Guardian Demon by Aurora Ascher

Guardian Demon by Aurora Ascher

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Hell Bent #4

Release Date: September 30, 2025

After being demoted to a guardian angel, Sunshine has been waiting centuries for redemption. So, when she is summoned by her angelic mentor and given a mission to locate and return as stolen grimoire, a task that once completed will see her reinstated to her former rank, she jumps at the chance. But when she learns that she will have to go to hell to retrieve the grimoire, Sunshine decides she will need help and knows the perfect demon for the job! She knows that Raum will never help her voluntarily, so a bit of blackmail will be needed. She should feel bad about that, but she thinks Raum is just a means to an end. She never expected to like him or be attracted to him or heaven forbid (literally) to fall in love with him and question everything she ever believed.

Centuries ago, the demon Raum, an Earl of Hell, did something so vile, that heaven wiped his memory for the previous three centuries and leaving him feeling empty and numb. Now he and his “brothers” have left hell and live as fugitives in Canada, hunted by both heaven and hell. Raum has no memory of his lost time but knows he is not the same demon he used to be, and now he only true vice is stealing, not for personal gain, but for the small thrill it gives him. One by one his brothers have found love and Raum is feeling more numb than ever, so when he sees Sunshine for the first time, he is stunned to feel something for her, but before he can figure out the feeling, she is gone. Days later she turns up at a nightclub and they dance, which leads to the promise of more, yet ends up with Raum being held prisoner by Sunshine until he agrees to help her steal the grimoire from the Necromancer in hell. Raum agrees to help her to save his family but can’t shake the feeling that there is something between them. But how could that be as he is a demon and she is an angel?

I am freaking OBSESSED with this series! I freely admit that I had my doubts about this book, but I think it might end up being my favorite of the series. I loved Sunshine and Raum, they are both amazing characters and the chemistry between them is scorching hot. This book has lies, secrets, betrayal, torture, smoking hot love scenes, a bit of Dom/Sub action, an anti-hero who will burn worlds for her, laugh out loud brother moments, rescue dogs, shocking revelations, and a mind-blowing ending that still has me stunned! OMG – I just loved this book so much and can’t wait to read the next installment! If you like morally gray characters, steamy love scenes, lots of action and snarky banter – you need to read this book. This is the fourth book in the series, and while it could be read as a standalone title, I would recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

The Earl That Got Away by Diana Quincy

The Earl That Got Away (Sirens in Silk, #2)The Earl That Got Away by Diana Quincy

Tracy Rating: 3 Maybe 3.5 of 5 Stars

Series: Sirens in Silk #2

Release Date: September 30, 2025

Once upon a time Miss Naila Darwish met Basil Trevelyn in Philadelphia and fell in love. So in love, that when he proposed she was happy to accept, but later she was worried that her family would disapprove and ultimately rejected him. She returned to Brooklyn and tried to convince herself that she had done the right thing, but her heart never forgot. Fast forward eight years, Naila’s sister Raya is getting married to the Duke of Strickland in England and Naila and her relatives have arrived for the wedding. They are at a ball to celebrate the betrothal when Naila is introduced to the duke’s best friend, the Earl of Hawksworth, also happens to be Basil Trevelyn, her long lost love. At first, she thinks she is being given a second chance, but it soon becomes obvious that Basil doesn’t feel the same.

Basil Trevelyn never expected to see Naila again after she broke his heart in Philadelphia. No long after she left him, he learned that a distant cousin and his sons died making him the new Earl of Hawksworth, a title he never expected to inherit. Seeing Naila again makes wonder what happened to her, she is nothing like the vibrant, bold girl he met in America, and tells himself it doesn’t matter, he is over her and she is only interested now because he is an Earl. To prove to himself that he is over Naila, he tells Raya that he is looking for a bride and even agrees to host Naila and her family while Raya and Strickland are away on their honeymoon. Let the angst begin…

This is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion with a unique spin; as Diana Quincy has taken that book and made it her own by incorporating a multicultural aspect to the story. Naila is American, but comes from a traditional Arabic family, her parents immigrated to America from Palestine and have raised their family to hold fast to their beliefs – which is a big part of the reason Naila didn’t marry Basil when they first met. The story is filled with miscommunication, misunderstanding, angst, longing, regret, jealousy, flashbacks, warm love scenes, second chances, more misunderstanding, meddling relatives, and finally a HEA. I accept the fact that the book needed both the time during and after of their meeting in Philadelphia, but I felt like the alternating chapter flashbacks made the first part of the book drag, I would have preferred the story in two parts rather than mixed together. I liked this book, but not nearly as much as the first book, in fact the scenes with Raya and Strickland acting stupid in love were my favorite parts of the book.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *