Gritty. ( )

Wynn Powe comes from a long line of witches. As a child, Wynn thought that she would grow up to be a member of the Guild and maybe even have her own Guardian to watch over. Because of the extreme sexism of the Guild, Wynn gave up her childhood dream and watched as her brother fulfilled the role she had once dreamed of. When Wynn finally does get her wish, it's nothing like her childlike fantasy and the Guardian she had once dreamed of, may just want more from her than she is prepared to give.

Hard as a Rock is book three in the Gargoyles series and at least as far as the romance portion of this series, the story has gotten pretty formulaic. A woman with magical powers wakes a Guardian - a gargoyles who can shift into human form and bound to protect humanity from evil. Said Guardian is initially amazed by his feelings for the woman but quickly comes to realise that the woman in question is his mate. The female love interest is quickly aware of her attraction but struggles against the idea of a fated mated but by the end of the book comes around. Were the Gargoyle series just about getting to the HEA, I don't think I would be willing to continue.

Warren does seem intent to use one book to wake each Guardian which very much makes the meta feel at times as though it is being dragged out unnecessarily. It's worth noting however that this is a case of mileage may vary. Though the Gargoyles series is paranormal romance, as evidenced by the Man Titteh on the cover, it also has a very interesting meta which has the characters actively investigating dark magic. It is the latter element that has drawn my attention to the series; however, if you are reading this series especially for the paranormal aspects, you many not mind the slow down in the meta which happened in this book.

Though it is part of the formula to have the female love interest deny her feelings for her Guardian, I really like that Wynn's dissent is based in the idea that if she succumbed to her lust that she would be giving up her free will. That being said, the importance of agency ends up of course being mute when Wynn gives in and agrees to become Knox's mate. The fact that Knox and Wynn are set up as a couple means that they never address the fact that he is slow to accept her limits and borders on abusive.
"Get off me,” she growled, matching him bared teeth for bared teeth. In another moment, he might have found her attempts at ferocity amusing. Now they just confused him. She wanted him, the beast insisted, wanted him almost as badly as he wanted her, so why was she pushing him away?
“I said. Get! Off!”
This time, he felt a jolt of energy behind her shoves. She still lacked the power to physically move him—he was easily twice her size—but the force broke through the urgent lust clouding his mind, and he eased back a few precious inches.
"That was a really bad idea,” she stated, her voice eerily calm and filled with tangled undertones of anger, fear, desire, and frustration. “I think it would be best if we each got some space and took a little while to cool off. I’m going to go into my bedroom, and I’m going to lock the door.” (pg 84)
Because Knox is certain that Wynn is attracted to him, he doesn't comply immediately when she tells him to stop. Warren uses woo woo to explain Knox's supposed confusion at an explicit request to stop sexual activity. Wynn has to actively attack Knox to get him to back off and then tell him that though the he is capable of breaking down her locked door, she expects him to respect her space. None of this should have happened, nor should Knox have had to be told that he couldn't just claim a woman for woo woo reasons.

Read More ( )

Coming from a long line of Wardens but never able to become one herself because of her sex, the heroine is a witch on a hunt for a Guardian. The warriors are needed to fight against the evil Seven that are threatening to destroy the world. But the Warden organizing has been destroyed and the member gone into hiding, now the heroine finds herself in the middle of a war she never though she's have to fight. Her brother has been kidnapped by their enemies and she needs all the help she can get to find him and rescue him. She's saved by the hero, a newly awakened guardian, when the enemy tries to kill her and she takes the large warrior home with her. The hero is struck dumb but how nonchalant and unimpressed the small witch is with his powers and status but he admires her spunk and smart mouth. I didn't. I though she was obnoxious at best and downright kill worthy at worst. She was capable enough when it comes to survival and defending herself against the various evil creatures attacking her and she did have a very large formidable guardian there to save her from the practically nasty evil doers. It was just the way she talked. I know people like her and it didn't endear me to her character. Plus, I felt zero connection between the hero and his fated mate. First of all, it was never even hinted that the hero found the heroine attractive before it suddenly snapped in his mind to mate her. He was dull and sort of lifeless. Most of the time he had nothing interesting or helpful to say and was 100% the muscle and nothing more. Usually I love strong silent men, but it didn't work in this case. Mainly because I felt like the hero's emotions toward the heroine were shallow and if not for the animalistic need to protect his mate, he wouldn't love her. Plus why does every paranormal species suddenly need to have a fate mate??? There was a time when only werewolf's had mates but now even a damn gargoyle has 'his female'. I don't know, but it seems this whole series is just a photocopy of each other. I really liked this authors Others series but I don't feel the same attachment to this new series. ( )

Gritty. ( )