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Guardian of Hearts
The Enlighten Series
Young Adult Fantasy
Kasian Publishing
May 20, 2015
282
Zoe Jabril could be just another 17-year-old girl attending parties with her friends and checking out cute guys--except her best friend is a Guardian Angel, and the boy she crushes on is a Nephilim, half-angel, both sent to Earth to protect her. A high school classmate happens to be a trendsetting shopaholic fairy. And now there's a new werewolf in town. Zoe has to deal with her feelings toward Shay, who spreads a strange electrical current through her body every time he touches her. Now Zoe is under constant attack from demons, trying to kill and stop her from fulfilling the Prophecy: a girl will be born who will unite the Enlightens to battle evil. Then on top of that, between boring homework and drama with girls at school, she has to control new found talents if she's to prevent the devil from escaping Hell.In order to do so, Zoe must devise a kick-ass plan ASAP or watch everyone die, because she's running out of time. She turns eighteen in two months--the date Armageddon kicks off.
When the Mission Changes from Guarding to Loving:
First, I have to admit that I am partial to books that feature angels, demons, and soul mates. That being said, this book was fantastic!
Zoe faces the standard YA dilemma of being the unwilling participant in a love triangle that includes her best friend, and the hot new guy in town. But there’s a twist: her best friend, Kieran, happens to be her Guardian Angel; meanwhile, the hot new guy, Shay, is a half angel, who has also been assigned to guard her…and to top it off he just might be her soul mate! The romance between Zoe and Shay is both sweet and intense, while her concern and love for Kieran are genuine, but also decidedly sisterly. 
Although the relationship issues seem neatly tied up by the end of the book (after all who can compete against a soul mate?), there is just enough room for doubt to make me sure that there will be more to come. And that has me excited, because I am #TeamKieran all the way!
The Guardian, a Sword, & Stilettos features additional good guys that include werewolves and fairies, and bad guys that include demons, and your garden-variety high school mean girls. This diverse cast of characters fit together seamlessly, to create a complex back drop for the coming Armageddon-style throw-down against evil, that will coincide with Zoe’s eighteenth birthday.
So, was there a downside to this book? Well of course, nothing is perfect! But my criticisms are very minor, and none of these issues took away from my enjoyment of the book. 
For example, I would have liked to see a little bit more development of the relationship between Kieran and Zoe to show why he fell in love with her, and if he will really be able to compete for her affections.
Additionally, the final battle scene fell a little flat for me; I would like to have been provided with more details, and I would have liked to see Zoe break out as a total bad-ass. Then again, these are all things that might be addressed in the next book in the series, which is due out in April of this year. Needless to say, I can’t wait to read it!
You can order hard a copy of The Guardian, a Sword, & Stilettos on Amazon by clicking here, or download the ebook version by clicking here. After you have read it, let me know: are you #TeamShay or #TeamKieran?
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