Shadows on the Soul (The Guardians of the Night, Book 3)

by Jenna Black

Book Overview

"The baddest of the bad boys "Gabriel is a five hundred year old vampire with the soul of a Killer. He has defeated his mother in a battle for the territory of Baltimore, and vowed to take vengeance... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765357178
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.7" x 0.8" x 4.1"

Customer Reviews

Shadows

Great series! I'm surprised that there are not more reviews. Although, it might be because of the cover art. They have been horrible and not even accurate. Regardless, the story lines are fabulous. Basically, there are vampires, and when they give into the blood lust and take that first bite of human blood, they can't help but kill their victims, thus turning them into killers. Yet there are those who are prevented from ever taking that first bite. This lucky ones feed on sheep blood mixed with milk. Disgusting, even to them, but it provides them with the sustenance that prevents them from being killers. A group of these non-killing vampires hunt the killers to make their city a safer place. In Shadows on the Soul, Black takes us on a different view in that she centers the book around a killer, Gabriel. Gabriel is a VERY strong killer because he was born a vampire. Other vampires that have met him, know him for being sadistic creep. Yet, apparently that is all a front. I don't want to give anything away, but I do want to say that Gabriel is a very sexy, lovable character that will be worth your time reading about. I'm definitely looking forward to the next in this series.

Shadows on the Soul

Planted by her creator in the home of his father, Jezebel knows the time will come when Gabriel will reappear. Gabriel, a born vampire feared by even the toughest of Guardians, is filled with rage at his father and isn't above using his fledgling to kill him once and for all. Gabriel isn't prepared for how Jezebel causes cracks in his rage and softens the coldness he's held on to for hundreds of years. Connected in ways neither are unprepared for, Jezebel and Gabriel discover a weakness will become their greatest strength when an enemy from his past comes haunting. Philadelphia is where a family reunion will bring death, betrayals and an upcoming battle that even the toughest of Guardians may not be prepared for when the oldest of vampires converge upon the city with revenge and death in mind. In a book that is overflowing with exhilaration, vampire family drama and layers of lies and secrets, Shadows on the Soul is a perfect addition to this series about a group of vampire guardians who use their powers to protect humans against the vamps that would harm them. Having read the predecessor to this tale I'm surprised and impressed how Jenna Black turned someone I basically hated into someone I could empathize with. A lot of people have hidden scars, and while some of us choose to bury them, some find other outlets for their grief. Gabriel isn't the sweetest of heroes, but considering Jezebel and he came from similar backgrounds overflowing with pain and disappointment, these two made a perfect couple. I found the rare connection between Gabriel and Jezebel to be fascinating to say the least, because it made Gabriel honest at times when I think he could have easily lost control of his barely controlled rage. Jenna Black has perfected the art form of adding just the right edge of violence to an intricate plot that makes me wonder what else will happen to this group of guardians who are one wrong deed away from being killers themselves. I look forward to seeing this series continue because there is an older vampire group in the picture now that I'm sure will create more bloodshed in a city that continues to be a war ground for good against evil. Indy reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Can a monster be redeemed?

How many books have, as their hero, a mass-murdering sadistic psychopath? How many books have, as their heroine, a former HIV-positive wild child? In that respect "Shadows On The Soul" is very different with Killer vampire Gabriel the hero and new vampire Jezebel the heroine. Gabriel made Jezebel a vampire after she was gang-raped by a lot of other vampires in a previous book but, in making his first fledgling, he set himself on an entirely new course. Gabriel is angry with his father Eli, leader of the Guardians (a group of vampires who don't drink human blood and who try to dispatch vampires that do). Clearly Gabriel is one of the Killers that the Guardians need to dispose of and yet Gabriel knows that his father has hardly had an innocent life. When Gabriel decides to travel to Philadelphia to kill his father, Eli, and takes Jezebel with him, he finds things not exactly working out as he expected. Particularly as his mother Camille, in league with the evil Bartolomeo di Cesare, and along with a powerful born vampire Brigitte, is also after Eli and has a special method of disabling Eli that might just work. In the first scene of the book we are with Gabriel as he kills a woman by drinking her blood. However, right at this first part of the story, it becomes clear there's more to Gabriel's sadistic psychopathic murdering than meets the eye. He doesn't choose his victims at random and he has some strange other attributes, such as being unable to see children hurt without trying to get revenge on those who hurt them. As the story unfolds and Jezebel and Gabriel find themselves linked in terms of emotions - they can feel what the other is feeling - Jezebel begins to learn more about Gabriel's true nature and whether, underneath the scary exterior, there's more to him than the others realise. In some ways I felt the book copped out a little in terms of its bold start. As it becomes clear that our mass-murdering sadistic psychopath isn't those things but that there are reasons for everything he does and that he doesn't actually like the sadism, it's just something he's been told, we begin to discover that Gabriel is almost one of the goodies. The author continues to drip-feed us information on Eli and his history and his apparent omnipotence and his great goodness are continuing to be chipped away. Drake, the only Killer within the Guardians, is getting so disillusioned by all that he learns and the end of this book sets him up as the hero of the next one, starting in a different city. So the bold and strong start is rather filtered down by the time the book ends and our shocking hero and heroine seem significantly less shocking. Jezebel's role in this story, as the heroine, is quite understated. She's not really a woman of action, more of emotion, and as we learn about her appalling history it becomes apparent why she might be attracted to Gabriel - an attraction to someone who has suffered and who understands, perhaps. I was a little surprised

The light of love defeats the shadows on the soul...

While Gabriel is not going to earn his wings anytime soon, with Jezebel's help he definitely has a shot at regaining his soul. Jenna Black did a wonderful job in Secrets in the Shadows (The Guardians of the Night, Book 2) of creating an immensely powerful, evil and seeming sadistic villain in Gabriel. She does an equally wonderful job of exposing the truths about Gabriel that he himself doesn't realize and taking him through an amazing transition in Shadows on the Soul. The catalyst for Gabriel's change is Jezebel. Jezebel is the brutalized victim that Gabriel "turned" at the end of the last book and Gabriel intends no more than to use Jez to infiltrate his father Eli's Guardians and gather information to set a trap to kill Eli. Little does he expect to find a kindred spirit in this wisecracking slip of a girl. After all what could a former goth chic, have in common with a powerful 500 year old born vamp. Beneath that badder than bad exterior Eli is a mess, small wonder as his father once tried to kill him and his mother now is more than eager to finish the job. Gabriel's bond with Jez as maker to fledgling has the unexpected side effect of her being able to sense the feelings that he himself denies having. Having suffered emotional abuse from the grandmother who raised her after Jez's addict mother died, the grandmother that thought Jez was the devil's spawn, Jez recognizes Gabriel's coping mechanism. Understanding his pain, she uses the connection of their bond to crack the walls around Gabriel's soul and helps him to see himself beyond the monster image he cultivated to avoid any further rejection. While Jez is attempting Gabriel's psychological redemption, Gabriel's mother is out for revenge against both Gabriel and Eli, both of whom she blames for all the misfortune in her life. Camille was the vamp master that Gabriel dethroned in the last book. This time she brings powerful backup and an old enemy of Gabriel's. They capture and torture Gabriel and fully intend to kill him once they've finished using him as bait to trap Eli. Jez is only a fledgling, but she will do whatever it takes to help save Gabriel even if it means sacrificing herself, so that not only will he live but he will know that at last there is someone who loves him unconditionally. She's going to need the powerful Eli to help rescue Gabriel, but can she trust Eli to save the son she thinks Eli secretly still loves. What if she's wrong? This is the third Guardian's of the Night book and Jenna Black's vampire paranormal romance series just keep getting better. In order to truly appreciate Shadows on the Soul, you need to at least read the Secret in the Shadows so that you can truly hate Gabriel before you grow to love him here.

fabulous paranormal thriller

When Philadelphian Eli created the Guardian vampires to protect the innocent, the hardest task he faced was killing his Gabriel. The credo of the Guardians is not to kill while Gabriel is a killer. However, Eli's hesitation enabled Gabriel to survive vowing to one day commit patricide. Meanwhile Gabriel has his own "offspring" Jezebel who he plans to use as an expendable pawn to get inside his father's inner circle. He is unprepared for the warm connection between his father and his ward and worse his own feelings towards Jezebel as his heart froze when Eli tried to kill him. However, he has no time to analyze his feelings as his mother, who he defeated before in Baltimore and another vampire attack father and son. If Eli and Gabriel fail to unite against their common enemy, they will both die. The key to this fabulous paranormal thriller is that Jenna Black's vampiric America seems reasonable. The family feud story line is fun to follow as the adversarial relationship between father and son is made worse by how they feel towards Jezebel and the need to trust one another after five centuries of discord if they are to survive the European imperial invasion. Paranormal romantic suspense fans will enjoy Ms. Black's latest Guardians tale (see Secrets in the Shadows) Harriet Klausner