct skin-to-skin contact.” Hard Breaker radiates heat—Ivy and Baen are an incendiary couple, fighting the forces of Darkness while falling harder than granite for each other.

Overall a satisfying read and conclusion to the series. The author gave enough of a twist to the herione's background and the couples meeting/start to keep it from being a rehash of a prior couple. Also enough series background was provided to keep someone picking up this book without reading the prior ones from being lost (or refresh the memory on the series if they were) without dragging out the story for those who have all the prior books. There's a fair amount of early battle action before the "lull before the storm" period prior to the big final battle. However, I never really fully connected with Baen & Ivy as individuals or a couple, Ivy in particular never felt fully flushed out. Plus there were several times that events (particularly how easily they were sometimes found by both friend & foe) seem to happen for convenience without explanation or reaction other than the need meet up or battle. (ie: Ivy decides to place an ad on criag's list to see if can find out if any other guardians are out there after Baen has woken. The ad is placed late at night but by 930am Ash & Drum have shown up from Ireland at their door. How they knew where to go & so quickly was never addressed nor what that could mean as far as the bad guys being able to track them down.) A great deal occurs in the 1st 48 hours or so of the story which takes about 2/3 of the book but during that time there is little "relationship building" time. Most of that time seems to occur off page during the week before the final battle which is only briefly narrated/described in the story. This may be why I didn't feel the connection to the main couple of the book that I would have liked to have had. I did enjoy seeing our prior couples join together and see the camaraderie between the gargoyles develop and them advising Baen on his relationship. There was sufficient twists and action to keep the overall story of good vs evil moving along to the final heart pounding battle.