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The Unforgiven
Seven thousand years ago, angels descended from heaven to guide a fledgling human race. Known as the Watchers, they were forbidden to partake in carnal pleasures. But they could not resist the temptation, and as a result their descendants have been cursed—unnatural magical beings that belong neither to heaven nor fully to earth.
Cade was ordered to claim her for his clan. She was becoming one of them a Watcher, so to reach her full powerand she didn't even realize it. Yet the moment he saw her, he knew he could never share her. No matter what demons lurk in her past, no matter how much she tries to deny her body's burning need for his, he will claim her for himself. And together they will face the battle that is brewing...
318 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2011
1 person is currently reading
142 people want to read
About the author
Joy Nash
67 books120 followersJoy Nash is a USA Today Bestselling Author and RITA Award Finalist applauded by Booklist for her "tart wit, superbly crafted characters, and sexy, magic-steeped plots." Joy, best known for the Druids of Avalon and Immortals series, writes romantic fiction in historical, contemporary, and alternate-reality settings. Her newest series is the apocalyptic fantasy The Nephilim: Demons Among Us.
Joy once read a book about a girl living on the moon and thought it was real, until her big sister messed everything up with the truth. Ever since, Joy's been of the opinion that fiction is way more interesting than reality. She credits her love of tortured heroes to the Brontë sisters, her fascination with magical adventure to J.R.R. Tolkien, and her weakness for snarky humor to Douglas Adams.
Join Joy's mailing list at www.joynash.com for info about new releases. Connect with Joy at facebook.com/joynash.
May the stories never end!
Joy once read a book about a girl living on the moon and thought it was real, until her big sister messed everything up with the truth. Ever since, Joy's been of the opinion that fiction is way more interesting than reality. She credits her love of tortured heroes to the Brontë sisters, her fascination with magical adventure to J.R.R. Tolkien, and her weakness for snarky humor to Douglas Adams.
Join Joy's mailing list at www.joynash.com for info about new releases. Connect with Joy at facebook.com/joynash.
May the stories never end!
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 20, 2015
I’m just going to say this right up front – I loved this story! But before I go into the reasons why, I want to give you a little background about me and my obsession with the Nephilim –
For as long as I can remember, since the first time I heard the word Nephilim, I wanted to know more about this race of beings. Were they truly the offspring of “fallen angels” and human women? Were they really cursed for the sins of their fathers? Giants or heroes, wicked or valiant, there are so few biblical references to them that we really don’t know much about them at all, and maybe that’s why I find them so compelling! In Genesis 6 they were called the heroes of old, men of renown, and yet they were also spoken of as some of the beings who were so wicked that God sent the flood to cleanse the Earth of them. The Book of Jubilees and The Book of Enoch have a lot more to say about the Nephilim, also known as Watchers, and their history, including the names of their chiefs, some of which are mentioned in The Unforgiven.
Now on to the important stuff – what you really want to know!
The Unforgiven is one of the best “fallen angel” stories I’ve ever read, and an excellent start to the The Watchers series. It’s exciting, compelling, and action packed with the perfect blend of PNR and Fantasy. Curses, spells, magic and alchemy all play a big part in this story, along with demons, revenge, rivalry and a heavy sense of good vs. evil. I’m very impressed with Ms. Nash’s vision of this race and their history, and I have to say she’s done a fantastic job of sticking close to what few things we actually know about them, and creating an incredible story in which to bring them to life.
“You keep talking about a crisis,” she snapped. “If you think that’s going to scare me, forget it. I’ve got terminal brain cancer, remember? All the fear’s been leached out of me.”Madeline Durant is about to find out that being diagnosed with terminal cancer is a walk in the park compared to what’s about to happen to her. She is a Watcher dormant, a pre-transitioned Nephilim, and not just any Nephilim. Maddie is a descendant of one of the most powerful and dangerous clans known, and her magic, once she comes into it, could save the Clan Samyaza from the Clan Azazel who wants to see Samyaza totally annihilated.
A car approached, motoring in the opposite direction. Cade stepped on the gas and flew past it. “You’re wrong about that. Believe me, Maddie, there’s going to be plenty of room for fear when you confront your demon nature.”To help her through her transition, and to gain control of her powers for his Clan, Cade Leucetius, a Watcher adept, is sent to anchor Maddie during her transition, and if anyone can make sure she survives the ordeal, Cade can. It was only a year or so ago that he himself went through it, so he knows firsthand how painful, frightening, and deadly it can be.
I can’t tell you how badly I want to give The Unforgiven 5 stars, and if I were rating the Nephilim storyline alone, I would have. I really loved both Cade and Maddie as individuals. I felt their frustration, their anger, their passion, and felt that there was definitely potential for an amazing relationship, but unfortunately, it never quite reached it. I still enjoyed their page time together and they had incredible sexual chemistry, but it somehow just didn’t develop into a romance that left me breathless or cheering for them. I’m hoping that we’ll see more of Cade and Maddie in the next book so I can be assured of their happily ever after.
Overall, The Unforgiven is a great read. The storyline is well written and executed, and kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. Despite Maddie and Cade's relationship not being as developed as I would have liked, it was still steamy and emotional. The secondary characters are complex and compelling beings who will have amazing stories of their own and I’m definitely looking forward to continuing this series!
This book was provided to me by netgalley.com in behalf of Dorchester publishing, and my review, in no way, was influenced by this.
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August 1, 2011THE UNFORGIVEN opens like a mid-series book; characters have complex and painful pasts, there are rivalries and vendettas, all of which were introduced through summaries or asides or context clues. I’d applaud this book for being easy to jump into, but when I circled back to find the start of the series I found... THE UNFORGIVEN.
While part of me is still in denial (looking for prequel novellas or books on another imprint), when I judge THE UNFORGIVEN as a true first in the series, the opening leaves me disappointed. None of the characters, other than Maddie, are introduced in a way that feels like a true "first time introduction". A few allusions to past heartbreaks and events don’t bother me when they’re clear, and I know I can go back and read about them myself, but THE UNFORGIVEN throws all racial conflicts, current romantic relationships, the nature of several dead comrades, and some bizarrely polygamous family ties into the past tense with very little explanation. I never felt lost, plot-wise, but I did feel emotionally disconnected from the characters.
Once the introduction was out of the way and I was into current events, I ran into another disconnect. Magic is the driving factor for every romantic relationship that is featured (other than references to dead baby-mamas). While this device is a classic, and works well in any number of urban fantasy novels, the characters were not well developed enough for it to work for me in THE UNFORGIVEN. Cade and Maddie don’t get much interaction beyond reacting to Watcher pheromones and fighting demons. When two new characters (and here I mean “new” in the “I don’t know you, I still need a reason to care about you” sense) are climbing all over each other because of “magical needs”, it reads like a technical exercise without emotion or motivation.
Even without much depth, Cade and Maddie relationship could have been hot on it’s own. However, when the "forced to feel this way" element was paired with instances of attempted rape it gave the whole book a much darker feel than I'd like. Lilith's emotionally exploited, incestuous flashbacks were heart-wrenching, and I got tense every time I saw the italics that indicated another one. It is this element that takes THE UNFORGIVEN from an acceptable if forgettable paranormal romance to something I’d rather avoid in the future. If you like tortured alpha males and relationships that are magically ordained, there is a lot to enjoy in THE UNFORGIVEN. However, I think I’ll continue to get my paranormal romance with a dash of crazy (and a boatload of humor) over with The Immortals After Dark.
Sexual Content: Sex scenes, attempted rape, incest.
While part of me is still in denial (looking for prequel novellas or books on another imprint), when I judge THE UNFORGIVEN as a true first in the series, the opening leaves me disappointed. None of the characters, other than Maddie, are introduced in a way that feels like a true "first time introduction". A few allusions to past heartbreaks and events don’t bother me when they’re clear, and I know I can go back and read about them myself, but THE UNFORGIVEN throws all racial conflicts, current romantic relationships, the nature of several dead comrades, and some bizarrely polygamous family ties into the past tense with very little explanation. I never felt lost, plot-wise, but I did feel emotionally disconnected from the characters.
Once the introduction was out of the way and I was into current events, I ran into another disconnect. Magic is the driving factor for every romantic relationship that is featured (other than references to dead baby-mamas). While this device is a classic, and works well in any number of urban fantasy novels, the characters were not well developed enough for it to work for me in THE UNFORGIVEN. Cade and Maddie don’t get much interaction beyond reacting to Watcher pheromones and fighting demons. When two new characters (and here I mean “new” in the “I don’t know you, I still need a reason to care about you” sense) are climbing all over each other because of “magical needs”, it reads like a technical exercise without emotion or motivation.
Even without much depth, Cade and Maddie relationship could have been hot on it’s own. However, when the "forced to feel this way" element was paired with instances of attempted rape it gave the whole book a much darker feel than I'd like. Lilith's emotionally exploited, incestuous flashbacks were heart-wrenching, and I got tense every time I saw the italics that indicated another one. It is this element that takes THE UNFORGIVEN from an acceptable if forgettable paranormal romance to something I’d rather avoid in the future. If you like tortured alpha males and relationships that are magically ordained, there is a lot to enjoy in THE UNFORGIVEN. However, I think I’ll continue to get my paranormal romance with a dash of crazy (and a boatload of humor) over with The Immortals After Dark.
Sexual Content: Sex scenes, attempted rape, incest.
August 12, 2011
As a frequent reader of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance, I can just tell when I'm jumping into a series midway through. It's something about the way the author talks about the backstory... in the way the characters are introduced... like there's all this stuff we're supposed to know already, but the author gives a quick recap/ info dump for the new readers just joining in. After reading the first chapter of this book, I would have bet you money that I missed a previous book in the series. There were storylines already in progress, relationships and backstory alluded to... But this is, indeed, the first in The Watchers series. It had me out of sorts from start.
The basic premise is this: thousands of years ago, a group of angels fell from Heaven and mated with mortal women. Their offspring were called Nephilim. They have been reviled since they first walked the Earth; they have no souls and no chance of an afterlife. Each Nephilims belongs to a clan that traces back to their ancestor angel. Each of the clans has its own special magic and they hate each other.
Many Nephilims born to mortal women do not know what they are. But should they have a near death experience, their change to their true form is triggered. The change manifests through some serious sexual hunger. And without another Nephilim to meet their needs and anchor their change, the newbie will go crazy and die.
Cade has been tasked to find Maggie and be the anchor through her transition. Maggie has no idea what she is, but when she meets Cade, she knows what she wants. Cade and Maggie come from different clans, and once he helps her through her transition, he can wield control over her... make her his slave... and use her magic for the good of his clan.
As Maggie undergoes her transition, she has flashbacks to the life of her ancestor Lilith. They teach her about her clan and where she comes from. Honestly, I found the Lilith scenes to be more interesting than the ones featuring Cade and Maggie. (Until it took a turn to Incest-ville and got super gross.) The story surrounding Cade's leader Artur and his estranged wife Cybele was really the best thing the book had going for it. The sex scenes between Maggie and Cade were hot, but I didn't really connect to an emotional relationship between the two.
Frankly, the book was too long and had too much crammed into it. It had potential, but when all was said and done, the only character I ended up caring about was Cybele. It wasn't terrible, but not great. Almost 3 stars.
*ARC Provided by NetGalley
The basic premise is this: thousands of years ago, a group of angels fell from Heaven and mated with mortal women. Their offspring were called Nephilim. They have been reviled since they first walked the Earth; they have no souls and no chance of an afterlife. Each Nephilims belongs to a clan that traces back to their ancestor angel. Each of the clans has its own special magic and they hate each other.
Many Nephilims born to mortal women do not know what they are. But should they have a near death experience, their change to their true form is triggered. The change manifests through some serious sexual hunger. And without another Nephilim to meet their needs and anchor their change, the newbie will go crazy and die.
Cade has been tasked to find Maggie and be the anchor through her transition. Maggie has no idea what she is, but when she meets Cade, she knows what she wants. Cade and Maggie come from different clans, and once he helps her through her transition, he can wield control over her... make her his slave... and use her magic for the good of his clan.
As Maggie undergoes her transition, she has flashbacks to the life of her ancestor Lilith. They teach her about her clan and where she comes from. Honestly, I found the Lilith scenes to be more interesting than the ones featuring Cade and Maggie. (Until it took a turn to Incest-ville and got super gross.) The story surrounding Cade's leader Artur and his estranged wife Cybele was really the best thing the book had going for it. The sex scenes between Maggie and Cade were hot, but I didn't really connect to an emotional relationship between the two.
Frankly, the book was too long and had too much crammed into it. It had potential, but when all was said and done, the only character I ended up caring about was Cybele. It wasn't terrible, but not great. Almost 3 stars.
*ARC Provided by NetGalley
September 22, 2014
This started kinda slow. There was a lot of info going on. For most of the book I was upset that Cade was going to enslave Maddie. That just bothered me to no end. The more he lied and led her to believe otherwise was killing me. Arthur was the biggest A**. I could not stand him. I would give this about a 3.5. I would read the next one if and when it comes out. Overall it wasn't bad for a first in a series .
June 29, 2011
A Dark Debut Steeped In Mythos and History
They call themselves Watchers after the angels from whom they descend, but to those who hate and fear them they are called archdemons, abominable, vile beasts who feed on flesh and blood, who manipulate and corrupt the cherished humans around them. They are the bastard children of angels and humans. Abominations to heaven and cursed for it, denied heaven, denied hell. They are the Nephilim.
And it so sucks to be them.
Grouped in clans based on their angel ancestors, they are more than cursed with Oblivion, they are cursed to fight and make war with each other, to be enemies through time, a deep and instinctive hatred that is as much a part of them as their demon forms and hungers. But they can be enslaved. And with such slaves, Clan Azazel has waged a deadly war on ancient rival Clan Samyaza, leaving only a handful alive.
Now Artur Camulus, chieftain of Clan Samyaza and desperate to protect his clan, commands Cade Leucetius to go to an archeological dig in Israel, and in so doing, cross a line of honor and commit a act Samyaza had previously thought anathema. He was to find the dormant Watcher from outclan, a woman unaware of her heritage and sure of her humanity, and see her through her transition, anchor her through the sex that all of their kind need to reach maturity and enslave her and her magics for their own as he does so.
Maddie Durant had survived a malignant tumor in her brain only to become a pawn between forces she didn't believe existed prior to her trip to Israel. Now, as a vigilante faction intent on the death of all demons seems to be allying with one of those they condemn, and a clan war threatens to explode into open violence on the streets, she is both potential savior and helpless victim, and her indomitable spirit draws potential jailer Cade to her in ways he'd never expected, despite the curse that makes them enemies.
The rules are clear, his orders sacrosanct, and yet the heart of a demon may be all that stands between life...and a damnation more devastating than even heaven could imagine.
Joy Nash kicks off this dark, decadent series with a wealth of original mythos and intriguing history that offers fresh breath to a well-worn genre. There is much to appreciate in The Unforgiven, and fans of dark romance and grim fantasy should be thrilled by the groundwork laid here. The plot is thick, rich, and wonderfully diversified, the world extremely well defined, and the characters three dimensional...though not necessarily likable.
With two main antagonists as potential enemies in this debut, Clan Azazel and DAMN, an unfortunate acronym for Demon Annihilators Mutual Network (the human organization intent on wiping demons from the earth), not to mention the persnickety angels and hellfiends, Nash has set the series up with a firm foundation of really hateful bad guys with several complex motivations that her protagonists can fight with wit, wings, and wrath. It was a rather impressive display in a debut novel.
But it was not without it's problems.
To set up the world and define the players, Nash used a shifting focus in a third person point-of-view narrative, breaking up the scenes of the plot arc for Cade and Maddie with scenes focusing on Artur, on Cybele's brother Lucas, even on the chieftan of Clan Azazel, Vaclav Dusek, not to mention many, many scenes from the past, focusing on Maddie's ancestor, Lilith. It painted a uniquely complex and highly stylized picture of the world for the series, but it just didn't allow for any room or rhythm for a true romantic connection between the main characters. In fact, as a reader, I was so overwhelmed by the minutia, by the shifting perspectives, by the abrupt transitions, that I ended up feeling disgruntled on several fronts.
I loathed Artur. I found him utterly unlikable a character, jealous, petty, and small, and if he's supposed to be a good guy, he's got a long, long, freakin' long way to go. Sex - and hey, normally a huge fan - became something disturbing in the book as it was utilized as the anchor for transitioning Nephilim and a method to enslave. In fact, that alone unsettled me to such a degree that the very long (god, it seemed to take forever) transition scene for Maddie was painful in places, not erotic, not something joyous, not even something loving or at all tender. And the need for Gareth to go through transition with Cybele anchoring him actually hurt my heart with its implications.
And don't even get me started on the relationship between Azazel and Lilith. I like to think of myself as being fairly open minded, and I understand that it was several millennia ago, and demons will be demons, but that was disgusting.
I love books in which the good guys have a dark side, and aren't White Hats. I prefer it when they heartily embrace the many shades of gray. But in The Unforgiven, alleged good guys (Artur in particular) were virtually indiscernible from the bad guys in action, history, and thought. It's a dangerous line to tread, because if you can't tell the good from the bad, what's the point?
I feel the same about books with dark themes - I love them, don't get me wrong, but without hope, without a glimmer of something good or positive, the dark becomes despair, and there's no fun in reading that. Cade and Maddie should have provided that glimmer in this book, but because so little of the story dealt with any sort of relationship evolution between them, and there was no explanation of relationships for Watchers to begin with (not even the mate bond was explained, just referred to), it just didn't work out that way. The romance ended up lacking emotion, and Cade and Maddie's feelings felt like dusty footnotes by the end, rather than being actively engaged.
On a conceptual level, the book is fantastic, and it's extremely well written. The depth and imagination involved, the creativity, all of that was undeniably impressive. It's a dark book, with dark characters who have dark and disturbing - and sometimes horrifying tendencies, and do unspeakable things. I can appreciate that on a stylistic level. I think, though, that it overreached for a first book in a series, and was more ambitious than necessary. I was left feeling like too much got crammed into what is, for a series debut, simply the first chapter.
Disclosure: An ARC was provided by NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.
~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
They call themselves Watchers after the angels from whom they descend, but to those who hate and fear them they are called archdemons, abominable, vile beasts who feed on flesh and blood, who manipulate and corrupt the cherished humans around them. They are the bastard children of angels and humans. Abominations to heaven and cursed for it, denied heaven, denied hell. They are the Nephilim.
And it so sucks to be them.
Grouped in clans based on their angel ancestors, they are more than cursed with Oblivion, they are cursed to fight and make war with each other, to be enemies through time, a deep and instinctive hatred that is as much a part of them as their demon forms and hungers. But they can be enslaved. And with such slaves, Clan Azazel has waged a deadly war on ancient rival Clan Samyaza, leaving only a handful alive.
Now Artur Camulus, chieftain of Clan Samyaza and desperate to protect his clan, commands Cade Leucetius to go to an archeological dig in Israel, and in so doing, cross a line of honor and commit a act Samyaza had previously thought anathema. He was to find the dormant Watcher from outclan, a woman unaware of her heritage and sure of her humanity, and see her through her transition, anchor her through the sex that all of their kind need to reach maturity and enslave her and her magics for their own as he does so.
Maddie Durant had survived a malignant tumor in her brain only to become a pawn between forces she didn't believe existed prior to her trip to Israel. Now, as a vigilante faction intent on the death of all demons seems to be allying with one of those they condemn, and a clan war threatens to explode into open violence on the streets, she is both potential savior and helpless victim, and her indomitable spirit draws potential jailer Cade to her in ways he'd never expected, despite the curse that makes them enemies.
The rules are clear, his orders sacrosanct, and yet the heart of a demon may be all that stands between life...and a damnation more devastating than even heaven could imagine.
Joy Nash kicks off this dark, decadent series with a wealth of original mythos and intriguing history that offers fresh breath to a well-worn genre. There is much to appreciate in The Unforgiven, and fans of dark romance and grim fantasy should be thrilled by the groundwork laid here. The plot is thick, rich, and wonderfully diversified, the world extremely well defined, and the characters three dimensional...though not necessarily likable.
With two main antagonists as potential enemies in this debut, Clan Azazel and DAMN, an unfortunate acronym for Demon Annihilators Mutual Network (the human organization intent on wiping demons from the earth), not to mention the persnickety angels and hellfiends, Nash has set the series up with a firm foundation of really hateful bad guys with several complex motivations that her protagonists can fight with wit, wings, and wrath. It was a rather impressive display in a debut novel.
But it was not without it's problems.
To set up the world and define the players, Nash used a shifting focus in a third person point-of-view narrative, breaking up the scenes of the plot arc for Cade and Maddie with scenes focusing on Artur, on Cybele's brother Lucas, even on the chieftan of Clan Azazel, Vaclav Dusek, not to mention many, many scenes from the past, focusing on Maddie's ancestor, Lilith. It painted a uniquely complex and highly stylized picture of the world for the series, but it just didn't allow for any room or rhythm for a true romantic connection between the main characters. In fact, as a reader, I was so overwhelmed by the minutia, by the shifting perspectives, by the abrupt transitions, that I ended up feeling disgruntled on several fronts.
I loathed Artur. I found him utterly unlikable a character, jealous, petty, and small, and if he's supposed to be a good guy, he's got a long, long, freakin' long way to go. Sex - and hey, normally a huge fan - became something disturbing in the book as it was utilized as the anchor for transitioning Nephilim and a method to enslave. In fact, that alone unsettled me to such a degree that the very long (god, it seemed to take forever) transition scene for Maddie was painful in places, not erotic, not something joyous, not even something loving or at all tender. And the need for Gareth to go through transition with Cybele anchoring him actually hurt my heart with its implications.
And don't even get me started on the relationship between Azazel and Lilith. I like to think of myself as being fairly open minded, and I understand that it was several millennia ago, and demons will be demons, but that was disgusting.
I love books in which the good guys have a dark side, and aren't White Hats. I prefer it when they heartily embrace the many shades of gray. But in The Unforgiven, alleged good guys (Artur in particular) were virtually indiscernible from the bad guys in action, history, and thought. It's a dangerous line to tread, because if you can't tell the good from the bad, what's the point?
I feel the same about books with dark themes - I love them, don't get me wrong, but without hope, without a glimmer of something good or positive, the dark becomes despair, and there's no fun in reading that. Cade and Maddie should have provided that glimmer in this book, but because so little of the story dealt with any sort of relationship evolution between them, and there was no explanation of relationships for Watchers to begin with (not even the mate bond was explained, just referred to), it just didn't work out that way. The romance ended up lacking emotion, and Cade and Maddie's feelings felt like dusty footnotes by the end, rather than being actively engaged.
On a conceptual level, the book is fantastic, and it's extremely well written. The depth and imagination involved, the creativity, all of that was undeniably impressive. It's a dark book, with dark characters who have dark and disturbing - and sometimes horrifying tendencies, and do unspeakable things. I can appreciate that on a stylistic level. I think, though, that it overreached for a first book in a series, and was more ambitious than necessary. I was left feeling like too much got crammed into what is, for a series debut, simply the first chapter.
Disclosure: An ARC was provided by NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.
~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
November 26, 2018
Interesting take on fallen angels but I must say this wasn't as amazing as I imagined because of the relationships between the characters. Every emotion exchanged felt so... distant and a little sad.
Besides, after investigating, this was published in 2011 and since then the author hasn't published anything else in this "world" except, apparently, stories that seem to be prequels. I'm curious about certain aspects of this world but not enough to read prequels..
Besides, after investigating, this was published in 2011 and since then the author hasn't published anything else in this "world" except, apparently, stories that seem to be prequels. I'm curious about certain aspects of this world but not enough to read prequels..
October 15, 2011
http://www.demonloversbooksandmore.co...
The beginning starts out with a bang, but shortly thereafter, I feel as if there is some sort of backstory I’m supposed to know. There are two characters who right off the bat feel as if it’s their story-Artur and Cybele. But it isn’t their story, and I’m sure they’re being set up for one, but they are not the hero heroine. I actually had to read the blurb again to see if I was wrong, but nope, the H/h are Cade and Maddie, and they were introduced later on. I thought I may have missed a novella or a prequel, but no this is book 1, so I sort of sucked it up, and moved on.
The premise is that the Fallen Angels who dabbled with mortals had soulless children called Nephilim. Angels consider the Nephilim demons, but they prefer to be called Watchers. When a Watcher is raised human, usually a near-death experience triggers their Nephilim side. If they don’t attract a nearby Watcher to help them through the transition, they’ll go crazy and die. But if one is nearby, they “anchor” them with sex. It allows the Watcher to control the adept. And when Maddie goes through her transition, Artur makes sure Cade is nearby. Maddie is from a different clan of Watchers, and if they anchor her to their clan, it will allow them to control her power, giving them an edge on the other clan. It was kind of confusing.
Her near death experience was surviving a brain tumor. But she thinks the tumor is coming back, so she leaves her normal life, and runs off to join an archaeological dig for a Watcher relic. This is where Cade finds her and her flashbacks begin. It was kind of cool seeing her flashbacks as lilith.
There is a group of extremist who call themselves DAMNers led by an extremist priest and they had the potential to be a really nasty group, yet they were used more in name only, rather than in the driving action. I don’t know, it just felt like the whole book had so much potential and just...fell flat.
I really enjoyed Joy Nash’s writing style and flow-in fact I’ve read her before and liked her books. But this one felt like there was way too much going on, and I felt lost too often. I think that although The Unforgiven definitely suffers from First Book in the Series Syndrome, I’ll read the next one. I think that some of the side characters had a lot of potential.
**eARC provided by www.netgalley.com
The beginning starts out with a bang, but shortly thereafter, I feel as if there is some sort of backstory I’m supposed to know. There are two characters who right off the bat feel as if it’s their story-Artur and Cybele. But it isn’t their story, and I’m sure they’re being set up for one, but they are not the hero heroine. I actually had to read the blurb again to see if I was wrong, but nope, the H/h are Cade and Maddie, and they were introduced later on. I thought I may have missed a novella or a prequel, but no this is book 1, so I sort of sucked it up, and moved on.
The premise is that the Fallen Angels who dabbled with mortals had soulless children called Nephilim. Angels consider the Nephilim demons, but they prefer to be called Watchers. When a Watcher is raised human, usually a near-death experience triggers their Nephilim side. If they don’t attract a nearby Watcher to help them through the transition, they’ll go crazy and die. But if one is nearby, they “anchor” them with sex. It allows the Watcher to control the adept. And when Maddie goes through her transition, Artur makes sure Cade is nearby. Maddie is from a different clan of Watchers, and if they anchor her to their clan, it will allow them to control her power, giving them an edge on the other clan. It was kind of confusing.
Her near death experience was surviving a brain tumor. But she thinks the tumor is coming back, so she leaves her normal life, and runs off to join an archaeological dig for a Watcher relic. This is where Cade finds her and her flashbacks begin. It was kind of cool seeing her flashbacks as lilith.
There is a group of extremist who call themselves DAMNers led by an extremist priest and they had the potential to be a really nasty group, yet they were used more in name only, rather than in the driving action. I don’t know, it just felt like the whole book had so much potential and just...fell flat.
I really enjoyed Joy Nash’s writing style and flow-in fact I’ve read her before and liked her books. But this one felt like there was way too much going on, and I felt lost too often. I think that although The Unforgiven definitely suffers from First Book in the Series Syndrome, I’ll read the next one. I think that some of the side characters had a lot of potential.
**eARC provided by www.netgalley.com
August 6, 2011
When a rival clan, breeches the wards protecting Watcher/Nephalim Cade's clan, killing Cade's infant son and nearly anihilating his people, Cade's leader sends Cade on a mission to transition a woman from human to Nephalim, but in such a way as to enslave her in order to use her as a weapon against their rivals.
I really enjoyed the kick off to Nash's new Watcher series. There is sort of a romance in the Unforgiven, but there is so much more going on, as Nash brings to life a world in which the Nephalim - half human children of fallen angels - are still paying for the sins of their fathers - actually it's their descendants still paying the price. Even if the Nephalim descendants, who call themselves Watchers, haven't chosen to walk a dark path themselves, they are soulless and denied even the final judgement of heaven or hell at the end of their potentially 150 year life. Oh and as part of the curse, Watchers group into different clans by bloodline are racially disposed to hate and try to annihilate each other.
Cade's story, which is the main one in the book, is woven in with bits and pieces which introduce other members of his clan, and its main enemy. There is also a longer thread with a bit of the history of the Nephalim in which each scene is introduced by a quote from the Book of Enoch - Enoch appears to be basis for Nash's mythos. The romance part of the story, which is not as much romantic as it steamy, comes into play in the way to help a human candiate through the dangerous transition to Nephalim. A transitioning human is saved - from insanity and death that results if they are unaided - by being anchored via sex with a Watcher of the opposite gender.
As a consequence, I would label the Watchers as being steamy UF, a melding of PNR and UF that has good company in a fair number of series that are taking the old paranormal romance genre and the one couple per book model but allowing the background story arc and the supporting character to play a larger and more permanent role in the series. Since Nash sets up some promising conflicts within the supporting cast and I am really intrigued by her mythos, I will certainly be keeping an eye out for the next Watcher's installment.
I really enjoyed the kick off to Nash's new Watcher series. There is sort of a romance in the Unforgiven, but there is so much more going on, as Nash brings to life a world in which the Nephalim - half human children of fallen angels - are still paying for the sins of their fathers - actually it's their descendants still paying the price. Even if the Nephalim descendants, who call themselves Watchers, haven't chosen to walk a dark path themselves, they are soulless and denied even the final judgement of heaven or hell at the end of their potentially 150 year life. Oh and as part of the curse, Watchers group into different clans by bloodline are racially disposed to hate and try to annihilate each other.
Cade's story, which is the main one in the book, is woven in with bits and pieces which introduce other members of his clan, and its main enemy. There is also a longer thread with a bit of the history of the Nephalim in which each scene is introduced by a quote from the Book of Enoch - Enoch appears to be basis for Nash's mythos. The romance part of the story, which is not as much romantic as it steamy, comes into play in the way to help a human candiate through the dangerous transition to Nephalim. A transitioning human is saved - from insanity and death that results if they are unaided - by being anchored via sex with a Watcher of the opposite gender.
As a consequence, I would label the Watchers as being steamy UF, a melding of PNR and UF that has good company in a fair number of series that are taking the old paranormal romance genre and the one couple per book model but allowing the background story arc and the supporting character to play a larger and more permanent role in the series. Since Nash sets up some promising conflicts within the supporting cast and I am really intrigued by her mythos, I will certainly be keeping an eye out for the next Watcher's installment.
July 15, 2011
I would applaud this book for being easy to jump into, but I was shocked to find it's the first in the series. I would not be surprised to find prequel novellas or novels on another imprint, there is so much backstory laying on the table it would be a shame if this was truly book 1. While I picked up the overall gist of the plot, none of the characters other than Maddie were introduced in a way that felt like a true "first time introduction".
Well paced with an interesting mythology, my main complaint was the basis of all the characters' relationships. Magic is the driving factor underneath everything, and for me that drained all of the emotion and motivation out of the romance aspects of the story. The sex was hot, and as a younger reader I wouldn't have minded the "magically bonded with a hot stranger" motif, but nowadays I expect a bit more of a reason to invest in characters. The "forced to feel this way" element teetered on the brink of being too much, and when paired with the other instances of attempted rape, the whole tone of the book was darker than I'd like. Lilith's emotionally abused, incestuous flashbacks were a heart wrenching train wreck, and I got tense every time I saw the italics that indicated another one.
Full review at All Things Urban Fantasy .
Well paced with an interesting mythology, my main complaint was the basis of all the characters' relationships. Magic is the driving factor underneath everything, and for me that drained all of the emotion and motivation out of the romance aspects of the story. The sex was hot, and as a younger reader I wouldn't have minded the "magically bonded with a hot stranger" motif, but nowadays I expect a bit more of a reason to invest in characters. The "forced to feel this way" element teetered on the brink of being too much, and when paired with the other instances of attempted rape, the whole tone of the book was darker than I'd like. Lilith's emotionally abused, incestuous flashbacks were a heart wrenching train wreck, and I got tense every time I saw the italics that indicated another one.
Full review at All Things Urban Fantasy .
July 22, 2011
I'm still looking for that perfect Angel story. Unfortunately, The Unforgiven, although steeped in angel mythology wasn't quite what I was looking for.
There is a coming war between the Nephilum clans (the cursed offspring of forbidden Angel/human matings) also known as The Watchers. Each Watcher holds a magical gift and obviously the clan with the stronger collective magic is at an advantage.
Cade is part of the Clan Azazel. It is learned that there is woman, Maddie, who is a dormant Watcher ready to go through her transition. As a human she is unaware of the existence of demons & angels but feels a pull to an archeological site in Israel. Maddie is no ordinary Watcher however, she is also a descendant from the rival clan Samyaza. To master her powers and bring her into the Clan Azael would be a turning point in the clans battle for dominance.
Cade is sent by his clan leader Artur to "anchor" Maddie through her transition. It is very similar to J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series when the males go through their transition or the females through their needings. Basically there will be hot sex that our hero *must* provide. The downside of this process, for Maddie anyway, is that Cade will absorb all her memories and those of her ancestors as well as her powers and enslave her both physically and mentally to him for life. She will be powerless to resist him.
Cade has bad memories from his own transition in which he was found and anchored by Cybele, former bond mate of Artur. Cade is on love with Cybele but she has never returned his affections since the transition because of her love for Artur….who is still mad at both of them. This is where I was kind of turned off. Cade pines for Cybele, Artur is cruel to Cybele, Cybele pines for Artur. I actually wanted Cade and Cybele to get together which is not the couple I was supposed to be rooting for.
I pretty much new were everything was headed. I new the sex was going to be so awesome that Cade would feel guilty about enslaving Maddie. He is a pretty great hero but I feel like I've read this all before. And I'm not sure I bought into Maddie and Cade's love. I get the bond, I get how they would cling to each other but love? Nah. I don't think he would have given her a second glance in another situation. Maddie seemed more shocked that a hunky stud could want a plain Jane like herself more her than any thing else. I can't say I disagree. They also seemed to have the longest transition sex evah. They had whole conversations and flashbacks while in the throws of passion. It was steamy but kind of weird.
There is quite a bit of world building pertaining to the Clan wars and the larger Angel/Nephilum conflict which was fairly interesting but we bounced around to various POV's too much so that we could be introduced to other characters. I'm assuming this was to set up future books in the series. It felt like a lot of detail to invest in the background to then have it just be the typical meet my mate/bond story.
Despite the overall predictability of the plot regarding Cade and Maddie there were a few twists and turns with Maddie coming into her powers that were unique. The transition doesn't go exactly as planned because Cade gives into his love for Maddie rather than doing what's right for his clan. Maddie takes advantage of that one mistake and all hell breaks lose. It was nice to see the heroine go a little crazy for once with the hero having to reel her back in rather than the other way around.
I also have to mention Maddie's past memories of her ancestor Lilith and her father Azazel. Squick times 1000. Yeah - I don't want to read about consensual incest. It is very important to the story but….
The Unforgiven didn't quite work for me but fans of Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld or Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed's series might want to check it out. This book is very similar but with a new twist on angel mythology.
Rating: 2.5 out of 4 (Blog rating)
There is a coming war between the Nephilum clans (the cursed offspring of forbidden Angel/human matings) also known as The Watchers. Each Watcher holds a magical gift and obviously the clan with the stronger collective magic is at an advantage.
Cade is part of the Clan Azazel. It is learned that there is woman, Maddie, who is a dormant Watcher ready to go through her transition. As a human she is unaware of the existence of demons & angels but feels a pull to an archeological site in Israel. Maddie is no ordinary Watcher however, she is also a descendant from the rival clan Samyaza. To master her powers and bring her into the Clan Azael would be a turning point in the clans battle for dominance.
Cade is sent by his clan leader Artur to "anchor" Maddie through her transition. It is very similar to J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series when the males go through their transition or the females through their needings. Basically there will be hot sex that our hero *must* provide. The downside of this process, for Maddie anyway, is that Cade will absorb all her memories and those of her ancestors as well as her powers and enslave her both physically and mentally to him for life. She will be powerless to resist him.
Cade has bad memories from his own transition in which he was found and anchored by Cybele, former bond mate of Artur. Cade is on love with Cybele but she has never returned his affections since the transition because of her love for Artur….who is still mad at both of them. This is where I was kind of turned off. Cade pines for Cybele, Artur is cruel to Cybele, Cybele pines for Artur. I actually wanted Cade and Cybele to get together which is not the couple I was supposed to be rooting for.
I pretty much new were everything was headed. I new the sex was going to be so awesome that Cade would feel guilty about enslaving Maddie. He is a pretty great hero but I feel like I've read this all before. And I'm not sure I bought into Maddie and Cade's love. I get the bond, I get how they would cling to each other but love? Nah. I don't think he would have given her a second glance in another situation. Maddie seemed more shocked that a hunky stud could want a plain Jane like herself more her than any thing else. I can't say I disagree. They also seemed to have the longest transition sex evah. They had whole conversations and flashbacks while in the throws of passion. It was steamy but kind of weird.
There is quite a bit of world building pertaining to the Clan wars and the larger Angel/Nephilum conflict which was fairly interesting but we bounced around to various POV's too much so that we could be introduced to other characters. I'm assuming this was to set up future books in the series. It felt like a lot of detail to invest in the background to then have it just be the typical meet my mate/bond story.
Despite the overall predictability of the plot regarding Cade and Maddie there were a few twists and turns with Maddie coming into her powers that were unique. The transition doesn't go exactly as planned because Cade gives into his love for Maddie rather than doing what's right for his clan. Maddie takes advantage of that one mistake and all hell breaks lose. It was nice to see the heroine go a little crazy for once with the hero having to reel her back in rather than the other way around.
I also have to mention Maddie's past memories of her ancestor Lilith and her father Azazel. Squick times 1000. Yeah - I don't want to read about consensual incest. It is very important to the story but….
The Unforgiven didn't quite work for me but fans of Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld or Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed's series might want to check it out. This book is very similar but with a new twist on angel mythology.
Rating: 2.5 out of 4 (Blog rating)
June 21, 2011
Joy Nash has a way of weaving a tale to make you fall completely in love and become throughly engrossed in the story.
I love the complexity of the characters relationships in this book. It draws you in quickly. Artur, Cybele, and Cade's triangle is something to behold. Artur and Cybele were bonded but when Cybele finds Cade in the middle of his transition she anchors him over to become truly Nephilim so he doesn't die. Artur then takes this as betrayal of his and Cybele's bond and will not forgive her for what she did. You can see and feel both of their torment over the situation. I just wish that Artur could stop being so stubborn and see that Cybele only did it because she didn't think she had a choice. He throws a choice at Cybele and I think it's going to be a turn around for them.
The main part of the story is the situation between Maddie and Cade. I love how brave and almost fearless Maddie is. She is a strong woman who is living her life and doing what she wants, no matter what the doctors tell her. Cade is so strong and so caring. I love that he didn't feel comfortable with enslaving Maddie the way that Artur wanted him too. He actually ends up falling for Maddie and it burns him. Towards the end, some parts of this book really shocked me. There are some definite twists and turns that you don't see coming. Especially between Maddie and Cade.
This is a really good book! I really loved it and can't wait for more.
Check out this review and more awesome ones just like it at awesomesaucebookclub.com
I love the complexity of the characters relationships in this book. It draws you in quickly. Artur, Cybele, and Cade's triangle is something to behold. Artur and Cybele were bonded but when Cybele finds Cade in the middle of his transition she anchors him over to become truly Nephilim so he doesn't die. Artur then takes this as betrayal of his and Cybele's bond and will not forgive her for what she did. You can see and feel both of their torment over the situation. I just wish that Artur could stop being so stubborn and see that Cybele only did it because she didn't think she had a choice. He throws a choice at Cybele and I think it's going to be a turn around for them.
The main part of the story is the situation between Maddie and Cade. I love how brave and almost fearless Maddie is. She is a strong woman who is living her life and doing what she wants, no matter what the doctors tell her. Cade is so strong and so caring. I love that he didn't feel comfortable with enslaving Maddie the way that Artur wanted him too. He actually ends up falling for Maddie and it burns him. Towards the end, some parts of this book really shocked me. There are some definite twists and turns that you don't see coming. Especially between Maddie and Cade.
This is a really good book! I really loved it and can't wait for more.
Check out this review and more awesome ones just like it at awesomesaucebookclub.com
June 28, 2011
First of all thanks go to netgalley and Dorchester who allowed me to read this book ahead of its publication date.
And now on to the review, I will keep it spoiler free so dont be afraid to read it.
Let me start by saying that I was looking forward to reading a new book by Joy Nash, I had really enjoyed her contributions to the Immortals series (the other authors were Jennifer Ashley and Robin Popp) but I have to say that I was disappointed in The Unforgiven (The Watchers #1), the first two thirds of the book were endless repetitions of the same issues, by the time I got to where things started happening I was bored out of my mind and not really paying attention, so I had to go back and re-read that part, and it was good.
So, I am giving it 3 stars.
And now on to the review, I will keep it spoiler free so dont be afraid to read it.
Let me start by saying that I was looking forward to reading a new book by Joy Nash, I had really enjoyed her contributions to the Immortals series (the other authors were Jennifer Ashley and Robin Popp) but I have to say that I was disappointed in The Unforgiven (The Watchers #1), the first two thirds of the book were endless repetitions of the same issues, by the time I got to where things started happening I was bored out of my mind and not really paying attention, so I had to go back and re-read that part, and it was good.
So, I am giving it 3 stars.
February 26, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit confusing in the very beginning but once it got going then it was engrossing. Definitely a different take on the whole angel, nephilim premise. It will be interesting to see where this goes. I like the fact that the author had more than one storyline going on in the book, it kept you interested in the secondary characters and gave a richer depth to the story as a whole.
If you can get past the beginning where it seems to be Artur and Cybele's story then it just gets better.
If you can get past the beginning where it seems to be Artur and Cybele's story then it just gets better.
November 28, 2011
I was suprised that this was book 1 as it opens like a series in play. I actually went to my computer and checked to ensure this was book 1. The series has potential. I was a bit grossed out with one of the relationships in the book ( if you read you will see what I mean ). It isn't a book that I was running around telling my friends to read....I will see how book 2 is to make my call.
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