Reviews for A Guardian's Possession

The average rating for A Guardian's Possession based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-11-22 00:00:00 Jeffrey Viale Review: A Guardian's Possession, The Guardian Heart Crystal Series by Amy Blankenship. This series is paranormal, fantasy, romance novels. Each book in the series is a standalone that does not need to be read in any order or with the others. This is my fifth book that I have read in the series and I have thoroughly enjoyed each one. The Guardian Heart Crystal Series is about a young human woman, Kyoko, reincarnated from the Maiden of the Guardian Heart Crystal. A Priestess, which travels through time and paradox along with the Guardian's of the crystal. Each of the Guardian's and their Priestess are drawn together and all love each other in their own special way. Each book contains the same characters but the circumstances and story differentiate. A Guardian's Possession has a surprising double ending. I put the book down at the end and after a short while I'm looking for it again. I feel like I'm missing something. I don't know how to explain it but darn I'm done or "Whaaa, I'ts over". The characters came to life for me and the scenes are exceptional and exciting, very entertaining. I am definitely looking for more books from Amy Blankenship, my favourite Author! Rate: 5 out of 5 Reviewed by Pam For RWR

Review # 2 was written on 2015-03-04 00:00:00 Leon A. Groenenberg I was just complaining about unoriginal urban fantasy when Sandman Slim came along to show me it is possible to do UF right. Kadrey's writing manages to rope me in despite lukewarm genre interest in angel-demon based urban fantasy. The plot sounds unexceptional enough: Richard Stark, the ultimate noir anti-hero, has gone to Hell and back. He's now freelancing for Lucifer, as well as the competition, an arch-angel working with the government. The feds want his input on a murder scene, while Lucifer is looking for a bodyguard during a movie promotion. That's just to make ends meet; what he really prefers to do is have a smoke and a brew at Bamboo House of Dolls, a local dive bar that's recently "cleaned up the bathrooms so they're a little less like a Calcutta bus station." Although apparently a simple premise, the story soon goes off path, involving a number of mystery and action elements both traditional and surreal. Characters are broadly drawn, but have a tinge of familiar emotional realism that allows the reader to connect. Stark's been stuck in self-pity and a bit of an existential crisis since he accomplished his mission of revenge in the first book. His sidekick is a duplicitous cyborg and the love interest a porn-star costarring in Lucifer's movie as Eve, so clearly, Kadrey isn't taking himself or his characters too seriously. I found myself most interested in the portrayal of Lucifer, which aimed high, giving him a mortal coil weariness and exploitative mindset instead of truly evil. In contrast with the first book, Stark develops some welcomed coping skills and moves beyond his apparent death-wish. Kadrey writes in short, brutal sentences that drive the straight-forward action of the narrator with little flourish. They're full of impact, clearly delineated images in black and white. Somehow, despite the spare writing, he manages to transcend the structure with analogies that elevates beyond mere snark: "Most people think being a doctor is a big deal, but Kinski used to be an archangel, so for him, being a doctor is sort of like flipping burgers at McDonald's after you were president." "The corner of Alameda and East Sixth is so boring and anonymous it's amazing it's allowed on maps. Warehouses, metal fences, dusty trucks, and a handful of beat-up trees that look like they're on parole from tree jail." "Whiskey doesn't mix well with toothpaste, but I already filled the glass, and once whiskey's been let loose you have to deal with it, like love or a rabid dog." Then he takes it to surreal: "'Let me make sure I have this straight. The cavalry just now rode into town and it's a Czech Gypsy porn-star zombie killer. Have I got that right?'... 'Forgive me. I didn't think my life would seem so strange to Lucifer's alcoholic cowboy assassin.'" Then there were the laugh-out-loud bits. He truly made me laugh with the galvanize-the-minion speech: "'Yeah. I'm Dirty Harry. You're Paul Revere. It's called division of labor.' 'It's called having a Martian's grasp of history.'" and his musings on zombies: "It would suck to be killed and reanimated while wearing corporate antennae. Though, it wouldn't be as bad as reanimating dressed like a crab or a taco because you were pimping a new restaurant when you died." And then there were the moments of sincere emotional truth: "These are the good and righteous people who sat on their fat assess and let Mason and Parker murder Alice and send me to Hell. And then they let him waltz away. I might not have been a good guy before, but I loved someone and I wasn't broken into a million little pieces." Few and far between, they nonetheless help it move beyond simple action flick into something just a little more profound. Overall, a fast roller-coaster ride with a decent emotional pay-off. Cross posted at