My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts...

I have no idea where to start, seriously! The Book of the Watchers series by Janine Ashbless is SO complex and absolutely amazing that I’m just....... speechless really. This series is rich in story telling with a great research and a marvelous writing style where the author blends many dimensions, of facts and fictions, together in such a way that the only thing I can say for this series is WOW! I had to read In Bonds of the Earth at a snail’s pace just to savor each chapter.

I’ve never read anything by the author prior to this series. I picked up book 1 of the Watchers series, Cover Him With Darkness, because 1. I was in search of a good angel-demon type book and 2. I loved the title. And boy it sucked me right in from the start; from the moment when little Milja met Azazel the Fallen, bound in a dank, dark cave, for eternity... awaiting another eternity. Azazel is called a demon, a fallen angel, Prince of Darkness or Satan as I found in some sources. I’ll personally stick to the story itself because many of these notions discussed in the book connected to the Book of Enoch is rather vague to me. But that didn’t hinder my enjoyment at all. The whole story behind Azazel and his many brothers’ fight with the good angels and how they were then entombed in various places in the world is told in book 1. It was such a fascinating story, with excellent visuals, such as Azazel’s fight with St. Michael and the destruction of his human family.

Milja, a girl born in a small mountain-bound village of Montenegro, has known The Prisoner since her childhood. The Prisoner was there always. Many had been in charge of him over the uncountable years, her father the priest, being the latest. Milja’s mother was already dead, so her father has been the center of her world... until the day she started having dreams of The Prisoner, whom she’d only met a few times; always with her father by her side. Her father has forbidden her to ever communicate with the prisoner, let alone release him, no matter how much he begs. Yet, the sad, heart-wrenching dreams of him in pain, absolutely misery of many, many years tore at Milja. Then one day, when she was around 20, she does the unthinkable. She goes to the cave alone to meet him for the first time in years since she went to school. The Prisoner was always in her thought, in her dreams, so much so that she only had one boyfriend but couldn’t even maintain that relationship. She knew by then who she belonged to, and she decides instantly that she’s going to release him.

My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...

I’ve been dying to write a review for Cover Him With Darkness by Janine Ashbless, The Book of the Watchers #1. The 2 reasons why I wanted to read this was, that it apparently had a fallen angel in it, a theme I really love and the title caught my eyes.

Now, prior to reading this, I had no idea Cover Him With Darkness is a line from the Book of Enoch, that connects to the fallen angel, Azazel and how he was banished for eternity for corrupting the human race. My idea about these references is vague at best, which is why I’ll stick to the story itself. I did some internet search while reading this book, to learn more about Azazel. His is even more vague. In some places he’s called a fallen angel, in some a demon, in others he’s even referred to as Satan. The only thing I got from it all that you’re not supposed to consort with the likes of him, especially if you’re not equipped to play with his fire. LOL Fortunately, the book itself did a good job of giving me an idea of him, albeit fiction-wise. He was a tough to like character, let alone love. I have read some fallen angel stories before, but the fallen angel in question had won my heart nonetheless. I wasn’t even sure how Azazel can be a ‘hero’ when he’s such a brilliant douchebag! But WOW, the flow of the story was so good that I had to keep reading to know what’s coming next.

 

Cover Him With Darkness is a fast-paced story that tells you about a girl named Milja of Montenegro, and how her life changes dramatically when she releases ‘The Prisoner’ of her childhood memories and broken adult dreams.

Milja is trying to forget what her father is charged to keep secret, but she knows and the secret won’t let her go. Her father, a priest, is guarding over a fallen angel in the bowels of his church in Montenegro Italy. His name is Azazel and Milja is haunted by his punishment. The beginning of the story finds Milja in Boston, trying to be a normal young adult. She tries at love and higher education. She is called home when her father becomes ill. Upon seeing Azazel again, she gives in to her empathy and passion, and makes a choice that changes her whole life forever.

That is about all the synopsis I can write. Anything more and I will spoil the whole story. I honestly started off reading this book and then thought, I have read this before. I was angry thinking this was a stolen story until I realized a short version of this tale was in a book I have read and was penned by [a:Janine Ashbless|108584|Janine Ashbless|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1403018903p2/108584.jpg]. Cover Him With Darkness was the second story in the anthology [b:Red Velvet and Absinthe|10810955|Red Velvet and Absinthe|Mitzi Szereto|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328748579s/10810955.jpg|15724525] which I read back in 2011. That story was much less detailed and only outlined the foundation for this story.

Cover Him with Darkness is a great erotic story with religious undertones. It may offend those who hold strong christian (or catholic) religious beliefs. I don’t. I found this story of a fallen angel really enticing. The characters are very well written. The scene is described with enough detail to envision easily. I really enjoyed the spooky elements of this. An angel that haunts dreams with erotic delights, what is not to like about that? Milja is a believable character. I found her home town strange, but then again, so did she after living in America. The prejudices she encounters are so stereotypical of old Europeans. I bought her relatives completely.

This book had the right amount of action, romance, erotica, mythology, and religion. It kept me reading deep into the night. Totally worth lost sleep. This story ended with the notion that more was coming. Yes! I am thrilled that this is part of a series. Bring it Janine! I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

In Appreciation of Their Cox - Janine As... Very well done (and very hot of course)

Thrones of Desire is a fantasy erotic book that contains 14 short stories from various authors. I am a big fan of romantic chivalry. Anytime you can throw a knight in front of a dragon for the love of a woman, you have my undivided attention! There are a few fighting heroins in this book as well. The woman in these stories are as strong as their male counterparts. The stories are complete with adventure, myths, legends, and swords. The characters are full of lust for life and love.

Thrones of Desire is edited by Mitzi Szereto and includes a Foreward by Piers Anthony. The book contains stories by Janine Ashbless, Sacchi Green, Ashley Lister, Eric Del Carlo, Kim Knox, Anna Meadows, Madeline Moore, Jo Wu, M.H. Crane, Aurelia T. Evans, Nyla Nox, Megan Arkenberg, Zander Vyne, and Mitzi Szereto.

This book touched on mythical kingdoms and secrets. All of the main characters are heroes in their own right and more than a few start off as captives and must fight their way out and into the arms of the ones they love. I was swept away into the worlds of these stories. If you love fantasy writing, this book is for you. All of the stories contain an erotic element, but I felt that the sex was not the main attraction. This book is not smut. These are fantastical stories of myths and knights, with a sexy element.

I loved this book!

My absolute favorite love story in this book was in Key to the Queen’s Elixir by Jo Wu. This story was about a snow queen and an intruder. The love story backdrop was, well…it was haunting. A knight is hunting for the elixir that will save the children of the kingdom and he gets much more than he expected from the snow queen.

The story Flesh and Stone by Sacchi Green was another very memorable story. Sacchi Green writes with such passion that I can feel her characters. This story follows the sale of a girl at the slave market. She becomes the possession of the ‘woman champion from the mountains’. A woman that can turn men to stone. The slave soothes her mistress before redirecting her attention to the man who turned to stone. “The mind is the body’s most sensuous organ.” Indeed Sacchi! This tale is very sensual.

All of the stories had thick plots that are tough to try to describe in this little review. I know the fantasy writing of this book won’t appeal to everyone, especially since the sex is buried beneath such armor. To those that love fantasy worlds though, this book will be such a good fit.