Carrie Woods really wants some ancient Chinese Documents. If only to study. What she doesn't realise is that the document is more than just words on paper. It is the key to a Guardian's powers. Several people want them, not least Maximillian Prescott. He's a Guardian, the Metal Guardian and she is disturbing his calm.

It's a pretty predictable paranormal romance, great fun and the two main characters are quite interesting in their own right, also Carrie behaves a lot like a lot of academics I know.

I'd like to read more by this author. ( )

I was asked by the publisher, Hatchette Book Group, to read and review Kate Perry's Chosen By Desire. If you're into romance novels, you'll definitely enjoy this! It's got a unique supernatural twist to it that creates an intense storyline.

The main character is Carrie, a young PhD student trying to come up with something groundbreaking- something that will help her stand out so she can get a professorial position at UC Berkley. Her research is on a Chinese emperor who was said to possess the power of the five elements. The myth said he divided the powers into scrolls which were then given to "Guardians". The sole purpose of the Guardians was to keep the scrolls (and hence, the power) from falling into the wrong hands.

As luck would have it, Carrie discovers the location of the journal of this famed emperor. After traveling all the way to China and finding the journal, Carrie is faced with no choice but to "borrow" the document. Unfortunately for her, Max witnessed her act of theft. Max realizes Carrie has made off with more than just the journal, and is forced to go after her and get the stolen goods back. Max employs Carrie with the intent to discover her motives, but didn't count on falling for her in the process. Meanwhile, Carrie realizes she is in way over her head when she starts receiving threatening phone calls about the things she stole. After a mess of murder attempts, false accusations, and snooping around, Carrie manages to discover who has been threatening her as well as figure out her feelings for Max.

I'm more of a historical romance reader, but I decided to have a go with this book and was pleasantly surprised! The story line was very engaging, and moved along at a pace that didn't allow me to become bored. It was definitely a fast read, taking me only two days to get through. The plot itself was a unique spin on romance novels with its use of ancient Chinese magic. As with most romance novels, this one is not lacking in "Rated R" content. Unlike many books that get a little too hung up on including as many sexy scenes as possible (thus making the book seem like nothing more than cleverly concealed porn), this book was very tastefully written.

Something that struck me early on while reading is that this is a surprisingly funny book! I related well to the character of Carrie in her mannerisms and way of speaking. I found myself smiling and laughing quite a lot throughout this book, which is unusual for me. The author develops every character well, even the minor ones like the police inspector, Rick.

I love that the author included a prologue! It's always so frustrating when you read a good love story and you never find out how everything turns out! The prologue was a "6 months later" piece, which helped to tie up a few loose ends. I was actually enjoying the reading so much that I continued and read the author's note (which, for the record, was also incredibly funny).

If you are a romance reader, give this book a read! I will definitely be checking out the rest of the Guardians of Destiny Series! ( )

This review was originally posted on my review blog : Falling Off The Shelf.

Carrie has never stolen anything in her life, until now. Her career is at stake, and the only thing she needs to do is find proof of the Guardians of Destiny is to find Wei Lin's Journal. Unfortunetly, it's hidden away in a monastary in China, but that won't stop Carrie. She takes the tour through the monastary multiple times before she is confident enough to sneak into their archives room. Just a few snapshots and she'll have what she needs, until she's just about caught! She stuffs the journal along with a few scrolls into her bag before she's noticed.

Max notices the blonde woman stealing from the archives room of the monastary. How can such a sweet, innocent looking woman go as far as to steal from a monastary? It doesn't surprise Max when he finds out that Carrie is friends with his rival and lost brother, Rhys Llewellyn. He knows that the two of them are up to something, and he's not going to let them get away with it.

After reading and reviewing the first book in this series, Marked by Passion, I was really interested to read more about Gabe's best friend Carrie Woods. Luckily, this second installment is focused around her. I liked Carrie' character far more than Gabe, although she does have her own problems as well. Carrie seems like someone I could actually befriend, because she is smart, funny, and not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. She does have some commitment issues though, due to some problems in the past.

I'm not sure I can say whether I liked Max's character or not. He is very arrogant, and with being used to getting what he wants, he is a bit pushy with others to get just that. It didn't surprise me to know that him and Rhys butt heads in their past, as they are both the same type of character. Despite his flaws, he is a very caring character. At times it causes him to be over-protective, but it's only because he truly doesn't want harm to come to the people he loves.

This installment was pretty much paced just like the last installment, although I enjoyed this story even more. There was plenty of romance, when I needed it most, as well as some action. I was a little sad that there wasn't nearly as much paranormal focus as I would have liked, and I noticed this in the first installment as well. I would definitely recommend this book if you like a good action packed romance though.

I really liked the twist at the end of this installment. I was expecting it like I was expecting the end of the first installment. I literally had to stop and say, "Your kidding me!?" Although I should have seen it coming because it was sitting right in front of my nose the whole time. It just wasn't dangling like a piece of meat. I'm really excited to read the third installment now, and hoping it will focus on another featured character from this book. I can't honestly tell you who though, because it will give away some bits to the story.

I'd like to thank Anna Balasi of Hatchette books for sending me an ARC of this book. It was a great second to a very good series. ( )