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Watchers of the Gray #1

Watcher Untethered

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Duty. Honor. His brothers. That's all he has.

Wounded in battle, Zander wakes in a daemon feeding ground, bound to a human female. The origins of the restraints are unknown and the woman, a risk for Otherworld exposure. In the midst of the violence of his world, and with relationships punishable by death, Austin tempts a part of him he fought to lock down his entire, miserable existence.

Kidnapped and handcuffed to a dangerously sexy man, Austin is helpless to fight the attraction to her savior. The darkness of his world terrifies her, yet the rich timbre of his voice triggers a bizarre form of synesthesia. After a decade of being blind, what Austin sees when she's with Zander, threatens to destroy them both...

The Watchers of the Gray Series by JL Madore, joins the gritty, dark paranormal romance traditions of JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and IT Lucas.

276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 25, 2018

1505 people are currently reading
887 people want to read

About the author

J.L. Madore

105 books291 followers

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5 stars
513 (45%)
4 stars
363 (31%)
3 stars
185 (16%)
2 stars
48 (4%)
1 star
27 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
Profile Image for Celestine.
952 reviews132 followers
July 23, 2018
I don't read a lot of urban fantasy romance genre - except I do like demon novels. Here, the demons are plentiful and are policed by immortal warriors. This was my intro to the author and this series, and it did not disappoint. I quickly consumed the additional two books that follow (and more to come). The world building is solid and felt unique to me since I have not read extensively in UF. There is a tragic loss in the beginning that really sets up some dark tones in the novel and the series. It surprised me with the depth of emotion and how the warriors were all reeling from the impact of the tragedy. There is not a cookie-cutter approach to the personalities of the heroes and heroines, either. The only reason this book is not getting five stars is because I felt there were holes in the world building on occasion. What is well done, in my opinion, is the interaction between the Zander and Austin and the ancient context related to the warriors. Zander is Sumerian, Kyrian is Greek and Danel is Persian, plus the twins are Egyptian. Way cool. So how do they all land in modern day Toronto? Pick up the book and find out.

Book source: Kindle Unlimited
Profile Image for Cyrene Olson.
1,412 reviews18 followers
January 7, 2021
There is a lot of comparison to the Black Dagger Brotherhood in this series, and yes, I can see the similarities – but they are not the same stories. People could have said the same about the Midnight Breed series also. I can say, if you liked the BDB or the Midnight Breed series, you may like this one too. In my copy, I didn’t see a lot of grammar issues, so it seems the book has been edited since those reviews in 2018. I really enjoyed this band of brothers, in this group we have the Nephilim, and even the Archangels show up at times. This group of men are a blast. Be aware, the author does not shy away from danger, gore and the horror of protecting the human race from demonkind – and it is an erotic tale with some hard hitting sex scenes. If you are a person that is easily offended by language and cussing, this isn’t the book for you.

But if you like a unit of warriors that kick ass and love even harder, then this may be a good book to grab onto. The nice thing is that this is an eight book series, and all are out now. I’ll definitely be moving on to the next one. 4.5 Stars
Profile Image for lisa jung.
5,421 reviews45 followers
February 6, 2018
Angels

The Watchers are immortal protecting humans but trouble is coming. And when a human female is involved there lives are about to change in this fun hot book
Profile Image for Terri West.
2,153 reviews
April 24, 2018
This is a great story and I would have given it a solid four stars, however I can really only call it a 3.5. The reason is that this book needs some serious editing. There are numerous grammatical errors and even missing words in parts, this does not lend to a flowing read.
Having said that I could relate to the characters and story line was good, maybe a little more world building would have been a bonus. Overall and engaging book that kept my attention throughout, I will definitely be reading the next in the series.
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews132 followers
Want to read
August 8, 2019
🎁 FREE on Amazon & on iBooks today (8/8/2019)! 🎁
51 reviews
February 3, 2018
LOVED IT!!

If your looking for a bland love story, this is not it. Surprising twists and turns combined with tragic loss makes for a heartbreaking start to to this series. Austin, a human woman has been tossed into a supernatural war, knowing nothing... seeing nothing until waking up bound to Zander. Angels and demons and lots of other races thrown in for good measure, Ms. Madore continues to show us just how great her imagination for story telling goes. 
117 reviews
July 15, 2018
Great read

Awesome read lots of action Great story line. would definitely recommend this series, especially if you like the the Black Dagger Brotherhood or Dark-Hunter series
Profile Image for dianne bates.
73 reviews1 follower
February 7, 2018
Amazing must read

Loved this story. the characters are well written.the action scenes are well staged.the ending was amazing.look forward to the next book in this series.
Profile Image for Becca.
174 reviews2 followers
January 8, 2021
Not a bad start!

I wish I could give this a 4.5 on the rating instead of a 4! For a beginning this was a good start!

Zander was a really cool character! I liked the fact that he was a wicked smartass, but deep down inside he was a gentleman. Anyone he cared about he made sure they were taken care of. Human, daemon, it didn’t matter. If he came to be friends with you then would always be taken care of! He was super strong, brave , and most of all tried to make Tanek proud!

Austin was hilarious! I liked the fact that she was very independent! She wasn’t above asking for help, but she didn’t want anyone pitying her. Austin was blind and still able to put up a fight like no one’s business! Once she found out she could trust this crazy guys she was done for! There was no going back for her or them!

The storyline was cool! I like the fact that we do get the archangels interactive with the storyline. I will say I would have liked to see more of the archangels, and get to know more of the daemon characters. But hey we could see more of them in the next one! Who knows! I hope the momentum of this series just keeps going up! I’ll keep seeing what going on with these wonderful characters! On to the next!

Happy reading! 🖤🖤
Profile Image for Joyffree.
3,404 reviews60 followers
September 13, 2018
I came across this first in series while browsing Amazon -
An exciting and captivating first in series -
A group of Immortal warriors that do not quite fit the angelic mold they are descended from
Austin - our sweet little cowgirl with her texas attitude - her character was down to earth with the occasional flare-up of "Oh no you don't" here and there - great female lead
Zander - loved his character development - He is a typical solo alpha who doesn't play well with others - and doesn't take directions very well - he also has a darker side that you definitely do not want to poke - also pay close attention to the conversations around him or you will miss the why's and how's of his transition
The Watchers are an eccentric mix of personalities and backgrounds that truly create an entertaining cast of characters - and don't get me started on the Archangel's of the council
Naturally, we are also presented with an out of this world cast out antagonists
This is an engaging and exciting first in series
Lots of action and romance - plenty of breadcrumb trails for future plot twists
There are a couple of grammatical issues that need to be addressed
Profile Image for Sarah Wolfe.
55 reviews3 followers
March 20, 2018
I finished this about a month ago, I just forgot to review it. I liked this series. It borrows a lot from the earlier novels of the BDB series by Ward, which were some of my favorite paranormal romance novels. The writing was good and I am intrigued enough to pick up the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Marion.
27 reviews1 follower
March 28, 2018
It was an okay read. The storyline and characters lacked depth. Some parts were downright cheesy. Absolute biggest pet peeve, spelling errors and missing words.
Profile Image for Angela.
2,510 reviews10 followers
April 20, 2020
Talk about a bad boy

I really liked this story. I was a little confused at the beginning, but lived it by the end. Austin is great. She’s overcome so much and then gets thrown into the underworld. Z is incredible.
Profile Image for Lisa.
803 reviews42 followers
May 18, 2020
I picked this up from a blurb I read somewhere and found a gem. This is Nephilim warriors, a brotherhood, and Daemons, including a Darkworld that's includes many different creatures. Austin and Zander are good together, she's no pushover, I loved her. The world building is excellent. The war is brewing and all three dimensions will not go unscathed. This is great escapism reading done really well. On to the next one. This very much reminds me of Black Dagger Brotherhood, The Dark Hunters and so forth, if you like those, you should love this. I'm off to read the next one.
Profile Image for Rachel Kunde.
17 reviews
March 7, 2018
The story itself has a lot of promise but I found the writing let the story down. Very little character development and there were quiet a few holes in the story. Given the length of the book I expected a whole lot more than major scenes being skimmed over to hurry the story along. I doubt I’ll read any more in the series
392 reviews1 follower
May 29, 2020
DON'T MISS OUT?

Totally enjoyed this book. Can hardly wait to dive into the 2nd book. Even though this is a stand alone makes me want read about the next watcher inline. This is a oh so talented writer. Could not but it down. Ended staying up all night because I could stop reading!
Profile Image for Mags.
284 reviews
September 12, 2020
Awful couldn't finish

Storyline seemed interesting enough, but the writing was terrible. The dialogue between characters was immature and unbelievable. The internal dialogue was even worse. Couldn't get past that to continue with book. Don't waste your money or time on this
Profile Image for Mhollie.
704 reviews38 followers
July 27, 2020
Solid read

Like the premise. Like the characters and the action. And on to rate the next in the series. Woo hoo!
696 reviews1 follower
October 11, 2021
Will melt your panties off!

So well written. I laughed, I cried and got angry. Such a page turner. Going to love binging this series.
Profile Image for Gabriella.
464 reviews30 followers
July 24, 2020
The book had a good premise and unique world building. Nothing, I've discovered (read) before. It's paranormal in the way that there's a Darkworld with all kinds of deamons (which include demons, dragons, witches etc.) and angels. There are light and dark Darkworlders.
Well, and Nephilim...the main protagonist in this series.
They are the good (and dark) ones, protecting the humans from the Darkworld and its inhabitants, all while following a harsh rule book, that forbids them from interacting with human women, esp. falling in love with them.

That was the good part. I could have liked that setting.

Unfortunately the writing was lacking...scenes suddenly jumped from one scene to another without being split into paragraphs...just boom, and the next sentence drops you in the middle of another scene, with other characters and a different place. It became even more confusing, when the story was suddenly told from a side character's POV. It left me with a feeling of whiplash.
Overall the writing style felt immature and vulgar.

The plot itself, about Zander and Austin was easy to follow, although I wasn't a big fan of them. He only wanted to be "inside her", all the time and was constantly bemoaning his raging hard-on and fighting with his "brothers" (you should use that term loosely, as he was permanently hitting or shoving them). And she was a TSTL heroine who didn't know when to run and never look back.

Besides, I was totally turned off by the covert lair... a sex club! Can we say meh...because Angels and a sex club work so well.

This book just wasn't for me.
1,064 reviews5 followers
March 12, 2021
Meh... Shrugs

*****Spoilers*****

Austin and Zander get real serious and fast. Chained together by an otherworldly handcuff and left for Zander's fellow Watchers to find, Zander is just as confused as Austin at first. He's Nephillim and it's forbidden for him to do feelings and especially with a human; however, Zander's instincts rule over his brain and he's a goner before he knows anything is happening. Austin is a little more reluctant and makes a bit of a show to get away from the stranger who is Zander. Austin is also blind so that added a different twist on the story that I thought would be interesting.

Despite roads and Archangels pointing no, Zander and Austin make something together. I liked Austin and Zander in general as well as their story. The thing that landed this book in the middle of the road for me was the emotions kind of fell through and I didn't really feel them. There were times I couldn't understand Austin's severe reaction to certain things and Zander was a mix of alpha male and beta male with some sense that didn't work well and left me more confused than anything about who he was in that respect. I think it could have used a bit more world building too and even though it was told from multiple perspectives, most of the time I didn't think those other viewpoints added anything to the story.
36 reviews
February 25, 2021
Interesting world, not the best storytelling, def NOT J.R. Ward

I thought the premise was interesting and I liked the world building to some extent, but overall the story felt like it jumped a bit. For example, there is a transformation at the end but the h doesn’t even mention it... she just pops up like nothing new happened to her or the H, just a bit odd. There were multiple points like that where I thought I must have jumped a page but didn’t. I also thought the sexual tension the h has with the Hs friends was weird. He is supposedly possessive but doesn’t care if his buddies watch her dance half naked in a cage or grind on her in the club? But what bugged me the most was that a character, Colt, was an ice demon in the beginning of the book and a fire demon at the end... pretty sloppy mistake. I don’t know, I may give another book in the series a chance to see if it gets better but I’m not sure this author is for me and as other reviewers mentioned, she is not even close to JR Ward caliber... that reference should really be removed from description unless using the word “brotherhood” is the only criteria you go by.
Profile Image for Zoë Braycotton.
743 reviews9 followers
October 12, 2020
Excellent first book of the series.

Wow what a ride this was. JL Madore is a new author to me. A friend who knows my genre tendencies recommend this read and I was so no disappointed.

When the otherworldly live amongst us, you really have no idea and that’s what the Watchers are for. So when that all come crashing down around you, and you find yourself in the middle, your whole world is about to be turn upside down! That’s is exactly what happens to Austin.

But we soon find the Watchers are not exempt from having their world and their laws thrown into turmoil.

This lays down the start of the series well. We meet some of the main players of the Otherworld, from the Seven to the Watchers of Toronto to the the evil that wishes to bring an unbalance to the world as we know it.

A great read and can’t wait to read more.
Profile Image for Goth Gone Grey.
1,154 reviews47 followers
December 14, 2020
Couldn't get into this smutastic story

Paranormal, dark angels, full series on KU - yes, please! Opening with a heavily muscled man waking chained to an attractive naked woman, this is a unique start to the series.

Halfway through this volume, however, I gave up and stopped reading. The plot is secondary to Zander's erection in nearly every scene. Austin is a walking Texas stereotype, from language to actions. Where there's not smut, violence fills in. The reader is dropped into the world with scant explanation, and at 50% it still felt disjointed and that I did not belong there.

That said, I enjoyed this brief passage:

"Caffeine was his vice. He needed it—craved it—would kill for it if the situation demanded. As he pulled away from the takeout window, he sucked back a steaming mouthful of nirvana. He had to admit it—despite humans being stupid, petty, and more self-destructive than one race could sustain—they knew about addictive substances."
Profile Image for Laurie C.
31 reviews
December 1, 2021
5-star read

Zander didn't want commander. In his search for his missing commander Tanek he got hit in the head and woke to being handcuffed to a strange human woman. Life gets confusing when Zander finds he can't let her leave.
Austin was attacked outside her apartment building while walking her dog. She wakes attached to a tall rough man in a noxious location.
There are 8 Watchers and each following book tells of their life and a enchanting read. The books are not repetitive. Each one runs differently than the last. The story run through all the books continuing to show the lives of all the Watchers and how they adapt when they find their love. Great read with hair raising events, impossible odds, and love mystifying the characters when it strikes.
I absolutely enjoyed these books and suggest getting started with Zander & Austin.
360 reviews3 followers
October 1, 2023
Too many mistakes and cheesy lines.

As a born and bred southerner I crack up when people take the G's off the end of words and think it's how we talk and this story was nothing but cheesy lines and contradictions. SPOILER, blind woman describes how the room looks with all the makeup mirrors and bottles of nail polish?? Angels running a strip and swingers club...ummm No. Thousands of years old and thousands of sexual encounters but... never got a BJ...Umm.No. .. She's described as having been beaten /wounded and yet a day later shes on the shower floor giving him foot massage...Ummm No...I just happen to have a Lasso Whip in my bag, use this to fight off the bad demons Blind Girl???..Ummm. No...Just so many badly written lines and contradictive statements that I gave up at 60% and hit Delete, Delete
Profile Image for S Allred.
183 reviews1 follower
September 2, 2019
As a Nephilim Zander is forbidden lasting relationships, his duty is to stand between humanity and daemans. So the last thing he needs is to become attached to a rescue victim.  When Austin finds herself handcuffed to a stanger after being kidnapped and attacked she just wants to get free, go home, and forget the nightmare.  But she gets sucked deeper into a frightening world she never knew existed, the only saving grace is Zander.  Even as he tried to keep her safe their connection grew.  I ran across this book and not knowing the authors work I took a chance. I loved this book, I found myself drawn to the plight of the characters and felt for them.  I will definitely be reading more of this author. This is the first book of the series and can be read as a stand alone.
30 reviews
April 5, 2020
If you are a fan of Lords of the Underworld, you will enjoy this series. I happened across this series and fell in love with Watchers of the Gray! Half angel studs saving mankind and finding their soul mates. (Fanning myself). Austin is one of my favorite characters in this book. She is strong, independent and the glue that holds this family together. And they are a group of strong alpha males learning to be a family. They are hot, sexy and the storyline keeps you on your toes. Demons, angels, humans, witches... lots of fun characters. You will not be disappointed. Each book gets better and better. Can’t wait to see if their is an Atlanta spin-off. Keeping my fingers crossed. Highly recommend this whole series.
369 reviews2 followers
August 24, 2021
Worth the read, but not the series

Book ratings

My rating system
* Didn't finish, would not recommend
** Finished book, but would not continue to read series or author
*** Enjoyed book, will read more by same author
**** Highly enjoyed, addictive read can't wait to get to next one
***** Phenomenal book, usually only given 1-2 a year.

Tried this novel after reading The Guardians of The Fae Realm. Focuses on a group of six nephalim who protect Toronto (Why Toronto IDK?). This is a quick read, ready to get into, but having finished the first one I won't be continuing the series. It's obviously a each guy gets a girl in each book kind of thing and I just didn't feel enough curiosity about the other characters to get the next book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews

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