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Among the Guardians, Alice Grey is known as the Black Widow—a woman trapped in a web spun by the demon Teqon. To save her soul, she agreed to deliver to Teqon the heart of the oldest and most powerful Guardian of all, or else be damned for eternity. After more than a hundred years, Teqon is calling in his debt.
Jake Hawkins is a novice Guardian whose gift of teleportation could be invaluable to Alice in determining her next move. But in aligning himself with her he never expected to fall in love. Now, their passionate flight to escape Alice’s damnable bargain is threatening both their souls. For they’re about to discover a hellish secret about the Guardians—something that will change their universe forever.

This is the most recent addition to Meljean Brook's Guardian series. It's no secret that I'm 100% obsessed with this series and that I have a major girl crush on Meljean herself. I think she's brilliant as an author, and what I know of her as a person is just as wonderful. Having said that, I almost didn't finish this book. Actually, I almost didn't read more than a chapter or two before setting it aside. It's a testament of my love for her that I finished it at all.

Alice Grey was trapped into a bargain with the demon Teqon in which she promised to deliver the heart of The Doyen Michael or forfeit her soul. As she struggles with her decision, she avoids close contact with all the other Guardians. Not just because she's afraid of coming to care for them, but more because she's afraid of what might happen if they come to care for her.

Jake Hawkins is a novice Guardian who's still trying to master his talent - teleporting. He stumbles upon Alice when he accidentally shifts and lands in some ruins Alice is investigating, though he doesn't realize at first who she is. Once he finds out she's "the" Black Widow, he's intrigued by her. The more time he spends with her, the more fascinated with her he becomes. Especially since she's determined to keep him at a distance when he only wants to get closer to her.

Of course, the attraction they're battling is the least of their worries. Alice's bargain, nephilim, demons, other Guardians; all are coming together to put both of them in danger. When Jake and Alice end up in Hell, it's just the icing on the cake. But what they find there isn't something they ever could have predicted. Will the information they come away with free Alice from her bargain, or doom her to an eternity in Hell?

I loved this book. Well, after I got past the first few chapters I loved it. Ok, and even after the first few chapters I had a few issues, but...well, I suffer from arachnophobia. Having said that, this book wasn't easy for me to get through. Alice's Guardian gift is the ability to communicate with arachnids (I don't say the "S" word, it's dirty). I'm sure you can imagine how hard that was for me to deal with. As I said above, it's a testament of my love for Meljean that I even continued reading it. I'm glad I did, because the story was amazing. Meljean more than made up for torturing me in the beginning. *g*

Alice was very interesting. She starts out as a creepy, weird woman who hides in the archives in Caelum and frightens the novices. But as the story progressed I found her to be such a contrast of independent yet vulnerable. On her own she was a wonderful character - aloof and standoffish, yet warm and loving and yes, creepy. But with Jake she really shined. I really loved watching her come out of her shell. They complimented each other so well. Watching them grow and mature together is what really made this story.

Jake. Ah, Jake. What can I say, I loved him. He was such a beautiful counterpart for Alice. He was strong, caring, loving, honorable...perfect. Though he seems unsure of himself in the beginning, it isn't long before we see his well of inner strength. And the way he attached himself to Alice and became her champion made me all melty inside. He had demons of his own to face, and he did, but it was the way he stood up for Alice, stood by Alice, that made his character for me.

The storyline takes more twists and turns with this entry. If you thought you had the world and all it's complexities figured out, you're sure to be surprised. A new element is introduced in this novel that once again throws the Guardians for a loop. I can't wait to see where these new changes take the overall story arc of the series.

Besides my one issue I found this entry in the series to be just as well done as the previous ones. I was concerned that because Jake was described as so young earlier in the series that I'd have a hard time connecting with him, but as always Meljean showed us appearances can be deceiving. He may have only been a novice guardian, but he was just as complex as all her other characters. The overall storyline was as complex and beautifully done as always. I can't wait for the next installment.

4.75 out of 5 (I had to take away from the grade because of the sheer creep factor..I'm still having nightmares)

This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.