In book 1 in the Shadow Guard series, Elena has severe, permanent amnesia (she lost all her memories from birth to the “accident,” which happened a year earlier), but her guardian, Lord Black, provides everything she needs financially. Even though she lives in his manor, she’s never met him since he’s been aboard. When he returns, she hopes he’ll help her uncover her lost memories.
Archer, Lord Black, is an ancient immortal and the oldest of the Shadow Guard. For his age, the book states he’s been around since the beginning of time. He saved Elena’s life the year prior and purposely gave her amnesia to protect his immortal secret. When they meet again, he’s torn three ways: he needs to concentrate on finding Jack the Ripper (a Transcending soul who’s part of a larger conspiracy); he wants to spend time with Elena because she’s intriguing; and he wants to avoid Elena because his immortality forbids him from falling in love with a mortal.
Archer and Elena barely talked or spent any time together, so I didn’t feel much romance between them. There’s only one sex scene and it was breezed over.
I couldn’t relate to the H/h. Archer destroyed Elena’s chances for medical school because he wanted her to marry and have kids like a “respectable” woman should. Also, what kind of hero gives the heroine amnesia?
Elena is infatuated with Archer and forgives him very easily for stealing her memories. She also spurns the love of a much better, more decent suitor. Her actions didn't seem logical.
The Shadow Guard is a special warrior branch of the Amaranthines race, and their job is to kill corrupt human souls that are in the process of Transcending. Their special power is that they can literally turn into a shadow to better stalk their targets and use immortal blades to kill with. (This information is revealed in bits and pieces. Most of it didn’t make sense to me.)
The beginning captured my interest, but then the pacing slowed. The book could use a light edit to add in missing periods and fix stray POV shifts. Even though this story just wasn’t for me, opinions are subjective. I have two other books in the series and I’m interested in reading those.
2 Stars

Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion. ( )

Night Falls Darkly
4 Stars

Synopsis:
Archer, Lord Black is an immortal warrior whose only goal is to reclaim corrupt souls. That is until the day he saves Elena Whitney from a maniac and makes her his ward. Now, he has returned to London to reclaim the soul of Jack the Ripper and must come to terms with the emotions that Elena evokes in him before they prove to be a fatal distraction.

Review:
An intriguing mix of paranormal romance, historical romance and historical mystery. The traditional Jack the Ripper tale is engrossing as always and the additional twist as to his identity is unique to say the least. The author intersperses historical figures, such as Bram Stoker and Queen Victoria, among her fictitious characters, which adds an air of credibility to the paranormal elements and the gothic Victorian atmosphere contributes a chilling quality to the overall reading experience.

The hero is wonderfully drool-worthy and despite the fact that he initially comes across as moody and unfeeling, he is slowly revealed to be fiercely protective and intensely passionate. His chemistry with the heroine and the gripping buildup of their relationship is one of the highlights of the book.

The characterization is good but there is insufficient detail regarding Archer’s background and his relationship with the other Shadow Guards. The reader is unceremoniously dropped into the midst of their ongoing conflict and it takes a while for the circumstances to become clear. Elena’s motivation and emotions are better detailed even if her background is murky (this is explained by the fact that she suffers from amnesia). The other Shadow Guards evoke a certain amount of curiosity even though they are not particularly likeable characters.

While it is easy to follow the plot, Lenox’s writing style can be a little disorganized, and requires more exposition and explanation. Nevertheless, I will continue reading the series as its underlying mythology is very appealing.
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Having no memories before a few years ago, the heroine lives on an estate owned by her benefactor, a man whom she has never met but feels a desire to understand. She's not a typical lady of her station. She swears and she defies all apposing orders and works as a nurse in a hospital. The hero broke the rules the day he saved her but didn't realize that the girl who enchanted him all those years ago, is waiting in his house when he returns from his travels He's an immortal guardian, charged with defending the other world from evil beings who long to destroy it. He's forbidden to take a human lover but no matter how hard he tries to distant himself from his ward, he finds himself drawn closer to her every day. He's on the hunt for a murdered who's killing prostitutes in Whitechapel and I enjoyed reading about a mythical Jack the Ripper who's more than a serial killer, he's also one of the beings the Guardians hunt. I also loved the heroine. She knows what she wants and what she wants in to help people. She's ahead of her time as woman had no rights and certainly could not become doctors. She just wants the hero to understand her drive but all he wants to do is protect her. It was a nice romance with the characters coming together despite the subplot of such a dark time in history. ( )

This was a really good paranormal romance. It had an interesting Jack the Ripper story, and great Victorian London atmosphere. I really liked the gorgeous hero and I love books set in England! It also had a very likeable heroine. It’s part of a three book "Shadow Guard" series. ( )

Different read to my usual, I went book hunting in a library book sale and came across this book. Totally different twist to what I would pick out. However, reading the back cover I knew that It had all my bases covered, so I took a leap of faith and bought the book. It has romance, immortals, a little bit of suspense and mystery since it talks about trying to catch Jack the Ripper.

I am very glad I found this book and I'm already looking forward to book # 2. This is book 1 of 3 so far in the Shadow Guard Series. ( )