Welcome to the Guardian Angel Series Blog Tour. Today I have reviews from the first three books of the series, Your Guardian Angel, Sun Kissed, and Salvation by Skyla Madi. Also check out the tour wide giveaway at the end.
YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL
Guardian Angel Series #1
by Skyla Madi
Publisher: Limitless Publishing (Dec. 2012)
Genre: Paranormal, Young Adult
Format: eBook (235 pages)
Source: Blog Tour and Author for honest opinion
Purchase: Amazon Print | Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: ★★★½☆ (3.5 stars)
For Ruby Moore life is far more complicated than that of your average teen, for she is in no way average. Ruby is a vampire and her life as a vampire is far from traditional.
It has been one year since her normal life was brutally taken from her. Still adjusting to the shock of the change from mortal to immortal, her world is rocked again and she is taken under the wings of a guardian angel back to Sage Sanctum- a school beyond reach from the vampires that are determined to destroy her.
There, she is freed from her vampiric chains and her normal needs and urges return. However a new urge arises… Lust. A forbidden lust toward her savior, her guardian angel.
Attempting to control these desires is difficult, very difficult and when things couldn’t possibly get any worse, her situation becomes life or death as someone, somewhere in the school is aiding those who want her dead.
At A Glance
This was a great start to a hopefully great series. The concept was pretty interesting and draws you in right away.
The Good
The beginning was like a punch in the face, but with a velvet glove. It was shocking but oh so stimulating. The story really caught my attention. All the aspects came together to make one hell of a concept: curing vampirism, a school for training gods and guardian angels, and even supernatural high school drama.
I really liked Ruby in the beginning. Her past is pretty dark but she handles things pretty well. She comes off as vulnerable but tough at the same time. She sticks up for herself and her friends against bullies which I respected. She’s also very witty and made me laugh, even during the dark times.
Eli was also a cool character. The whole forbidden love between him and Ruby gave spice to story. I actually liked how serious he was. With Ruby being a little immature, they balanced each other out well.
Ruby’s stepfather, the vampire after her, was truly evil and made a great villain. I loved the mystery behind who was helping him and how the whole situation played out.
The Bad
I found it hard to like Ruby sometimes based on her decision making. People try to kill her or use her big secret as a bargaining chip and she’s mad for a hot minute then forgives them. Yeah, well, no wonder bad things happened to you, Ruby, you let your guard down around devious people. Smarten up!
Some of the characters felt flat to me, and there could have been a lot more world building. I wanted to know more about what kinds of powers the supernatural beings had.
The Snuggly
Though Eli was a bit stiff for my taste, I thought he and Ruby made a great couple. They each have so much passion. But, OMG, the ending. So sad. Yes, there is a cliffhanger.
Just kissing and touching as far as the snuggly goes.
Final Thoughts
This book is not perfect, but it’s a very enjoyable read. Though the characters could use some work, I think the premise will keep most people reading. Very recommended.
“Brilliance is impossible without a touch of insanity.”
“Sometimes, I have to look twice at you just to see if you’re actually real. That much beauty is dangerous.”
So you’re a guardian angel?”
“Yes.”
“Where are your wings?” I wondered aloud, as I often did.
Eli laughed. “I assume you expect angel wings to be big and white and feathery.”
“Well…yes.”
“No, they aren’t like in books at all…Our wings aren’t physical. They are a mass of energy, in the shape of wings, yes, but not really.”
“Wow, what a rip off.”
SUN KISSED
Guardian Angel Series #2
by Skyla Madi
Publisher: Limitless Publishing (Jan. 2013)
Genre: Paranormal, Young Adult
Format: eBook (245 pages)
Source: Blog Tour and Author for honest opinion
Purchase: Amazon Print | Amazon Kindle
Rating: ★★★½☆ (3.5 stars)
What if everything you knew, everything you believed was a lie?
For Ruby Moore life doesn’t slow down. It’s just one roller coaster ride after another and when the higher power comes to visit, Ruby’s world is shaken to its foundations. He offers her a job and if she wants to protect those she loves, she has no choice but to accept it.
Face to face once again with love, loss and death, Ruby is being forced to sacrifice her own freedom in order to protect her world from the clutches of the evil vampires and if she fails, her loved ones will have to pay the price.
At A Glance
Woah. That was intense. Sun Kissed is pretty emotionally draining, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
The Good
Cliffhanger Alert! Let me just say, this cliffhanger didn’t bother me that much ONLY because I had the third book to read right away. So I didn’t have time to dwell and cry my eyes out. I actually like Madi’s tendency to end things a little sadly and a whole lot unresolved. I think it works for the series.
This book was chock-full of surprises. I think I may have a permanent crease between my eyebrows because my face did a workout in Sun Kissed. I was like WHAAT??? NOO??? THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!!!! the whole time. Nothing like a punch in the gut to keep you on your toes. We see people die, realities turned upside-down, and so much heartbreak.
I really liked Hunter in this book. I was sad to see Ruby so easily reject him when he seems like a stand up guy. But it made for some great drama. Hunter has so much more personality compared to Eli. I have to say, I’m rooting for Hunter.
So yeah, nothing will ever be the same after this book. Which is a good thing, change is good, even if it’s hard to take. Be prepared to be scared. I was chilled to the bone quite often. Freakin’ creepy vamps!
The Bad
Ruby is still kind of stupid. Bad, bad decisions. I wouldn’t trust her to watch over my goldfish for two hours. She just doesn’t have the logic side of her brain working. She straight up believes her enemies before she believes her friends. Why!!??
Though there were many exciting parts in Sun Kissed, there was also a lot of waiting around time, where the characters wait for the badies to come for them.
The Snuggly
Ruby really should have given Hunter a chance. I am still upset by how she treated him. I kind of lost faith in Eli after seeing how cute and fun Hunter could be.
Kissing and touching in the snuggly meter.
Final Thoughts
If you read Sun Kissed have Salvation, book three, ready. Believe me, you won’t want to be left hanging like that. This book was a thrill ride that kept me entertained for most of the time. Very recommended.
“Knowing that someone here cared about
me was like being given a box of matches when you’re stranded on a cold, deserted island.”
“You know, at least Gabriel showed up announced like a gentleman. He even told Mila that she looked beautiful. You and your toothpick just show up, scaring me half to death.”
SALVATION
Guardian Angel Series #3
by Skyla Madi
Publisher: Limitless Publishing (April 2013)
Genre: Paranormal, Young Adult
Format: eBook (Novel Length))
Source: Blog Tour and Author for honest opinion
Purchase: Amazon Print | Amazon Kindle
Rating: ★★★½☆ (3.5 stars)
In the aftermath of a battle that forced Ruby to flee the safety of the guardian angels, she settles into a small town, hoping to blend in and forget about the ones she loved. It isn’t until Hunter stumbles across her working in a bar and a well-timed email from Ivan Aleksandrov that she realised she could go back to Sage Sanctum—for a few days, at least.
Out for revenge, Lucian will stop at nothing until he has Ruby for himself, but he isn’t the only one that needs her. The council, a group of gods/goddesses have a mysterious hand in Ruby’s return to Sage Sanctum and Mr Aleksandrov is eager to find out what it is.
Destroying Lucian is the least of her worries when Ruby comes face to face with Eli De Luca, the love of her life. It seems her departure has affected him more than she thought it would, but his frustration with her isn’t strong enough to hide the electricity that crackles relentlessly between them.
Determined to end her very real nightmare once and for all, Ruby fights the biggest battle of her life, one that affects not only her, but everyone involved.
At A Glance
I was super excited for Salvation with how Sun Kissed ended. And I was not disappointed.
The Good
More Hunter!!! Yay. Even him as a semi-evil vampire, I still like him better than Eli. I know, that’s bad. But Hunter just has something about him.
We get to go back to Sage Sanctum, the paranormal school, in this book. Ruby has been gone a whole year, trying to keep the people she loves safe by staying away from them. With Lucian and Hunter hot on her tail, threatening to kill the people around her, Ruby really has no choice. But things have changed at the school with the new security measures and new management. It’s obvious not all is perfect at the school but change is one the horizon. But is the change for the better?
I actually liked Ruby more this time around. She’s grown up. So has Eli. They both have gotten wiser. They are learning to make their own decisions and live their own lives. I am very excited for their future, even if Hunter is still my #1.
The action was good like it always is. I still love the direction of the series overall. And it was nice to have a mostly happy ending this time around.
The Bad
I felt like there was too much waiting around in Salvation. It makes this book less memorable. It’s been almost a week since I read these books and I remember less about this book than the other two books. Even with my notes.
And some of the reasoning was just silly. Too many people playing with other people’s lives on a hunch. STUPIDITY!
The Snuggly
We actually get to see more romance in this book. Eli and Ruby are finally seeing eye to eye and caring less about how their relationship looks to others. Annnnnnd….we get a sex scene!!! Woop Woop. It was still YA-ish but pretty sensual nonetheless.
Final Thoughts
I really can’t wait for the next book in the series. I know I am consistent with 3.5 stars for each book so far, but you have to realize that that’s a good rating to me. It means there was flaws but the story was awesome and the characters were interesting. Very recommended.
“I’m not going to risk it.”
His statement saddened me – if not for love, then what else? I was willing to risk everything for Eli except for one thing, and that was his life. Leaving him was the most selfless and selfish thing I’d ever done, but I didn’t regret it.
“Life comes at you hard and fast, it doesn’t slow for anybody. It weathers you, destroys you. It breaks down your mind, body, and soul until there’s nothing left. Then what?”
Author Bio
Whenever this young Australian writer isn’t changing diapers, watching cartoons, cooking for her husband or doing other motherly-wife things she is actively working on her writing and improving her writing skills.
Skyla loves to read just as much as she loves to write and since discovering that YA/NA/paranormal romance/urban fantasy/ are her favourite genres, she has embarked on her own writing journey and is currently contracted with Limitless Publishing.
Lexxie Lin
Seems like a good series, especially with the curing vampirism part! I am curious as to just how it is done… have recently seen something about that in another book I read, and I loved how it was done.
Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews
Jennifer Bielman
It’s all very secretive when it comes to curing vampirism. We only get to know as much as Ruby does.
Brandi Kosiner
Glad it got better as went along, though I don’t know how you top a punch in the face with a velvet glove, lol.
Jennifer Bielman
LOL, yeah, hard to top that. hehe.
Trakena Prevost
This seems like an interesting series. And I agree, the idea of curing vampirism is a nice touch. I’ll have to add this to my list.
Jennifer Bielman
Awesome. happy to grow your TBR pile. 🙂
Jovon Tucker
Thanks again for an awesome giveaway!
All of these cover are so beautiful!
Jennifer Bielman
I love the covers. So witchy!
Synchronized Reading
This sounds like a pretty good series 🙂 Something I’d like to check out! I cracked up in your second review when you where like ‘Ruby is still kind of stupid’ lol I agree with Jovon too, I like the covers! Great review 🙂
Janina @ Synchronized Reading
Jennifer Bielman
LOL I know I can’t help it, she really annoyed me with her stupidity.
Jaclyn Canada
The premise sounds really interesting – a lot included in one series. I’m glad to see that she grew throughout the books even if she was annoying you in the first two. I think it’s funny sometimes how the second guy on the scene is the most preferred for a romantic partner…Hunter sounds great. Wonderful reviews! Jaclyn @ JC’s Book Haven.
Jennifer Bielman
I know. I seem to always like the second choice guy in books. What’s up with that?