Guardians of Eternity by Alexandra Ivy

I have reviewed several vampire series, so I will not go through what makes a good series to me.  Look at the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, Breed Series, and the Vampires in America Series for my opinions.  Alexandra Ivy’s Guardians of Eternity series has both similarities and differences from each of these series.

Is this series a vampire series?

That’s a good question.  This world is an example of one that is “paranormal”, meaning there are many species represented in this world.  We have werewolves, vampires, gargoyles, goddesses, fey, water sprites, etc.  So yes, there are vampires (and my favorite books in this series focus on vampires) but you are not limited to one species.

World Lore

The lore within this series is multifaceted; the primary two are vampires and werewolves series.  There are many more, but I will focus on these two.

Different series handle vampires differently, for example, they can be either “undead” or an entirely separate species.  The vampires in this series are the typical “undead” types.  They are created by being bitten and then die to be reborn as vampires.  The lore is interesting because after they are turned, they have no memory of their past lives.  From Darkness Everlasting:

Of course, as a vampire Styx had no tangible memories of his life before rising as a demon.

The leader is called the Anasso (think King) and he is a leader by might, not by bloodline.

The werewolves on the other hand can be both “created” (called Curs) as well as be purebred.  The Curs are more animalistic and more controlled by their fury nature.  The purebreds rule the weres, but then are a small fraction of the population.  The purebreds seek for ways to allow purebred females to successfully give birth as they are dying out.

Conclusion:

I will be honest: while it is interesting how varied the species and lore is, it can be overwhelming.  You might like one book but you may not like the other.  For example, I really like the vampire books better than the rest of them.  Nothing against the writing quality or storyline, I suppose I like vampire stories better.

No matter what, you will enjoy this series.

The Books:  These should be read in order

• [Book 1]  When Darkness Comes (2007) Main Characters: Dane [Vampire] and Abby Barlow [The Chalice]
• [Book 2] Embrace the Darkness (2007) Main Characters: Viper [Vampire] and Shay [Shalott]
• [Book 3] Darkness Everlasting (2008) Main Characters: Styx [Vampire] and Darcy Smith [Werewolf]
• [Book 4] Darkness Revealed (2009) Main Characters: Conde Cezar [Vampire] and Anna Randal
• [Book 5] Darkness Unleashed (2009) Main Characters: Jagr [Vampire] and Regan [Werewolf]
• [Book 6] Beyond the Darkness (2010) Main Characters: Salvatore Giuliani [Werewolf] and Harley [Werewolf]
• [Book 7] Devoured by Darkness (2010) Main Characters: Tane [Charon *Vampire] and Laylah [Jinn]
• [Book 8] Bound by Darkness (2011) Main Characters: Ariyal and Jaelyn [Vampire]

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