Guardians: The Shoma (Book 7) (Guardians series 6)

First, I'd like to express how grateful I am to have stumbled upon this series and I want to commend Lola on her tenacity and creativity. The Guardians Series is one of the most original, creative, and captivating that I have read. It is atop my "favorites" list right alongside The Southern Vampire Mysteries (aka The Sookie Stackhouse Series), The Twilight Saga, and The Hunger Games Trilogy. If you are a fan of the Young/New Adult Paranormal Romance genre, you MUST read The Guardians Series! Lola has created an entire Angel/Demon world filled with The Guardians, Paras, Quo, Akons, good, evil, love, heartbreak, mystery, betrayal, death, et cetera, et cetera. It is a world that draws you in from the very first page of the very first book, ensnaring you, refusing to let go! The action, the romance, the drama, the friendships, the epic battles, the plot twists, the AGONIZING cliff-hangers, and everything else in between has all the makings of a hit television series that could go head-to-head with the likes of Pretty Little Liars and The Vampire Diaries.As an avid reader, I am obsessed with finding novels that throw me into a fantasy world where I can completely lose myself. Somewhere I can take a seat, buckle up, and hang on for dear life while enjoying the ride...there is nothing better than finding a new series that pulls me in and forces me to become emotionally invested in the characters and all the drama that surrounds them. The Guardians Series has done just that and with each book you will become more and more obsessed; and I can say with almost 100% certainty that the majority of Lola's fans would unequivocally agree!After finishing The Lyris Part 2, I was apprehensive as to which direction the final book would go and, to be honest, I am still wary of the way it will all end. When you find yourself so wrapped up in the characters and the storyline, as a fan, it's impossible not to form an opinion on how you believe the story should end. From the beginning, I have felt there is only one way to satisfyingly end the series. Of course, I'm aware mine is just one lone humble opinion among many and I may very well be the only individual who holds it. But, from the moment we learned that it was Emmy who carried the map the Guardians were sent to retrieve, I have felt that her death is inevitable. Granted, she has narrowly escaped it on many occasions thus far, but no matter how hard Marcus, Julian, and the others have fought to keep her alive, it has just never really felt quite right...like Emmy's role in the grand scheme of things carries far greater merit and is more significant than anyone could have imagined. That being said, her death would then lead to her preordained destiny of becoming a Guardian or some other significant being among the Angel/Demon world. Hell, she could become an Akon or even a member of the new Council once it's formed, but it just doesn't seem right to end things any other way for her. It has to be inevitable...As inevitable as Bella turning into a vampire...As inevitable as Christian and Ana getting hitched and riding off into the sunset with the proverbial white picket fence and 2.5 perfectly dimpled babies in tow. I desperately hope that somehow, someway Emmy's story will end with a bang; she will get her HEA and ride off into the Light with Marcus and the rest of the Guardians.While there is definitely plenty of drama and emotional turmoil in The Shoma Part 1, there is a plethora of unresolved issues. Things are at the boiling point and the tension is stifling. Everyone's emotions are so raw and on edge that you know when shit finally hits the fan it will be cataclysmic to say the least. I'm hoping to see Emmy, or rather Emerson, have an all-out battle with her humanity in Part 2 and seeing as how things went down for Rage and Amena, I wouldn't mind seeing Emerson and Rage experience more moments like they had at Damned, the demon bar in Chicago. I liked seeing a little more of Emerson, her inner bad-girl, and I can just imagine the trouble she and Rage could get into. In the end, so many things are left up in the air...and WOW, does Tony-Tone drop the MOTHER of all cliff-hanger bombs in the last few lines! I have to admit that, no one, and I mean NO ONE, does a cliff-hanger like Lola! She is Queen of the cliff-hanger and I say this because most authors that try to pull that crap on such a massive level only end up pissing me off to the point that I just quit reading the books and refuse to finish because it's just too frustrating to deal with. But OH NO! Not with Lola! After the first book or two, you are completely and helplessly hooked and no matter how much you want to throw your Kindle (or whatever electronic device you may be using) and say "To Hell" with it all, You. Just. Can't. You feel like a damn Tic! But honestly, I absolutely LOVE every minute of it! It's why I read in the first place! It's the very definition of entertainment!I do have to be honest and admit that I was a tiny bit disappointed with a few things...while there was plenty of emotional turmoil and drama, there really wasn't a lot of action and/or fighting and I really expected there to be much more happening with the Marcus/Emmy/Bianca triangle. There were a few scandals that erupted, but honestly there was hardly any face-to-face interaction at all between the three. I also expected more to happen with Julian and Emmy's decision to kill him. While she did ask Tony-Tone to make a poison mixture for her, she never really acted on it or made it a priority. In fact, she asked for the poison only after a very horrific incident involving Marcus that was, once again, the result of Julian's meddling. I was also a little annoyed with the introduction of Alex, but something just isn't quite right with him and I feel that he isn't exactly who everyone believes him to be...or, at the very least, there is something more to his presence than anyone knows at the moment.All in all, this book was another great addition to the series. Many things were set in motion throughout The Shoma Part 1 that allows for Part 2 to potentially be an epic showdown between good and evil. I am excited (and nervous) to see how it will all go down!

I am a very avid reader and will give any book a chance, some books I don't make it past the first chapter, some I don't care if I read the next book in the series or not but this series has had me hooked since I first read Book 1: The Girl. I am over thirty years old and even though the main characters in these books are teenagers I find that I can relate to them because they are mature with storylines that are interesting and complex. I have even become a fan of the authors facebook page where she interacts with her readers and pop on there several times a day to get interesting spoilers and updates about the series.The Guardian Series is about a group of six guardians who are sent to earth on a mission to retrieve the Triplex in order to stop Lucy (Satan) from finding the location of souls who are on an ethereal bridge while making a decision between light/peace or dark/power. If Lucy were to gain the map she would find the location and steal the souls choices and send them all into darkness to serve her. During the mission a human is introduced and with the human arises many problems and choices that the team has to make in order to save her or the world as a whole. All of the books are very captivating and well written, they involve drama, love, heartache, family issues, war and most of all choices that will inspire the reader.One of the great things about this series is the back stories that explain the why and the how of all that the characters have to do. The author has created an amazing background on each character that helps understand their qualities and their gifts. I really appreciate a writer who can really get us into the heads and hearts of the characters so we can actually feel their emotions and understand their actions.I was waited for Book 6 (part 1) for about a month and the wait was most definitely worth it. The story carries on with the characters facing their worst fears and trying to overcome them while still holding on to the goodness that is inside of them. They face trial, criticism, impossible tasks and their worst fears hoping to be victorious by staying true to their beliefs. Lola StVil writes her best installment so far!

Okay, I have read all books in this series and I continue to follow it. I'm a sucker for YA Paranormal Romance and tend to read through them quickly. Being a Twilight fan, the characters in this series are a little different. The human, Emmy is very fickle and immature. I feel this is unfair to really be a critcism, as she is supposed to be a teenager and typically this is how all teenagers are. We cannot expect all YA characters to be as mature as Bella Swan. Once again, this is not a criticism, as I was once an immature, fickle teenage girl. It's just a fact. Reading this at the ripe old age of 39, I'm growing a little tired of her back and forth. Not so tired that I won't see this series through, though. Ultimately the series intrigues me enough that I will buy the next and final book in the series. Just be forewarned if you are an adult reading this series, you may quickly lose patience with some of the characters. The style of writing is a little choppy for me. At times I feel like I'm reading down a list, versus a flowing storyline. The editing isn't very polished. I'm somewhat distracted when I come upon typos and grammatical errors, but all in all I have enjoyed reading this series.

Great story so far and recommend it to anyone that enjoys series books. I would have rated higher but spelling mistakes and poor grammatical editing annoy me. I bought several books at a time and found that without a proper cover it was difficult to identify the next book. Why publish an incomplete book or in this case..books? Covers are important.

excellent

Twists at every turn. Love triangles. Babies. Not so wedding bliss. Demons. Mayhem. Blood. Forbidden love. Betrayal and sexi men....need I say more?

I wish this series didn't have to end....so good!

I think you need someone to spell-check & grammar check the final work before it goes out.... I'm finding a lot.... But great story!! Keep it up! (BTW - I would love the job)