Chaaya was murdered as a sacrifice centuries ago and trapped with an evil beast. Now that she is free she is ready to cause mischief and have some fun. Basq is one of the vampires charged with keeping an eye on Chaaya. When a prisoner only Chaaya can stop escapes they will set aside their differences to try and hunt her down. But will they be able to survive and learn to trust each other? And will their desire turn into something mire?

This is the second book I have read in the series. I do feel you need to have at least read the previous book to understand Chaaya's story fully. This was a book that gripped me from the start and had me intrigued to learn more about the characters. The only reason I gave it a 4 is because the ending seemed very abrupt and almost like something was missing. I will definitely keep my eye out for the next in the series!

This book was given to me an an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.

Shades of Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #16) by Alexandra Ivy

I love this series... This story belongs to Basq and Chaaya and it keep me on the edge of my seat the whole time... Plenty of feels, angst, mistrust, mystery, laughs, tears, lots of old friends and some enemies, some questions answered and a few left for the next book..and plenty of steam to get us to a HEA. Oh and I can't forget Levet my favorite.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Action-packed Easy-to-read Great world building Happily Ever After Page-turner Romantic Steamy Unpredictable Witty Wonderful characters

This is the newest book in the Guardian of Eternity series from Alexandra Ivy. I must confess that I love Alexandra Ivy and this book did not disappoint! You can instantly feel the chemistry between the main characters, Chaaya and Basq. It is hot, hot, hot! And the humor in this book is over the top! Chaaya is a bad girl that just wants to have a fun time. She spent 100s of years as a prisoner and now just wants to LIVE! She was kicked out of the Mer-Folk palace for causing trouble and sent to be watched over by Chiron. Basq is the head of security for Dreamscape Resorts which is owned by Chiron and he is given the job of keeping her in check. He is a by-the-book kind of guy who doesn't understand her need to be bad. When Chaaya is called back to Mer-Folk castle Basq goes with her and craziness ensues. There is non-stop action, hot sexy times and laugh out loud fun in this fantastic book! I LOVED It! And definitely would recommend it!

I received this book via NetGalley and have agreed to leave an honest opinion,

I am a fan of the author and have read many of her "Darkness" series and loved them but this one I just could not wrap my head around, I just didn't really care for the story and I wanted more...

I wanted to see more of Chaaya and Basq's developing relationship for sure. Anytime you have an alpha male, and a vampire at that, it is always interesting to see how they handle a new relationship.

I did like it much better toward the end because all of the storylines were coming to fruition but otherwise I just didn't "feel" a real connection.

It was great seeing Levet again though, the little sweet souled, zany gargoyle.

I love Alexandra Ivy Romantic Suspense series. I have tried a few of her Supernatural\Paranormal suspense series and found each one is completely different from each other even though its the same author.

Chaaya isn't as likeable as her other characters you will meet in this book. She is trying to be carefree after protecting everyone aad her one stop is straight to Las Vegas. I struggled with this character because she went from protecting to not caring what happened to things around her. She just wants to live for the first time.

Every supernatural character comes out in this book after all its Las Vegas.

The story works with the Alpha Male that decides to protect the woman he wants.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of Alexandra Ivy the Shades Of Darkness

This is the first book I have read my Ms Ivy but it will definitely not be the last. I could not put this book down, I will now have to go back and read the rest of this series I am truly hooked. The characters are so well written that you just can’t help but to be pulled into this world. This book has plenty of action and romance I am very thankful to both netgalley and Kingston for the opportunity to read this book. I highly recommend this book.

I love this series and really you cant go wrong. Like anything some are better than others, but I enjoyed this one.
You have weres, imps, vampires, demons, dijin, druids, I mean really, how can you go wrong? I enjoyed Chaaya. Was she responsible? No. You try living in hell for centuries protecting the world and then tell me how you would give a care when finely free, Wouldn't you want to live? Basq seemed remote, but then when you read the blurb, he intentionally doesn't feel I am good with the the romance and mayhem. It was great to see Greta again, and of course Levet made me chuckle. This is a well rounded paranormal romance that can be read as a stand a lone but is enhanced ten times over if you read from book 1. If you love to read, its a win-win. 16 books of romance, paranormal, alphas, and smart women, Yes! Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and Alexandra Ivy for providing me this arc and taking me on an enjoyable ride. I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions.

A most amazing penmanship!

I was thoroughly bewitched by Alexander Ivy's Shades of Darkness. From the writing to the plot, to the characterization...I must confess that I rushed to finish it. Then I read it again.

Suffice to say that it is brilliant. It would be a pleasure to read any book from this author.

What a great book! I pretty much chuckled through the entire thing! It was fun reading Basq and Chaaya's story!
Intrigue, adventure and a lot of laughter is what you'll get when you read this book! Levet, the little gargoyle, is a hoot! He and Brigitte have an adventure of their own! Lots of twists and turns in the story but in the end, Brigitte makes the right choice and true love prevails for Basq and Chaaya! I loved it!!

I’m always looking for a new paranormal romance series—now more than ever 🙄—so I was really looking forward to picking up Alexandra Ivy’s Shades of Darkness.

The first book I’ve read in the Guardians of Eternity series, SoD features a troublemaking maybe-ghost heroine named Chaaya who thrives on stirring things up & a starchy, so-called “nice guy” vampire named Basq who’s drawn to her. Even if he hasn’t admitted it.

When Chaaya & Basq take off on a dimension-hopping trip together to track down an “evil were” he gets his chance.

Though this was my first foray into the series I didn’t have a lot of problems picking things up. Ivy does a great job of introducing us to the world without dumping a lot of info on an unsuspecting reader.

Filled with a sense of the absurd, fun & detailed world-building, & some steam, Shades of Darkness is an enjoyable escape.

But I feel like the romance between leads isn’t strongly developed. It seems to move pretty quickly once it gets started & I didn’t have a keen sense of why the leads love each other/how they fell in love.

Maybe it’s just me, but I wanted to see more of Basq perhaps delighting/or even just responding positively to Chaaya’s troublemaking ways because they’re presented as such a big part of her & seem pretty antithetical to how he acts.

To sum up, I enjoyed the romance but I wasn’t entirely convinced by it.

Still, this is an entertaining PNR & I’m glad I gave it a shot!

3⭐️. Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Interdimensional Manhunt + Romance
After being sacrificed by her mother and having escaped the infamous Beast, Chaaya is done playing by other people's rules. She's powerful, practically immortal, and won't take direction from anyone. But Chaaya's help is needed to find an escaped prisoner, and Basq, a broody vampire, isn't about to let her go alone. The two set off together, traveling through time warps, meeting new creatures, and building enough chemistry to keep the pages turning. Though I would have liked a bit more of a connection on Chaaya's part, once the two get together, her true nature comes out and she is a badass.

I jumped into this series without having read the previous books, but let me tell you - it didn't matter. I quickly was able to figure out the connections and relationships between the characters just with Alexandra Ivy's descriptions. Overall, this read kept me on the edge of my seat, eager to see who, what, and where Ivy was going show me next.

I don't know how Alexandra Ivy keeps managing to find such good sexy heroes who aren't just just well rounded & balanced characters but match perfectly with her heroines in such a way as that you don't mind quite so much that you can't keep him for yourself since you know he's going to be HEA with her. Basq was a little slower warm up but Chaaya's slightly prickly personality steadily poked holes in his outer shell and revealed his personality and depth while he softened the edges of some of her sharper points. There is plenty of action and interesting world building/characters (all done without overwhelming the story) to keep you turning to turn the pages as 3 different adventures/intrigues entwine. Favorite gargoyle sidekick Levet plays an important part though his slightly more serious side is on display, there is a nice touch of humor throughout the book. if there was one complaint (and a mild one at that) it would be that while the Inga/mermaid intrigue was interesting it felt a little distracting from the main story line involved in the other 2 adventures. Overall I have no hesitation in recommending this installment in the series and am looking forward to who may be next.

Chaaya endured centuries as a sacrifice to save the world from a terrible evil. Now that she is free she is determined to have fun, especially if it means getting under the skin of the silent bodyguard, Basq.

This book was ok for me. I didn’t love Chaaya. She came across as someone who doesn’t care about consequences and lives to cause problems. She got on my nerves quickly and that never really went away. Basq was an interesting vampire. His abilities were very unique but I felt we barely got to know him because of the focus being more on Chaaya and everything else that was happening.

These two started out as very antagonistic towards each other and then abruptly switched gears as soon as Basq admitted she was his mate. Their relationship went from aggression to lust very fast. These two just never clicked for me and their abrupt mating didn’t help.

I also struggled with the progression of the story. I really thought there would be a different outcome with Briggette. The whole progression with her and Levet really made it seem like we would see something big happen with her but we don’t get to see it. There is just a time skip and a brief mention of her. I was very disappointed by that. Also I figured there would be more going on with the mermaids and their traitor but I felt that just ended kinda abruptly. Basically the pacing and storyline in this one was off for me.

Between the relationship and the overarching story I struggled a lot with this book. I don’t regret reading it but it definitely is not my favorite of this series. I am still looking forward to the next book and the continuation of the plot.

*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*

This series is always a pleasure to read. The characters are well rounded with realistic reactions to situations. This is a series that must be read in order as the story builds from one to the next. However, once you are invested in them it is impossible to want to binge read them

I enjoyed this latest book in the Guardians of Eternity series but you definitely need to read the whole series to understand the backstory. This is Chaaya and Basq's story. Lots of paranormal characters and situations make the story an entertaining read. Recommended.

This book was okay. I feel like the pacing was a bit off. The beginning and middle were a bit slow and then the interesting stuff happened only in the very last third of the book. I had difficulty connecting with the main characters and I also do not know why Basq fell in love with Chaaya (besides the whole mate thing). 2.5 stars.

Loved reading the mesmerizing and spellbinding paranormal romance story. Chaaya's destiny has been to stop the evil beast from ending the world, and when Bridgette escapes the merman prison, Chaaya follows her into oblivion. Basq has sworn to protect and follow Chaaya anywhere she goes even into another dimension. Read the highly recommended. wonderfully written with a riveting storyline and captivating characters, and a must read love story.
I reviewed a copy of the story from NetGalley.

This book wasn't the best, I didn't loved it at all and after all I've read about this series it wasn't my favorite

Oh I love this series and heartily recommend reading from the beginning if like me you enjoy a paranormal romance.
Chaaya was sacrificed by her Druid mother in order to save the world from a hungry Beast. She has been trapped in a hellish dimension and now finally is free. Chaaya isn't quite as human as she appears as she can quite literally dissolve through walls but this tiny firebrand is determined to live life to the full. It's just too bad that she's surrounded by grumpy, stiff ( no pun intended ! ) Vampires who seem set on following her around and spoiling her fun ! When an old enemy escapes prison it seems that maybe Chaaya might know how to capture her but she's not going alone because her gorgeous, boring nemesis Basq is sent with her and that's when secrets really come to light !
Another fabulous story set in this world that features Vampires, Demons, Fae, Mermaids, Weres, Imps , Djinn and even an adorable Gargoyle. I wasn't sure about the romance angle initially because there wasn't really much chemistry but I did become convinced as the story progressed. I am still a little unsure how I feel towards Chaaya as she seems forever to want to cause trouble and mayhem wherever she goes. Basq sadly felt quite distant at times and I really wanted a bit more about him. What does have me cheering are the scenes with Levet the tiny French gargoyle who steals every scene he is in. Plus as this ends I'm pretty sure we will get more about the Weres in this world soon and I'm really hoping that the author gets inspired to write a book around the Djinn because there aren't that many stories about them around and if there's an author who can bring them to life its Ms Ivy.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Alexandra Ivy's Guardian's of Eternity are a must read series and hard to put down. I have been reading her books since the beginning. Basq is to watch over Chaaya. But she is strong enough to look out for herself. They must find the evil person who escaped her prison. Then throw Levet in the mix, you have a great adventure.