Giver Of Roses is Kathleen Morgan's first book in the Guardians of Gadiel series. As of now this is just the first book written in the series. Plans for the next two are set for 2008 and 2009 (according to the author's web site). I am looking forward to the next in the series. This book was well written and very entertaining. Morgan created likable and vivid characters that play in a sufficient but not overly complicated plot. The good guys are flawed and have their own hangups and the bad guys show a soft side that hints at a path towards redemption.

I have owned this book for a couple of years but because the author's previous body of work was all romance or historical romance I was reluctant to start reading this story. In fact, I only bought the book because I was desperate for something to read at the time. Shortly after buying it another book came along and this one got put on the back burner. My reluctance was in vain. This is not a romance book. It is a solid allegorical fantasy.

The story is a simple good versus evil story. The over-arching story in the first book of the series seems to be preparing and setting up the main character, Vartan, to be able to lead the fight against the seemingly indefeatable evil forces. Vartan is brought to the lowest point in his life before he turns and gives control to Athlan (the "god" of this allegory). At that point Vartan is able to be used to raise an army for good to battle the evil.

Yet the story isn't wholly about Vartan. The relationship between Vartan and Danae changes quite a bit through the book. In this part Morgan was able to bring in her considerable experience in the romance genre. She is able to describe the growing and changing relationship between these two, and the others that come into play, in ways that make the characters come to life. In the end the reader feels the pain and frustration that these two go through. This further drives home the point of the allegory.

I'm quite happy that I read the book. It's a good solid fantasy with a fairly overt allegorical bent.

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