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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great start to a series, August 10, 2011
I'm not a fan of Joy Nash but, this book sounded intriguing so I, decided to read it. It's just great, I loved the characters and the storyline.
This a great read, a tiny bit slow at times, but is clearly to set the foundation for the story. I plan to read this entire series. Well Done!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
There is no salvation or damnation for the Unforgiven, August 6, 2011
When a rival clan, breeches the wards protecting Watcher/Nephalim Cade's clan, killing Cade's infant son and nearly anihilating his people, the clan's leader sends Cade on a mission to transition a woman from human to Nephalim, but in such a way as to enslave her in order to use her as a weapon against their rivals.
I really enjoyed the kick off to Nash's new Watcher series. There is sort of a romance in the Unforgiven, but there is so much more going on, as Nash brings to life a world in which the Nephalim - half human children of fallen angels - are still paying for the sins of their fathers - actually it's their descendants still paying the price. Even if the Nephalim descendants, who call themselves Watchers, haven't chosen to walk a dark path themselves, they are soulless and denied even the final judgement of heaven or hell at the end of their potentially 150 year life. Oh and as part of the curse, Watchers group into different clans by bloodline and are predisposed to hate and try to annihilate each other.
Cade's story, which is the main one in the book, is woven in with bits and pieces which introduce other members of his clan, and its main enemy. There is also a longer thread with a bit of the history of the Nephalim in which each scene is introduced by a quote from the Book of Enoch - Enoch appears to be basis for Nash's mythos. The romance part of the story, which is not as much romantic as it steamy, comes into play in the way to help a human candidate through the dangerous transition to Nephalim. A transitioning human is saved - from insanity and death that results if they are unaided - by being anchored via sex with a Watcher of the opposite gender.
As a consequence, I would label the Watchers as being steamy UF, a melding of PNR and UF that has good company in a fair number of series that are taking the old paranormal romance genre and its one couple per book model but allowing the background story arc and the supporting character to play a larger and more permanent role in the series. Since Nash sets up some promising conflicts within the supporting cast and I am really intrigued by her mythos, I will certainly be keeping an eye out for the next Watcher's installment.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
I wasn't engaged, August 9, 2011
As a frequent reader of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance, I can just tell when I'm jumping into a series midway through. It's something about the way the author talks about the backstory... in the way the characters are introduced... like there's all this stuff we're supposed to know already, but the author gives a quick recap/ info dump for the new readers just joining in. After reading the first chapter of this book, I would have bet you money that I missed a previous book in the series. There were storylines already in progress, relationships and backstory alluded to... But this is, indeed, the first in The Watchers series. It had me out of sorts from start.
The basic premise is this: thousands of years ago, a group of angels fell from Heaven and mated with mortal women. Their offspring were called Nephilim. They have been reviled since they first walked the Earth; they have no souls and no chance of an afterlife. Each Nephilims belongs to a clan that traces back to their ancestor angel. Each of the clans has its own special magic and they hate each other.
Many Nephilims born to mortal women do not know what they are. But should they have a near death experience, their change to their true form is triggered. The change manifests through some serious sexual hunger. And without another Nephilim to meet their needs and anchor their change, the newbie will go crazy and die.
Cade has been tasked to find Maggie and be the anchor through her transition. Maggie has no idea what she is, but when she meets Cade, she knows what she wants. Cade and Maggie come from different clans, and once he helps her through her transition, he can wield control over her... make her his slave... and use her magic for the good of his clan.
As Maggie undergoes her transition, she has flashbacks to the life of her ancestor Lilith. They teach her about her clan and where she comes from. Honestly, I found the Lilith scenes to be more interesting than the ones featuring Cade and Maggie. (Until it took a turn into Incest-ville and got super gross.) The story surrounding Cade's leader Artur and his estranged wife Cybele was really the best thing the book had going for it. The sex scenes between Maggie and Cade were hot, but I didn't really connect to an emotional relationship between the two.
Frankly, the book was too long and had too much crammed into it. It had potential, but when all was said and done, the only character I ended up caring about was Cybele. It wasn't terrible, but not great. Almost 3 stars.
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