Tuesday, March 6, 2012

ACR Review: Wicked Road to Hell by Juliana Stone


Mass Market Paperback
Expected publication: April 24th 2012 by Harper Collins
ISBN 13: 9780062022646
Source: Publisher, for the purpose of an honest review
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Stars: 4
Flames: 3

Declan is a powerful sorcerer who has very some very dark secrets in his past. He has been given a second chance at life though. Declan’s second chance is in the form of him being a soldier of the Seraph. He takes his orders from a Seraphim known to him as Bill. Declan’s current assignment is to locate a target and its protector, get the target to the Seraphim, dispose of the protector if needed. There are just a few issues in his way, a demon lord who is after the same target for nefarious reasons and a woman from his past that was thought to be dead.

Ana DeLacrux has been given a second chance at life too, or unlife for her vampire self. She has been tasked with guarding an innocent child from people who would see him dead before they allowed him to fall into the hands of evil. Her current assignment has crossed her path with a man from her past, Declan.  

I liked Ana and Declan as a couple. They worked for me. They do have a past where they have apparently worked together. I do wish I knew more about their past. Apparently the timing wasn’t right and they never shared their feelings for each other. Now two years later they have the chance to see what romantic possibilities are out there for them.

I liked the idea behind the League of Guardians. The balance of power will allow for characters who are sometimes villains to have large roles in the battles with good and evil. I do love the bad guy who walks the fine line of evil. I also enjoyed the concept that is attached to the Mark of Seven. No one knows enough about what will or can happen if these people come together. Do they trigger an apocalypse or prevent it?

The entire cast of characters is intriguing. The League is comprised of a variety of different species of otherworlders and humans. I like paranormal worlds where there are numerous different types of paranormal beings. Several of the characters are surrounded in mystery, their age and species being completely unknown. Needless to say there are numerous reasons to continue reading this series.   

Ana worked on my nerves a few times, especially when it came to their venture into Hell. There were times where she seemed to be more of a hindrance than helpful. She’s upset and angry because Declan feels the need to do something on his own. He’s trying to protect her. Yet she does the exact same thing to him when she feels the need to see to something on her own, she feels she is protecting him.       

I’m giving Wicked Road to Hell 4 stars, with stipulations. I did not know that this was a spin off series from Stone’s Jaguar Warriors books. I had a few questions that were not answered or elaborated on enough in this book. If these matters are covered in more depth in the Jaguar Warrior books then definitely 4 stars. If not, I would go with a 3. I’m giving the book the benefit of the doubt, I did enjoy it. Also why fault a book for my error. Here are the things I needed to more information on.
                How did Declan end up in the Hell realm?
                Why did Declan’s father kill Ana?
                What happened in Vegas and how did that affect Declan and Ana?
                How did Bill get Declan out of the Hell realm?

I will read the Jaguar books before I read King of the Damned the second book in the League of Guardians series. I also plan on reading Wrong Side of Hell (prequel) as soon as it’s published. I did really enjoy this book and I am looking forward to where the author will take this group of Guardians.



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