I love Alexandra Ivy, her books are always one of my go to on my read shelf and Shades of Darkness is a perfect example of why. Exciting and sexy I couldn't put it down!

This is the 16th installment of the Guardians of Eternity series by Alexandra Ivy. The main female character is Chaaya, who has survived centuries of being a sacrifice in order to protect her people from evil. She is now finally free and like anyone, she wants to have some fun. Unfortunately, she has a knack for causing mayhem and a stunning ability to get under the skin of her vampire bodyguard Basq.

Basq is a something of loner. He has learned the lesson that getting close to anyone comes at a cost. He finds Chaaya reckless and disrespectful on the surface, but he is drawn to her fiery temper and sense of loneliness. When Chaaya learns that a former foe has escaped and she must track them down, Basq does not let her go alone.

This story is action-packed with excellent dialogue. Alexandra Ivy does an amazing job bringing the Guardians of Eternity world to life. The book is part of a series, but can also be read as a stand-alone novel. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy the works of Larissa Ione and Rebecca Zanetti.

I was provided a copy of this novel by NetGalley for an honest review of the book.

Always enjoy books by Alexandria Ivy, and this one does not disappoint. The chemistry between Chaaya and Basque was up and down, but mostly up. They are both interesting characters, especially Chaaya. What is she and why does she exist, or how does she exist? Will they find the prisoner they are looking for? Will Chaaya and Basque survive each other? Read to find out from this excellent story with great world building and interactions. Can’t wait for the next installment of this series.

Well, this series certainly continues to get more and more interesting and intense, leading into new and terrifying world and discoveries. Ivy’s Guardians of Eternity series has been one of my favorites since almost the very beginning, not only because of the imaginative world building, but the sensual and spunky characters, and sassy and hilarious dialogue too. That being said, while this story certainly hit a lot of buttons on the plot and storyline, I was not as enamored of the romantic angle between Chaaya and Basq. Chaaya came into the story a book or so ago when she appeared out of nowhere after having been instrumental in keeping a dangerous demon locked down for centuries, but no one knows what she is, how she has the powers she does, or where she comes from. Determined to keep her safe, the demons have attempted to keep her at least somewhat sequestered in Las Vegas with Basq as her bodyguard, but she refuses to be contained anymore and is making their lives hell. Basq wants to figure out the “ghost-girl” and understand why she draws him so completely, but the more she puts her life in danger the more annoyed with her he gets. When she is called back into service to hunt a dangerous criminal that has escaped from prison, Basq tags along—whether she likes it or not—and they soon find themselves trapped in a shadowing alternate world and have to depend on one another to survive. But as the secrets of Chaaya’s past and future come to light, Basq also has to decide if the newly forming bond with his woman is enough to bring them through the dangers they face. I very much enjoyed the overall plot and story for this book, despite all the jumping around between POVs and the side stories, and am looking forward to where the world is heading next. The heat between Chaaya and Basq was a hit and miss, or maybe they just hid it well and it was hard to see, but when they figured out how important they were to one another they were both all-in mighty fast after having been so resistant to being with one another. I lived both characters independently though. Chaaya was a bit of a shit, but her sass and spunk was understandable considering her past, however I really got to like her when she began to grow up and see how important she was to those around her. Basq was so often at his wit’s end that it was hard to see how he might have been under normal circumstances, but I think I would have liked him too. The side story with Bridgett and Levet was fun too and I’m looking forward to reading more about her in future stories. All-in-all a pretty good read, though not my favorite in the series.

I love Alexandra Ivy books but this is my first one in this series. I really enjoyed the chemistry between the characters and the humor. Highly recommend.

Emotionally thrilling, action packed, heart racing adventure filled with dangerous and engaging charters, witty dialog, exciting twists and undeniable passion. An edge of your seat roller coaster ride from beginning to end and so hard to put down.

Love, love, love this series and this book is a wonderful addition to it! I love Chaaya’s brash & mischievous nature. She is one of those characters you cannot help but love, sort of like Levet. I so enjoyed how Chaaya drug Basq out of his shell & was a perfect compliment to his broody nature. The plot is fast-paced and sucks you in from the beginning, while the subplots keep you guessing. I adore the characters and cannot wait for the next installment.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A great story with a lots of fantasy combined together to the extbe tthta it became very fanciful. The characters are interesting and quirky. I would have liked more on certain characters over others but thats just personal preference.
A fun read.

Shades of Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #16). By Alexandra Ivy. 2020. Kensington (ARC eBook).

Shades of Darkness pairs up the bad-tempered ghost Chaaya with the stoic vampire, Basq, as her bodyguard; as together they race to stop an escaped prisoner from releasing an old enemy of Chaaya’s onto the world. They will have to survive the friendly fire from clueless gargoyle Levet as well.

Ivy’s Guardians of Eternity world is always full of vampires, demons, weres, action, magic and steam. Overall though, this was one of the lesser engaging reads from this series for me. I would have liked to have seen more focus on Basq and his abilities and better resolutions for the side-stories. But I will continue to look forward to more of this paranormal series.

Wonderfully swoony paranormal romance from a heavy hitter in the genre. Lots of action and fun to read.

Shades of Darkness is the 16th book in the Guardians of Eternity series by Alexandra Ivy. The books are interconnected stand-alones, which means that while each book features a different couple, a lot of its plots have been playing out for at least a couple of books and there is a lot of history between the characters, so new to the series readers, might get a little lost.

The book focused on too many characters in my opinion. Chaaya and Basq are the main characters, but at times I felt like they were completely forgotten. We get a lot of different point of views to a point where I felt that the romance between the main characters was nonexistent. It would have worked better if each book wasn't supposed to focus on a different couple. At some point, I did wonder if and how Chaaya and Basq were going to get their happy ending because the remaining pages were only a few and they were in a very bad situation. You will understand what I am talking about when/if you read the story.

Chaaya was a very interesting character and I hope we will see more of her in the upcoming books. The secondary plots might have been one too many, but I liked them and they made the story even more interesting. I hope that in the future they will be less or maybe have the main characters be involved in them.

Brigette is a sore point for me because I do not know what to make of her. I am interested in seeing how the author plans to redeem her since the next book in the series is hers. She did some good in this book, but I am not sure how she can make up for the past. Her book is bound to be interesting.

If you are familiar with the series, you will be used to by now to the million subplots, so I don't think that they will be an issue for you when it comes to this book, so I would recommend it to you. If you haven't read a book in the series so far, I would recommend starting from the beginning and not jumping into this book immediately.

I adore this series, and this author i would read her shopping list. I really liked the world, and this story was as goods as it gets within this amazing PNR world.

I hadn't read a book in this series in a while and I really enjoyed this. It's so fun to read about past characters, especially Levet. Lots of action and emotion and always good characters.

Loved it! Another excellent work by an excellent author. So glad that Ms. Ivy continued this series. In this story, we have a female warrior, Chaaya, who can ghost through walls, if need be, and her mate Basq. Filled with action in suspense and a wonderful kick-ass heroine made for a delightful read. There is some back story to Chaaya as he has Druid ancestry, which was interesting. Still don't touch Bridgette, Lol. I'm still in love with Levet. So many laugh out loud moments. When are Levet and Inga going to get together? It is pretty obvious they care deeply for each other. A tiny heroic gargoyle and the ungrateful half-ogre and mermaid queen. Sounds like a match made in heaven to me!

****I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book provided by NetGalley*****

Lively and vivid description, mystery, steamy romance, and humorous, emotional, and intense interactions between the characters make Shades of Darkness an intriguing fantasy/paranormal romance read. Chaaya is sent along with her bodyguard Basq into the hellscape mirror London to recover an escaped prisoner believed associated with the enemy with whom she endured centuries of imprisonment as a sacrifice to protect her people and magic.

A vampire, Basq is the strong, silent, solitary type who prides himself on his control, but he constantly struggles for that ease of control around Chaaya. Chaaya, a ghost whose true powers and fey identity are unknown, is fierce, independent, passionate, reckless, and fearless, determined to enjoy her life now that she is free of the hell dimension. On the path to locating the missing prisoner, Chaaya and Basq grow closer, learning more about each other and about themselves and to trust and depend on one another, as Chaaya confronts her painful past. The banter between them is enjoyable as is the development of their relationship. With fiery chemistry and completely divergent approaches to almost any situation, they are the epitome of opposites attract, but they definitely bring balance to each other’s lives.

A novel structured with intrigue and mystery upon mystery, it is filled with a lot of different characters to keep straight. As the story progresses each of the character’s place, and importance, in the story begins to take shape, which makes it easier. The characters are pursuing different aspects of the prisoner’s escape. For the most part the cast of characters, primary and secondary, are unique and fairly well developed as are their interactions and relationships. The diversity of fey and supernatural creatures featured in the novel is one of my favorite things about the novel. I also found myself most intrigued by Inga, the Queen of the Mer-folk, and Troy. This is my first book in the series, so perhaps I might have to go and read more books in the series for their stories.

The novel starts off a bit slow and confusing, but the pacing does pick up as you start to figure out who the characters are and that there are multiple, but associated, mysteries going on at once. Ivy’s vivid description, well-structured mystery and plot, timely humor, and banter between the characters makes up for the slow pacing and confusing start. Shades of darkness is just the quick fantasy/paranormal romance read if you are in the mood for a mystery-driven, humorous, and emotional romance, that mixes magic with bits of action and royal intrigue.

This is the first of the series I have read and I loved it! I was completely drawn in and couldn't put it down. I loved the characters. I am going back and starting from book one. The world the author has created is fantastic and I definitely want more. I was surprised by the humor as well. This is going to be one of my must read series.

Shades of Darkness is a part of the Guardians of Eternity series.
It has been a while since I've read any books in the series and while I was able to connect with the characters and get lost in the story, it now makes me want to go back and reread some of my favorite stories.
The story was fun, exciting with lots of adventure that has lots of twists and turns and of course sarcasm. We also get to have weres, imps, mermaids, vampires, demons, jinn, and druids, I mean really, how can you go wrong, I do recommend reading the earlier books in the series before reading this book to get the most out of it. You don’t have to but it is worth it.
I have to give a shout out to Levet the Gargoyle, who really is the highlight in each of the stories.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is not my favorite book in the series. While I understand that Chaya is supposed working off the centuries of confinement she came across as spoiled and overbearing. She had no qualms about causing problems just for the heck of it. I felt for Basq having to play body guard to her and following her through portals and worlds.
There were a lot of threads in this story and I feel that they weren't really developed to the fullest.
I have enjoyed the series and was happy to see the author continue the series but this one I definitely struggled with.

The 16th book in Guardians of Eternity, Shaded of Darkness is Basq and Chaaya. I enjoyed the overall story and the characters, loved the Levet moments and look forward to reading more.

3.75 stars--SHADES OF DARKNESS is the sixteen full-length instalment in Alexandra Ivy’s contemporary, adult GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY paranormal/fantasy romance series. This is vampire Basq, and Chaaya’s story line. SHADES OF DARKNESS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalments is revealed where necessary.

Told from a number of third person perspective following several intersecting paths SHADES OF DARKNESS focuses on Chaaya, a not quite human female, whose recent release from hundreds of years in a supernatural prison, sets out to wreak havoc on the world in which she now lives. Having been sacrificed by her mother years before, in an effort to save the world and mankind, Chaaya finds herself a ‘virtual prisoner’ at vampire Chiron’s Dreamscape Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada with her assigned security vampire Basq. The darkness that all but consumed our story line heroine has returned in the form of one-time were shifter Brigette, whose ‘escape’ from the underwater mer prison has started an investigation into betrayal and vengeance. Chaaya is determined to destroy Brigette before she consumes the world, but in doing so, finds herself with an unlikely partner in the man with whom Chaaya will fall in love. What ensues is the building relationship between Chaaya and Basq, and the potential fall-out as the past comes back to claim our story line heroine.

The relationship between Chaaya and Basq begins as an assignment as Basq is tasked with ‘keeping an eye’ on our story line heroine. Chaaya is a bit of a trouble maker at the casinos and bars in Las Vegas, Nevada but there is a price on Chaaya’s head, and Basq must ensure that the woman that calls to his heart, is safe and remains alive. The lone $ex scene is intimate but barely touches the surface of a fated romance.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters many of whom have been introduced in previous instalments: vampire and owner of Dreamscapes Resort Chiron; gargoyle Levet; mer queen Inga; Prince of Imps Troy; were Brigitte; numerous mer people including Jord, Riza, Rimm; and Greta.

SHADES OF DARKNESS is a detailed story line that follows several intersecting and connected paths. As Levet sticks close to Brigette in an effort to ensure the darkness doesn’t escape, Chaaya continues her search for Brigette, determined to destroy the darkness within. The premise is engaging and captivating; characters are colorful and energetic; the romance struggles with a lack of emotion or any palpable sexual energy-there was no discernible chemistry or heat.



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