The Guardian (Dark-Hunter, #21; Dream-Hunter, #5; Were-Hunter, #8; Hellchaser, #4)

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The Guardian (Dream-Hunter #5)

4.32 of 5 stars 4.32 · rating details · 6,798 ratings · 473 reviews

Dream-Hunter Lydia has been charged with the most sacred and dangerous of missions: To descend into the Nether Realm and find the missing god of dreams before he betrays the secrets that could kill her and her kind. What she never expects is to be taken prisoner by the Realm’s most vicious guardian…

Seth’s time is running out. If he can’t hand over the entrance to Olympus

...more

Mass Market Paperback, 345 pages

Published November 1st 2011 by St. Martin's Paperbacks

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Nov 02, 2011 Krista (One Love) (Critical) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: to-read, sherrilyn-kinley, november-2011, adult, cfmf, heroine-i-wanna-slap, heroine-tstl, own-ab, paranormal-rom, read-around, punch-an-author, tears, wall-banger

I enjoyed this book despite the annoying heroine. I LOVE Seth, and I love the fact that he's a tortured hero who has actually done some torturing himself. Usually the supposedly "evil" heroes won't hurt a fly. It ended up not mattering what he'd done because with a past like his, I could excuse him for pretty much anything. Maybe not excuse, but understand. I spent this whole book wanting to hug him. Poor guy actually believed the crap the evil dudes have been spewing, believes he's stupid and p...more I enjoyed this book despite the annoying heroine. I LOVE Seth, and I love the fact that he's a tortured hero who has actually done some torturing himself. Usually the supposedly "evil" heroes won't hurt a fly. It ended up not mattering what he'd done because with a past like his, I could excuse him for pretty much anything. Maybe not excuse, but understand. I spent this whole book wanting to hug him. Poor guy actually believed the crap the evil dudes have been spewing, believes he's stupid and pathetic. He could have been unoriginal, but...for some reason he seemed to stand out to me. I can't say exactly why, but I think it has something to do with his vulnerability. It was more...obvious than it usually is and it made him seem more real to me, rather than one of Kenyon's generic heroes.

As for Lydia, I liked her at first but then she started doing little things that bothered me, liking calling Seth "pathetic." Why does she call him this, you ask? Because she thinks it's pathetic that Seth chose to stay in his room and read while trapped in the demon hell realm instead of going out and exploring demon-central. Why is that pathetic? That's just a mean thing to say and did not endear her to me at all. There are some aspects of her personality that I like, such as her loyalty, but I just wish she thought before she spoke.

Lydia KNOWS Seth's past. His past of having a mother who left him out in the middle of the desert and broke his legs by beating him with a hammer so he would be trapped there unable to die while he starved and dehydrated and was pecked at by birds. After this a family adopted him to do all their chores and work for them and then sold him for pennies to a demon who tortured him mentally and physically for 4500 years. That was his life. She knows this. She actually saw it first hand with the help of Jaden, who can see into people's memories. And yet still, she says things like, "You have no social skills. I swear you were raised by monkeys," and then claims not to understand why saying that would hurt him. Is she the absolute dumbest person of all time? Kenyon can't create a heroine that doesn't say stupid things and make unfunny jokes about "where she's going to hide the body" of her hero. Seriously, Lydia contemplates this while having sex with him.

She also has to find insult in everything. Like when Seth called her "lily" in his native tongue and she freaked out thinking he'd called her "Susan." Give me a freaking break. And then she gets pissed when he allows another women to TALK TO HIM. This man had not seen the sun in literally 45oo years. He'd been in the outside world for a few minutes and a women approaches him. Is that HIS FAULT? He's utterly lost and confused. Was he supposed to...what? Kill the random women? And THEN she gets angry when he turns away after she tries to kiss him. She gets pissed KNOWING that he associates kissing with pain and does not understand that kissing can come without pain. She KNOWS this. And she's so self-centered she doesn't even realize it.

Also, Jaden. I reeeeeaaaaaallllyyyy want to know more about him. And I want him to get out of that stupid freaking demon place! Oh, and the end was rushed and took away from the book as a whole. I don't like when a story jumps ahead in time and leaves out important info.

This makes it sound like I don't like it, but that isn't the case. I enjoyed Lydia and Seth's relantionship and I especially enjoyed watching him very slowly learn to trust her. It was so sad how long it had been since he'd seen the sun, so when he finally saw it for the first time in 4500 years it was really a special scene. And even Lydia had her redeeming qualities. I liked the way she used endearments for Seth, because he'd never experienced such a thing, so it was very important to him and therefore important to me as well.

*Cue abrupt ending*(less)

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Mar 22, 2013 Mimi Smith rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

Well, color me surprised-I actually liked this book. I only picked it up out of nostalgia- I used to be a real SK fan. Yeah, not so much anymore. This series has been going downhill for a while, IMHO. Too many things/disasters/pantheons. The books have the feeling of not being connected at all, loose ends everywhere, etc. Don't even get me started on Chronicles of Nick. Paradoxes, BS that seriously bugs me and I wish to hell that series never started. This book was marginally better and...more 3.5 stars

Well, color me surprised-I actually liked this book. I only picked it up out of nostalgia- I used to be a real SK fan. Yeah, not so much anymore. This series has been going downhill for a while, IMHO. Too many things/disasters/pantheons. The books have the feeling of not being connected at all, loose ends everywhere, etc. Don't even get me started on Chronicles of Nick. Paradoxes, BS that seriously bugs me and I wish to hell that series never started. This book was marginally better and has restored some enthusiasm for DH.

Right. I haven't read a SK book in a while, but I sure did recognize the formula. A strong tortured hero has been suffering for centuries, has never known kindness, is jaded and cynical. In this case it's Seth, son of Set(the Egyptian) and he's being held as a slave by Noir and Azura(they're also holding Jaden). He's been instructed with finding the 'key' that enables anyone to kill a god and take his powers. The only one who knows where it is is Solin. He kidnaps him and pretty soon the intriguing Lydia comes along to save him.

Lydia is (as always) a strong, kind, gentle heroine that has faith in humanity and will rescue Seth and show him the light(love and happiness). She's innocent, she's made of gold, he falls in love with her. She also carries a secret...

We also see a lot of Jaden and a bit of Thorn here (that goes on the plus side). I really am interested in them and their past/future.

The minus side-we get yet ANOTHER pantheon involved-the Egyptians. I really do think that if there ever was a plan for this series it's been lost and is gone forever. Still, this book has a bit of the old magic, so I'm willing to be somewhat lenient. Still, it felt like the story has already been told many times, it was too short, so, yeah... Still, if you're someone who has lost faith in the series-do try it. It's much better than the last one. Now THAT was a disaster.

I liked this scene.

"Lydia lay there, staring at him as emotions played across his face. In that moment, she knew what he’d wanted to say and couldn’t. And it was okay, because she didn’t need the words. She could see it plainly in the way he looked at her as if terrified he was dreaming and at the same time so hungry that his light gaze seared her.
Taking his hand into hers, she folded his two middle fingers down and spread out his thumb, index finger and pinkie so that they were standing up straight.
“What’s this?” he asked quietly.
“What you’re not saying, but I hear it anyway.” She kissed his folded down fingers and placed hers over his."

FYI, that's how you spell I LOVE YOU in ALL sign languages.

And another tidbit
He was one of the original six primal gods.. This is info that would totally send me into speculative storm earlier. Who are those gods? What defines them? Sadly I'm not very optimistic about SK returning to it. Too many catastrophes approaching that need to be stopped are holding her attention.(less)

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Oct 31, 2011 Jen (Red Hot Books) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark-hunter, pararnormal-romance, arcs

This book reminded me why I fell in love with Sherrilyn Kenyon. For me, the Dark-Hunter series has kind of lost its way a little bit lately. But The Guardian felt a lot like some of the earlier books that I loved so much. It's technically a Dream Hunter novel, but it brings together many different threads from previous books. We've got many of the Dream Hunter characters we've met before, like Solin, Delphine & Jericho. But our heroine is half Dream Hunter, half Kattagarian... so we've got a...more This book reminded me why I fell in love with Sherrilyn Kenyon. For me, the Dark-Hunter series has kind of lost its way a little bit lately. But The Guardian felt a lot like some of the earlier books that I loved so much. It's technically a Dream Hunter novel, but it brings together many different threads from previous books. We've got many of the Dream Hunter characters we've met before, like Solin, Delphine & Jericho. But our heroine is half Dream Hunter, half Kattagarian... so we've got a healthy dose of Were-Hunter. AND our hero is a slave to Noir, which ties us into the whole Azmodea/ Hellchaser storyline. Plus we get a visit to Sanctuary and a Malachai connection.

If all that sounds intimidating, well, I'll be honest when I say there were times my memory was creaking, trying to remember all the threads from the previous books. But Kenyon does a good job filling in the blanks and bringing you up to speed. And besides, the real draw of this book wasn't all background stuff anyway. Our main couple stole the show.

Seth is part Egyptian God, but was cast out by his parents. He has been rejected and betrayed his whole life, and has spent thousands of years as a slave to the primordial god Noir. He has been tortured beyond any point I could convey to you. He's never known love. In short, he is a super-awesome- dreamboat of a tortured hero.

By the bidding of his master, Seth has been torturing the Dream Hunter Solin to get him to reveal the location of the key to Mt Olympus. But then, Solin's daughter Lydia comes to rescue her dad. She becomes Seth's prisoner, while Solin goes to get the key. As his captive, Lydia spends more time with Seth and gets to see the man behind the mask he wears as Noir's Guardian. And she wants to show him all the love he has never known.

He pulled her hand up and laid it against his chest before he finally explained, "I can perform a lot better for you if you wait until the end to hurt me there."

She didn't know what made her hurt the most, the sincere honesty in his voice or the expectation of pain she saw in his eyes. He spoke as if he were nothing more than a trained monkey with no other purpose than to service her and go.

Her hand trembling, she brushed his curls back from his forehead. "Has no one ever made love to you?"

Scowling, he cocked his head. "Made love? I don't know what that is."

Of course, he didn't. Because no one had ever touched him with a loving hand. They had used him, abused him, and then thrown him away his entire life.

But that was going to change.

I really enjoyed this book alot. Kenyon is sooo good at writing tortured heroes and this reminded me a lot of Dance With the Devil in tone. My only complaint, was that ending felt a little bit rushed. Maybe more than a little bit. But I can forgive it. I really think fans of the series are going to be happy with this one. I definitely was. 4 1/2 stars.

*ARC Provided by St. Martin's Press(less)

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Dec 03, 2011 Laurie (Bitten by Paranormal Romance) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, requests, publisher-request, favorites, keepers

Truthfully, I didn’t want to start this book because I haven’t cared for the last few books in this series. So with my not so high expectations, I kept pushing it back until I had no choice but to read it. When I was done I was wonderfully surprised, I loved it. I felt this was Kenyon back to her old writing self. Yep, you get one very tortured hero;) Kenyon does an awesome job at creating these characters and writing their compelling story. But what I liked most was the Egyptian Gods and story...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Suz marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: pnr

Nov 1. "Coming Fall 2011, The Dream-Hunters are going into the Nether Realm to free D'Alerian (they hope)..."

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Nov 02, 2011 Mrs.Norman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sherrilyn-kenyon, dream-hunter, greeks-and-such, paranormal-romance, favorites

Seth is guardian to the evil Noir. He's been released from his constant torture so that he can retrieve the key to Olympus from Solin. Its said that he's the only Dream-Hunter who knows were the key is. If Noir gets his hands on the key, he and his Azura will rule the world. Time is runing out for Seth....if Solin doesn't break soon, he will go back to the pits and be tortured for all eternity.

Lydia, Were-Hunter and Dream-Hunter, has gone to Azmodea to retrieve Solin from Noir's evil cluthes. Wh...more

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May 22, 2013 Lyra Dimagiba rated it 5 of 5 stars

First thing's first...

I kinda miss Kenyon's previous book covers. You know, the one with the pictures of the heroes and heroines in front? I think it's more sinister looking than the current covers.

Okay, now back with the story.

I like it. No... I don't just like it, I LOVE IT! I mean... finally, we're back to the realm I know. Though it's not entirely Greek, at least it has been discussed during the first books. The Melachai, Jaden, and Solin. Oh, Solin! That one. When I first read him on Arik...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Nathaly Alvarez rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: leido-en-2013, me-hizo-llorar, reseñados

Sherrilyn Kenyon nos lleva un poco mas allá en el mundo de los Dream-Hunters y demonios, pero también nos adentra en el Panteón Griego. Esta es la historia de Seth y Lidia, a pesar de que hay apariciones de personajes de libros anteriores.

Siempre he disfrutado de la serie Dream-Hunter. Pero este en particular no me gusto mucho.

The Guardian sobre Seth, un semidiós egipcio. Quien fue esclavizado por Noir en Azmodea. Noir le envía en una búsqueda para encontrar la llave de Olimpo y como consecuenci...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Daniela rated it 5 of 5 stars

Super romantic.

The guardian is about this Egyptian-human demigod who was enslaved by Noir in Azmodea. Noir sends him on a quest to find the key to Olympus and as a consequence Solin (Arik's brother from the dream hunter book) gets kidnapped by the guardian in order to get information about the key.
Well we learned that sexy Solin has a daughter Lydia and the beginning of the book is about her quest to find her father but some how ends up kidnapped by the guardian too.
Well a few days was enough f...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Luisa Fernanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tenía cierta cosa por empezar este libro, ya que los últimos no me habían gustado tanto -la autora estaba traumada con destruir el mundo, y se hacía tedioso tener que leer eso- pero este fue un buen recordatorio de porque empecé a leer a Sherrilyn Kenyon desde un comienzo.
Ella tiene este talento increíble de crear historias que mezclan mitología -no solo griega- acción y romance en medidas perfectas para entretener al lector.
Y sé perfectamente que el final es predecible, pero las situaciones qu...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, science-fiction, fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 19, 2012 Me Lin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 3-stars, modern, z-kenyon-sherrilyn

The book actually rated closer to a 3.5 stars, but I couldn't quite round up to four. I know Kenyon's style of writing and I know that she always has a tortured soul or two in her books. I've read a lot of her books now and I guess I'm not quite sure that I find the tortured soul as evocative as I used to. That's not to say that the love story here isn't really enjoyable (and hot), or that Lydia and Seth aren't great characters...they are. It's just that hearing Seth harp on and on in his head a...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Jana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of my favorite Dark Fantasy/Paranormal Romance authors, whose work I have followed for years. Sadly, The Guardian fell short of the precedent she has set with previous works.

The hero, Seth, is a demigod from his Egyptian father Set and human mother who has been sold into slavery in Azmodea after being abandoned by his mother and then sold by his foster family. He is sold to Noir who essentially uses him as a power leach by torturing him. Basically 4,500 years of torture....more Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of my favorite Dark Fantasy/Paranormal Romance authors, whose work I have followed for years. Sadly, The Guardian fell short of the precedent she has set with previous works.

The hero, Seth, is a demigod from his Egyptian father Set and human mother who has been sold into slavery in Azmodea after being abandoned by his mother and then sold by his foster family. He is sold to Noir who essentially uses him as a power leach by torturing him. Basically 4,500 years of torture. Yet, after all of that, he is still vulnerable and wants a light to his dark side, which he finds in Lydia. I found this a bit trying, but okay.

The character development wasn't bad and the back story was interesting, but the part I found most puzzling was the massive amount of graphic torture and violence. Now, there has always been torture and violence in Kenyon's novels and in the past I have been all for it, but this took it to a whole different level. The pain, blood and guts filled the pages to the point that I began to separate from the story and question the purpose of this effusion of violence.

Another curious aspect was the many random last minute saves that happened. For example(view spoiler). There was just too much of the random characters popping out of nowhere to save the day for my taste. All of which culminated in a disappointing ending that felt rushed.

That being said, I wasn't completely disappointed by The Guardian. I enjoyed the cameo roles by old favorites, the journey to Sanctuary and watching Seth discover the modern world. As always, Kenyon's dry humor is fun to read and you've got to give it to her, she knows how to write a tortured soul. It was just a bit much/overdone in this one.

If you're a fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon, then I'd recommend reading it. It is nothing new, but it is entertaining once you get past the endless life is horrible excursions and the constant graphic torture scenes. Don't expect it to fall anywhere near Acheron, though.
(less)

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Apr 06, 2012 Joanne rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I loved this book. It was by Kenyon so that was hardly a surprise. But a friend of mine didn't seem overly found of it. The reason for this was because Kenyon in Dream Warrior seemed to be building up to an epic war which has yet to be fulfilled. As readers we're in a perpetual state of tension which hasn't been eased off and leads to frustration. That being said, I believe the reason she is choosing to do this is because the war will reveal sides of Nick that she wants to gradually reveal in 't...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Jessica(WonderlandReviews) rated it 5 of 5 stars

For anyone who has read the saga that is sweeping the nation be it the Dark-Hunter, Dream hunter and so on, of Sherrilyn Kenyon's work's then you know that the main charachter is no stranger to heartache. The king of heartache and pain being Acheron himself, hopefully you my fellow reader have read his story and that of Zarek, because they are the ones I think who had it the worst. But Seth gives them a run for their money.
I always felt so bad for the poor boy whose father was the powerfull Egyp...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction, paranormal-romance, paranormal, werewolves-shape-shifters

Seth is an Egyptian demigod who has been trapped in Azmodea the Hell dimension for 4500 years. He has been pretty much tortured for that entire time. So he is pretty much messed up in the head, he doesn't trust anyone. And why should he when everyone he has trusted has betrayed him. Lydia a Dream Hunter who is in Azmodea to rescue her father Solin who has been captured by Seth at Noir's request. Noir of course is the one who tortures Seth and only let's him out to do his bidding. Noir wants the...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Allison rated it 4 of 5 stars

Few paranormal heroes have ever suffered as much as Sherrilyn Kenyon's demigods who can't die, no matter how much they might wish to. And Ms. Kenyon piles the torture on thick, but it makes for a greater pay-off when the heroine helps them turn things around. They are like wounded animals, lethal on the outside but heartbreakingly vulnerable on the inside and this makes them very compelling.

So even though I didn't know who Seth and Lydia were before I read The Guardian, I was looking forward to...more Few paranormal heroes have ever suffered as much as Sherrilyn Kenyon's demigods who can't die, no matter how much they might wish to. And Ms. Kenyon piles the torture on thick, but it makes for a greater pay-off when the heroine helps them turn things around. They are like wounded animals, lethal on the outside but heartbreakingly vulnerable on the inside and this makes them very compelling.

So even though I didn't know who Seth and Lydia were before I read The Guardian, I was looking forward to their story.

After his mother abandoned him to die in the desert, Seth's adoptive family sold him to source god Noir, who drains his powers to keep him weak. Noir sends Seth to find the key to Olympus and after having spent an eternity being abused by everyone in the Nether Realm, Seth is determined to obey.

Lydia goes to the Nether Realm to rescue the Dream-Hunter Solin but is caught by his captor. As Seth isn't getting the answers he knows Solin can provide, he holds Lydia to guarantee Solin's cooperation. Through spending time with Seth, she quickly sees that he is still being frequently abused and isn't the evil overlord she thought he was. He had so many opportunities to hurt her but he chose to protect her instead.

He broke my heart so many times in this book, like when he was willing to let her hurt him like everyone else has, just as long as he could touch her. Or the joy he found in seeing a picture of the sun and hearing music from a laptop. I was blown away not only by the fact that he survived, but that there was still a part of him untouched by Noir that could be saved. Amazingly, he had the capacity to risk his own welfare for Lydia.

Lydia showed incredible strength by fighting for him and not giving up when faced by the overwhelming threat of Noir. Her steady stream of kindness and compassion broke through his fierce facade and began to heal the wounded boy who feared being abandoned yet again.

Watching Seth and Lydia bond in hell, learn to trust each other and let down their barriers led to a very satisfying and well-deserved HEA. Books like The Guardian are why I read romance.(less)

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Dec 11, 2011 Vick rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: angst-butter, assholes-are-great, baw-moments, big-dumb-scary-guys-need-love-too, fluffy, god-is-an-asshole, i-will-not-let-them-win, immortals-are-dicks, is-everyone-frickin-retarded, meh, demons-are-pokey

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. If anyone has ever read my reviews before they know I am not a fan of the Main characters falling in love after a half a second to a couple days of knowing each other. It's retarded. It shits on the idea of love. Space it out a little bit... like Wulf's story.. (even though Wulf's story sucked butthole)

So that begs the question: Why do you keep reading Mrs. Kenyon's works when she clearly uses this trope every single fucking time?

Well...It's cause I've invested way too much time reading this...more If anyone has ever read my reviews before they know I am not a fan of the Main characters falling in love after a half a second to a couple days of knowing each other. It's retarded. It shits on the idea of love. Space it out a little bit... like Wulf's story.. (even though Wulf's story sucked butthole)

So that begs the question: Why do you keep reading Mrs. Kenyon's works when she clearly uses this trope every single fucking time?

Well...It's cause I've invested way too much time reading this series so it's kinda like a malignant cancer.. I can't expunge it.. and I am patiently awaiting the stories for certain characters I like (like Savitar) only to be depressed with a pile of KA-KA DOODIE like when Jess' story came out in

. (oh god that was so bad) Or the cameo bits of older characters like Zarek (the only shining light in that nefarious Retribution) and... well Zarek's probably the only one really. I used to like Ash but now he's all foofy foo and Nick is such a effing prick I want to burn him alive.

Soo...Seth and Lydia ... I was not feeling it. Their love was as deep as the pee reservoir in a pregnancy test.
Lydia has a case of the Stockholme Syndrome and a lady-bonAr problem... I mean she was pretty much drooling at him every second then immediately remembering he was a super villianous bad-baddie the next. WHO DOES THAT?? Assholes. That's who. But other than that, completely forgettable.
Seth... Ok, I liked Seth.. His character design anyway..Kabuki?!? Really?!? That's fucking awesome!! Plus, I like miserable characters. But it seems to me that Mrs. Kenyon is trying to out do herself with her Broken-Alpha-Male-Archetype with Seth. He had 4 and a half thousand years..THOUSAND, of demon torture daily. That would leave you A: Scarred to the EXTREMMEE.. and I mean like Zarek pre-Dark-Hunter (castrated, non functioning limbs etc.etc.) so basically...Gumby.. B: retardedly insane like texas chainsaw insane or C: Dead. He had a couple of prominent scars and was a little bit grumpy.

OH.. and I loved (sarcasm) the super huge buildup of the suffering Seth went through went he got tortured and nearly bifurcated by the Phonoi like it was the worst fucking thing EVAR. It was mentioned that Jared had seen every war in the history of time and Seth's "almost split" was one of the worst things? Really?!?! The history of all time? WTF? Have you met THE NEW Theon GreyJoy

A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

?

And did Noir seem a little "off" from what he was in the last Dream-Hunter? I found him to be a lot more frazzled than he was before. Like he lost his cool button and ate a bipolar doughnut. He acted more like a bitchy tween without her twilight fix of the day.

I did kinda like the whole twisticle ending where you thought Seth was gonna play Super-Martyr and Lydia was gonna live in a Ditsy LOLWUT state dreaming bits and pieces of a warm mysterious presence and just staying a relatively dumb character..THen Psyche! They just Deus-EX him outta there.

Overall... It was better than the last 2 Dark-Hunter novels but that's not really saying much since the last two were so god-awful that punched myself into a coma...I guess that would be one way of seeing stars form something. derp.
(less)

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Dec 05, 2011 Kathy Davie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, romance

Fifth in the Dream-Hunter and twenty-first in the Dark-Hunter paranormal-romance series. The couple focus is on Lydia and Seth, the Guardian.

My Take
Well, there is certainly a lot of action in this one. Unfortunately, Kenyon never grabbed me with her characters. A few of the series' characters were brought in for cameo roles but this was more a rote relating of information than a compelling story. Part of my disenchantment is the lack of information. Important events occur that are just dropped...more

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Nov 30, 2011 Bookaholics rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Guardian by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Paranormal Romance- Nov. 1st, 2011
4 stars

Seth is the slave and Guardian to the terrible Noir. He has been tortured and humiliated for thousands of years and his master is never forgiving. His next task is to find the God Solin and force him to give him a special key for Noir. However, Solin will not break, that is until the lovely Dream-Hunter, Lydia, foolishly tries to save him. When Seth sees that Solin will do anything for Lydia, he makes him a bargain, her lif...more The Guardian by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Paranormal Romance- Nov. 1st, 2011
4 stars

Seth is the slave and Guardian to the terrible Noir. He has been tortured and humiliated for thousands of years and his master is never forgiving. His next task is to find the God Solin and force him to give him a special key for Noir. However, Solin will not break, that is until the lovely Dream-Hunter, Lydia, foolishly tries to save him. When Seth sees that Solin will do anything for Lydia, he makes him a bargain, her life for the key. But the key could mean the destruction of the Gods. Seth is sure he doesn’t care but Lydia makes him feel things he only thought were dead to him. Can he trust her when all he has known is betrayal?

Lydia must save her mentor Solin, but underestimates the power behind the ugly demon who has captured him and finds herself a hostage instead! But Lydia is soon surprised that Seth is really no demon at all but a wounded and beautiful man who has been constantly been betrayed. He fascinates her, and she soon falls in love with the goodness she sees in him despite his terrible upbringing. But can she stay with a man who could lead to the destruction of all she knows and cares for?

This is a fabulous paranormal romance that will that reminded me of my favorite Sherrilyn Kenyon heroes - the more tortured ones like Zarek from Dance with the Devil or Wren from Unleash the Night. If you enjoyed those books, you will definitely enjoy this one, too! Seth has had a very difficult and abusive life yet his goodness shines through. I was so happy he was able to find Lydia who was compassionate and able to see through the wounded warrior to the noble and suffering man beneath. He just needed her to believe in him after being kicked down (undeservedly) by so many others. I felt these two were a wonderful match as Seth finds hope and a new fresh start with Lydia, and Lydia (somewhat an outcast) finds a man who will stand by her and defend her unwaveringly. They both deserved each other, and I loved the building love, understanding and loyalty that grew between them.

If you love a wounded and tortured but very noble hero who finally finds the love of a warm and compassionate woman, you will definitely enjoy this emotional and exciting paranormal romance. This Hunter book is one of the best I read in years!!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club(less)

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Nov 27, 2011 Sonia rated it 4 of 5 stars

What a relief! After Retribution, I was afraid The Guardian would continue the trend but it was really good! It had a feeling of Sherrilyn´s earlier books.

What I liked:
- Seth was a prototype of a tortured hero that we love. After thousands of years being tortured by Noir, saying he has trust issues is the understatement of the millenium. Seeing him re-gain some of the trust he lost was so good. He was so hurt that I wanted to cry for him.

But when she brushed her hand lightly against his cock,

...more

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Nov 26, 2011 C.M. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vamps-weres-et-al, urban-fantasy

I really liked this series when it started but I feel like it's just too all over the place now. This was a relatively short story about 190 pages and at the end big jumps in time happen between places which isn't really explained. At the one point it seems like she was pregnant for like 2 weeks but they could feel the baby moving? That's fine if it was explained that it grew ultra fast or something (Twilight?) but it wasn't ever mentioned that was the case.

I LOVE it when authors bring ASL into...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Rjsmommy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-vampire-romance

I was worried about The Guardian...I hated Retribution and feared that this next novel would continue in Retribution's vane but The Guardian has restored my faith in Ms. Kenyon's writing and the Dark Hunters universe. Seth was an awesome male lead character...so reminiscent of Ash in many ways. I loved how broken he was yet never allowed himself to give-in; no matter what he never really gave-in to his despair or servitude. He held on to that last chance for hope, though it was buried really dee...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Maribs rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm coming at this book as a new reader of the series, having decided to pick it up after reading an expert at Heroes and Heartbreakers.

The romance in this honestly moved a bit fast for me (and a bit too much along the "one true love" lines, which I often have a hard time believing), but then, it's a romance novel, so I really can't knock it for being a romance novel. I enjoyed Seth, Lydia was kind of a Mary Sue but still enjoyable, and I certainly wouldn't mind reading the book again.

This was a...more

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Nov 12, 2011 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is Seth and Lydia's story, even though we have brief appearances from some of the characters in other books. Sherrilyn Kenyon takes us into the world of Dream-Hunters, Demons and other non-humans.
I have always enjoyed the Dream-Hunter series.

Dream-Hunter Lydia has been charged with the most sacred and dangerous of missions: To descend into the Nether Realm and find the missing god of dreams before he betrays the secrets that could kill her and her kind. What she never expects is to be taken...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Douglas Meeks rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am continually amazed at the weird reviews I see sometimes and this book was one of them. It is the best book of the last 3-4 Dark-hunter/Dream-hunter books while admitting it did not move the overarching story forward any (which anyone who bothered to read the website would know, the next "official" Dark-Hunter book will do that). This book was almost a stand alone and the plot was tortured soul, impossible situation, rescued by an amazing woman. While this is not new ground it was done well,...more

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Nov 03, 2011 Desiree rated it 1 of 5 stars

*Possible Spoilers*
I thought this book was such a waste of both my time and my money. It was completely unoriginal and unimaginative. I must say, Sherrilyn really got me with this one. I will NEVER buy another one of her books again because it's obvious she doesn't care anything about her fanbase and just wants to write any old thing and put it out because she knows her loyal fans will buy it. Well not this one because I'm done. This book was dull and I was wondering throughout the story "Haven'...more

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view all 4 comments

Elsie It's not just the Dark Hunter series, but The League as well. It became quite obvious how repetitive her work is so I dare not start any others of her...more
Nov 07, 2011 08:10am

Desiree Thanks. I'm glad someone else besides me thinks that Kenyon's work and books are just not good anymore. With all the positive reviews for this book, I...more
updated Nov 07, 2011 11:15am

Nov 03, 2011 Shauni rated it 5 of 5 stars

Kenyon does it again! Yes, I know I am hard pressed to find a book by Sherrilyn Kenyon that I don't like but.. I truly enjoy this new arc in her Dark Hunter Series. The Guardian is a Dream Hunter novel and takes us back to battling Noir and Azura in the Nether World.

Seth, a tortured soul, sold to Noir at an early age by adoptive parents having already been betrayed by those parents who claimed to love him. Abandoned by the very gods he has spent millennium suffering Noir's “benevolence”. Even w...more Kenyon does it again! Yes, I know I am hard pressed to find a book by Sherrilyn Kenyon that I don't like but.. I truly enjoy this new arc in her Dark Hunter Series. The Guardian is a Dream Hunter novel and takes us back to battling Noir and Azura in the Nether World.

Seth, a tortured soul, sold to Noir at an early age by adoptive parents having already been betrayed by those parents who claimed to love him. Abandoned by the very gods he has spent millennium suffering Noir's “benevolence”. Even when pleasing Noir, torture is all but guaranteed and yet Seth somehow managed to maintain a degree of decency that all others would have lost eons earlier. And yet his very decency is his prison. He can't not fight Noir, he can't remain silent unless he is held mute and tortured. After ages of being tortured he agrees to do one small favor for Noir.. Anything for a few moments of painless existence.

Lydia, entered the Nether Realm trying to find her Solin, her only friend, her protector but finding him means hiding from demons and stealthily stalking the very pits of hell. Worse than any pit that can be found in tarturus, worse than any torture than can be contrived by even the Greeks.

Upon, finding Solin she also finds Seth.. in his darkest, fiercest form. Torturing Solin. Seth, realizing that Lydia is the one being that Solin would actually die for sends him to find The Key to Olympus and keeps Lydia as a bargaining chip. As time passes in darkness, Lydia sees Seth battered and abused by Noir and Azura and yet never once is he anything less than, well not kind but gentle with her. Wanting but having no clue even what it is exactly he wants.

Suddenly, everyone is after Lydia.. Solin and the Oneri to save her, the Phoneri to kill her and Noir.. well he just wants to torture Seth. With the help of Jaden, Lydia escapes to Sanctuary and is able to pull Seth out with her, powerless. All they need is time for him to heal. Together they escape finding some unexpected allies along the way. Both of them learning what real trust is and how very fragile it can be.

This book was amazing, intense and very much along the same theme as Dream Warrior. We even get to see glances of Jericho and Delphine, along with Madoc and even Zarek. The battle itself was almost an afterthought and certainly not the climactic battle one would expect if this was written by anyone besides Kenyon. In her amazing way, she crafts a story of love, desire, trust, family and romance.. sweeping her characters along in epic proportions.. The only thing wrong with this book was it was too short and I have to wait another year for the next one.

Shauni(less)

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Jan 26, 2012 Wendes rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: action, cutest-couple, comerade-ship, happily-ever-after, magic, paranormal, paranormal-romance, gods, self-discovery, top-shelf, touching

No matter how many of Sherri's books I read, I can't get over how much I love them. Sure the plots might not be intricate or intensely laid out and all the male leads have some form of tortured past, but it just never ever gets old. Every one of her characters are just so.....alive. She describes them with such utter poignancy that it makes readers laugh, cry and ache with them.

Seth and Lydia's story was no different. He's your typical Sherrilyn Kenyon hero with the tortured past, hard ass armo...more

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Nov 05, 2011 Roxanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Any other rules I should know about?” “Keep the toilet seat down at night, and don’t eat the last potato chip. Ever.”

4.5 Stars

Sherrilyn Kenyon is making a come back! Now I'll admit the last few books in the dark hunter/dream-hunter series were really boring. They lacked character growth, sexual tension and suspense. Pretty much anything that made me want to keep reading, so going into The Guardian I was a little worried. I had also resigned myself to mediocre books from now, but I am so glad t...more

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About Sherrilyn Kenyon

Sherrilyn Kenyon lives a life of extraordinary danger... as does any woman with three sons, a husband, a menagerie of pets and a collection of swords that all of the above have a fixation on. But when not running interference (or dashing off to the emergency room), she's found chained to her computer where she likes to play with all her imaginary friends. With more than ten million copies of her b...more

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Books by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Dance with the Devil (Dark-Hunter, #4; Were-Hunter, #1)

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“Lydia: Strange how you always remember the pain someone gave you, but seldom the hurt you caused them.” — 15 people liked it

“Safe. No one ever is. No matter how hard we try. No matter how much we plan and prepare. There will always be an enemy at the door and a storm trying to knock us down. Life's not about security. It's about picking up the peices after it's all over and carrying on.” — 12 people liked it

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The Guardian (Dream-Hunter #5)

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