I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. Wow what can I say about this title it was just an awesome read. This book was just something so wonderfully different I’ve never quite read anything like this. You should read to find out you won’t be disappointed. I’m definitely going to read more by this author.

So the saga continues with the long awaited return of the former right-hand man of the previous Anasso of the vampires, returned from centuries of imprisonment. I have been looking forward to this story for a while now, not only because I knew that Tarak would be an interesting character but because I knew that it would open up a whole new plot arc for a series that I have loved for years and I feared had ended. Alexandra Ivy has a way of pulling readers in and investing them in the lives of her characters and making us root for not just their HEA but their overall growth as a community and family. The strangest of bedfellows become lovers, brothers, and best friends and I think that makes it the best of moral in the truest sense of the word. Tarak’s story began in the previous novel when his best friend managed to free him from his prison, but there is a bit of time overlap in that we get to see him running from those chasing him in this novel and how he manages to evade those after him while he is on his own hunt—for those that captured him and kept him jailed all these centuries. While on the hunt he finds himself crossing paths with the sweet and sensual merwoman who has been feeding during his imprisonment and while he has resented her role in his life, she has also been the closest thing he had to a friend during all that time so he doesn’t want to cause her trouble, but she just won’t stand down. Waverly has been trying to protect the stubborn vampire from himself since his escape and she refuses to give up, even though she won’t admit even to herself why she’s so determined to see him survive. When they are continuously thrown together in dangerous situations, they soon see that the attraction they both fought all their acquaintance wasn’t just a side-effect her feeding him, and only by working together will they have a chance of surviving the danger they face in order to explore it. Waverly and Tarak were both intriguing characters, with their flaws certainly, but their strengths greatly outweighed those and made them more human. Waverly has been trying to keep her people safe from a tyrant, but her rebellious nature won’t allow her to fully bow to that bastard, so siding with Tarak seems perfectly natural, but when she starts having feelings for him she isn’t sure how to handle it, but she refuses to let the idiot get himself killed or recaptured. Her determination, dedication to her people, sweetness without being a wimp, and sensual draw made her the perfect foil for Tarak. Tarak is in kind of a nasty mood—but to be fair he was imprisoned for a few centuries and drained of his magical strength to feed an ego maniacal tyrant, so I can forgive him the attitude. He is obviously a kick-ass-and-take-names kind of guy and I liked that about him, even though I wished he’d think through a few of his choices a bit more here and there. When he finally accepts that the pull toward Waverly isn’t just gratitude for her friendship and service to him during his imprisonment, and that she means so much more to him, he become so sweet and loving but that love for her only made him a stronger opponent when his woman was threatened. I loved seeing these two come together to fight their enemies, but even more I loved the side story that led to some SERIOUSLY surprising changes for Waverly’s people. I am looking forward to reading more about the Mer in future stories and possibly getting to see them more integrated into the overall world of the Demon’s. Another masterpiece of Magick and mayhem Ms. Ivy!

I've been reading this series for years and have my favorites. This had mermaids! Vampires! Oh my!

The writing is light-hearted (Levet carries most of it) will evil villains using bad magic to fulfill delusions of grandeur. A vampire finds his mate and the rightful ruler of the merpeople takes the throne.

I was either in the wrong mood or am done with the series. I found myself rolling my eyes and cringing at the over the top bad guy.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC from Netgalley.

This book picks up exactly where the last one leaves off, so I don’t recommend diving in to this as your first book in the series. I’ve jumped in and out of the series, and while the author does a good job catching up, I enjoyed this one a lot more having met most of these characters previously.

Tarak is newly freed from his prison, having learned his lesson about the evil of the mermaid ruler. He’s determined to find his vengeance and also equally determined to ignore his affection for the mermaid princess that visited him to keep him “fed” during his captivity. Waverly, the aforementioned princess, is also in denial, but willing to do just about anything to keep her sister safe and do whatever is right for her people. Riven, the ruler of the mermaids, is doing some horrible things to her people, so when things start to indicate that he may not have been mystically chosen as he said, Tarak and Waverly team up to take him down.

Oh, and there’s also the wonderfully amusing and always catastrophe filled gargoyle sub-story going on. And the romance elements. And some visits from familiar faces. All in all, this was a nice, new spin, making me re-thing mermaids as a paranormal main character storyline. I can’t wait to see where this world goes next.

Needed a break from The Tattooist so I finished this arc while the rain poured. Not sure how I feel about it. 3 stars, I guess.

This is the nth book in the series. Missed a lot, starting at the last book...but this was just ok. It didn’t make me want to start the series st all, save for one or maybe 2 characters only.

It’s a fantastical paranormal world with vampires and mermaids and gargoyles and imps and ogres, not always living happily together. Tarak, a vampire imprisoned for centuries is free, and on a rampage to kill the mer king and others who helped keep him. His friends are trying to catch him, Waverly (mermaid princess and mate) is trying to protect him sort of, a half ogress is trying to evade him...it’s all fun and confusing.

Still, it’s just ok. I don’t know, maybe I should have started this series to really appreciate it. Otherwise, this is all just ok.

But see, other series, if you happen upon the middle, you get curious. This one, I can wait and maybe get distracted by other series.

Thank you @lyricalpress and @kensingtonbooks for the review copy of this book.

This was the first book of the series that I read. I promptly started the series from book one after finishing this. Taker was held prisoner and only dreamed of revenge. His only salvation was occasionally visits from Waverly. When he finally escapes, can he get his revenge or is that taken from him too. I lived the characters. They were strong, and likable. It is a great series.

I’m so happy that Guardians of Eternity are back! I love this series and Beware the Darkness was an exciting addition to the series! 5 amazing stars

I have always enjoyed Alexandra Ivy's books, and especially The Guardians of Eternity series. That being said, I had a harder time getting into Tarak and Waverly's story than I have with some of the others. I didn't feel as invested in the characters, as they didn't feel as fleshed out in their story as previous characters, in my opinion . I also felt the storyline dragged in some places and then felt rushed at the end. I still love this series, and will continue to read Alexandra's books, this one just didn't hit it out of the ballpark for me.

There is only one thing more precious to vampire Tarak than his newfound freedom after five centuries of captivity, and that’s the promise of revenge. At last, he can destroy Riven, the merman who has drained his power in order to make himself king. But at the very moment when justice is a fang’s breadth away, Tarak’s quest is complicated by the beautiful mermaid princess who kept him sane and fed during his ordeal. Waverly hoped that once Tarak escaped, he’d return to his own kind and enjoy the rest of his immortal life. She also hoped she might one day stop dreaming about the darkly handsome vampire. Instead, Tarak’s return draws Waverly into an unlikely alliance—and a passion that eclipses all her fantasies. Hatred for Riven has sustained Tarak this long. But only Waverly’s love can give him the strength to claim eternity with her.
This was a pretty good story. My only issue is that I have read very few books by this author, and I’m pretty sure none from this series, so I found myself a bit confused at points with the different characters and character types. I am assuming they were from other books but I felt like the author is assuming that you’ve read the other books first. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

BEWARE THE DARKNESS is the fourteenth instalment in Alexandra Ivy’s contemporary, adult GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY paranormal, fantasy romance series. This is vampire Tarak, and mermaid princess Waverly’s story line. BEWARE THE DARKNESS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: BEWARE THE DARKNESS pick up immediately after the events of DARKNESS RETURNS.

Told from several third person perspectives including Tarak, Waverly and Levet, BEWARE THE DARKNESS follows the search for vampire Tarak. Five hundred years earlier Tarak was betrayed by the former Anasso (king of the vampires) and found himself imprisoned and used as a blood slave by the new king of the mer-people. Throughout the years Tarak would hallucinate believing a beautiful angel came for to visit, an angel who would feed our story line hero. Enter Waverly, mermaid princess, and the woman with whom Tarak would fall in love. Desperate to take down the man who destroyed his life, Tarak goes in search only to be stopped by our story line heroine. What ensues is the building relationship between Tarak and Waverly, and the potential fall-out as Tarak is determined to kill the man that betrayed them all.

Meanwhile Waverly struggles with Tarak’s need to kill the king of the mer-people, a man who is currently holding her sister hostage, a woman who protects and guards the infants with her life. With no idea where Sabrina is hidden, Waverly fears to kill the king will also kill the sister she loves.

The relationship between Tarak and Waverly has been building for several hundred years when Waverly was forced to feed Tarak, an in effort to keep him strong enough to feed the mer-people king. Tarak, believing Waverly was nothing more than a illusion, is fearful that Waverly is nothing more than a trick to recapture our story line hero. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including the mer-people King Riven, and his guard Rimm; Rivet and ogress Inga; Waverly’s sister Sabrina, as well as a number of mer-people, demons, Puck the imp, and the current king of the vampires Styx and his mate Lilah, and vampire Chiron.

BEWARE THE DARKNESS is a story of betrayal, vengeance, power and control; a story of family, love and friendship. The premise is intriguing and engaging; the romance is seductive; the characters are colorful and charismatic.


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Beware the darkness is the 14th book in the series and it's better if it's not read as stand-alone. Characters and events from the previous books appear and have an impact in the story.

In my opinion, when you dedicate almost half of the story to another couple ( Levet and Inga) you should give them a happy ending too or if you don't want to do that, reduce the parts that are from their point of view. They took too much space and their story will be completed probably in the next book. Scratch that, the next book is not about them. So, why tease us about their story and feature them so heavily? Yes, they helped our main couple, without knowing it, but did we really need to see so much from Inga's point of view?

I don't feel like I have much to say about the main characters. Their story felt a little too much like wham bam thank you, ma'am. I suppose most of the bonding happened during the years he was a prisoner, but I wanted to see more of them doing what couples in paranormal romance do. I need something more to be convinced that they actually belonged together.

The reason why I am not going with a lower rating is the fact that the story had a good flow and I read it easily. I have gotten a little bit more used to this universe since this is the second book I have read and I was able to follow all the events that were happening.

Loved reading the fabulous and fantastic fourteenth book in the Guardians of Eternity series. After Tarak is released from prison, he only has one thought in mind, to get revenge and kill the King of the Mermaids, Rivans. Tarak seeks the help of the beautiful mermaid, Waverly, who helped feed him and made his life bearable while locked up. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a must read love story.
I reviewed a book through NetGalley.

I have been a fan from the beginning of this series and devoured each book several times this one pulled me right back into this magical and thrilling world once again and I loved it! The way this story teller just captures you and spins this amazing world is just so thrilling. This journey is so emotional, filled with danger around every corner, intriguing charters, old friends and undeniable passion. Excellent reading!

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

4.25 Hearts Alexndra Ivy is simply one of the Queens of Paranormal Genre. I have never found a novel of hers that disappointed and this was no exception.

The vampire world that Ivy writes is exciting, sexy and fun. Waverly and Tarak are unexpected but perfect. I loved Tarak. I knew after reading his story in the last novel that it would take a while to like Tarak but as always Tarak is a diamond in the rough. Waverly is interesting but I really liked her. The Mer world is one I do not normally read about. Never been a mermaid kinda girl but this was different and I actually enjoy it. Would I grab a different series about it. Probably not but there is never a book that Ivy writes that is not worth the read.

Dive in. You won’t be sorry. But I do suggest reading at least #13 before this one so you know Tarak’s story. And Levet is always worth visiting!

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book be Alexandra Ivy so I went into it with no clue what to expect. Its part of a series that's been out forever so that could have been a problem, but it wasn't. I found it interesting and it pulled me in from the first page. Captivating and enchanting, this story takes us on a 500 year journey for revenge, at all costs. Mermaids, vampires, gargoyles! I was enraptured! Love though, has a way of rearranging your priorities, becoming your only one. But the Evil that locked him away, that's destroying the mermaids, must be delt with, but they will do it together. An interesting set of characters that engage the readers and brings them along on this mesmerizing journey of love and fate and everything thing in-between.

This is Tarak's story which picks up from the previous book. Tarak has been ensnared by an evil Merman, Riven, for the last 500 years. Tarak's prison is destroyed and Tarak escapes. Tarak has net his mate, Waverly, but was unable to believe it as he was so bent on revenge. Filled with betrayal, suspense, our Anasso Styx, an Ogress wronged, our laugh out loud gargoyle Levet, make for a great story. Tarak and Waverly.get their HEA. I did find the ending a bit rushed, but all in all, a great story. There are some hints about Inga and Levet, and maybe we will read about them being a mated pair??? I can only hope! I do so love Levet! Lol. 4 stars***

****I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book provided by NetGalley*****

Fans of the series,who thought the series ended may be surprised to learn that the stories continue. This is the second book in a new story arc where Ms. Ivy introduces us to a host of new characters while keeping a few favorites from the original story arc. For those of you who are fans of a miniature gargoyle he's back with his mixed metaphors and magic with its usual unexpected consequences. In keeping with the current interest in things aquatic, the author has set this story in the undersea world.Waverly is a mer-princess who is tasked with giving her blood to a vampire named Tarak who is imprisoned. After 500 years in captivity, Tarak finds himself unexpectedly free. But Tarak obsessed with vengeance makes this way to the undersea kingdom to confront Riven who's been his goaler for the past five centuries.
Matters move swiftly as Tarak and Waverly team up to unravel not just the plot of world dominance planned by Riven but also the source of Riven's power which allowed him to falsely claim the trident that marks him king. All roads converge in the undersea kingdom as Tarak's faithful friend Chiron and the current Anasso all make their way under the sea to help and respectively hinder the progress.
It's amusing that Tarak is so consumed with vengeance that he doesn't realize that Waverly is his mate until it's almost to late but as we all know for all the suspense this is a romance so true love will win out but never the less the author makes the journey and the revelations interesting for her readers.

Beware the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy is book 14 in the Guardians of Eternity. This is the story of Tarak and Waverly. I have read the previous book which helped me to fully enjoy this one but with that said I did feel you could make this a standalone book if you wish to do so.
Tarak was taken kept a prisoner for hundreds of years. During that time, Waverly a mermaid princess who feed him and kept him from totally going insane. Now he is free and wish to get his revenge on the one that enslaved him. Waverly and Tarak are now dealing with their feelings that they have grown through the years and how they can move forward but with this revenge make that impossible?
Enjoyed their story.

Loved it! I was excited when I discovered this would be Tarak’s story. Alexandra Ivy is one of my favorite authors and this story only enforces that even more. Tarak and Waverly are well suited and the introduction of more of the paranormal had me engaged throughout. I will definitely be recommending this book and series and be looking for her next release

After five centuries of captivity, there is only one thing more precious to vampire Tarek than his newfound freedom…the promise of revenge. But his quest for justice against Riven, the mermaid who drained his power in order to make himself king is interrupted by the beautiful mermaid princess who kept him sane. She hoped he’d return to his own kind and enjoy the rest of his immortal life, but then Waverly also hoped she might one day stop dreaming about the darkly handsome vampire. Instead they are drawn into an unlikely alliance and a passion that eclipses all her fantasies.

Be prepared to be swept away by the tide in this powerful and stunning new ‘Guardians of Eternity’ novel. As per the norm for this exhilarating series, the characters are strong, take charge and easily captures readers’ imaginations as well as their hearts. Tarek and Waverly explode from the pages with a vibrant intensity that ensures that readers sit up and take notice of their sizzling chemistry and their gripping stories and lots of turbulent, gripping emotions such as revenge, greed, fear, passion, love and insecurities bring this story to life.

The plot is fast paced and continuously keeps the suspense and excitement building throughout as Tarek seeks his revenge, Levet tries to protect a mermaid, ogre hybrid and rescue another damsel from a prison, the Anasso searches for Tarek and Waverly tries to protect her people from a cunning, greedy man that is somehow stealing the Kingship from the rightful ruler. Lots of non-stop excitement keeps readers glued to the pages and on the edge of their seats and the stunning twists keeps them guessing throughout this riveting romance.