Magic

Demonkeepers by Jessica Andersen

Title: Demonkeepers
Author: Jessica Andersen
Copyright: 2010 (Signet); 448 pgs.
ISBN: 978-0-451-22957-1
Series: The Final Prophecy #4
Sensuality: Warm
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Possible Spoilers for first 3 books!

From the Back: All his life Lucius has been an outsider. He yearns to be strong, to be a warrior like the Nightkeepers. And when the Prophet’s magic begins to change him, Lucius finds himself becoming the sort of man he’s always wanted to be. Held back by her lack of a warrior’s magic and the strictures of her bloodline, Jade longs to break out of her supporting role. Determined to prove her worth among the Nightkeepers at any cost, she won’t let anything stand in her way — especially petty matters like love.

Comments: Back when I wrote about Nightkeepers, I made the comment that I thought Lucius would play a larger role in future books. Well, I was right. A lot has happened to him since then, and his continued existence was questionable over the course of the succeeding books; in fact, he was nearly killed in the previous one. The Nightkeepers performed the Prophet spell on him in the hopes that they could save his life and gain access to their missing/hidden library at the same time. Being demon-possessed and nearly decapitated has taken its toll, even without the other changes brought on by the Prophet’s spell. The once tall, lanky beanpole of an academic has transformed into someone who looks like a Nightkeeper. The new Lucius even begins to see things Jade’s way, particularly her view on relationships. By the start of Demonkeepers, Lucius hasn’t had any luck accessing the library using blood magic.

If blood magic isn’t doing the trick, the next step is sex magic. Jade is the only unattached female Nightkeeper left at Skywatch. Knowing the possibility might arise, she has willingly offered herself for the task. Jade and Lucius had a brief, but intense, affair during the time the mages were researching the Volatile and Lucius was on a quest to find Sasha Ledbetter. At the time, Lucius was hoping there was something more to the encounter, but Jade informed him that she doesn’t do relationships: friends with benefits, that’s it. Even so, she hasn’t forgotten their time together, and she does care about him more than she’s ready to admit to.  I found it a little hard to warm up to Jade.  Her character was the most reserved of all the Nightkeepers. Shandi, her winikin, was not an affectionate person. She raised Jade to be “dutiful, diligent, and decorous”. Learning a bit of Jade’s, and Shandi’s, history helped to understand her better, however.

Lucius and Jade’s inability to tap into their magic stems from their fear of — reluctance to — fall in love. And if you’ve been reading this series from the first book, you know that opening themselves up to love is key to accessing their power. Their first attempt to find the library sends them on a detour before it allows Lucius to enter it. Unfortunately, things are more complicated then everyone was led to believe. The library isn’t the type you can just peruse a card catalog until you find what you need, and come and go as often as you please. Once again, it’s another set-back for the Nightkeepers.

As for the rest of the gang . . .

I really like how Rabbit is becoming more mature and responsible. He’s a far cry from the pissed off kid back in the first book. However, I’m not getting the warm fuzzies about Myrinne.  I’m beginning to wonder if she’s the right person for him after all.

Patience and Brandt’s book is next, so there is some set-up going on in this book in preparation.

Speaking of set-up, Sven is seen/heard from more in this book than any other so far.  I have my suspicions as to who his romantic interest will be. And Snake Mendez’s — the author said there will be nine books, so unless some Nighterkeepers magically appear, one of the future books will theoretically be about him. So, let’s see: Book 5 is about Patience and Brandt and that leaves four books. Rabbit, Sven, Anna, Snake (not necessarily in that order). I’m looking forward to seeing what Ms. Andersen has in store for us.

It’s really getting difficult to talk about the books in this series since so much could be considered a spoiler as events move closer and closer to the  end date in 2012. I had a hard time writing this for that reason.

Bottom line, though I wasn’t very fond of Jade, I still loved the story and I love visiting the Nightkeeper world. Looking forward to the next visit.

Started: 11 April 2010
Finished: 20 April 2010

Rating:

LOVED IT !!

Disclaimer: I purchased this book.

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