Demon Bound

The Guardians #4

by Meljean Brook

Novice Guardian Jake Hawkins has a power that could help Alice Grey out of her deal with a demon. But in helping her, he never expects to fall in love. Now fleeing for their lives, they’re about to discover a secret that will change their universe forever.

Alice Grey has been a Guardian for over a century. When she was a human, she made a bargain with the demon Teqon. She agreed that she would give him the heart of the head Guardian Michael. This bargain has been haunting her all this time and now Teqon is asking that fulfill her debt. Jake Hawkins, a novice Guardian has trouble controlling his gift of teleportation. He teams up with Alice to help her find a loop-hole in her bargain with Teqon.

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Romance, Paranormal, Angels, Demons, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy

328 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 31, 2008

About the author

Book info: I am the author of the Iron Seas steampunk romance series. I've written a guide to the world (including a map) on my website.

I also write a paranormal romance series, the Guardians. That series guide is also on my website, including a "The Story So Far" feature, which allows you to catch up on all of the books that previously released in the series if you start after the first installment.

Goodreads info: I am slowly, slowly adding to my shelves and reviews. It's unlikely that I will join many book discussions (especially of my own work) simply because I don't want to stifle reader conversation.

Bio: Meljean was raised in the middle of the woods, and hid under her blankets at night with fairy tales, comic books, and romances. She left the forest and went on a misguided tour through the world of accounting before focusing on her first loves, reading and writing–and she realized that monsters, superheroes, and happily-ever-afters are easily found between the covers, as well as under them, so she set out to make her own.

Meljean lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and daughter.

Reviews

[aarya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice, my beloved Victorian spider witch, you are a treasure.

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brook's Guardians series has got to be one of the most unique, complex series I've ever read.

I never managed to read the first book, but this one is definitely my favourite. Basically, the whole series has an angel/demon conflict, only the 'angels' are called Guardians, and they're humans who died protecting someone else from a paranormal creature. Turned into immortal Guardians, this is now their full-time job.

Alice is one such Guardian. She's a weird one - a reserved librarian, she spends most of her time with spiders, her Gift meaning she can control them. All the younger Guardians think she's a terrifying witch, and she's basically the bogeyman to them. One major reason she doesn't hang out much with the other Guardians is that a century ago, she made a bargain with a demon, promising to deliver him the heart of her leader Michael. Obviously, she doesn't want to do that, but if she breaks a bargain she'll be tormented in Hell forever. Big problem for Alice.

Jake is much younger, and to date his immortal life has been pretty easy. Sent to Vietnam at age 20, he died there protecting his fellow soldiers, and he's always thought Alice just as creepy as the other newbies. But when he starts spending more time with her while they battle a new demon threat, he realises how little he knew.

The relationship between Jake and Alice is what makes this book. Alice is deeply scarred - her husband left her with certain hang-ups about sex, and it was awesome to see a couple in a book who don't instantly have perfect sex. They actually need to work at it because of her history, and it made a refreshing change. Their dynamic is adorable - Jake is kind of like a puppy, but a seriously protective one with a hidden core of stubbornness. Exactly what Alice needed.

The plot is also interesting. It's all nephilim and angels and demons - a little hard to follow because it's so sprawling, but not impossible.

My only quibble is that I think Jake transitions a little too quickly from 'Alice is weird and creepy and unsexy' to 'actually, she's gorgeous'. I do believe in their love, and that it's not shallow, but he loses me a bit in the middle.

[Jocelyn No · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have I mentioned on here that my husband can be annoying as hell? On purpose? Pretty often? And it usually cracks me up?

Well, if not, he can, and he does, and I do laugh at him and at myself pretty frequently. Which is part of the reason I loved the hero of this book, Jake. He couldn't be less like my hubby in some ways, but in others? Yeah. And as a former goth girl, I loved Alice and her willingness to embrace her witchy spidery creepyness. And as a librarian, I thought it was awesome that she was an archivist.

Sort of like the last book, I feel like this one was really all about the emotional journey of the Heroine. She goes from feeling trapped and being sure she had to isolate herself, to accepting her circumstances, to overcoming them and letting the world back in. Jake evolves, too, he's not just set dressing. But because he's much younger, his changes have more to do with learning to think before he acts, and controling himself. Everyone in this book is dealing with how to let go of responsibility, since they're all guardians and feeling responsible for things they can't control is part of almost everyone's make-up. I'll re-read this one repeatedly. Keeper shelf.

[Melindeeloo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great addition to Brook's Guardian's - I <3 Jake!

Brook's latest entry in her Guardian series lands former soldier and novice Guardian Jake, who had a supporting role in both Demon Night (The Guardians, Book 5) and the short in First Blood, in the leading role and introduces the very odd `creepy sexy' Guardian Alice as the women who first repels and later fascinates Jake as he moves from the novice who failed his first assignment to a fulfledged Guardian not to be underestimated.

Alice made the sacrifice that qualified her for Guardian-hood during the Victorian period, but not before making a deal with a demon where she promised to deliver the heart of Guardian leader Michael. So now she lives with a Catch 22. If Alice doesn't fulfill her bargain before she or the demon dies, Alice will loose her soul and will suffer an eternity of torture in Hell, but if Alice does the unspeakable and honors her deal, her soul will be equally forfeit for premeditated murder - assuming that it is even possible to kill the powerful Michael. So Alice has lived her Guardian days in fear, and that along with the fact that her weird Gift has marked her - giving her the nickname of "Black Widow"- has helped to keep other Guardians at a distance. But Jake changes everything and when Jake's boundless optimism evolves into the determination to help Alice find a way out of the deal, Alice finds a glimmer of hope that they can win her free from the deal that has her demon bound.

Brook is a favorite author of mine. She tells a great story but it is really her characters that bring this tale to life. Jake and Alice are extremely well developed, from their unusual quirky personalities right on down to the distinctive speech patterns that show up in their dialog. On the surface Alice and Jake are a truly mismatched pair, but Alice's straight-laced Victorian exterior hides a sensuous woman and a wicked sense of humor and though Jake has an impulsive enthusiasm and optimism that lends him a youthfulness - and the lack of a social filter that leads truly inappropriate things to pop out of his mouth - he also hides a quick intelligence that makes him insightful and clever. Though Jake's lack of control initially rubs Alice the wrong way, and Jake initially finds Alice quite creepy, their intelligence and love of archaeology give them a common ground and they find themselves slowly developing a friendship as they both are surprised to find what lies beyond their initial perceptions of the other.

Though Alice and Jake's relationship and the development of the their odd ball pairing is central to the book, it is their search for a way to save Alice that serves to facilitate revelations which add a whole other unexpected layer to the overarching plot of the series. They uncover more details about the prophesy mentioned in the last book and their discoveries about Michael, Belial and the nephalim promise great things for the rest of the series.

There is a great deal to like about Demon Bound. I really loved the resolution to Alice's dilemma, it was clever and very satisfying. And Brook has done her leading man magic again, and I have to say that Jake is my favorite leading man so far in the series. Even though Drifter and Hugh were pretty hard to beat, there was just something about Jake. He was such an interesting mix of impetuous and thoughtful wrapped up in a self depreciating sense of humor, that I would love to meet him in real life. Because of my infatuation with Jake, I reread Demon Bound immediately after finishing the book and then scurried off to find a copy of Demon Night so that I can reread his part in that book too. I am already chomping at the bit for the next book.

If you haven't read any of the previous Guardian books, I don't really recommend starting here even though Brook has a primer to bring the new reader up to date on her website. Instead do yourself a favor and start at the beginning and then hopefully you'll enjoy this series as much as I do.

Demon Angel (The Guardians, Book 2)
Hot Spell (Brook has this 1st, but it made more sense after Demon Angel)
Demon Moon (The Guardians, Book 4) (Berkley Sensation)
Wild Thing
Demon Night (The Guardians, Book 5)
First Blood

[Jen Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world and the characters in Meljean Brooks’ Guardian series continue to evolve in this fourth full length installment. There are some pretty big revelations here, especially in the origin story. But first and foremost, this is a romance… so I will start there first.

We got our first real look at Jake in the last book. He is the novice Guardian who Ethan has been training. He has the dubious distinction of being the guy who let Charlie get taken –and eventually turned into a vampire. He’s a likeable man, and young for a Guardian. He’s got a healthy sex drive and mouth that’s not always connected to his brain. But he’s charming and he’s got a good heart, so it’s pretty impossible not to like him.

Our heroine is Alice, AKA The Black Widow, AKA The Wicked Witch of the West. She is a reclusive Guardian who is more than a little peculiar. She dresses with full Victorian modesty. And she has a thing about spiders. She surrounds herself with them, as communing with them is part of her Gift. She knows other people think her odd, and she even goes out of her way, at times, to encourage them to keep their distance. As disturbing as that is, what’s even more troubling is that she has made a bargain with a demon — one that is impossible to overlook. She has to kill Michael and deliver his heart or be damned for eternity.

Of course Alice had her reasons for making the deal. More importantly, she doesn’t want to carry it out. But she knows that soon a reckoning will come, and she is not too keen on taking her place in that frozen field of hell. So she is working on a contingency plan, trying to find something else to barter with. This sets us up for her quest to learn more about the prophecies involving Belial’s ascension in hell.

Jake is really quite interested in the histories and ancient discoveries that are part of Alice’s exploration, which drives him (a bit hesitantly) into her orbit. At first, she really creeps him out, but as he gets to know her, she starts to grow on him. And before he knows it, he’s kind of crazy about her.

I like that Brook really goes out of her way to craft unusual characters. But there were times Alice veered too far out of my comfort zone. It wasn’t so much the spider thing –though I know that many will find that creepy– as her social dysfunction and sexual hangups. The dichotomy between her prudishness and sexual needs were tough for me at times. I wasn’t always sure what she wanted from Jake. And it bothered me that despite the fact that these two had sex on page a few times, I don’t think she ever actually got naked.

I did adore Jake, however. He is so entertainingly unable to be tactful. Once he decides his feeling for Alice in earnest, he is so wonderful with her. I love that he sees past all of her weirdness and her whole deal-with-the-devil thing… and really goes all in to win her heart and save her soul.

Meljean Brook really gives the reader a lot of credit in her books. She doesn’t always give you a step-by-step of what is happening. Sometimes you have to connect the dots, which is both cool and occasionally confusing. But I enjoy the series overall. I really like the world-building, especially as it continues to broaden. And the secondary characters are well-drawn and engaging. Bring on Irena and Alejandro, y’all. I am ready to take that ride.

Rating: B

[Katie(babs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

DEMON BOUND is the seventh book in Meljean Brook’s Guardian series, and again has cemented the fact that Meljean Brook is an author that every reader, romance enthusiast or otherwise should be reading. The world she has invented may be complex, and at times may make your head spin, but DEMON BOUND is the book that is taking the whole series in a different yet exciting direction. Not only has she written two extraordinary characters that have become one of my favorite couples in literature this year, but this story has exploded with so many twists and turns it will make you very anxious for the next release.

We first meet novice Guardian, Jake Hawkins, in DEMON NIGHT, the fifth book in the Guardian Series, where he made quite an impression. DEMON BOUND is were Jake shines as he is tries to come to grips with his abilities, and figure how important he is in the fight against the demons from Hell who want to rule.

Jake is unlike most of his Guardian counterparts, he is still very young and has only been a Guardian for less than a century. He is also a bit more carefree and not as tortured as the last few heroes from the Guardian books. He enjoys and takes pleasure in trying to control his Guardian abilities. Alice, our heroine, otherwise known as the Black Widow and keeper of the Guardian library, does not. In fact she is very much in need of her own savior.

With only her spiders to keep her company and give her love, Alice has chosen to be an outcast. Over a hundred years ago, when Alice was still human, she made a bargain with the demon Teqon to save her husband. A hundred years later, that deal is still binding. If she wants to be free, she must kill and bring the heart of the oldest and most powerful of all the Guardians, Michael, to Teqon. Whatever decision Alice comes to, whether to kill Michael or not, she will be damned for all eternity. Although she hides behind a demeanor of aloofness, Alice is scared and frightened. She sacrificed herself for the husband she loved, and because of it she suffers greatly. She has no one to turn to or ask for help, until Jake.

Jake thinks Alice is a freak. Her infatuation with spiders and the shocking things she can do with them send chills down his spine. Even though Alice treats Jake as less than worthy, he slowly begins to see through her and is able to break through the walls she has placed around herself. These two become partners in the continual fight over who will rule Heaven, Hell and Earth. Jake will not stand by and watch Alice destroy herself and he is determined to find a way to release her from her bargain with Teqon; and if it comes down to Jake sacrificing himself to save Alice, so be it.

When it comes to a book, I usually side more with one character over the other. In the case of Demon Bound, I found both Jake and Alice equally worthy of my admiration. Jake and Alice are as different as night and day. How these two became a couple is an amazing thing to read.

Jake may act immature and a bit goofy at times, but he is so endearing that Alice can’t ignore him. As for Alice, her own story is heartbreaking. I have read countless other stories where a character will sacrifice themselves for the good of others garnering great rewards. Not true for Alice. Not only was her life as a human tragic, her everlasting life, which should be nirvana, is even worse. The paradise she has found herself in is also her Hell. She finds no joy, she only feels damned. She is overcome with grief because there will be no salvation for her. When Jake comes along she tries very hard to push him away, yet he brings such light into her world. He won’t let her go without a fight.

The way Jake and Alice try to find a way to break her unholy bargain with Teqon will change the whole outcome of the prophecy that is finally unfolding before our eyes. The prophecy of the Guardian Series. Not only will Alice be changed forever, we come to find out that Michael has a very interesting past that will shock and astound. I, for one, was gasping out loud as I found out that Michael is not the untouchable enigma he was thought to be. Meljean has set up an interesting journey with Michael that may lead to his own book in the very near future, or at least one that I am waiting with baited breath for.

DEMON BOUND should not be read as a stand alone novel, and I urge you to go and read the whole backlist of Meljean Brook’s books in this series. If you are caught up to DEMON BOUND, you will be in for another reading treat. I also found DEMON BOUND to be a much easier read for those who tend to get lost, and there are some wonderful one-liners and dialogue between Jake and Alice. Their relationship becomes one of great respect and finally love. Their courtship is a type of dance that builds up to one explosive moment of intense passion between the two.

I cannot reiterate enough how much Meljean Brook continues to astound me. Her world building, characters, and stories are the best the publishing industry has to offer. If you are not reading her Guardian series, you are seriously losing out.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely enjoyed this. I liked the dynamic between Alice and Jake better than the last book, these books seem to be better for me when the woman is in more of the power position. Not that the roles don't flip around, as they always do in Meljean Brooks's books!

I both enjoyed learning more about Michael and the Guardians' history, and was kind of bored by it, all at the same time. Although I find the premise and world of this series interesting, it does not grip me in quite the same way that the characters/relationships do.

In all it was solid but it definitely felt to me like Brook needed a new direction with the overall plot arc and thus the whole plot line about Anaria, Khavi, etc. so a lot of time was spent setting up for the next book. And I feel I have to mention how very stilted this book felt at the beginning after having just finished that wonderful Stephanie Perkins book, Anna and the French Kiss. I know, not even the same genre, but the quality of that writing is just exceptional and made me feel more acutely what I have always felt was a lack of clarity in these Guardian books. Which is not to say I don't enjoy them. I am definitely going to continue!

[Llaph · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far this was the best book of the series for me. I really liked Jake (he was so cute, I loved his sense of humor, was brave in his own way, and so very determined to get what he wanted) and Alice (who started as a stick in the mud, pretty creepy, and turned out to be a passionate creature that had limited herself for years because of her deal with the demon.). I also liked the archeology stuff they dealt with, unraveling the prophecy, looking for a loophole for her to be free of the demon, and the origins of the guardians. What a rich and complex world. Brook is awesome at world building, from this series to the Iron Seas series, and what she wrote for the Night Shift anthology as Milla Vane.
I don't have much to complain about, except Alice's rigidness annoyed me at first. That is until, yanno I actually read the story further to see why she was the way she was ... imagine that.
I'd say more, but book hangover yanno?

[Michelle Cummings · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would actually give this 4 1/2 stars if I could, because I enjoyed it more than book #3 in the series. I love the mythology being introduced, but what I found truly interesting is that the heroine wasn't especially likeable to start with, and I kind of wondered what the hero saw in her. But as the story unfolded, I was completely sucked in.

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meljean Brook's "Guardian" series is one of my favourite UF (Urban Fantasy)/PNR (Paranormal Romance) series. The book that irrevocably hooked me on the series was book 4, "Demon Bound." In this review, I evaluate whether "Demon Bound" passes three well-known tests for feminism: The Mako Mori test, the Bechdel Test, and the Sexy Lamp Test.

1.0 THE SET UP: Guardians, Demons, Free Choice and Bargains

Meljean Brook's Guardian series has very intricate and complicated world-building (I love it), that I will only briefly touch on. The overarching theme throughout the series is the importance of human free choice. The main players in the series are Guardians, humans who have sacrificed their own lives in order to save people whose lives were in danger from preternatural threats like a demon, vampire or nosferatu. These humans who have sacrificed their lives are visited by the Doyen, Michael, who offers the humans a choice. They can choose to stand by their original choice and die, or they can choose to be transformed into a Guardian. If they choose to be a Guardian, they will gain supernatural powers of shape-shifting, super strength, the ability to fly. They will also develop a unique gift whose nature is usually a reflection of some aspect of their human life. Guardians are bound to protect humans from supernatural threats, but there is an important catch: they can never subvert a human's free will.

The heroine of "Demon Bound" is Alice Grey, a guardian whose gift has manifested as communication with and the control of monstrously large spiders. Known as the "Black Widow," even for a guardian, Alice is considered creepy and strange; her movements are sharp and jittery like a spider's, and her academic interests are obscure. Raised in Egypt in the late 1800s, Alice has already been a guardian for 120 years by the time that "Demon Bound" takes place. The hero of "Demon Bound," in contrast, is Jake Hawkins, a novice guardian who died protecting small children from a nosferatu that was terrorizing a village in Vietnam. Jake was introduced in the previous book, "Demon Night," where we learned that his gift is teleportation.

2.0 ALICE GREY and the MAKO MORI Test

"Demon Bound" passes the Mako Mori test - the main narrative arc of "Demon Bound" is Alice Grey's story. Before Alice was transformed into a guardian, she made a bargain with a demon. She promised to bring the demon's Michael's heart, not knowing at the time who Michael was. After being transformed by Michael into a Guardian, and learning who Michael is, Alice is horrified by what she promised. Because the makers of unfulfilled promises are punished by 1000 years of torture in a frozen field in hell, Alice is conflicted between her loyalty to the Guardians and Michael, and the promise she made as a human. The resolution of this conflict is the main narrative arc of "Demon Bound"; it is the narrative arc that connects "Demon Bound" to overarching storyline of the Guardian series. [1] Alice thus has her own narrative arc that is not about supporting a man's narrative arc - she makes "Demon Bound" pass the Mako Mori test, as it

(i) has a female character ( Alice Grey)
(ii) who has her own narrative arc
( fulfilling her bargain without betraying the Guardians), and
(iii) that narrative arc is not about supporting a man's narrative arc 

Mako Mori Test: 3/3 


3.0 DEMON BOUND and the BECHDEL TEST

"Demon Bound" also passes the Bechdel Test. Alice and Irena, another Guardian, have a four-page conversation about Baba Yaga. This segues into a discussion about Alice's bargain and the promise that Alice extracted from Irena years ago: in the event that the demon, Teqon, comes calling for the fulfillment of Irena's promise, Alice forced Irena to promise that she would lock Alice in a prison, so that Alice would not be able to fulfil her promise. Alice and Irena, two women, thus have a rather long conversation about something other than a man - so "Demon Bound"
(i) has at least two women in it, 
(ii) shows those women having a conversation, where 
(iii) the aforementioned conversation is about something other than a man. 

Bechdel Test: 3/3 

4.0 ALICE GREY, JAKE HAWKINS and the SEXY LAMP TEST

Alice Grey also passes the Sexy Lamp test. Much of the plot development in "Demon Bound" is low-action - Alice and Jake do a lot of research, given Alice's role as the Guardian's librarian, and Jake being assigned to be her assistant. The research, however, leads Alice and Jake to discover the skeleton of Zakril, one of the first Guardians. Research on Zakril's skeleton leads to Alice and Jake discovering the existence of the Grigori, one of the most important points in the overarching storyline. But it is Alice's actions/research that first leads to the discovery of the temple where Zakril is found, she thus could not be replaced by a Sexy Lamp (or in the case of Alice, a creepy lamp).

Additionally, when Alice and Jake are in Hell, held captive by demons, Alice is the one who figures out how to secretly communicate. And she is the one who rigs their prison with razor-sharp spider threads, a crucial ingredient in their plan for escape. The plan itself is Jake's, which shows that both Alice and Jake pass the Sexy Lamp test - neither of them could be replaced with a Sexy Lamp, because both take actions that are crucial to the events that occur - in this case, their escape from captivity. The issue of whether or not Jake passes the Sexy Lamp test is important for "Demon Bound" because Jake is much younger and in a lower position of authority than Alice within the Guardian ranks - i.e., he is in a role that is usually allocated to the heroines in romance novels. But in any case, both Alice and Jake pass the Sexy Lamp test.

The Sexy Lamp Test: 2/2
 Alice Grey
 Jake Hawkins

5.0 Jake Hawkins and the Mako Mori Test

Given that Jake fulfils a role that is usually allocated to heroines in romance novels, it's equally important to consider whether he would pass (a modified version of) the Mako Mori test. Does he have is own narrative arc that is not about supporting Alice's narrative arc?

Jake as a hero is a rather well-adjusted and uncomplicated guy, even if he has a problem filtering out insensitive things he shouldn't say - he's definitely not your typical broody alpha male with father issues. He does have his own narrative arc, however, even if it's small. Jake has always felt guilty about dying when he did, and leaving his then-pregnant girlfriend alone. He felt extra guilty because when he left to join the army, knowing he might die, he knew that he wanted different things than his girlfriend did, and feels that in dying, he didn't live up to his responsibility. Jake's pregnant girlfriend is a married great-grandmother by the time of "Demon Bound," as Guardians are bound to 100 years of training in Caelum before they are allowed to return to earth. Jake's narrative arc is thus about dealing with his guilt regarding what might have been his life. Although Jake's first contact with his human family is a teleportation accident, afterwards he chooses to face his daughter and see what he missed. He thus has his own narrative arc, separate from Alice's narrative arc, in which he shows agency in its resolution. All in all, Jake passes the Mako Mori test (modified to account for the fact that he's not female, he's just in the role normally allocated to female characters). So all in all, "Demon Bound" passes all three of my selected tests for feminism.

Mako Mori:
Alice:   
Jake: N/A, , 

Sexy Lamp:

Alice: 
Jake: 

Bechdel:
Alice:   
Jake: N/A

6.0 Conclusion

"Demon Bound" is one of my favourites in Meljean Brook's Guardian series - the interactions between Jake and Alice are definitely funny, and there are definitely gritty parts (Alice is in a hard position), and grand parts (the way that Jake and Alice plan to deal with the demons and the bargain). The sad parts are downplayed, but there are sad parts (Alice's married life, for instance, and her students all deciding to ascend instead of staying to fight). It's thus not surprising as to why I feel justified in loving this book - not only does it fulfil all of my selected criteria for female presence, it also fulfils all my criteria for what I love in a book. It also does it while being original - very few romance novels have heroes like Jake, and even fewer books have heroines like Alice.

FOOTNOTES

[1] I guess one could argue that the overarching storyline of the entire series is Michael's narrative arc, so every other narrative arc supports his. But Michael does not feel at all like a main character in any of the books except the final one, so I reject this analysis!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake Hawkins, a former Vietnam Veteran and current Novice Guardian, is still trying to develop his Gift of Teleportation. Suffice it to say that things in the Gift department aren't going so well. Normally Jake would have had another sixty odd years to perfect his skills before being noted as a full-fledged Guardian and called to duty. Yet due to the Ascension, whereby thousands of Guardians chose to move on to their respective places in Heaven or Hell, there are only fifty or so Guardians remaining in Caelum to protect mankind and they require Jake's help. Currently, in order for Jake to teleport to a new destination, he first must be scared witless before his Gift will even work. This "technique" is unreliable at best.

After terrifying himself with images of blood and gore in the hopes of teleporting to the archives in Caelum (the Guardian's home), Jake's last minute thought is of his desperation to not run into the Black Widow, a female Guardian and keeper of the archives. With that thought in mind, where does Jake teleport to? Tunisia and the most amazing temple cut of pure black granite within the side of a cliff.

No mortal could have made it. The sheer angle of the cliff alone would have made it impossible. Inside are empty sunken pools resembling Roman bathes. In one dome of the temple a huge life like statue of a woman with Guardian wings towers over what was once a kneeling statue that was obviously taken from its position. There is evidence of this based on the woman's outstretched palm with her fingers snapped off at the ends. It's likely she was touching the head of the statue that had once been kneeling before her. Yet how this statue was taken is beyond Jake for the woman in stone before him is positively gigantic with his 6'2" frame barely reaching her ankle. The statue kneeling would have been proportionate and thereby huge as well. It's here that Jake finds the Black Widow, A.K.A. Alice Gray. Jake's thoughts of her at the time of his previous attempt at teleportation had led him directly to her.

Alice Gray is a 120 year old Guardian and keeper of the archives in Caelum. Her Gift gives her the power to communicate and draw upon the heightened awareness of spiders, thus her nickname of The Black Widow. Before Alice's transformation, she unwittingly entered into a Bargain with the Demon Teqon. Either bring him the heart of Michael (Doyen and leader of all Guardians), or spend eternity frozen in Hell while her body is consumed in Chaos.

Alice has sought endlessly for a way to get out of her Bargain. She has two options: one, Teqon simply releases her, which is never going to happen, or two, she must find him something that he wants more than Michael's heart and Alice is hoping that the temples and the female Guardian statue are the key.

It's the shared curiosity of the temples combined with their passion for archeology that initially draw Jake and Alice together. While in the beginning Jake was scared and creeped out over Alice and her spider Gift, he begins to learn who she truly is and with that knowledge he begins to fall in love. Jake makes the brave decision of helping Alice find a way out of her Bargain and for this Michael promotes him to a full-fledged Guardian.

Alice is a little disconcerted by Jake's determination to help but combined with her desperation and Jake's stubbornness, she's reluctantly grateful. It also isn't long before Alice becomes more than just appreciative of Jake's physical form and soon surface attraction transcends to longing. But any overtures from Jake are met with rejection. He made his disinterest in her abundantly clear from the very first and although Alice may a bit closed off from the world around her, that doesn't make her any less of a woman with feelings.

Jake knows that he screwed up with Alice from the start but where he once felt no attraction, he's now in a constant state of arousal for Alice. His previous rampant lust for dozens of different women have narrowed down to just one: Alice. Everything about her trips off hundreds of sexual fantasies and any substitute leaves him cold. Jake only wants Alice and that want turns to love the longer he's in her presence.

Jake's and Alice's temple discoveries eventually lead them to Hell and into the hands of Beliel. At one time Beliel was Lucifer's most trusted lieutenant, but for as long as any demon can remember, he's been trying to usurp Lucifer and claim the Throne. He imprisons Alice and Jake while forming an iron clad bargain that will utilize Jake's Gift and Alice's body. While trying to escape the gruesome realm of Hell, Jake and Alice learn more than they bargained for and their findings have the ability to split the Guardian Corps in two.

Alice was an intriguing character, one that I don't believe I've ever read before, but again I can pretty much say that about all of Brook's heroines. Each one is different not only to the Guardian Series but to the Paranormal Romance genre as well. I never would have guessed that a woman that can draw upon the instincts of spiders to be heroine material but Brook pulls it off with ease. Alice, because of her Bargain to murder the leader everyone loves, is a self-prescribed loner. She guards herself from feeling anything for anyone because her fate is to rest for eternity in the frozen wastelands of Hell. Even if she fulfills her Bargain, to take the heart of Michael would make her murderer. So really her choices are the Pit and an eternity of torture, or her face will become part of a frozen landscape in Hell while her body is consumed, regrown, only to be consumed again by the monsters of Chaos. I don't blame Alice one bit for being closed off and emotionally unavailable. Who wouldn't be with that type of fate hovering in the back of your mind.

Her Gift also secludes her from others. The fact that it took her years to overcome her own fear of spiders is a testament to how others are slow to cope and understand. Plus, because Michael is aware of the Bargain, even he has kept his distance from her. It's no wonder that Alice feels considerable shame for having entered into the Bargain to begin with. Never mind that at the time she was mortal and knew nothing of Michael or what he represented, let alone that Teqon was a Demon from Hell. One can't help admiring her strength amidst all the tragedy that has befallen her. But there is one Guardian who may just be naive and cocksure enough to go after Alice's heart and that's Jake.

Jake provides considerable comic relief for our buttoned-up heroine. His youth and enthusiasm is infectious while his mind is nimble and strong. Alice can't help but be intrigued by his obvious smarts and I think this, in combination with his sheer persistence, is what captivates her first. Of course his gorgeous body quickly follows and while initially Jake is a very immature boy, his relationship with Alice soon shapes him quickly into a man of considerable strength and dependability. Looking back, I believe that amongst all of Brook's heroes, Jake truly made the most sacrifices for his heroine. Wow, did he ever.

There was only one thing that dragged this book down for me and I had hoped that with my second time reading the novel I would feel differently but unfortunately my feelings are still the same and that is that I felt there is a lack of sexual chemistry between Jake and Alice. Yes Jake made incredible sacrifices for Alice and they were a true testament of his love for her but I missed the sexual tension that Brook has delivered to pure satisfaction in the past. This lack is perhaps due to Alice's nature of not only embodying the creepy and inhuman characteristics of arachnids but also from her Bargain as well. In my opinion, Jake still seemed too young for her. The burden that Alice has carried for more than a century just seemed to put her in a league way out of Jake's reach despite his sacrifices.

Despite the above mentioned, I've still been struck dumb by Brook and her amazing world and wow, what a crazy and intricate plot. The woman is amazing. I had absolutely no idea how Alice was going to get out of her Bargain. It truly seemed utterly hopeless there for a while and what a fabulous and shocking ending. I loved the action and all the new and exciting surprises that were delivered to us. I can't even explain how in love I am with this series.

[Tuti · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5, because I really, really like Jake, but I don't really care about Alice, and the book sort of loses me in places.

Alice made a bargain with a demon to deliver Michael's heart. Jake Hawkins, a novice fast-tracked into a full-fledged Guardian, decides to help her.

The story is quite involved and the details are a bit more complicated than I wanted to deal with. Perhaps it's partly because I was already half-asleep most of the time I attempted to read this book.

This author's heroines tend to be either annoying/nasty or boring. Alice manages to be both, at least at the beginning. I don't get how a creepy spider lady could be boring, but here she is, a broody, creepy character. I have not enjoyed the brooding type for many, many years. It sucks the joy out of the room, so she really does not do anything for me, except makes me wonder what Jake sees in her. She is not even described as good looking. I guess that makes Jake an even better person to see beyond the annoying personality and the looks. Her character does improve through the book, but a lot of it has something to do with Jake's influence on her.

In previous books, Jake was mostly a comic relief who has trouble filtering things in his brain before they come out his mouth, and whose mistake nearly cost several lives including his own. How would someone like that make a believable hero? Somehow this author finds a way. In Demon Bound, he is far more than his unreliable gift and runaway mouth, which actually makes him more endearing than annoying. With his teleportation skill highly unreliable, he lands Alice and himself in hot water, but he becomes her strength as they are both tortured and they attempt to make their escape. Like most of Meljean Brook's heroes, he loves Alice to the point that he will do anything for her, although in his case, his devotion is not so revoltingly overt.

Lilith is not so aggressively annoying in this book. Maybe she actually likes Jake. We get a little more of Hugh. Yay! The more Hugh, the better. Drifter makes quite a few appearances, and it confirms my opinion that he's better as a supporting character than a main character. There is quite a bit of Michael - Michael who turns out to have concealed a lot of information about himself. Michael also seems more...human? We'll see where this goes.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fourth in the Guardians paranormal romance series revolving around a group of former humans. People who sacrificed themselves to save another. The couple focus in this story is on Alice and Jake.


My Take
I had a difficult time getting involved in this story for about the first third, but I finally got involved and couldn't put it down. This is the first time a Guardian has gone back to visit family and we eventually find out why it was so easy. There's also a major reveal about Michael! Quite, quite shocking..! I certainly never saw it coming...ever. We also discover more about the origins of the nephilim and just why it is that Lucifer wanted them out of Hell. As well as Brook's interpretation of how redemption works. Then, there's the truth behind the fountain's depth. Never saw that one coming either. The one loose thread is just how Zakril was betrayed when his so-called betrayer was already imprisoned… Then there's the weak point with Anaria at the end. I don't know if it was just Jake lashing out or...

Brook drew out the "tease" on Alice's human background and slowly, at just the right speed, allowing the romance between Alice and Jake to blossom. At first, I couldn't see why Jake would be attracted to Alice, but Brook finally reveals that as well and, it makes sense. A very nice endorsement of character being of greater import than looks. Or, how character changes how we see a person!

It's growth for both Jake and Alice. Jake gains confidence in himself while Alice learns how to reinterpret society...and sex. She has been rejected so much and so often over the years that she takes everything wrong and acts out with some pretty gross images. Although, she is really good at shutting a man down...jesus… And Jake, ooh boy, Jake really does need to tighten up those filters on his mouth… You'd never believe he was sixty-some-years-old.

Oh, too funny...Jake lays out all the sexual fantasies he's been having as he and Alice have been trudging through the deserted regions of Hell...and Alice is so not expecting to hear who stars in them! It's a trudge that has all the time in the world for them as they reveal and speculate.


The Story
Alice is in a conundrum---the demon with whom she made the bargain is demanding its payment---Michael's heart. She's damned either way and she would much rather not deliver. Still, if there is any way around it…

Then she discovers a fellow Guardian who is also interested in temples, archeology, history. Perhaps, with his help, she can discover a way around her bargain.

And so their exploration of the disappearing temples begins. Sites appear and disappear without warning. At one, they witness "the most boring orgy, ever". At another, they're almost drowned. Yet, the temples serve their purpose...knowledge. Awareness of each other. A chance for friendship to bloom. And some damned scary adventures…!

It's their escape from Hell that ratchets up the need to find more temples. The nephilim are hunting Anaria and the Guardians must find her first.


The Characters
Alice Grey, a.k.a., the Black Widow, is a repressed Victorian lady who, as a Guardian, has retreated into the Archives, retreated into her Gift with the spiders. Henry Grey was her husband. Nefertari is her humongous pet spider. Irena (metalsmithing) has her own issues, yet is friends with Alice. She also seems to be having a relationship with Alejandro, the Guardians' fencing instructor.

Jake Hawkins can teleport. Not always to the destination he intended, but he gets there in the end. He's a happy-go-lucky kind of guy with an interest in the past. Poor Alice doesn't know what to make of his happy dance when something goes right. Lindsey Hawkins is his great-granddaughter. It's so sweet the "monsters" he slays for her.

Charlie is a vampire now and she's with Drifter, a.k.a., Ethan McCabe, a Guardian who is good with locks. The Guardians and vampires tend to hang at Old Matthew's Cole's Hard Time Bar and Grill. Her sister Jane Newcomb still works at Legion Laboratories even though she knows it's a front for a demon business and she's engaged to the demon, Sammael. Lilith, Hugh Castleford, and Sir Pup come in handy in this story along with Selah (teleporting) and Drusilla, a Healer for the Guardians.

Michael is the first Guardian, created after he died as a human killing the dragon during the Second Battle. Zakril was a Guardian. One of the first. Betrayed and a betrayer.

Rebecca, Mackenzie, and Pim (she's apprenticing to Drusilla) are novice Guardians.

Belial wants the prophecy to come true. Now. And it will take Michael's heart to make Belial's dream happen. Teqon is the demon who bound Alice. Khavi (foreseeing) and Anaria are grigori and bound up with Michael. Lyta is Khavi's female hellhound---the future is looking brighter for Sir Pup!


The Cover
It's Jake looming large in the street bordered by buildings retreating into the distance, a street light seemingly providing the glow that surrounds him. I guess they didn't read the story since Jake spends most of his time in Caelum, Hell, or various digs as he hunts with Alice.

The title at least is accurate, for Alice has been Demon Bound.

[Kubra · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK so maybe it's because I started with this book but sometimes the back story seemed a bit too long and tiring but the world building was really good. All the characters were very interesting and I can't wait to read Irena's book. I want to see things from Michel's POV too.
Jake was definitely my favorite part about this book. His sense of humor and lack of filter was on point and I feel like only someone like him could have put up with her.

[Olesya Powers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid one. My only complaint (which isn’t really a complaint, more of an observation) is that it took a while to get to the spice. But honestly, sometimes it’s nicer that way. Either way would heartily recommend this, as with all the others in this series.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the characters but there were moments I thought the author missed

[Omaina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The attraction between the protagonists seemed to appear out of thin air. Their interactions were fun but huh..?

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review originally posted on Wild on Books: http://www.wildonbooks.com/reviews/20...

Over a hundred years ago, Alice Grey made a bargain with the demon Teqon. A bargain that would mean delivering the heart of the leader of the Guardians, Michael, or else face an eternity of damnation more horrifying than anyone could imagine. Now Teqon has grown tired of waiting and is calling in her debt.

Jacob Hawkins is a novice Guardian who possesses the rare ability to teleport. His very gift may be the key to helping Alice find a way out of her hellish agreement. But when Jake starts spending more and more time with the “Black Widow,” as she’s nicknamed amongst the Guardians, he’s surprised to find himself falling for her. As the two try to find a way to free Alice from the bargain from hell, unexpected passion begins to burn between the unlikely couple. And to complicate matters further, Jake and Alice are about to uncover some secrets that were, perhaps, never meant to be revealed.

If I may be allowed a moment of supreme ineloquence…I love this book! DEMON BOUND is an exceptional, engaging, passionate addition to Meljean Brook’s extraordinary Guardian series. Ms. Brook is one of those precious rare authors who has managed to create a world and characters within it that are stunningly inventive, yet immensely relatable. DEMON BOUND showcases this talent perfectly, providing an action-packed romance that kept me enthralled from start to finish.

I must admit, though an avid fan of the Guardian series, before reading DEMON BOUND I wasn’t quite sure if I would like Jake as a hero. Though I liked him immensely in Demon Night, for most of the story he felt, to me, like the kid brother to his mentor, Ethan. Happily, any doubts I had were quickly eradicated, as Jake defied my expectations. He’s still cheeky, but I found myself charmed. He has an energy that just comes off the page and I couldn’t help but become attached to him. He’s also dominant, sexy, intelligent, and self-sacrificing, putting him firmly in the sigh-worthy hero category.

Ms. Brook has a talent for creating incredibly unique heroines, and Alice is no exception. From the very start, Alice is an unusual heroine who doesn’t fit into any mold I’ve ever seen. She’s brilliant, but also a bit witchy, a bit quirky, and, in rare moments, a bit vulnerable. The circumstances, complications, and consequences of her deal with Teqon only further serve to make her more interesting. Simply put, I adored her. Alice is fascinating, very likeable, and surprisingly relatable. I wasn’t sure how she and Jake would be a match for one another, and yet they were. They were an intriguing couple and I was could not put DEMON BOUND down because I wanted to know how Jake and Alice would find their happily ever after.

One of the things I love most about this series is that while each book blends perfectly with the last, no book feels at all like any other. All the stories in this series, full-length and novella alike, are so fantastically different I am always eager to see what Ms. Brook comes up with next. The overarching plot is always fluid, but the stories themselves are one-of-a-kind and I find myself blown away by each and every story.

In DEMON BOUND, Ms. Brook continues to develop the world of the Guardians, as well as the nephilim, demons, and the mysterious leader of the Guardians, Michael. I cannot say much without spoiling the plot, but I can say that while some secrets are revealed, Ms. Brook continues to add phenomenally entertaining twists and turns that will rock the very foundation of the Guardian world. Nothing will be the same after DEMON BOUND.

For those new to the Guardian series, Ms. Brook intertwines background information where she can so that newcomers will not be lost. However, if you are starting the series with DEMON BOUND, or perhaps need a refresher on the series, I recommend at least visiting Ms. Brook’s website and reading her Guardian primer that provides the highlights of the necessary background information for each book (though the primer does include spoilers). Of course, as a huge fan of the series, my instinct is always to tell newcomers to read all the books because they are incredible.

DEMON BOUND is an engaging and fresh read that is sure to captivate. I loved watching Jake and Alice’s romance unfold and while at first they seemed to be an odd pairing, they fit each other perfectly. I also cannot leave out my delight in being able to “visit” with my favorite hero and heroine from the Guardian series, Hugh and Lilith (of Demon Angel). What’s more, I find myself increasingly drawn to Michael and, with each book, am eager to learn more and more about this fascinating and complex character. DEMON BOUND is an outstanding read from beginning to end and I absolutely cannot wait for the next installment of this amazing series.

[Paranormal Romance · Rating 2 out of 5]

The heroine has developed herself a little reputation among the novice Guardians as being creepy and extremely odd. In part she herself has purposefully lived up to these misconceptions as a way to keep people at a distance and for the most part it has worked. But not the hero. Yes, the brash and confident man is creeped out by the spiders and the Halloween Victorian clothing but when he doesn't run away, the heroine is confused and a little startled. The hero is a man without a filter. He's been told many times that he just spews out whatever's in his head without thought and as such has earned him the title of asshole among his friends and fellow guardians. But his heart is in the right place and he is a genuine and kind person.... just a bit too honest for his own good. He is however enchanted by the Black Widow-not because he's is beautiful and not because he's sexually attracted to her (because he's not at first) instead, he's attracted to the oddity of her and the challenge she poses. They hit it off like oil and water. It seems every time one of them opens their mouths it ends up offending the other.

The hero with his verbal diarrhea and claiming to enjoy talking to the heroine because she's not a real woman'. The heroine with her habit of being condescending and judgmental. But as it happens, when they are able to keep their mouths shut, they work quite well together. The heroine is intrigued by the novice’s gift for teleportation and keen mind and the hero is interested in the mystery and earning his strips as a Guardian. Together they are tracking down a prophecy that states Lucifer will be overthrown from power by another demon. The heroine herself lives under the curse of a bargain made in distress which states she'll bring this demon Michael's heart else rot in hell. With no foreseeable way out of this agreement, she has resigned herself to failure. Life before and since becoming a guardian has made her shelter her emotions and press any passion or rebellion deep down inside in favor of stoic and cold calm. But with the heroine, her emotions are released and no matter how hard their relationship can be at times, the fact of the matter is, it's a true and honest love that can never be broken. And the hero is willing and able to sacrifice himself to save her.
Okay. This was a very complicated story. Sad as it is, there's a level to which I'm willing invest into figuring out a complex plot. I don't read mysteries or heavy and insightful novels because I want to be entertained-to let go of myself and fall into a love story. It was a struggle for me to understand exactly what was going on for most of the book and in the end-I honestly didn't really care much about the mythology or secrets. So, what was left was a decent enough romance that I felt took a shelf to the plotline. As it was, I really enjoyed the hero and heroines romance and their personalities because from the onset it seems no two people could be more different. The hero was happy and carefree generally while the heroine was brooding and subdued. I loved the fact that the hero insulted people on a near daily basis just because he had no filter and I really enjoyed the deadpan way the heroine dealt with his comments even though she wanted to smack him. I enjoyed the heroine's little tendencies to feed into the rumors about her and the way she could be playful and tease the hero once she was comfortable with him. Together they made a very odd but loveable couple which I could have stood to see be more developed and explored. As it was with the weight of the plot, their romance was a bit rushed. Sorry. I did like this story overall but it was just a head fuck.

[Nath · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 (A-)

Wow. That's really all I can think of to sum up the book :)

I really enjoyed Jake as an hero. I've been a fan of his ever since he first appeared in the series... simply because he's fun. He acts so "juvenile" LOL :) Unlike the previous heroes, he's relatively young and it shows :) I admit I wonder what Ms Brook would do with him? Would she make him mature? Would he go through an epiphany and suddenly grow up? It wouldn't have been bad necessarily, but I do think it would have been hard and it might have changed Jake's character drastically. In the end, Ms Brook, or perhaps Jake, handled it really well. All in all, Jake was an interesting hero and a great contrast to Hugh :P I liked how he got along with everyone, how he always put his foot in his mouth and said the wrong thing. Although silly, he's also very brave and loyal... and his love for archeology and history indicates that there's much more to him than one would expect.

Alice Grey was an interesting character, but unfortunately, I didn't connect with her as well as I did with Jake. Perhaps it was due to her personality, or Jake or even the whole storyline overshadowing her. She was also a very complex character and it was hard to understand what she was really thinking. I also had few questions about her at the end of the book... I don't know if they were answered in the book and I accidentally missed it or what... For example, it was said that her gift "affected" her... but it was never clearly said how. She was definitively integral to the book, but not one of my favorite heroines in this series.

As for the storyline of Demon Bound... WOW. If you thought you had it figured out, well wait till you read about all these new twists!! Aside from Jake, that was definitively the highlights of Demon Bound. Learning more about the origins of the Guardians, the Guardians themselves and Caelum. I think readers have been waiting for this and it was great that Ms Brook answered some of the questions we had :) It sure opens up a lot of doors and it'll be interesting to see in which direction the series is going. What was great is how Ms Brook inter-connected the two storylines... i.e. the actions with Alice and Jake trying to find a way out of Alice's bargain with the demon Teqon and how to introduce the new information about Caelum and the Guardians. There were some hints throughout the series, but I have to admit that the temples did seem to come out of nowhere.

I enjoyed Alice and Jake's battle against Teqon and how they outwitted him. The ending was also great and I won't give it away... However, it makes me wonder at the possibilities. I thought that Ms Brook paced the apparition of past characters quite well and didn't overdo it. She knows how to put her foot down and limit the apparition to only on strictly-needed-basis. I'm also definitively looking forward to the next book to see what's going to happen and how the Guardians are going to get organized :)

A warning however... although Demon Bound is quite shorter than most of the Guardians books, the storyline is once again very complex. Yes, I did get confused here and there... but nothing a second re-read won't take care of :)

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fourth book in the Guardians series and its Jake's! I adored Jake in Demon Night, so I was thrilled that the next book in the series was his. Jake is one of the younger angels. Turned during the Vietnam War and let out of his training early, Jake is a little more enthusiastic than the older guardians. He often lets his mouth run away from him and is forced to pay five dollars to Ethan for saying something offensive. In this story, he starts working with the guardian Alice. During her human life, Alice made a bargain with a demon that she would bring him Micheal's heart. Fearful of being forced into fulfilling that bargain, Alice has never gotten close to many of the other guardians. At the beginning of this story, Alice's fears are being realized. The demon has gotten impatient for Alice to finish their deal and Alice is getting desperate to find a way out of it.

I really adored this entry in the series. Jake's out-going and enthusiastic nature was a great contrast to the modest introvert that was Alice. Watching Jake get attached to Alice and having to constantly pay her five dollars for saying stupid shit was pretty amusing. Alice's treatment for hysteria during her mortal life was morbidly fascinating, as was the lingering impact it had on her. The only reason why this isn't getting a full five stars is because the main plot featuring the bargain seemed to get a little lost in the middle of the story. Jake and Alice get stuck in hell for a little bit and while it was interesting, it was a little jolting getting back to the main plot on Earth. The time spent in Hell was important though. It was just more important to the over-arching plot of the series rather than the one focused on in this particular book. We also got a lot more background on Michael in this story and I love him even more now. I can't wait to see what Brook does for his book.

[Jill Dunlop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Demon Bound is the fourth book in Meljean Brook’s Guardian series. Alice Grey has been a Guardian for over a century. When she was a human, she made a bargain with the demon Teqon. She agreed that she would give him the heart of the head Guardian Michael. This bargain has been haunting her all this time and now Teqon is asking that fulfill her debt. Jake Hawkins, a novice Guardian has trouble controlling his gift of teleportation. He teams up with Alice to help her find a loop-hole in her bargain with Teqon.

The summary above is an overly simplified version of the plot of Demon Bound. Anyone who has read Meljean Brook knows that her series is anything but simple. The world she has created is very complicated with lots of history and mythology. Many times while reading this book I had to go back and reread passages and try to make sense of what I was being told. I am beginning now to understand Ms. Brook’s writing. It seems she purposely leaves holes in her passages only to fill them in a few pages later. Once I accepted that style of writing I was able to enjoy the book a lot more.

The strength of Ms. Brooks writing lies in the development of her characters. Alice and Jake are so completely fleshed out. Not only are they very complex. They change and evolve as the events in the book impact them. At first Jake and Alice are at complete odds and I wonder how on earth are these two supposed to fall in love. Over the course of the story the reader slowly gets to see them come together and make each other want to be a better person for the other. Oh, I just loved it. What makes it even better is at first, I didn’t really even like Alice or see her appeal. But just as Jake has the same reaction and slowly he comes to love her, so does the reader.

[Emily S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread 7/12/23
Everytime I pick up this book, my mind is screaming' "brilliant! brilliant! BRILLIANT!" Aside from being a strategic masterpiece the romance is SOO good. Alice and Jake are wildly different but watching them come together is one of the most satisfying things I have ever read. My soul sighs in pleasure as they fall for each other, UGHH I LITERALLY CAN NOT. I think this is my favorite book series ever. I can't decide if I should be happy I have found my holy grail of reading experiences or sad knowing nothing will ever top this.

Reread 3/11/23
Sometimes I don't realize which books leave their mark on me until scenes from that book plague my mind (but in a good way) and which couples hold my heart captive. Safe to say this is one of those books. Definitely one of my favorite of the series. Maybe my absolute favorite. I love love love Alice and Jake and its so rare to find a book where I love both the mcs equally. This is probably also where the found family themes really start coming together for the series. Ughhh just all in all a wonderful read.

Original review:
I have been in an impatient mood lately so I have been reading this series slower than I thought I would, this is the first book that was really unputdownable for me. Once again I am amazed by Meljean Brook. Alice and Jake were everything. And this installment, in my opinion, is the funniest book so far and also the scariest I felt, and not bc of Alice's spiders. I do love all the new reveals and I love that Meljean lets us try to figure things out on our own. I wish I could pace myself better but I fear I'll blow this series before the week is over.

[marlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a prime example of why not to stat a series in the middle. Sure i figured out there was an epic good vs evil battle going on, but so much of the story was completely lost on me because i didn't read the previous books. seems like vampires and guardian angels are trying to protect the world from demons and Nosferatu. the vamp / guardian teams are slightly confusing to me but ok.

by the end i still really have no idea how that battle is going. i think it just took a turn for the worse but i can't be sure on that one. none of it was clear to me. again i assume it is because i started on book 7, but at the same time i would hope that there was a little more back story in the books just for that cause.

the couple in the story was somewhat interesting. alice, a victorian age woman and jake, a soldier with a penchant for putting his foot in his mouth and classic rock. alice was terribly abused in her human life by her husband all in the name of treating her "medical condition", female hysteria. that lead to some amazingly awkward but yet sweet sex scenes throughout the book between her and jake.

i am not sure if i would go back and start this series at book 1 part of me wants to just for the stories of some of the other characters but i didn't really dig this one.

[Abmh83 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I'd powered through the first three Guardian books with enthusiasm, Demon Bound is what made me fall in love with the series. Like, drooling, obsessive, bullying my friend into reading it too Love the series.

Jake and Alice are by far one of my favorite couples; they are both clever, intelligent, with good senses of humor. Nothing about Alice is typical "romance heroine"; she's overtly creepy, moves like a spider, maintains her Victorian sense of modesty, and can wield a wicked blade. Jake is energetic, good natured, and in this book we get the first glimpses of his talent for military planning and strategy.

Their story is about going through hell and facing your demons--usually quite literally, but also figuratively. Jake has to come to terms with the family he left behind. Alice has to overcome the damage done by her deceased husband's weakness and certain 19th century medical "remedies." Michael (the Guardian's Leader), too, ends up having to own up to his own past at the risk of alienating those who serve him.

This book came across as one of the most light-hearted ones in the series which was welcome after the previous books' high angst levels. Not that I'm hating on the angst, more that Demon Bound was like the Sorbet course in the middle of a meal of very very enjoyable but heavy fare.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really interested in this book. I love the combination of angels and demons with Greek mythology and modern tech. I did occasionally have some issues getting past references to in-world things I didn't know about, but that's the hazard of randomly picking books off the shelf. You get novels, such as this, that are actually in the middle of the series. I blame the unknown terms on that.

Stand alone, this novel is a bit to open ended and unexplained. However, I'm positive that everything actually does tie together....ya know, if you read the whole series not just jump to the middle.

Oh! I forgot to mention the video game like powers some of the characters are equipped with. Hammerspace is roughly equivalent to...well almost any weapons cache or "pocket" in video games. Any weapon they have is available whenever they need it, but when not in use it can just be sent to this mysterious Hammerspace that is not actually on their body. It reminds me of the pockets the characters in Animal Crossing have. Just about anything fits in those puppies. Or in shooter games where the character just needs to move their arm and *poof* weapons change. And yes, I'm a geek.

Good, would be better not as a stand alone.

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I might have missed several meals and a nights sleep over this book, i couldn't stop reading it

Basically my overview is:
* I love Jake
and
*Michael's been lying to us!!!

The books about Jake, a novice guardian fast-tracked because of the dwindled guardian numbers and his ability to teleport. And Alice, a guardian with a gift for spiders, who's made a terrible deal with a demon.
The plot is great, between the mysteries of the guardian temples and trying to find a way out of Alice's deal there's a lot going on. The ending is completely kickass, and the stakes are upped once more.

I didn't like Alice at first, she's creepy and needs Michael's heart to get out of her deal. But as more of her character is revealed to Jake I really came to like her. She's got an awesome sense of humour and some real issues.

I loved Jake before but this really cemented it. Still having trouble with his gift and running his mouth without interference from his brain (and even with). (("There's a filter between my head and my mouth - but it only lets the stupid shit out.")) There are definitely a few surprises in him including transformations to famous actors, a family.

Many of the past characters are back and doing things that aren't safe for young, impressionable hellhound minds ;-)

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+

This novel held it's own appeal, but while the protagonist's way of dealing with their fears and thereby growing up was very intriguing and Alice and Jake's relationship was nice, they didn't captivate me as much as the others did. Probably because I couldn't relate to them as much as to the others – in comparison to Charlie, Hugh or Savi, that is. But I think I simply was to distracted when I read the novel (shame on me, yes) to connect properly.

However average my rating might seem, the novel is far from it. On the contrary, future-wife's novels keep their unique atmosphere, aboundint in intelligent humor and reflecting charactertraits I often find in other people and, who would have thought?, myself.

I don't mention this often enough, I just noticed. But future-wife's novels are also very funny.

He concentrated on not being a dick on the way to the conference room. Which meant he didn't say anything until they were standing inside, studying the large oval table

I think it's interesting to see Jack again. Alice is interesting, but wasn't my favorite at all. She was nice and her history is tragic, but both of them couldn't hold my attention long enough and I don't think I'll reread their novel anytime soon.

[The Window Seat · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the hero refers to the heroine as "creepy", it makes it really hard to eventually turn around and love him, but Meljean Brook does an impressive job with that in the book Demon Bound, 4th in the Guardian series.

Jake Hawkins is the novice Guardian that, up until now, was mostly comic relief. He is the wise cracking former soldier from the Vietnam Era. He was a small town Kansas boy who went to fight a war he didn't believe in, but who sacrificed his life and became a Guardian. What we didn't know about Jake was that he had a dream - before the war took it away - of becoming an archeologist and exploring ancient ruins. Though Alice, the Black Widow, the archivist and archeologist of the Guardians creeps him out, when she is faced with a need to excavate some ruins, Jake signs on to help her out. Expecting a freak, Jake is pleasantly surprised to find that Alice is a little unusual, but it can mostly be explained by her Guardian gift. She may not want to raise giant tarantulas on Vampire blood, but it is her gift and she makes the best of it....

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/0...

[Hbeebti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Jake and Alice aka The Black Widow. Great insight into Alice who we haven't really heard much about in previous books. The poor girl made a bargain with a demon and now she has to try and find a way out of it or give up her soul and kill someone that she cares for. The choices suck for her. There was for me a creep factor with the spiders. I truly hate them and so yeah that was nasty but didn't take away from the book at all.

We find out that dear Michael has been a naughty boy and has been keeping secrets . What are they , well you will have to read it to find out. But the guardians are at odds over it.

Jake oh you cutie... I swear he made me laugh . That guy just says things that are not nice and then hands over five dollars to whoever he insulted. Usually Alice. For some reason he liked to get a rise out of her. Those two were great together and I would have never paired them before this book. There is great action, great sex oh man that was great! A few trips to hell for good measure. Overall I truly enjoyed this book .