This is the 6th book in Claire and Nia’s Guarded Heart series. Sam is a slight aberration from the other books because it doesn’t follow the MFM layout that the majority of the other books do. This one is MMMF. We have our two gargoyles, Gael and Elijah, our heroine, Sam, but we have a surprise new male. So let’s get into the gig, shall we? Warning, there will be some spoilers, I’ll try to avoid them, but…
Gael, poor Gael, is suffering. He hears the song that was written for him by Etienne. He hears it al the damn time. He can’t get away from it. He’s in a very black state right now, and it’s not getting any better. The more that Etienne is thwarted, the worse it gets for Gael. He’s still holding off from his partner, Elijah. Elijah keeps trying to break through to Gael, for several reasons, but Gael keeps fighting. He barely talks to Elijah, instead staying locked him his room or hidding in the kitchen. He also is nasty to Elijah as often as possible. The only way that Gael can drown out the music he hears is to self-harm.
Elijah is suffering too. He’s not suffering in the same way Gael is, but it’s suffering all the same. He wants to have a connection with his partner. He is very attracted to his partner, so he’d like them to be partners in all kinds of ways, and he’s pretty sure that Gael is attracted to him too, since there was some serious kissing go on at one point. But now, Gael is determined to push him away, and it only gets worse. Elijah feels heartbroken too, because he wants to have that connection, and he feels so isolated from everything and everyone, and he really wants his partner and their mate.
Meanwhile, we have Sam, who is a psychic medium with a ghostly grandmother who likes to pinch the asses of hot guys and who watches Magic Mike on the regular. She also trains dogs, and works with her dog as a search and rescue team. And oh, she can talk to animals. Prince, Willow’s crazy Irish wolfhound puppy, needs some training, so Tobias assigns Gael and Elijah to take the dog to her for training. When Sam manages to work a miracle at the Citadel, everyone decides that they will go down to a local bar and celebrate.
Father James, who was a Catholic priest and who is now an activist and counselor in the area, is also at the bar. He’s bi, and sees Elijah. He and Elijah go to the back and have a significant moment together. When they come back out, there’s a huge fight, and a couple of the gargoyles get hurt. And when the dust clears, it turns out Gael is gone on top of Elijah being hurt.
I knew that this one was going to be a tough read. Not because it’s a hard book or anything, but because it was Gael’s story, and I knew, from what we’ve been able to get from the previous books about his history and from what we’ve seen of Etienne’s behavior, that whatever was going to happen to Gael or anyone involved with Gael would be brutal and possibly worse than anything anyone else went through. And I wasn’t necessarily wrong. I think that some of the stuff that happened to the ladies might’ve been worse, but what happened to Gael is pretty damn horrific, and what happens to Elijah is terrible.
I like Gael, so much. I also hurt for him, again, so much. Even without anything that Etienne may or may not be doing to him, he’s so damaged from the fire at Notre Dame, not just physically, but mentally. He has some serious PTSD and survivor’s guilt going on, and he needs some help to heal with that, more help than James, Sam, and Elijah can give him.
One thing that I really liked about James and Sam is that they are willing to stand up to Tobias and basically tell him to fuck off, only nicer. The reason that they do that is one of the things that has really annoyed me in each book, and that’s all the things that happen to the mates without telling them these things could happen. I understand the reasoning of the gargoyles for doing things the way that they do, but I think that they have seen, time and again, that it isn’t the best way to handle things.
I love Sam’s Grandma. She’s a fucking hoot. I mean, she gets drunk on the crystals at the Citadel. She pinches the asses of all the guys. She may spy on their showers. And oh yeah, she gets frisky with Andre.
I can’t wait for Tobias’ book.
OK, Etienne keeps talking about his spies. I didn’t think that Gael was the way that he was finding out information, but it looks like he was getting some that way. But there are more eyes. Does he mean the ravens or are there more? I can’t wait to find out.
OK, that’s all for this one. Go check it out! Happy reading!
In Between the Pages 