Watchers in the Night

The Guardians of the Night #1

by Jenna Black

Watchers in the Night is the first book in acclaimed author Jenna Black's Guardians of the Night paranormal romance series. Two years ago, Gray James jilted Carolyn Mathers at the altar, disappearing without a trace. Carolyn's fruitless search for answers cost her her badge; now she's a P.I. and trying hard to get on with her life. A chance encounter reveals that Gray is still alive, a changed man with dangerous secrets he refuses to share. The harder he pushes her away, the more determined Carolyn is to find out what happened to him. Gray never stopped loving Carolyn, but the fateful night of his bachelor party changed his life forever. He would do anything to shield her from the world he now inhabits, a world where Killers hunt the night and Guardians hunt the Killers―and he tries to walk a third path, refusing to become one or the other. But when a serial killer called the Broad Street Banger seems to be targeting Carolyn, Gray risks everything to keep her safe―even as the Guardians consider him the prime suspect. Caught in an escalating game of cat and mouse, Gray and Carolyn must forget the passion they once knew if they ever hope to evade the Guardians and find the real killer.

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Vampires, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2006

About the author

Jenna Black is your typical writer. Which means she's an "experience junkie." She got her BA in physical anthropology and French from Duke University.

Once upon a time, she dreamed she would be the next Jane Goodall, camping in the bush making fabulous discoveries about primate behavior. Then, during her senior year at Duke, she did some actual research in the field and made this shocking discovery: primates spend something like 80% of their time doing such exciting things as sleeping and eating.

Concluding that this discovery was her life's work in the field of primatology, she then moved on to such varied pastimes as grooming dogs and writing technical documentation. She writes paranormal romance for Tor and urban fantasy for Bantam Dell.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/jennab...

Reviews

[Gee Liz Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a few chapters to get in to this book. I didn't like the fact that Carolyn's soon to be husband decided to show himself after nearly three years because she was about to get mugged by a young thug even though she used to be a Cop. I think being annoyed at this made me not want to give the book a chance, so it took me a couple of weeks of reading a little bit of a time before I got in to the swing of things.

I really enjoyed the 'whodunnit' side to this book and as I read the story, I felt like that with a few tweaks, the story would work without the vampire element in it. Though the story would need to be tweaked more towards the end, I still stand by this.

I absolutely love vampires, but I found it difficult to like the vampires that Jenna Black had created. When I think of vampires, I think of Lestat and Louis from Interview with the Vampire - drinking the blood of their victims and getting erotic pleasure out of it. Pleasure for both the vampire and the 'victim' at times. Yet, the Vampires in this book had to survive off a concoction of Lamb's blood and milk, and if they ever drank the blood of a mortal twice, or sometimes even once, they would lose all control and become uncontrollable Killers.

I did however enjoy the characters in the story. Gray and Carolyn were the lead characters and though I liked the characters separately, I found that when they were together all they would do is argue, usually about Gray losing control if they were to have sex, and then proceeding to have sex, before arguing again. Fortunately, there was quite a good balance between storyline and erotica - something I feel is important as I can't stand a book filled with sex scenes for no apparent reason.

Continuing on with the characters, Hannah, who is Carolyn's best friend had me laughing out loud sometimes and I really appreciated her humour and sarcasm. Jules, Gray's enemy so to speak but not the villain of the story, is a character I just could not get enough of - witty, sarcastic, and from the sounds of it very, very sexy. If any of you guys have watched The Originals, Elijah springs to mind.

I was really torn between 3 stars here and 3.5 stars. I really liked the story, and the characters but for me it would have been better as a mystery story rather than a paranormal romance story. I likely will read the rest of the series, but it isn't something I am going to rush in to. I'm hoping that Jules will be the lead in at least one of them.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank god I finished this book. Unfortunately I can’t just “not finish” a book. This book was very much not for me. I found Caroline & Hannah annoying. Everyone raves about what a good detective Caroline was and sure in 2006 maybe that was believable but reading this in 2025 was frustrating bc she didn’t do anything I wouldn’t have thought about trying to do.

Everything was boring overall. Wouldn’t recommend. It’s a paranormal romance that’s very light on the spice.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical mystery story of good guys vs. bad guys with predictable characters. I wanted something a little more unique.

STORY BRIEF:
There are two kinds of vampires: Killers who kill humans and Guardians who drink sheep’s blood and protect humans by killing Killers. Carolyn’s fiancé Gray was turned into a vampire just before their wedding 3 years ago. He left her to protect her. Gray doesn’t kill humans but he hasn’t officially joined the Guardians. She has been wondering why he left and mourning the loss ever since. She sees him one night and starts following him to learn what happened. A Killer is killing humans and framing Gray for it. If the Guardian’s think Gray is killing humans, they will kill Gray. Carolyn is a private detective and investigates the killings.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
There is some romance here, but it’s not typical. We don’t see the couple meeting and developing a relationship. We enter the story after the relationship ended. We then watch the couple interact and wonder if they will reconnect or stay separate. The main story is good guys being framed and trying to solve the mystery of who is the bad guy and what to do about it. There wasn’t enough character development for me. The characters were typical and predictable. There was nothing special in the dialogue, no witty remarks or interesting ideas. I wanted to be more surprised or delighted to give it more stars. Although, I was impressed with Carolyn’s investigative work regarding the killer’s identity.

DATA:
Story length: 296 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 12. Setting: current day Philadelphia, Pa. Copyright: 2006. Genre: paranormal romance.

[Shan ~A~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love pnr, but this one was pushing it in the reality department. I just don't think that it is believable that a woman would wait for three years for a man that you have assumed jilted you. I would have been pissed not worrying about where the heck he went off to. I am also supposed to believe that he would show himself when she was "in danger", when she was once a cop and now a PI.

Anyway, besides that I thought the story was ok. I love the different takes that authors have on vampires. Some breath and have heartbeats, others don't. Some can digest food and other can't. The list goes on.

There is a quote on the back of the back from Sabrina Jeffries(who I love) that says:
"You'll want to bare your throat to Jenna Black's enthralling heroes." It goes on to say more, but as I read that I was thinking to myself no I would not want to bare my throat to theses heros. They don't just bite to take a nip, if the bite they get addicted and become killers.

I think that is where my main problem lies. I am used to reading about vampires who take a nip and not get addicted. Vampires who make being bit and erotic experience for their donor or partner. Vampires who have the ability to mate for life.

I was left wondering how this relationship between our hero and heroine was going to survive. In order for them to stay together will he eventually change her or will he watch her die?

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked this author's Faeriewalker series and her other series Nikki Glass. So I decided to go back and try out some of this author's prior novels. I like vampire stories. This book was not one of the author's best. I felt like I was kind of in a dream while reading this book. I briefly remember going through the motions of reading it but I can't remember much about what happened between the pages. None of the characters really were that exciting and jumped off the pages at me. Which is not typical of the author's work. That is what I like this author is because her authors engage me into their world. As I said before this book did not do that for me. Also, I was let down as I was expecting more drama and action and there was not much. Overall this book was not my favorite and I don't think I will read the rest in this series.

[Paula Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying I'm not a fan of books with vampires. This book was an ok read. My mind would often drift off and start making grocery lists or planning my day. Once I could reel my thoughts back in I was able to pay attention. Vampires, an organization to save the vampires/almost vampires?, murder and romance-that is what Watchers in the Night contains. I think I honestly rate this book 2 1/2 stars.

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting take on the vampire mythos, with two competing types of the species: the bad guys who encompassed all the standard myths such as killing and feeding and doing evil deeds, and the good guys who killed only the bad guys, protected innocents and sustained themselves as the hidden saviors of mankind, and drank a sustaining substance that reminds me of something like a wheat grass smoothie - good for you but tasting nasty.

Overall it was pretty interesting although there were a few areas, such as the opening saved-by-the-ex where I put the book down for several days before finally coming back to it. I really don't like it when the woman has to be save by the man, although in this case she could have saved herself. Ex-cop, current PI, and all around kick butt character who was otherwise particularly lame so much that I can't remember her name. Her sidekick and best friend, Hannah, was much more interesting, especially as she made no effort to hide her disdain of the formerly missing fiance, Gray James.

And if she is such a great cop/detective, why in 3 years did she never think of reversing her ex's names? James Gray is much more common than Gray James, and any good cop would immediately think of switches, since that is one of the easiest name changes there is.

I liked the search for the bad guys otherwise known as the Killers, even though the person of interest was ignored as a possible suspect, even though he twigged a thought in my brain the first time he was mentioned, as should have happened for anyone who was thinking of possible suspects.

I liked the supporting role males much better than Gray. Jules for instance, handsome and flashy, with a century or experience but still guarding his mortal descendants, and Drake, a killer, but not one of the Killers. The difference is that Drake kills to remain in his weird half life, and the Killers murder for fun as much as sustenance. Drake is also a bad-boy type, good looking and a little out of kilter with others. We don't see a lot of his history though, which is too bad.

There were multiple characters which could have been built up better, but the way they were done made the story work. Eli, leader of the good guys (also know as the Guardians, which is pretty lame) has little shared history. There are young twins, who we eventually learn the ages of. There is the only female vampire specifically mentioned, Deirdre. Others came and go with various bits of input, but the focus remains on the original couple, Gray and whats-her-name.

Several off-putting spots, aside from the ridiculous save. Who was the vampire spotted near the beginning of the joint effort to find the villain that has both human and vampire worlds in an uproar? Why didn't anyone twig to Hannah if the humans were being watched so carefully? Why didn't anyone think a female could be the bad guy - misogynist thinking or simply following a trope? Why didn't the bad guy get researched sooner? Why were the human cops and forensic people so stupid and clueless?

Still it was interesting and when you're unable to do anything post surgery it definitely filled some time.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining vampire tale, although I find it very hard to believe that PI Carolyn Mathers would have waited around for 3 years after her fiance disappeared a couple of days before the wedding. She was a cop, an intelligent woman, and she didn't even seem to like Gray James that much before he went missing because he was too uptight & conservative.

There are the good vamps & the bad vamps, & a couple of in-betweens: the Guardians try to protect mortals from the Killers, so there's lots that can go wrong with that scenario, of course. My favourite is Drake, a Killer on the side of the angels who seems to be sex-on-legs. I liked Jules Gerard, too: a Guardian who seemed to get most of the best lines. Gray was a bit wishy-washy, & I suppose he was neither 'twixt nor 'tween because of his ambiguous status. Carolyn came across as pushy rather than assertive, & was far too relaxed around the vampires for her own good: she definitely needed the nasty shock she got but it should have come sooner. Carolyn's best friend & PI partner, Hannah Moore, is another feisty woman &, like Jules, was a bit of a show-stealer. Eli is the leader of the Guardians & I really wonder what his story is: he is a uniquely powerful vampire but we don't know what those powers are.

So, a fun read & I will read the next in the series at some stage, but not good enough to race out & find it straight away.

[Kat (Ginger Bibliophile on YouTube) · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like romances and a bit of spice, it’s probably amazing. If you want paranormal with a bit of romance, like I prefer, it’s waaaay too heavy on the mush. I did love the best friend’s attitude of just waiting for permission to castrate the ex though. Hannah made it an ok read for a non romance reader.

[Aly · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5/5 stars

No. Just no. I did not really like this. It felt like nothing happened for the majority of this book!? Even the whole vampire reveal was just...meh. I didn't find this enjoyable and it's honestly such a disappointment.

[Toofan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't bad but I found it somewhat boring.
Once upon a time I had actually read this book but, I couldn't remember a single word of it and I think, in a couple of years I won't be able to recall the plot or anything else about it.

[Amy Webster-Bo · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome series have read it several times

[Gwenneth Sunio · Rating 3 out of 5]

good for a first paranormal romance book for teens. finished reading on 2014
Expect vampires and blood🩸

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much better than the authors 'the devil' series, & I actually liked the female MC, & story-line in this book.

[78sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,6 von 5 Sternen
*Inhalt:*
Vor drei Jahren hat Carolyns Freund, Gray, sie ein paar Tage vor der Hochzeit ohne ein Wort des Abschied verlassen. Jetzt ist er plötzlich da um sie vor einem Straßenräuber zu beschützen und sie findet heraus, dass er sie nicht freiwillig verlassen hat, sondern in einen Vampir verwandelt wurde. Gray weigert sich ein Guardian zu werden obwohl er nach ihren Bestimmungen auf menschliches Blut verzichtet. Die Guardians behalten ihn nun im Auge aus Angst er könnte zum Killer werden. Dann passieren auch noch Morde und Gray wird zum Hauptverdächtigen. Als ob das nicht genug wäre, ist auch Carolyn nicht mehr so leicht abzuschütteln nachdem sie weiß, dass er noch lebt.

*Wie kam das Buch zu mir*
Ich liebe Jenna Blacks Urban Fantasy Reihe „Die Exorzistin“ und wollte jetzt eine andere Reihe von ihr ausprobieren. Leider gibt es die Guardian-Reihe nur im Original zu kaufen.

*Meinung:*
Das Cover sieht ansprechend aus, kann aber mit den deutschen Covern für Bücher dieser Art nicht mithalten. Die Frau auf dem Cover wirkt mir auch etwas zu jung. Der gelbe, herausgehobene Schriftzug dagegen gefällt mir super.

Die Grundidee des Buches ist nichts wahnsinnig neues. Die Vampirwelt teilt sich, zumindest in Philadelphia, in die Killer und die Guardians. Erstere sind süchtig nach menschlichem Blut und töten dafür. Die Guardians trinken Lammblut zusammen mit Milch und haben es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht Killer zu jagen und die Menschen zu beschützen. Einzig Drake steht dazwischen. Er tötet zwar um zu trinken, aber nur böse Menschen. Gray James, der männl. Hauptcharakter des Buches, ist seit drei Jahren Vampir und musste daher seine zukünftige Braut, Carolyn, kurz vor der Heirat im Stich lassen. Er liebt sie immer noch, aber will sie nicht in Gefahr bringen. Sie dagegen setzt alles daran ihm zu beweisen, dass sie immer noch zusammen gehören. Wie gesagt, alles nicht gerade umwerfend originell, aber es wurde sehr gut umgesetzt.

Die Charaktere im Buch sind der Hammer. Gray ist ein toller Typ – sexy, fürsorglich, beschützend und loyal. Ein Traumtyp eben, der sein Herz an nur eine Frau verschenkt. Carolyn ist super taff und beißt sich durch, trotzdem ist sie auch verletzlich und gefühlvoll. Auch die Nebencharaktere sind großartig. Drake, der Killer mit Gewissen und Jules, der Guardian der Gray das Leben schwer macht, sind einfach unbeschreiblich sexy und interessant. Jenna Black hat einfach ein Talent dafür die 'bösen' Typen trotzdem noch sympathisch zu schreiben.

Das Buch ist wirklich spannend geschrieben. Ein großer und entscheidender Teil der Handlung liegt bei der Aufklärung der Mordfälle. Da Gray der Hauptverdächtige ist und Carolyn, ihre beste Freundin Hannah und er seine Unschuld beweisen müssen, ist man mitten drin. Man fiebert mit ihnen mit und man will unbedingt herausfinden wer es nun ist. Ich lag relativ schnell richtig mit meiner Vermutung, daher nehme ich an, dass es anderen auch so gehen wird. Trotzdem war man sich bis zum Schluss nicht ganz sicher und so war es trotzdem sehr spannend.

Die Emotionen wurden gut vermittelt. Man fühlte regelrecht Grays Sehnsucht und Unsicherheit, wie er Carolyn nun behandeln soll. Einzig Jules ständiges und übertriebenes Misstrauen Gray gegenüber wurde für mich nie plausibel erklärt.

Der Erotikfaktor in diesem Buch ist der Hammer. Die Liebesszenen sind nicht übertrieben oft, dafür aber extrem gut geschrieben. Fast jeder Auftritt von Gray, Jules oder Drake ist sexy. Ich liebe Jenna Blacks Charaktere einfach.

Trotzdem das Buch mich sehr überzeugt hat, werde ich die Reihe wohl nicht weiter verfolgen. Das liegt aber einzig und allein daran, dass ich reine Vampirgeschichten nicht so interessant finde. Mich interessieren Werwölfe einfach mehr oder Bücher in denen viele verschiedene Wesen vorkommen.

Grundidee 3,5/5
Schreibstil 4,5/5
Spannung 5/5
Emotionen 5+/5
Charaktere 5/5

*Lesergruppe:*
Leser, die gern Vampirgeschichten lesen, die jede Menge Sexappeal und Spannung enthalten.

*Fazit:*
Ein richtig toller Vampirroman mit sexy Charakteren und gutem Spannungsbogen. Leider gibt es ihn bis jetzt nur auf Englisch.

[Paranormal Romance · Rating 1 out of 5]

The heroine has always mourned the loss of her fiancé. Always expected something awful must have happened to him to make her leave her 2 days before their wedding. Perhaps it was this suspicion of foul play that saved her heart the pain of rejection, that something she'd down made him run.... Then 3 years later like returning from the dead, he suddenly reappears. Saving her from a mugger that she had total capability of handling on her own, she's stunned to see him here and now after all this time. And he looks good. Real good. The man she knew was always a little bit heavier but this man is all lean toned muscle. The man she knew had short hair and a level head but this man is rugged and possesses an air of danger. She demands answers-where has he been all this time? why did he leave? But this man is completely dismissive, regardless of her fury and barely concealed pain and he leaves her once again, demanding she forget about the man she once knew. Good luck at that! The heroine's pain is too great to ignore so she turns to anger. She vows to hunt him down and get the answers she seeks one way or another.

The hero has spent the last 3 years in hell. Since the night of his bachelor party when he was turned into a vampire against his will, he has lived with the constant and terrifying fear that he'll kill again. And apparently the Guardians believe it of him as well because he's been assigned a constant babysitter, a man he hates with a great passion. But now it seems he's attracted a new stalker. He should have known better to expect the heroine to listen to reason and it seems no matter how hard he tries to push her away, she refuses to let it go. It's only too soon when she realizes the horrible truth. He doesn't know if it good or bad the way she calmly accepts the news of vampires but he does know that her involvement with him will lead to danger. He's being targeted by a serial killer who is trying to fame the hero into taking the fall for the crimes. His babysitter is all too happy to believe the worst of him and in fact, the hero is all to quick to believe the worse of himself. But he knows he didn't kill these women and though he hates it, he knows the heroine has the tools to help him. Her PI business is thriving for a reason and she's not the type to sit back and let others control her life. Even if he's a vampire, the hero is still the man she loved-the man she STILL loves even now-and she believes in his innocence despite the damning evidence. But when they are captured by the killer, the hero's true fear is realized. Locked once again in a basement with a mortal, he knows it's only a matter of time before his beast takes control and he hurts the woman he loves more than anything in this world.

I didn't like this book. Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood to WANT to like it or maybe it truly was as bad as I thought it was-regardless I was completely unengaged with the plot and characters. It had all the traditional-and predictable-ingredients of a vampire romance novel only it devoted subpar dedication to all of them. The plot was a snore feast with ZERO intrigue or excitement to be had. The characters were, well, the characters were just plain awful. I don't think I've ever disliked a hero and heroine as equally before. I thought them both to be rather stupid and most undeserving of a lead role in any story. They lacked charisma. The hero I thought was a pussy. A whiner that didn't want the heroine involved in this mystery but who actually too weak to sever ties. The heroine was a right nob who had that painful self-importance that in reality would have resulted in her death long ago. She just kept demanding answers and her desperation to be involved in the hero's life was painful and boarding on creepy the way she stalked him. Imagine if your ex took to sitting outside your house every night? You'd call the cops. Everything was just off with this book and honestly, if I'd have read this book first in the series I would have great hesitation in the desire to read anything further. Luckily, I know that this author has the ability to write decent novels-well, good enough novels at any rate.

[Cheryl Landmark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book and fairly fast-paced. I finished it in one day.

The concept of good vampires versus bad vampires is not new, but Ms. Black handled it quite well, and her writing was also very good. What I found a little surprising was that a lot of the familiar characteristics of vampirism--no heartbeat, cold-blooded bodies, etc.--were not present in this book. The vampires seemed more human and mortal than undead creatures, which is how they are normally portrayed.

One of the pet peeves I have with some books is the very annoying habit of characters who don't want to talk and explain things, which leads to all kinds of drama and misunderstanding and unnecessary conflict. Gray popped unexpectedly back into Carolyn's life after stranding her at the altar three years earlier and then told her he couldn't give her any explanation whatsoever for what happened. And, she was supposed to just forget about him and move on. Well, of course, that was like waving a red flag at a bull and then telling it not to charge. Carolyn was not about to accept such a stupid, lame-brained order from a man who broke her heart, and I didn't blame her. In a way, it was understandable that he wanted to protect her from what he had become and he was afraid of hurting her even more than he had, but then why even reveal himself to her in the first place?

Carolyn was a strong, independent character, but there were times when I found her bristly attitude just a little annoying. I don't mind tough heroines, but let's not go overboard, okay? The same went for Hannah. It was commendable that she was such a loyal friend to Carolyn, but, at the same time, she could be a real witch with a capital B and I wanted to slap her silly. Gray seemed like a nice guy--er, vampire--and it was great that he didn't allow himself to succumb to the temptation to become a monster. But, I think I would have liked him better if he had shown a little more backbone and gumption. I would have liked Jules more, too, if he didn't have the irritating habit of quickly jumping to conclusions and hurling accusations without concrete evidence.

For the most part, I enjoyed the book and will definitely read more of Ms. Black's work in the future.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Jenna Black since I first picked up her Morgan Kingsley series, so I was excited to finally get a chance to explore this new series The Guardians of the Night. Note to readers: The Guardians of the Night Series is Ms. Black’s first published series (2006-2008) which predates her Morgan Kingsley, Fairiewalker and Nikki Glass series, so be aware you are reading early works and adjust your expectations accordingly.

Watchers in the Night is the first in the series and introduces us to the Guardians and to the Killers, the Guardian’s enemy. The book has a slightly different take on vampires; in which the vampires are fighting against their own kind and not against another supernatural creature.

Carolyn Mathers is a cop that has been jilted – three years ago by Gray James. We don’t get to read about their relationship before the jilting; we are left with a couple of memories that each shares in the book, so it was hard to believe that Carolyn was left devastated by that event, but that is what we are meant to believe.

Gray was changed into a vampire on the night of his bachelor party and never made it to the altar to wed Carolyn. He struggles to move forward into a live he never chose and has started to watch Carolyn from afar. On a night when he thinks she is in danger, he intercedes and reveals himself to her.

There are a couple of storylines going on in this book but the main one is that there is a serial killer on the loose and it looks like Gray is the prime suspect. There are a multitude of characters in the book and it looks like some will get their own book. I’m most curious about Drake and perhaps Jules, since I can’t believe he is that big of a jerk (but you never know).

Watchers in the Night is a decent paranormal romance addition. There isn’t much unique about it; hey I am reading it 9 years after its release, but it was a fun, quick read. It was also interesting to see how Ms. Black’s writing depth has evolved and matured over those years.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"fast-paced paranormal romance"

Carolyn Mathers, a P.I., thought that she would never see her ex-fiancé again, but there he is, appearing out of nowhere to save her from a would-be attacker. One, she doesn't need saving, since she is quite capable of defending herself; and two, she wants to know where in the heck he has been for the last two years.

Gray James hadn't wanted to abandon Carolyn; however, circumstances beyond his control gave him no choice. Now he made matters worse, by letting her see him. Of course, she has questions for him, but he doesn't have a clue how to tell her that the man she loved died two years ago.

Gray being a vampire is the least of their problems. He has the 'Guardians of the Night' watching him. They're vampires that destroy other demons that cannot control the beast within. One guardian in particular has good reasons to believe Gray will fail. When bodies start to stack up around town, all clues point to Gray as the killer.

Carolyn intends to prove that Gray is innocent. She's just as determined to convince Gray that no matter how much his life has changed, their love for each other is strong enough to endure it.

This fast-paced paranormal romance keeps you intrigued to the last page. She introduces some secondary characters that are as likable as the main characters. This fan would love to read about their story. Hopefully Ms. Black intends to pen more 'Guardian of the Night' tales.

Highly Recommended!

reviewed for PNR Paranormal Romance
www.paranormalromance.org

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good vampire/human detective story. Romance a bit weak. Didn't like ending as has no proper conclusion.

Day before their wedding, Gray disappears. Three years later, Caroline is still 'morning' him, when suddenly he appears to rescue her from an attack, then disappears again. Caroline, a private investigator, starts a search for him and finds him only to discover he's a vampire.

The town is being terroized by a serial killer and Gray's fellow 'good' vampires suspect he's the killer. So Caroline investigates to prove him innocent.

All this sound good, but the relationship between Gray and Caroline is awkward. If her detective skills are so good that she can find him within a few days after the attack, why couldn't she find him during the 3 years after the wedding disappearance. But the ' It's too dangerous to be with me, but I can't stay away' and the 'I'm still mad at you because you won't/can't explain why you disappeared for three years' is a bit fragmented and cleche'. And the oringinal servelance gets a bit boring.

I like Hannah and Jules. They have a spark that should be interesting in the next book. In fact, most of the other 'good' vampires are okay.

Best scene: Caroline breaking into Gray's house and finding him 'asleep'.

[Steff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The past three years have not been easy for Carolyn Mathers. Her fiancé disappeared days before their wedding and her refusal to give up on the search got her kicked off the police force.

Gray James has also had a particularly hard three years. The night of his bachelor party he was attacked by a vampire and now lives a solitary life trying to forget about his love for Carolyn. And to top it all off, he is watched every second of his waking hours by vampires known as Guardians, those who protect their city from vampires who feed off humans and want to intimidate Gray to ensure he doesn’t become one of the Killers.

Carolyn’s and Gray’s paths cross once again thanks to a vampire serial rapist and killer. Carolyn’s life has been threatened and the Guardians prime suspect for the murders is Gray. Together they must find the Killer before the Killer finds them or the Guardians decide to take matters into their own hands.

Watchers in the Night, by Jenna Black, is a captivating start to what promises to be an exciting series. Her take on the vampire mythology has many avenues that leave a lot of room for many unique and creative stories to come.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad book, I would say it was ok - just ok. It is about a PI by the name of Carolyn whose fiance disappeared without a trace shortly before their wedding. Weird characteristics of her version of vampires. For example, they may not drink from humans only lambs blood mixed with milk. Interesting concept??

The story consists of Carolyn's almost paranoid behavior in looking for her fiance and finding out what happened to him. The characters didn't seem very bright which again was an interesting concept. Overall I guess I just didn't "get it" with this particular book. Maybe it was just not my style of vampires or something. The writing was fine, as was the storyline. Just not my cup of tea I guess.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Carolyn was jilted just before her wedding and for three years she has been convinced that something bad happened to Gray. Then he suddenly turns up to stop her being attacked but he refuses to answer any of her questions. Being a former detective, turned P.I, she is determined to discover his secret. She is not prepared to discover that he is a vampire who is being wrongly accused of murder.

The idea of this book was fine and there is nothing wrong with the writing but it was just taking so long for her even to find out that he was a vampire. It was so slow moving that I started to get bored with it, plus the characters were a bit one dimensional. The side characters weren't much to write home about either.

[Lori Whitwam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put off reading this one, because it looked like a crappy romance thinly veiled as a vampire book. Happily, I was wrong. The plot was much more intricate than I expected, with plenty of twists and hidden agendas, and interesting characters. Sure, there was a romance angle. The lead character had been left at the altar three years ago... and suddenly he reappears. What she doesn't know is he left because he'd been changed into a vampire and was trying to protect her. As a former cop and current PI, she gets involved in a series of vampire murders, trying to help clear his name, while he's busy trying to protect her. Worth the read. Waiting for #2 in this series.

[Tara Frye · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was expecting this book to be amazing because, I'm like obsessed with vampires but, it was wayyy to raunchy for me. Too much sex. I like sex in books don't get me wrong but this was too much description. It was gross. I always read the sentence at the end of the books before reading and I don't really know why it's just my thing but at the end of this book it says "Carolyn straddled him,squeezing her thighs around his hardness. just let her try!!! Like EWWWWW around his hardness. Who would describe it like that? It's like reading porn and when I read a book I'm not looking to read porn.. I just wish it was a little more discreet...

[Izzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had hopes that this book would be similar to an early Anita Blake novel -- my imagination ran something along the lines of, "Where vampires were known in this world, there's a kick-ass heroine who is attempting to fight against sexual chemistry with a vampire, all the while trying to solve gritty murders."

Unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be anything like that. I was also uncomfortable at the level of domestic abuse that featured in the main relationship: holding a gun, threatening to shoot him; grabbing her hands/waist so hard it left bruises; and purposely making her scared so that she would leave him alone.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I LOVE Jenna Black's Morgan Kingsley books and I've been thinking about giving this one a try for a while. It was bleh for me. I think it might have been because I didn't care for the secondary characters at all, and they were an important part of the book. I ended up skimming probably 2/3 of the book just so I could get finished with it.

It's not a terribly written book; it just didn't work for me. I probably had too high expectations based on reading Black's other series. Guess I'll have to find something else to hold me over until the next book release.

[E. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vampires with their own policing organization (Guardians) that tries to protect mortals from Killers (who are addicted to human blood). A jilted policewoman who retires from the force to become a private investigator and discovers that her former fiance is a vampire. A somewhat weak beginning with some premises contradictory to the traditional perceptions of vampires (dormancy with breathing, warm body temperatures).

[Yolanda Sfetsos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to get into the series.

Carolyn and Gray really are awesome, well-rounded characters that carry this story right through to the end. There were other points of view that were also great, but I just found myself totally focused and engrossed in the story between Carolyn and Gray. The mystery was also intriguing, and kept me guessing to the end. I was very satisfied when I got to the last page and felt that the story was wrapped up.

[Nae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a different type of book than I'm used to. Oh it still had the supernatural of course, but it is also kind of a mystery novel too. I never was a big fan of mystery novels which is why I was sort of surprised that I enjoyed this book so much. Most of the characters are well developed and there was plenty of suspense and mystery. It wasn't predictable and it had a nice little plot twist that I wasn't expecting.