Chaaya was murdered as a sacrifice centuries ago and trapped with an evil beast. Now that she is free she is ready to cause mischief and have some fun. Basq is one of the vampires charged with keeping an eye on Chaaya. When a prisoner only Chaaya can stop escapes they will set aside their differences to try and hunt her down. But will they be able to survive and learn to trust each other? And will their desire turn into something mire?

This is the second book I have read in the series. I do feel you need to have at least read the previous book to understand Chaaya's story fully. This was a book that gripped me from the start and had me intrigued to learn more about the characters. The only reason I gave it a 4 is because the ending seemed very abrupt and almost like something was missing. I will definitely keep my eye out for the next in the series!

This book was given to me an an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.

Shades of Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #16) by Alexandra Ivy

I love this series... This story belongs to Basq and Chaaya and it keep me on the edge of my seat the whole time... Plenty of feels, angst, mistrust, mystery, laughs, tears, lots of old friends and some enemies, some questions answered and a few left for the next book..and plenty of steam to get us to a HEA. Oh and I can't forget Levet my favorite.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Action-packed Easy-to-read Great world building Happily Ever After Page-turner Romantic Steamy Unpredictable Witty Wonderful characters

This is the newest book in the Guardian of Eternity series from Alexandra Ivy. I must confess that I love Alexandra Ivy and this book did not disappoint! You can instantly feel the chemistry between the main characters, Chaaya and Basq. It is hot, hot, hot! And the humor in this book is over the top! Chaaya is a bad girl that just wants to have a fun time. She spent 100s of years as a prisoner and now just wants to LIVE! She was kicked out of the Mer-Folk palace for causing trouble and sent to be watched over by Chiron. Basq is the head of security for Dreamscape Resorts which is owned by Chiron and he is given the job of keeping her in check. He is a by-the-book kind of guy who doesn't understand her need to be bad. When Chaaya is called back to Mer-Folk castle Basq goes with her and craziness ensues. There is non-stop action, hot sexy times and laugh out loud fun in this fantastic book! I LOVED It! And definitely would recommend it!

I received this book via NetGalley and have agreed to leave an honest opinion,

I am a fan of the author and have read many of her "Darkness" series and loved them but this one I just could not wrap my head around, I just didn't really care for the story and I wanted more...

I wanted to see more of Chaaya and Basq's developing relationship for sure. Anytime you have an alpha male, and a vampire at that, it is always interesting to see how they handle a new relationship.

I did like it much better toward the end because all of the storylines were coming to fruition but otherwise I just didn't "feel" a real connection.

It was great seeing Levet again though, the little sweet souled, zany gargoyle.

This was my first book by Ms. Ivy. I’ll admit that I like PNR/fantasy romance, but it isn’t my main happy place. I prefer my PNR/fantasy romance to be heavier on the romance than the paranormal part and in this story, that was flipped. The paranormal/fantasy elements were so strong I, at times, wasn’t sure I was reading a romance, but rather an urban fantasy. Which, there’s no hate there. I’ve read and enjoyed some select urban fantasy before so I don’t hate the genre, however when I go into a book that’s being presented to me as a romance, I want to see that as the primary focus.

One thing many PNR’s and urban fantasy (I’m going to include UF as a basis for my review as that feels like a more accurate genre label for this book) stories have in common that drives me a little crazy and really impedes my ability to embrace these genres are the names. Good. Heavens. Helen. The off the wall, hard to pronounce names seem to be a requisite for the genre but they are a stumbling block for this particular reader.

The story was solid, detailed, and the writing was exceptionally well done. For lovers of PNR/urban fantasy I could easily recommend this and see this story and Ms. Ivy being huge hits.

I’m giving this story a 4 star rating rather than the 3 star I initially was inclined to give because I think most of my dislikes were a personal taste thing and more reflective that I shouldn’t have chosen a story in this genre than any shortcomings in the book itself.

I love Alexandra Ivy Romantic Suspense series. I have tried a few of her Supernatural\Paranormal suspense series and found each one is completely different from each other even though its the same author.

Chaaya isn't as likeable as her other characters you will meet in this book. She is trying to be carefree after protecting everyone aad her one stop is straight to Las Vegas. I struggled with this character because she went from protecting to not caring what happened to things around her. She just wants to live for the first time.

Every supernatural character comes out in this book after all its Las Vegas.

The story works with the Alpha Male that decides to protect the woman he wants.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy of Alexandra Ivy the Shades Of Darkness

This is the first book I have read my Ms Ivy but it will definitely not be the last. I could not put this book down, I will now have to go back and read the rest of this series I am truly hooked. The characters are so well written that you just can’t help but to be pulled into this world. This book has plenty of action and romance I am very thankful to both netgalley and Kingston for the opportunity to read this book. I highly recommend this book.

I love this series and really you cant go wrong. Like anything some are better than others, but I enjoyed this one.
You have weres, imps, vampires, demons, dijin, druids, I mean really, how can you go wrong? I enjoyed Chaaya. Was she responsible? No. You try living in hell for centuries protecting the world and then tell me how you would give a care when finely free, Wouldn't you want to live? Basq seemed remote, but then when you read the blurb, he intentionally doesn't feel I am good with the the romance and mayhem. It was great to see Greta again, and of course Levet made me chuckle. This is a well rounded paranormal romance that can be read as a stand a lone but is enhanced ten times over if you read from book 1. If you love to read, its a win-win. 16 books of romance, paranormal, alphas, and smart women, Yes! Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and Alexandra Ivy for providing me this arc and taking me on an enjoyable ride. I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions.

Have read all the series so far shade of darkness did not disappoint. One of the best in the series with kick ass characters .chaaya is one of my favorite

A most amazing penmanship!

I was thoroughly bewitched by Alexander Ivy's Shades of Darkness. From the writing to the plot, to the characterization...I must confess that I rushed to finish it. Then I read it again.

Suffice to say that it is brilliant. It would be a pleasure to read any book from this author.

What a great book! I pretty much chuckled through the entire thing! It was fun reading Basq and Chaaya's story!
Intrigue, adventure and a lot of laughter is what you'll get when you read this book! Levet, the little gargoyle, is a hoot! He and Brigitte have an adventure of their own! Lots of twists and turns in the story but in the end, Brigitte makes the right choice and true love prevails for Basq and Chaaya! I loved it!!

I’m always looking for a new paranormal romance series—now more than ever 🙄—so I was really looking forward to picking up Alexandra Ivy’s Shades of Darkness.

The first book I’ve read in the Guardians of Eternity series, SoD features a troublemaking maybe-ghost heroine named Chaaya who thrives on stirring things up & a starchy, so-called “nice guy” vampire named Basq who’s drawn to her. Even if he hasn’t admitted it.

When Chaaya & Basq take off on a dimension-hopping trip together to track down an “evil were” he gets his chance.

Though this was my first foray into the series I didn’t have a lot of problems picking things up. Ivy does a great job of introducing us to the world without dumping a lot of info on an unsuspecting reader.

Filled with a sense of the absurd, fun & detailed world-building, & some steam, Shades of Darkness is an enjoyable escape.

But I feel like the romance between leads isn’t strongly developed. It seems to move pretty quickly once it gets started & I didn’t have a keen sense of why the leads love each other/how they fell in love.

Maybe it’s just me, but I wanted to see more of Basq perhaps delighting/or even just responding positively to Chaaya’s troublemaking ways because they’re presented as such a big part of her & seem pretty antithetical to how he acts.

To sum up, I enjoyed the romance but I wasn’t entirely convinced by it.

Still, this is an entertaining PNR & I’m glad I gave it a shot!

3⭐️. Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Basq tends to have an answer for everything, “as long as you aren’t playing strip poker.” His fingers moved to unzip her leather pants. “That’s going to be our private game.” I liked this book, I loved Basq.

Interdimensional Manhunt + Romance
After being sacrificed by her mother and having escaped the infamous Beast, Chaaya is done playing by other people's rules. She's powerful, practically immortal, and won't take direction from anyone. But Chaaya's help is needed to find an escaped prisoner, and Basq, a broody vampire, isn't about to let her go alone. The two set off together, traveling through time warps, meeting new creatures, and building enough chemistry to keep the pages turning. Though I would have liked a bit more of a connection on Chaaya's part, once the two get together, her true nature comes out and she is a badass.

I jumped into this series without having read the previous books, but let me tell you - it didn't matter. I quickly was able to figure out the connections and relationships between the characters just with Alexandra Ivy's descriptions. Overall, this read kept me on the edge of my seat, eager to see who, what, and where Ivy was going show me next.

I don't know how Alexandra Ivy keeps managing to find such good sexy heroes who aren't just just well rounded & balanced characters but match perfectly with her heroines in such a way as that you don't mind quite so much that you can't keep him for yourself since you know he's going to be HEA with her. Basq was a little slower warm up but Chaaya's slightly prickly personality steadily poked holes in his outer shell and revealed his personality and depth while he softened the edges of some of her sharper points. There is plenty of action and interesting world building/characters (all done without overwhelming the story) to keep you turning to turn the pages as 3 different adventures/intrigues entwine. Favorite gargoyle sidekick Levet plays an important part though his slightly more serious side is on display, there is a nice touch of humor throughout the book. if there was one complaint (and a mild one at that) it would be that while the Inga/mermaid intrigue was interesting it felt a little distracting from the main story line involved in the other 2 adventures. Overall I have no hesitation in recommending this installment in the series and am looking forward to who may be next.

Chaaya endured centuries as a sacrifice to save the world from a terrible evil. Now that she is free she is determined to have fun, especially if it means getting under the skin of the silent bodyguard, Basq.

This book was ok for me. I didn’t love Chaaya. She came across as someone who doesn’t care about consequences and lives to cause problems. She got on my nerves quickly and that never really went away. Basq was an interesting vampire. His abilities were very unique but I felt we barely got to know him because of the focus being more on Chaaya and everything else that was happening.

These two started out as very antagonistic towards each other and then abruptly switched gears as soon as Basq admitted she was his mate. Their relationship went from aggression to lust very fast. These two just never clicked for me and their abrupt mating didn’t help.

I also struggled with the progression of the story. I really thought there would be a different outcome with Briggette. The whole progression with her and Levet really made it seem like we would see something big happen with her but we don’t get to see it. There is just a time skip and a brief mention of her. I was very disappointed by that. Also I figured there would be more going on with the mermaids and their traitor but I felt that just ended kinda abruptly. Basically the pacing and storyline in this one was off for me.

Between the relationship and the overarching story I struggled a lot with this book. I don’t regret reading it but it definitely is not my favorite of this series. I am still looking forward to the next book and the continuation of the plot.

*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*

This series is always a pleasure to read. The characters are well rounded with realistic reactions to situations. This is a series that must be read in order as the story builds from one to the next. However, once you are invested in them it is impossible to want to binge read them

I enjoyed this latest book in the Guardians of Eternity series but you definitely need to read the whole series to understand the backstory. This is Chaaya and Basq's story. Lots of paranormal characters and situations make the story an entertaining read. Recommended.

Chaaya sacrificed her life and her spirit continued to protect people from evil for hundreds of years. Now, free with a corporal form and unknown powers, she and her unwitting vampire bodyguard, Basq, must once again stop evil from pervading the world.

I had a hard time getting into this book. It was slow and failed to hold by attention. There was little chemistry between Chaaya and Basq, and I felt their romance was somewhat forced. They just didn't seem to mesh together. Also, I felt there were too many character point of views. I wish I had seen things from just Chaaya's and Basq's point of view instead of all the flashes back and forth between at least four different characters. All the different point of views made the book seem disjointed at times.

I enjoy Alexander Ivy's books and will continue to read other additions from her, but this book just didn't do it for me.

This book was okay. I feel like the pacing was a bit off. The beginning and middle were a bit slow and then the interesting stuff happened only in the very last third of the book. I had difficulty connecting with the main characters and I also do not know why Basq fell in love with Chaaya (besides the whole mate thing). 2.5 stars.