Tour & #Giveaway: The Vampire Guard series by Elizabeth Noble
Welcome to The Vampire Guard, where legend and myth meet science and technology.
Vampires and werewolves live long lives. The Sleepless City saga might have ended but the story continues…
Vampires make the best spies. Throw a smart-mouthed werewolf in with three vampires, mix well, and The Vampire Guard's newest team is bound to become one of their greatest assets. Super spies with a full range of skills. Warrior, hacker, thief, and scientist. They get in, do the job and get out before the bad guys ever know what hit them.
They employ a combination of supernatural powers and cutting-edge technology to hunt down terrorists, thieves, biological weapons… and sometimes even their fellow vampires and werewolves. An eclectic organization comprised of individuals with diverse personalities, backgrounds, and abilities, this guard has bite—and they’re not afraid to use it.
Book Details:
Author and Publisher: Elizabeth Noble
Cover Artist: TL Bland
Tropes: Band of Brothers, Fated Mates, Humanity is Dangerous, Immortality, Mad Scientist, Secret Society, Vampires, Werewolves
Themes: Heroes who don’t know how to quit; justice always lawful
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#Paranormal, #Thriller, #SpyFi, #LGBTQ+,
Book 1
Vampires make the best spies.
Book Title: Code Name Jack Rabbit (The Vampire Guard Book 1)
Length: 71 000 words/200 pages
Heat Rating: 3-4 flames
Release Date: January 12, 2021 (2nd Edition)
Vampires and werewolves live long lives. The Sleepless City saga might have ended but the story continues… Welcome to the Vampire Guard, where legend and myth meet science and technology. Vampires make the best spies. Throw a smart-mouthed werewolf in with three vampires, mix well, and The Vampire Guard's newest team is bound to become one of their greatest assets. Super spies with a full range of skills. Warrior, hacker, thief, and scientist. They get in, do the job, and get out before the bad guys ever know what hit them. Forge, Blair, Declan, and Lucas are thrust into the world of high-tech spies and top-secret espionage conspiracies. Recruited into the world’s most elite and secret organization with one singular mission. Protect those who can’t defend themselves from ruin. Together they must thwart an assassination attempt on the open waters of Lake Superior while tracking a previously unknown biological weapon controlled by the Qiguan—a weapon which may very well mean death for one of them.
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4 out of 5 (very good)
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Forge, Blair, Declan and Lucas are kidnapped and invited to join The Vampire Guard, a secret task force working to keep humans safe. Their joining this task force allows them to use their own particular skill sets in ways they are not in their current daily lives. It also brings them into contact with another secret society, one with much darker plans.
SO!! I always say different is good, and this is no exception. What's different about it, is that Forge and Blair, and Lucas and Declan are already mated to each other, and this is NOT about their meetings and pairings. Its about their recruitment to Akhkharu Nasaru, and their discovery of a plot to remove a huge number of werewolves who are more forward thinking and progressive in their packs. Its about the Akhkharu Nasaru and what they do, what they have been doing for many centuries.
You are not fully aware of that bigger picture immediately, and I do like being kept waiting. I did love the being that was used for the "accidents" because we don't get any (or none I have come across) with that supernatural being. I'm not saying what it is, because that might give too much away!
The relationship between Forge, Declan and Blair (all vampires) and Lucas (who is a werewolf) is very close knit, and at times it did almost seem that Forge and Declan had a pairing, rather than Lucas and Declan, its really that close a thing. Forge and Declan have shared a home together for almost a hundred years and have a longer a history than that, so it makes sense they should be close.
The story moves along at an even pace and is well written from all four men's POV. Its not overly explicit, for a vampire/werewolf book and I am NOT filing it on the romance shelf. There is love, yes, but as I said at the beginning, these guys are already paired and fully bonded. A little bit of gore, when dealing with a captive wolf who does not wanna play nice, but not too much.
There were some things mentioned in the book, that happen many years previously. I would like to have known more about those things, but maybe that information will come out in future books.
This is the first in this series, and also the first I have read of this author. I should like to read more of both.
4 stars
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Book 2
And this time it’s personal.
Book Title: Quarry (The Vampire Guard Book 2)
Length: 66 300 words/ 185 pages
Release Date: May 18, 2021 (2nd Edition)
Heat Rating: 1-2 flames
It is not a standalone story, but does not end on a cliffhanger.
Four members of The Vampire Guard—Forge, Blair, Declan, and Lucas—face a dangerous and elusive enemy. And this time, it’s personal. When massive tech outages impact everything from Wi-Fi to traffic control, Blair, Forge, Declan, and Lucas think it’s a simple matter of catching troublesome hackers. But they quickly realize far more is at stake. Millions of dollars in art are the target of a thief who’s not afraid to kill---and he’s no stranger. Not only has he escaped capture, twice, a decade ago, but he’s had a hand in life-altering tragedies throughout their lifetimes. Once it becomes clear that art theft is just a fraction of his plan for mass destruction, they realize time is running out. The clock’s ticking. Catastrophe is imminent. Can they find and disarm all the bombs in time or will countless lives be lost?
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4 out of 5 (very good)
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Lucas, Declan, Blair and Forge find themselves chasing a thief who is using technology they haven't seen before. It's not long before they realise that they have met before, ALL of them, and they might not be where they are now if they hadn't. But the vampire needs to be stopped, at all costs.
I enjoyed this one much more than Code Name Jack Rabbit, and for one reason only: we get back story here. We get how Lucas ran over Simon and met Forge. We get how Declan met Forge. We get how Blair came in contact with them all. And I LOVED that!! I was missing that in Jack Rabbit, I really was.
This book is also much more active. There is more action, more fighting, more running around chasing the bad guy. More of the Vampire Guard are here too. Two more teams, of four people in each but I can't remember all their names! I'd love to get more about them, though. I'm left wanting to know more about those pairings and how they came about.
I loved the way the vampire thief's history was so closely intertwined with our four's, and really, had it not been for said vampire, they really might never have met.
It is, again, clean. But I really am not complaining. These guys are very private about that and I love them for it. What I did love though, was Forge and Blair getting married. Loved being part of that.
Can't quite stretch to 5 stars, but we have crept up from the 4 for Jack Rabbit to...
4.5 stars
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Book 3 ~ NEW RELEASE
A werewolf and seven vampires are all that stand between the world and complete annihilation.
Book Title: Endosymbiont (The Vampire Guard Book 3)
Length: 63 000 words/ 180 pages
Release Date: May 4, 2022
Heat Rating: 1-2 flames
When Kai Richter and Ori Bier met, sparks flew. Then a train blew up. Tracking an organism deadly to not only humans, but vampires and werewolves alike, brings Kai and Ori into The Vampire Guard. Decades later, they, along with Operative Team Jack Rabbit, come face to face with the horrors that same virus produces. Dead bodies are coming back to life, and rational people are becoming violent and brutal killers. A massacre is taking place nearly a mile under the Atlantic Ocean. Two teams of The Vampire Guard are in the thick of it, fighting to survive.
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4 out of 5 (very good)
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is book 3 in The Vampire Guard series, and I STRONGLY recommend you read Codename Jack Rabbit, and Quarry before this one. It will give you a better view of this group and who they are and what they do.
It's been a long time since I read the first 2 books, 6 years and 3 years and it took me a little bit of time to get back into this group, their dynamics and what they do, and what they are, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
It gets a bit complicated, when they are talking about the endosymbiont and what it does and what it was meant for, but I kinda glazed over that bit. In all honesty, my mind wasn't comprehending it, so I didn't try to hard to understand the technical stuff!
The story flips from various times in the past, 1929/1940s and now, giving you a picture of things that have happened to get to this point, at the bottom of the ocean where they are fighting for their lives and I loved that. It gives us Kai and Ori in all their glory, who (but feel free to correct, it has been YEARS!) are a new introduction to the Guard (in terms of these books) and some Sophia and Porter too, along with Jonas, Lucas, Declan and Blair.
It's quite violent, but dealing with mutated beings would be. And again, it's clean and I'm finding I like that about these books. There is love and feelings, cos you get that through the various bonded pairings as things move along but no actual smexy times and its not needed at all.
There is an epilogue. Said epilogue ends rather abruptly. Leading me to believe that not only will there be another book, but the endosymbiont will pop up again.
A thoroughly enjoyable read, a great catch up with these guys.
4 stars
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Excerpt from Endosymbiont
“How do werewolves fit into this grand plan?” Ori asked. “When we first began chasing Sauer, he was collecting tissue samples and blood from werewolves too.”
“And humans,” Kai added.
“I’ve been giving that some thought as well,” Lucas began. “Both vampires and werewolves are more powerful than humans, but in different ways. As a species each has slightly different skill sets than humans. A werewolf is born, unlike a vampire. They have strong family and pack ties, so recruiting them as soldiers would likely fail unless it was something an individual wanted to do. Getting large numbers to join up for a cause outside a pack would be difficult, if not impossible. Yes, there might be German packs siding with the Nazis, but there would be an equal number, or more, of packs from other regions willing to fight on the opposing side. However, if there was a way to incorporate werewolf attributes to enhance vampires, that would be valuable if the goal were to create a super soldier.”
“Werewolves have, historically, fought in wars. However, as a group they fared much better, particularly afterward. Because of their pack system, soldiers returning from battle have a phenomenal support system. They don’t have the homelessness and mental health problems many human soldiers do,” Ori chimed in. “Humans are only now beginning to catch up to werewolf mental health.”
Lucas nodded. “Another desirable quality for a super soldier. Mental and emotional stability. There’s also the possibility he was hoping to create more than one generation of super soldiers by incorporating werewolves. I’m starting to think this guy had a clear idea of what he wanted, but not how to achieve it.”
“And then somewhere along the way in his quest to create some sort of super soldier, Sauer discovers an organism that can be weaponized,” Jonas said.
“There’s a gap in the research. A jump from analyzing the three species to what we’re dealing with now,” Lucas said. “I’m guessing the biological weapon is still a fairly new idea. Eighty years ago there simply wasn’t the technology to make this thing useful. However, as a group, scientists are hoarders and packrats. We never really throw anything away.”
“And once an idea is out there, it never goes away,” Jonas added and grinned.
“Sauer became a vampire at some point, and I bet it didn’t take long for him to realize all he had to do was hang around and wait for technology to catch up to his ideas,” Sophia said. “He might’ve been a horrible and evil man, but he certainly wasn’t stupid.”
One of the computers started chirping.
“This place is annoying,” Kai grumbled.
Blair wheeled his chair away from the table to the terminal. “It’s a heat signature. A new one.”
“From where?” Ori demanded. “How would someone get into this place without us knowing.”
Shaking his head, Blair stared at one of the monitors, moving the cursor around. He did something that dulled the noise. “Whoever it is, they didn’t come from outside, they’ve been hiding. There must be pocket areas that aren’t covered by any sensors.”
“Heat signature, so not a vampire,” Declan said.
Blair nodded. “Too high for human.” He turned to face them. “The werewolf we couldn’t account for.” He swung back to the computer when it began making a different noise. “Kruger is in his office, but the werewolf and a human is heading that way.” Moving to another computer, Blair pressed a few keys on the keyboard and the quarters Kincade and Madison occupied appeared on one of the other monitors.
Madison was sitting on the side of his bed, reading. It was obvious by how he yawned and stretched he’d probably only recently woken up. Kincade’s room was empty.
Blair blinked at the monitor for a few seconds before he exclaimed, “How the hell did he get out? The door is locked from the outside.”
“Air vents, or maintenance shafts.” Declan like the others, was up and moving in seconds.
Porter started issuing orders. “Kai, Declan, Forge, with Sophia.” He turned to Ori. “You stick with Blair if he has to leave this section.”
Ori nodded. “Yes, sir.”
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Mystery, action, chills, and thrills spiced with romance and desire. ELIZABETH NOBLE lives by the adage "I can't not write." She doesn't remember a time when she didn’t make up stories and eventually she learned how to put words on a page. Those words turned into books and fan fiction that turned into a genuine love of M/M fiction. A part of every day is spent living in worlds she created that are filled with intrigue and espionage. She has a real love for a good mystery complete with murder and twisty plots as well as all things sci-fi, futuristic, and supernatural.
When she's not chronicling the adventures of her many characters, Elizabeth is a veterinary nurse living in her native Cleveland, Ohio. She has three grown children and now happily shares her little, brick house with two spunky Cardigan Welsh Corgis and their feline sidekicks. Elizabeth is a fan of baseball, basketball (go Cavs and Cleveland Baseball) and gardening. She can often be found working in her 'outside office' listening to classic rock and plotter her next novel waiting for it to be dark enough to gaze at the stars.
Elizabeth has received a number of amateur writing awards. Since being published, several of her novels have received Honorable Mentions in the Rainbow Awards. Jewel Cave was a runner-up in the Gay Mystery/Thriller category in the 2015 Rainbow Awards. Ringed Love was a winner in the Gay Fantasy Romance category of the 2016 Rainbow Awards.
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