Title: The Bloodgate Guardian
Author: Joely Sue Burkhart
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: The Maya Bloodgates #1
Publisher: Carina Press
Source: Sent to me by author
Dr. Jaid Merritt doesn’t do digs. The last time she ventured into the jungle, someone died. Now she’s content to decipher Maya glyphs from pictures sent to her by her famous archaeologist father. But when he goes missing while trying to perform a ritual based on her translations of an ancient codex, Jaid must put aside her fears and travel to Guatemala to find him.After misusing the Bloodgates to bring his twin brother back from the afterlife, the Maya priest known as Ruin was cursed by the gods to stand as the guardian for all time. He was unable to stop Dr. Charles Merritt from opening the gates, and now demons roam this world. The last thing he wants to do is hurt the beautiful woman who is somehow infused with his magic, but if she uses the codex to retrieve her father, Ruin must do his duty. And this time, he won’t fail. Even if it kills him
The Bloodgate Guardian immediately caught my attention because of the storyline-Mayan history. I just love anything to do with that time period. This book was just an interesting twist on the paranormal romances I normally read.
When reading the books I felt like I really was on the dig with Jaid and was trying to figure out the mystery of what happened to her father with her. I loved how much information we got about the culture of the Mayans and that it wasn't dumbed down. I felt like I was a Mayan expert right along with Jaid. There was so much action to go along with the information that this book had more of an urban fantasy feel to me then a paranormal romance feel if that makes sense.
The relationship between Jaid and Ruin was one I really liked. When Jaid found that Ruin was a Jaguar shape shifter she did have her freak out moments, but it didn't go on for the entire books. I liked how they were friends first, and the romance gradually came instead of Jaid falling for him after one kiss. He was so protective of her, and she of him, but they didn't let it get in the way of the job that had to do-Jaid of finding her father & him of protecting the gates at all costs.
Another thing that I enjoyed about this book is that while I had some idea of who the bad guys would be at the end, I liked the twists of why they became that way. The world created in this book was great, and I loved how by the end of the book Jaid had totally lost her Un-Indiana Jones nickname that the students where she taught gave her. The Bloodgate Guardian was just a refreshing read and I look forward to reading more by Joely Sue Burkhart.
Curran Crush Meter: Medium
Barrons Hero Hotness Meter: Medium
Ethan/Merit Sizzle Meter: Medium
Rhiannon Kick Ass Heroine Meter: Medium
Martini Sigh Meter: Medium
