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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Review, January 27, 2009
This review is from: Marked by Passion (The Guardians of Destiny) (Mass Market Paperback)
Gabrielle Sansouci Chin works as a bartender. She is also a talented artist. Gabrielle receives in the mail, one day an ancient scroll. The problem Gabrielle has with receiving the scroll is that means that her father, Wu has passed away. Soon after that, Gabrielle receives a visit from her father, in ghost form. Wu tells Gabrielle that he has to get her prepared to battle as she is now a guardian. Gabe does not want anything to do with her new status or especially her father. It is bad enough when all you want is to be left alone and you have someone, who can pass through walls. Rhys Llewellyn has been sent to watch over the new guardian. He is tall, strong, and has abs of steel. Gabe can take care of herself. She does not need her father or Rhys to take care of her. Well on second thought, maybe it won't be a bad idea to have Rhys around...just in case. Gabrielle and Rhys made a good heroine and hero. Marked by Passion is the first book in the Guardians of Destiny series. I have never read anything by Kate Perry but after finishing this book, I can't wait to check out the next book in this series. Marked by Passion incorporated the best of both worlds with intrigue and plenty of action. Watch out for Kate Perry as she takes readers into her fantastic world in the Guardians of Destiny series.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Though the Heroine Fights Her Destiny, Passion Leaves its Mark in This New Series Starter, January 27, 2009
This review is from: Marked by Passion (The Guardians of Destiny) (Mass Market Paperback)
Finally artist Gabriel Sansouci's dreams are about to be realized with a gallery showing of her paintings on the horizon. Then destiny comes knocking on her door, Gabe is the `marked' heir to the guardianship of one five ancient mystical Chinese scrolls, even though Gabe has tried to put that part of her past behind her. So now not only is Gabe desperately trying to produce four more paintings for her show while trying fend off those who seek the scroll for its power, she's also trying to master the scrolls Earth magic so that she isn't responsible for California falling into the sea. Adding to the excitement, there's gorgeous dark dapper dangerous sexy Brit bad boy Rhys, the timing of his appearance and sudden interest in Gabe is suspicious. Even though Gabe can't trust that Rhys wants her for herself and not the scroll, she can't resist their instant electric attraction either. And if all of that isn't enough, add her family into mix: the spirit of Gabe's dead father who is bound to the scroll and wants to be her `Obi wan' even though Gabe doesn't want to `use the Force', and her estranged brother who only wants to `help' by taking the scroll off of her hands. Rhys was the main reason I liked the book. Rhys is clearly more of a dark knight than one in shining armor, but his desire to protect Gabe - in spite of his original less than sterling motives - makes him a great bad boy hero. I also really liked Rhys and Gabe's relationship. The attraction between them is well done. Since Rhys likes the challenge that Gabe presents, he has no problem waiting until Gabe is willing to ask for she comes to need from him. So he continually stirs things up with Gabe but then backs off - making the final payoff so much more satisfying. The plot in Marked by Passion is not deep. The story is mostly about getting to know Gabe. We witness Gabe's struggle with her 'baggage' from the past and watch as she debates how to escape the responsibilities that are hers as one in a long line of hereditary Guardians. And though Gabe's father's ghost is a cool idea, Gabe interactions with her dad are too brief to really play a significant part in the story - but I can see him playing a larger part in subsequent books as Gabe learns the guardian ropes and works through some of her past issues. One small nit - in the first few chapters there are bits of French dialog for Gabe's artist mentor and even though the meaning can be gleaned from Gabe's responses, this still bugged me a bit. From reading this book I wasn't sure whether the Guardian series was going to be a romantic urban fantasy series or a paranormal romance series, because even though everything is not resolved for Gabe by the end of the book, the excerpt for the next book switches to Gabe's best friend Carrie. But according to the author, even though Carrie will be the star of Chosen by Desire (Oct 09), Gabe and Rhys will be back as secondary characters to tie off loose ends left dangling here.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A series I will be sure to follow..., September 7, 2009
This review is from: Marked by Passion (The Guardians of Destiny) (Mass Market Paperback)
Gabrielle Sansouci, also known as Gabe to all of her new found friends, has an ancient secret that she is sworn to silence. She is the next heir to a family heirloom that goes back hundreds of years, and she doesn't want it. She can't help it though, because she has been marked since the day she was born, and has been training for this day her whole life. Despite all of this, she is still surprised the day it lands in her lap, and she's plagued with the responsibility of wielding the powers it brings forth to the owner. All she truly wants is to go on with life as being an artist, but life isn't always what you want it to be. I first ordered this book because I was sent an ARC of the second book to this series, Chosen by Desire. I hate reading a series out of order, and the only way that I could prevent that was to make sure I grabbed all back installments. Luckily, there was only one book to get, so I'm getting caught up pretty quickly. This book pulled me in from the very start, and it had a very interesting story to tell. I was looking forward to a new spin on the paranormal romance genre, and I got it. Gabe is a very selfish character though, although I guess that's how she would be with the way that she grew up. When you have a destiny that is not what you desire, there is only one thing you can do, and that's fight it. I'm pretty sure I would do the same thing. I just wish that Gabrielle would have overcome her fears a little sooner in this first installment. Most of this first story wasn't truly about the legend of the scroll, but more about Gabe and her inability to trust, love, and take on a responsibility that was given to her at birth. I think that if Gabe could have gotten over her fears just a little sooner, we would have been able to enjoy this story better. On a side note, I knew from the start who would be the bad guy at the end, and I was not in the least bit surprised by the little twist, because it was just too obvious. I will say that I did enjoy this story, and I look forward to reading the next installment, Chosen By Desire, later this month. I'm hoping that there will be less information and more action in the next installment. I am excited that it will be featuring Gabe's best friend, Carrie. I'm also excited to learn from author Kate Perry's website, that there will be a third installment to The Guardians of Destiny Series, and it will be called Tempted by Fate, and it will be released in 2010.
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