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. ( )

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Man I missed these Guardians! This book was great! Both leads were fantastic, their chemistry was flowing between them right from their first meeting. The Hero was sweet and honest, the Heroine was feisty and strong. I loved how "drawn" to each other they were.

One of my favourite elements of these books is the "soul mate curse." I love the idea of soul mates, and these Argonauts are the best kind! It was great to revisit all of them, and, as this book takes place about 25 years after the last one, we are also getting glimpses of some of their children, and Max! Wow! He's gotten all manly! I remember reading about him in the second book and thinking that he had all the potential to be an awesome guardian.. here's hoping he gets a story!

Also, and I may be wrong on this.. but I believe Naughton has introduced the very first female Argonaut... which is SUPER COOL! Makes me wonder if the soul mate curse will work the same way on her.. I don't really see why it wouldn't.. but perhaps she's exempt due to only the males being cursed?? Guess I will have to wait and see on that!

OOh and I can't forget about Zagerus! He is such a treat! I sorta wished I had reread the last two books just before I had read this one, as at points I had kinda forgotten a few things.. like how Zagerus ends up where he is.. but this didn't detract from the story. If you have not read these books, I would suggest you start at the beginning because, for one: they are all great, and two: they are somewhat intertwined. Either way, as I read the last few sentences of this book, all I could think was how much I am already anticipating the next one!!!

Well Done Ms. Naughton!!!

*I received and ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Estimated Release date: April 12th 2016

Original review posted at: http://paragraphsandpetticoats.blogspot.ca/ ( )

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. ( )