Awakened

Awakened
4 Stars

With no memories of his past, Damon has spent the last 25 years as a slave in Aphrodite's Pleasure Palace. His one respite is his occasional assignment training new Siren recruits in the arts of war, strategy, and seduction. But when the newest recruit, Elysia, awakens in Damon dormant thoughts, emotions, and desires, they will have to decide if their love is worth angering the vengeful and manipulative gods who have their own plans for the pair.

Series note: This installment in the Eternal Guardians series continues from where the previous novella left off, and continues the ongoing Orb of Kronos story arc. It is, therefore, recommended that the books be read in order.

While the twists, turns and revelations of the plot are predictable, the romance between Damon and Elysia is sweet and sexy. They are both likable characters although Elysia's naivete is sometimes irksome, and their physical and emotional bond is intense and believable.

The cameos by the previous couples in the series is an added bonus as readers are able to catch up with their lives.

Looking forward to the next book and hope it will be published soon.

Elisabeth Naughton’s Awakened has become my favorite book in the Eternal Guardians Series. Damon has belonged to the goddess Aphrodite for twenty-five years. He remembers nothing from his life beforehand. He is loaned to the goddess of war, Athena, to help train the incoming sirens. He finds himself drawn to new recruit, Elysia. He will do anything for her. He discovers that their meeting was not an accident, there are other forces at play. Awakened takes place in Olympus and Argolea. This mythological fantasy is suitable for adult audiences.

Elisabeth Naughton does an amazing job with her character development. I love that characters from the earlier books still play a vital role throughout the story. Damon is a terrific character with lots of layers. I love Elysia. She is brave and determined. I like that she doesn’t let her parents push her around. I like that she doesn’t give up. I think it is great how loyal Talisa and Maximus are to her, especially Maximus. Zeus and Athena make excellent opponents; they are crafty and powerful.

The plot was exceptional, full of action and mystery. I loved this story. Elisabeth Naughton does a great job of protecting the integrity of the mythological characters while creating a new tale. I appreciate how things that happened in previous books played such an important role in this novel. Awakened is a difficult book to put down full of nonstop excitement. Followers of the Eternal Guardians will not want to miss this book. If you haven’t read the Eternal Guardian Series yet, I recommend following them in order. I think you would be able to comprehend it as a standalone, but you wouldn’t get near the same amount of investment to the characters knowing their background stories.

Complimentary copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh gosh! I don't want to give any spoilers but the next generation connects with the one before in a weird twist of fate. Zeus is up to his games again and the poor Argonauts are his unwilling playthings. Damon is the anti-thesis of his original self. And Elysia is so much like her mom it's like reading Isadora and Demetrius' book all over again. That was very nostalgic for me, especially since the island of Pandora plays such a major role.

This book does not disappoint and with the new generation of Argonauts, I'm excited about the future installments in this series. Squeeeel!

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.