Alexandra Ivy / Amanda Quick

Tane is a Charon, sworn to hunt and kill rogue vampires. His new assignment seems like a waste of his talents…until he catches up with the Jinn he's been sent to capture. Half human, half demon, Laylah has a vulnerable streak that strikes right through to Tane's cold heart. He should be furious when she uses her powers to bind them together, preventing him from dragging her before the Commission. Instead he welcomes any reason to stay close enough to touch, to taste, to seduce…
Laylah doesn't know why she was chosen to protect a child who may be the catalyst in a war between good and evil. But the mysteries of her past pale compared to the dangers approaching. Tane is devastatingly strong, breathtakingly sensual. And Laylah will have to trust in every ounce of that strength, because her enemies are drawing near, eager to destroy them both…

With her reputation forever tarnished by a youthful indiscretion, lovely Emily Faringdon is resigned to a life of spinsterhood, until she embarks on an unusual correspondence and finds herself falling head over heals in love. Sensitive, intelligent, and high-minded, her noble pen pal seems to embody everything Emily has ever dreamed of in a man. But Simon Augustus Traherne, the mysterious Earl of Blade, is not at all what he seems.
Driven by dark, smoldering passions and a tragic secret buried deep within his soul, Blade has all of London cowering at his feet, but not Emily...never Emily. For even as she surrenders to his seductive charms, she knows the real reason for his amorous suit. And she knows that she must reach the heart of this golden-eyed dragon before the avenging demons of their entwined pasts destroy the only love she has ever known...

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Comment: These two books are written by authors I intend to keep following in 2013, specially because I'm behind on their work.

Devoured by Darkness is another installment in the Guardians of Eternity series. This time, it's Tane's turn to have a story, he's a vampire enforcer and punished the bad vampires, so many new vampires fear them and older ones stay away from him, which means he lives rather lonely, although he has social skills very valuable. His most recent mission is to follow a half jinn in order to know what she's hiding and that could help the vampires fighting the evil sorcerers around. Laylah is the jinn and she hides a child, but when meeting Tane she feels her life might change. While the two run from the bad guys, obviously they feel attracted and fall in love...I liked the book, but I have to confess it wasn't as thrilling as the other ones before. Still, some new things happened in terms of plot development and I was quite interested in what will happen, can't wait for the next story. The romance was fine but not the best in my opinion.

Scandal is another book by Amanda Quick and I must say it wasn't the best I've read, actually it is now one of my least favorites. The plot had everything to be a success, a man looking for revenge but falling for his intended, a young woman with a misunderstood scandal in her past and love around the corner, but I found Simon, the male protagonist, too obnoxious and brute at times to be really likable. The female protagonist was too naive although hopeful and I didn't see their relationship as balanced or romantic. I have many more books by this author to read, I have confidence all will be better.