I received a free advanced copy of this book via Book sprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.  In addition, this book does feature some intense scenes that are not suitable for every person.  Be warned.  Now that that is out of the way, lets dive in.

This is a book that needs two separate reviews.  Why you might ask?  Well because it is a book doing two different things.  First and foremost this is a book designed to get your, lets say sexy imagination, going.  It traverses heavily into BDSM, kinks, and a dom/sub relationship.  The second thing this book is doing, is giving you a plot to traverse with the characters.

The first thing this book does, intriguing your sexy imagination, is done rather well.  As long as you are interested in BDSM, and a dom/sub relationship, I do think you will like this book.  That being said, I am not an expert on either of those things, so I am not entirely sure if they were done well.  But the respect that grows between the characters, and trust that builds, is a beautiful thing.  And I did really like that.

The worst part about this, is how often the words “shame”, “shameful” and “ashamed” are used.  I didn’t pick up on it right away, but then I would be reading and I would see one of those words and it would jar me out of reading.  Maybe it is me, maybe I am weird, but there is nothing they were doing that was “shameful”.  Then as the sexy scenes would continue, you would be in the middle of this very intense scene, and Emma (our heroine) would be all “I loved what he was doing but it was shameful”.  And I am sorry, but if shame is what you are feeling, then you are not enjoying the sensation because you are actively thinking something is wrong.  There are so many other words that would have been better.  Exotic, taboo, new sensation, to name a few right off of the bat.

Onto the second thing. 

Hector, our hero, was alive thousands of years ago and almost died.  Aliens found him and merged his spirit/body/something else (it was not entirely clear) with two other things, making him into an alien/bear/human.  They did this to turn him into a protector of earth.  He has been roaming around the earth, not interfering, ensuring that the humans do not interact with aliens before they are ready for approx. a thousand years.

Emma, our heroine, is twenty years old and is on a hiking trip through nature to detract time off of her sentence in Juvie.  She is sick of the people she is traveling with, and so veers off the path away from them for some alone time.  When she is relaxed and refreshed, she tries to find her group, but gets lost, and Hector saves the day.

In between sexy times, the next plot event happens, which is that the humans have made contact with aliens, and then the aliens attack.  Hector manages to fend of approx. 500 or so of them if I read correctly, before rescuing Emma, and taking her to his house.  Once there he contacts the aliens that created him for next steps on what to do.

The plot itself, what little of it there is, is really good.  The problem is that so much time is devoted to the sexy scenes, that we as the reader do not get the best look into what the plot is.  And I do completely understand that this is a sexy book and the plot is probably second in what is important, but still.

Overall – It is a decent book.  If you are interested in sexy scenes and are not bothered by constantly seeing shame associated with it, it is 100% for you.  If you are in it for the plot, and are willing to actively use your imagination to fill in the blanks, then it is also for you.

Plot – 5/10

Characters – 8/10

Originality –  8/10

General Joy of Reading – 5/10

Overall Score – 26/40

Guardian: A Rough Sci-Fi Romance by Sara Fields

Link –  Currently not available

Cost* –  Currently not available.

*Cost is based upon what the book cost when book review is published