Guarded

By: Carmen Fox

Narrated by: Angel Clark

Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

When everyone's existence depends on the lies they tell, trust doesn't come easy.

Ivy's neighbors have a secret. They aren't human. But Ivy has a secret, too. She knows. As long as everyone keeps quiet, she's happy working as a P.I. by day and chillaxing with her BFF Florian, a vampire, by night. When a routine pickup drops her in the middle of a murder, her two worlds collide. While Florian knows how to throw a punch, deep down he's a softie. His idea of scary? Running out of hair product. It's time Ivy faced facts. Even with a vampire on stand-by, one gal can only kick so many asses.

For help, she must put her faith in others. A human, who might just be the one. A demon, who will, for a price, open the doors to her heritage. And a werewolf, who wants to protect her from herself.

Torn between these men, Ivy must tread carefully, because one wants her heart, one wants her body, and one wants her dead.

©2015 Carmen Fox (P)2016 Carmen Fox

Cute but a bad narrator

First of all I want to say that I really loved the cover of this book. I liked the simplistic lines and bright colors. It was a significant reason for me choosing this title to listen.

This storyline is not necessarily an "off the beaten path" tale but does incorporate a multitude of paranormal characters and an intertwining plot that keeps you intrigued and interested until the end of the story.

A 25 year old female Private Investigator that has been raised as a "normal" child is finding out that her real roots are grounded in a multi-cultural background and as such is struggling with her newfound "powers"!

Yeah...being desired by almost every male in a half mile area could definitely be a "struggle"!

Even though raised as a "normal", Ivy had just recently escaped after being kidnapped by a powerful "kin" demon. A nasty little bugger that taught her (under duress) to make "guards" for paranormals to use as protective devices. He knew at 25 she would come into her real powers and wanted to keep her in Althea to combine her powers with his so he might gain majority control of his world. Ivy thwarted that plan by escaping to the "old world" before her maturity (and powers) kicked in but Lantham still haunts her dreams and seems to have a direct though weak connection to her mind. He will try anything to get her back to his realm.

Of course, there is a best friend, a hunky neighbor and another "potty mouth" hunky mentor that set the main stage for her dilemma. A simple case of retrieving an artifact for her boss turns out to be a major case of "foul" intentions of which she finds herself front and center in both the cause and the solution. Clues build around her bringing the different cases to a single "dangerous" assignment.

Ivy is your typical "don't tell me what to do" female that finds herself in some dangerous situations and begins to understand the significance of real "connection" with a mate instead of hot unbridled lust and passion. HMMMM...both would be nice! Not only does she have succubus powers but throw in some demon, slynth and who knows what else and you can understand her struggle to adjust!

I found this easy to listen to (save the narrators horrible reading) but thought Ivy's multicolored background a little much. I could do with just one or two genetic features to keep tract of instead of 3 or 4. There were a couple "aha" moments in the story which is always a delight for me. Being able to strategically reveal a clue before the reader picks up on it is a great feat.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

good book, needs a new narrator.

the girl is flawed but kicks button when needed.
the girl continues to be the guy she isn't supposed to like and avoids her family (with him)
the girl finds our her father is a bad guy
the girl fights the dramatic fights and wins..

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Meh pass this one if you like strong female leads and not whiny teenagers

I wanted to like this book so much. I thought the lead female was going to be a kick ass women who knows what she wants and isn’t scared of her past. But no, she’s whiny, doesn’t want to be a supe, doesn’t know she’s sexy and other men all want her. Finds out she’s not just a human, sleeps with a demon and then wants to start a relationship with him after knowing him one day but then gets heartbroken because he has to leave. Dear lord. Boohoo lady. Not to mention the narrator makes her sound like a whiny 16 year old going thru teenage hormones. She was terrible. This would’ve been a great story. It had potential. Maybe a better writer and narrator would do it.

You almost had me.

Would you try another book from Carmen Fox and/or Angel Clark?

Yes Angel Clark and No on Carmen Fox

What was most disappointing about Carmen Fox’s story?

Character development was lacking at the beginning of the story. The writing style leaves a little to be desired.

Which character – as performed by Angel Clark – was your favorite?

The lead was very good as the story was told in first person view.

Do you think Guarded needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes it could use one but I will not be listening to it.

Any additional comments?

I listen to a lot of science fiction and fantasy books. I am not looking for a graphic description of sexual activity. Sorry it breaks me out of the story when 15-20 minutes is devoted to describing every facet of the sexual act. The fictional universe depicted has great potential but the storytelling leaves way too much to be desired. If not for the reader I would have never finished this.

loved it

I lived this book the plot was amazing

spoiler Alert

TEAM WAYLAND





IT DID NOT HAPPEN

Pass on this

Ivy is half satyr. At her 25th birthday her satyr genus kick in and she is ruled by her libido. Very little investigating is done. She whines because she had a one night stay, and that is so not her. She uses the satyr allure to manipulate people.She is fighting nauseous and headache because she needs a sexual fix. She is immature expecting "love" to follow a night of making love. Within 3 days she meets 3 different men (demon, human and werewolf). Because of the satyr allure feels the needs to have sex with them and hopes that one of them will be her true mate. She has a psycho in her past who kept her captivate for years and is invading her dreams, which are sexual. She is threaten that he will send someone to capture her, again. Every man wants to protect her and she feels she can take care of herself. Yet, she was beat up and her home burglarized.
Some where in there is a short story about a magical artifact that people want and they are after the artifact.

I was in pain one third in the book.