Enraptured (Eternal Guardians, #4)

Apr 23, 2012 Crystal ♥ RBtWBC rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: request-netgalley, request-publisher, reading-challenge-mythological, best-of-2012, rating-5-star, genre-paranormal-romance

Enraptured is a dark, sexy and gripping read that will leave you addicted to these Eternal Guardians if you weren’t already!

Orpheus is now one of the Eternal Guardians, at least according to the marks on his arms he is. But he wants nothing to do with the elite group, all he wants it to find his brother and rescue him from Hades and he will stop at nothing to see his goal fulfilled. When a Siren named Skyla gets in Orpheus’ way though the game drastically changes. Sent by Zeus to steal an artifa...more Enraptured is a dark, sexy and gripping read that will leave you addicted to these Eternal Guardians if you weren’t already!

Orpheus is now one of the Eternal Guardians, at least according to the marks on his arms he is. But he wants nothing to do with the elite group, all he wants it to find his brother and rescue him from Hades and he will stop at nothing to see his goal fulfilled. When a Siren named Skyla gets in Orpheus’ way though the game drastically changes. Sent by Zeus to steal an artifact from Orpheus and stop him from completing his task, Skyla comes to the startling revelation that she has met Orpheus in the past. The Gods have not been entirely honest with her and Skyla must decide if she wants to see the past repeated. Can Orpheus hold his dark side at bay though to complete his task and fight off his instant feelings of connection to Skyla or will succumbing to it be the only way to set his brother, and himself, free?

ZOMG, I knew Orpheus was going to be good but I didn't know he was going to be this damn good! Enraptured is hands-down, the best of the Eternal Guardians series to-date. I LOVED IT and I am so glad too because you know when you set your heart on a character from the very beginning and you hope to God that when they finally get their HEA that you don’t end up disappointed? That's how I felt with Orpheus but Elisabeth Naughton brilliantly captured his story and Enraptured totally rocked my socks off!

Complex, in-depth and magically woven together, Enraptured kept me glued to the pages start to finish. The Eternal Guardians are the direct decedents of the original Argonauts and heroes. Orpheus doesn’t see himself as any sort of hero however and his story is both touching and heart-wrenching as we journey through the revelations of his past and the acceptance of both his light and dark side. Orpheus is truly one of my favorite book heroes and long ago earned a top spot in my book-boyfriend harem! Skyla was a strong, kick-ass heroine that matched Orpheus perfectly. Their attraction was instant and *fans self* really sex-ay due to a connected past but not easy; full of twists, turns and surprises I loved how Ms. Naughton revealed each piece of the puzzle and the ending was *sigh* put together superbly. The plot moved at a steady and captivating pace, I was most definitely Enraptured by it!

Enraptured can be read as a stand-alone but is so much better read in series order. The Eternal Guardians series is a must read for romance, paranormal and mythology fans. I love when authors add a mythological twist in their stories and this entire series is based on a fun one. Ms. Naughton gives the Argonauts her own little spin and ended up creating a series that no one should miss!(less)

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Jul 20, 2012 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars

There are spoilers for the other books in the series in this review. And there is a small spoiler, which I didn’t even consider as a possibility for the plot, in the third paragraph, but it’s something you find out within about the first fifty pages.

As you know if you read Tempted, Orpheus is hell bent on rescuing his brother Gryphon from the Underworld. To do so, he has to track down the daughter of Zeus and Persephone, Malea, in order to find Apophos, the wizard who stole Gryph’s body and hold...more There are spoilers for the other books in the series in this review. And there is a small spoiler, which I didn’t even consider as a possibility for the plot, in the third paragraph, but it’s something you find out within about the first fifty pages.

As you know if you read Tempted, Orpheus is hell bent on rescuing his brother Gryphon from the Underworld. To do so, he has to track down the daughter of Zeus and Persephone, Malea, in order to find Apophos, the wizard who stole Gryph’s body and holds the Orb of Kronos, but he runs into some problems when a Siren named Skyla attempts to keep him from reaching his target, as she’s on a mission from the Gods to kill him.

Unlike her previous stories, even the first one, everything just felt so rushed. It didn’t seem like there was much of a set-up and then, bam, the main characters are going at it. Yes there was the fact that someone is reincarnated so they knew each other a long, long time ago. But that doesn’t make it better for me, it makes it worse because I hate the whole reincarnated thing with a passion you can only dream of, and it seems like sort of a cop out for getting Orpheus and Skyla together.

Unfortunately, Orpheus wasn’t as seemingly uncaring and snarky as he was in the past books, characteristics I loved about him, he just didn’t seem like the same person he was before. And Naughton took something from Orpheus, which made him him and totally kick-ass, which I really hated.

Also, I didn’t really feel any connection to Skyla, which bugged me, as I feel that, unlike some authors who are only really great at writing one gender, Naughton writes compelling male and female leads. The whole slutty assassin thing (and I’ll retract the slutty part if she didn’t, in fact, sleep with a large number of her targets) didn’t really do it for me. I actually liked Malea better and, despite the Argonaut and Siren’s history, would’ve preferred it if he’d gotten together with her, though I have an idea she’ll play a bigger role in a future book.

The story seemed like it was most on track when Orpheus was focused on saving Gryphon. And while I didn’t expect Gryphon to be in the story much, though we know his soul is being tortured in the Underworld, I was happy that he was, though I wasn’t so thrilled when we got to see some of the things that were done to him. Poor guy.

While the other parts of the book were just as good as the previous stories, I just wasn’t feeling the whole Orpheus/Skyla relationship. I liked her more towards the end, but I just felt that their whole relationship was based on the past one, which kind of seemed like a lie as they didn’t really appear to know each other, and simply banging each other. And though Naughton definitely knows her way around a sex scene, there were too many in this book for my taste, particularly since I didn’t really feel there was a basis for the main characters to love or even like each other.

The rest of the story that focused on getting the Orb and keeping it safe from Zeus saved this book from a 3 star rating and promises great things for future plots. I loved that we got to see the other characters from previous entries in this series, particularly Isa and Demetrius (my favorites). And Hades continues to be one bad guy you have no desire to root for at all. He’s a depraved jackass who wants to rule over humanity, taking away their free will, and makes Atalanta look like a kitten from an episode of Too Cute!, though on her own she’s still a total pain in the butt too. And don’t even get me started on Kronos! The guy seriously gives me the creeps!

I may just be more disappointed with Enraptured because Orpheus’ story was one I was really looking forward to. I still love this series and the Eternal Guardians and will definitely keep up with it, but I just hope the tension and build-up, particularly at the beginning, are better in Enslaved (just don’t read the blurb for it if you haven’t read this book yet, a mistake I made!). And I really hope Nick and Titus get their own stories soon too!
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Mar 03, 2012 Cynthia (aka Artemis) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-bbpr-pnr-romance-challenge, argonauts, eternal-guardians, paranormal-romance, favorites, greek-mythology, net-galley-review, own

Reviewed at Bitten By Paranormal Romance

Hell yeah! A spellbinding and wickedly sexy thrill ride that turns the heat up. Ms. Naughton continues to rock the Greek Mythology world with another entry in her brilliant Eternal Guardian Series.

The entire cast of characters returns for the fourth installment of the Eternal Guardian series to aid Orpheus in his quest to rescue his brother Gryphon from Hades, Atalanta, and the Underworld. Once again the Immortals won’t stop playing their games with the l...more
Reviewed at Bitten By Paranormal Romance

Hell yeah! A spellbinding and wickedly sexy thrill ride that turns the heat up. Ms. Naughton continues to rock the Greek Mythology world with another entry in her brilliant Eternal Guardian Series.

The entire cast of characters returns for the fourth installment of the Eternal Guardian series to aid Orpheus in his quest to rescue his brother Gryphon from Hades, Atalanta, and the Underworld. Once again the Immortals won’t stop playing their games with the lives of the Argoleans and Misos. (Misos, which reminds me of Nick - - - Ms. Naughton, when are you going to grace us with his book?!? Pretty please.) We are given a glimpse of Kronos…WOW…but it’s enough to know he’s going to wreck plenty of havoc in Enslaved, and he’s one helluva bad ass Titan.

Before you get started reading, check out the Lexicon at the back of the book to reacquaint yourself with the words used throughout the story.

I have been waiting for Orpheus’s story since he first made his appearance as a shop-keeper in MARKED, Eternal Guardians #1, and it was well worth the wait. Orpheus is a very complex character – an outcast in the Argolean society: Part witch, part daemon and part Argonaut. His quest to save his brother Gryphon from Tartarus is also his own journey of redeeming his soul. The immediate connection between Orpheus and Skyla is sparked by the “reincarnated” Orpheus; although neither one of them know that at the time. And once these two hook-up, they are a formidable force to reckon with; whether they’re battling hell-hounds, daemons, or each other.

Speaking of Tartarus. Ms. Naughton vividly brings to life the vast areas of the Underworld, Tartarus, Sin City, and the Fields of Asphodel. Some of the action that takes place there is a bit graphic; some not for the squeamish even though it may be brief.

I don’t think it’s necessary to read any of the other books in the Eternal Guardian series to fully enjoy ENRAPTURED and it can be read as a stand-alone novel. Unfortunately, you’ll be missing a great deal of excellent mythological paranormal romance!(less)

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Jun 07, 2012 Marlene rated it 5 of 5 stars

Actually 4.5

Orpheus, who is part Daemon and an unwilling member of the Guardians, is determined to rescue his brother, Gryphon, from the Underworld. In order to do this, he must find the Orb of Kronos, a powerful artifact which the gods want too. Meanwhile, Skyla, a siren who is an assassin for Zeus, is sent to retrieve the orb from Orpheus and kill him. Unfortunately, the gods can be deceptive and Skyla may be biting off more than she can chew.

At first, I had trouble getting into ENRAPTURED, bu...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Paperback Dolls rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-stars, paranormal-romance, reviewed-2012, reviewed-by-lil

Originally posted at PaperbackDolls.com

If you haven’t read the first three books in the Eternal Guardian series I honestly don’t know what you are waiting for. Some of you may remember my series review from last fall and took my word for it on this compelling story, but if you haven’t put this series on your TBR or keep putting it off I implore you to pick up the books today! Ms. Naughton makes it very easy to get lost in the pages of her books regardless of the genre she may be tackling.

Enraptu...more Originally posted at PaperbackDolls.com

If you haven’t read the first three books in the Eternal Guardian series I honestly don’t know what you are waiting for. Some of you may remember my series review from last fall and took my word for it on this compelling story, but if you haven’t put this series on your TBR or keep putting it off I implore you to pick up the books today! Ms. Naughton makes it very easy to get lost in the pages of her books regardless of the genre she may be tackling.

Enraptured was everything I was hoping it would be. Our featured hero Orpheus is not an easy Argonaut to love. He was introduced earlier in the series as a bit of a schemer, someone who you could not trust completely and was obviously out for his greater good. Or maybe that is what he wanted us to believe. In his addition to this fantastic series, Orpheus finds himself making choices even he did not know he was capable of making. A true change within his heart? Or his own demons keeping him from seeing his true self? I like to think it was the latter, but that may be simply because he made me fall in love within him!

Enraptured’s Skyla is a strong female character who can take care of herself and those she deems responsible for, and to be honest, Skyla grew on me slowly. I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to fully like her but she sucked me in and now I am a fan. She lived for over 2000 years stuck within a prison of guilt and regret. I think sometimes it is hard to find the character under all that angst and twisted emotion. But Skyla’s journey was just as intriguing as O’s. Her growth and ultimately the choices she makes qualifies her as a hero and someone I hope plays a big roll in future installments of the series.

And of course this is only the beginning for Orpheus’s brother Gryphon. His time in the Underworld was full of true atrocities upon his soul and you can’t help but to ache for him and his older brother. A new character introduced, Maelea, the bastard daughter of Zeus and Persephone, pulled me in from the start. She is a dark lonely creature who is drawn to and is sensitive to supernatural powers but wants nothing to do with the ongoing power struggles between the gods. I cannot wait to see what her roll will be in the future. Each character is a fully realized individual which I find refreshing, there aren’t any useless filler rolls here. I love to be able to get several points of view within a world that is as complex as the one Naughton has created. Sure I love lots of books with a single POV, but when it comes to an episodic series like this one, I find it really fills the pages and keeps me wanting more from all the characters and helps me dive in nice and deep.

All in all, Enraptured completely satisfied me and I cannot wait for the next Eternal Guardians book, Enslaved. Elisabeth Naughton’s understanding of Greek mythology, the human condition, and super hot love scenes comes together to create a book any reader won’t be able to put down. You will find yourself negotiating one more chapter before you turn the light off, burning dinner because you are trying to multitask, or (I highly do NOT recommend this) trying to make that yellow light because it will get you to your favorite chair and Orpheus just a wee bit quicker!(less)

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Apr 05, 2012 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

ENRAPTURED by Elisabeth Naughton

ENRAPTURED is the 4th instalment in Elisabeth Naughton’s Eternal Guardians series. The Eternal Guardians series follows the lives and loves of 7 warriors descended from the god’s of Olympus, whom fate has decreed as the Eternal Guardians on earth. But this time a warrior is haunted by guilt over the destruction of his brother’s soul and memories of a past, he has somehow forgotten.

Orpheus, son of Perseus, is part daemon, part witch and part Argolean. Searching fo...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Saly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: single-titles, read-in-2012, 2nd-chance-at-love

This series has been getting better. In the past few books Orpheus has been straddling the grey, he is a Daemon, something that is considered vile and what he has kept as a secret from his own brother Gryphon.

He also has witch powers and after the events of the last book in which Gryphon's soul was sent to Tartus and body possessed, carries the Argonauts markings, something he doesn't want instead he has spent the past three months trying to rescue his brother and for that he needs to track down...more This series has been getting better. In the past few books Orpheus has been straddling the grey, he is a Daemon, something that is considered vile and what he has kept as a secret from his own brother Gryphon.

He also has witch powers and after the events of the last book in which Gryphon's soul was sent to Tartus and body possessed, carries the Argonauts markings, something he doesn't want instead he has spent the past three months trying to rescue his brother and for that he needs to track down Maelea, the daughter of Zeus and the Persephone(wife of Hades), banished to the human realm. She has the power to tell him where the Orb of Kronos is (Kronos is the father of Zeus, Hades etc).

After this Orb is also Hades and the ever scheming Atlanta who somehow manages to find her way to Gryphon and makes a deal with him and Kronos which I am sure Gryphon will have to deal with in his book Enslaved, because he truly becomes a slave, his heroic past forgotten under the torture he endured.

Sklya is a Siren, an order of assassins who serve Athena and Zeus and she is Athena's right hand and has served longer than anyone else. The only time she rebelled was when she fell in love Cynurus, the rebellious grandson of Zeus who stole the element air from him and who she was sent to kill but she couldn't because she loved him but she watched the other Sirens kill him.

When she meets Orpheus her new mark he is hot on Maelea's tail when they are attacked by hybrid Daemons and she sees him turn. She takes him to get cleaned up and when she kisses him her world is rocked because she comes to see something she thought was long gone, that Orpheus is the re-incarnation of Cynurus, who had died two thousand years before.

Sklya is torn, she doesn't want to be foolish again, the Sirens and Athena gave her purpose in life and now they want her to do her duty. She has been told that Orpheus wants the orb but what she doesn't know is, it is for saving his brother.

I wasn't sure how we would see Orpheus get redeemed, don't get me wrong he is still a bad-ass and no matter how much he tries to deny it, he has a soul which cares for people and tries to save them. He has always been an outsider his whole life, hiding a part of him, never belonging but that starts changing and his Daemon side disappears.
Skyla meanwhile has to grapple with what she has lived her whole life and falling for Orpheus, who is a new man and not the man she loved before, for one he is a true hero.

There is a lot going on in this book, some great developments and we also find out how Orpheus was given a second chance by the fate Lachesis and how this time around he did something he didn't do before, be a true hero.

This series is difficult to keep straight, seriously. We see Nick and his colony again, his demi-god status is referred to, we also see Demetrius (Atlanta's son, Nick's half-brother & Argonaut) getting more used to being with Isa, his pregnant mate and Argonaut Queen.

All in all a very good book in the series, with a great romance and overall story development.(less)

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Apr 12, 2012 Marquetta (LoveToReadForFun) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, pnr, netgalley, sourcebooks

I haven't read the previous three books in the Eternal Guardians series and was worried that I would have a hard time following the characters and plot in Enraptured. Thankfully, Naughton does a great job of providing background information without slowing down the plot. There were some characters from the previous books that were integral in the overall plot in Enraptured. I wanted to know more about them and their background. I guess that means I will have to go back and read books 1-3, huh?

Wh...more I haven't read the previous three books in the Eternal Guardians series and was worried that I would have a hard time following the characters and plot in Enraptured. Thankfully, Naughton does a great job of providing background information without slowing down the plot. There were some characters from the previous books that were integral in the overall plot in Enraptured. I wanted to know more about them and their background. I guess that means I will have to go back and read books 1-3, huh?

When I started reading Enraptured, it took me awhile to get into the story. I couldn't connect with Orpheus and Skyla in the beginning. As the book progressed, I found myself warming up to Orpheus but still not liking Skyla. Both Orpheus and Skyla come from a shared past that only Skyla remembers. As a Siren, she is tasked with doing a job and that job is destroy Orpheus. Orpheus feels like he knows Skyla but realizes it's impossible. He knows that the Siren is out to destroy him but he won't let her deter him from his mission of saving his brother.

Orpheus and Skyla have great chemistry and are both strong and determined. The sexual attraction is obvious and explosive. It kind of shocked me that they had sex so soon and then we hate to wait awhile before they hooked up again. There's a lot sexual innuendo and taunting between the two that made for some smoking hot dialog that threatened to singe my Kindle.

For me, Enraptured didn't start getting really good until the last 40 - 45%. The action picked up and the overall plot became more emotional and I was truly and utterly hooked. Both Orpheus and Skyla have to face and deal with their past. Orpheus has to come to terms with what happened to his brother, Gryphon. I swear there were some scenes with Gryphon that had me on the verge of tears. I did not expect that.

Even though I had problems with the beginning, I enjoyed reading Enraptured and I now want to read the previous three books. I loved the Greek mythology and the politics. The characters were interesting and I especially now want to read the stories of the heroes and heroines of the first three books. Also, I can't wait to read Gryphon's book and about his journey. I have a feeling it is going to be heartbreaking.

The Eternal Guardian series will definitely be added to my must buy list.

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Apr 06, 2012 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars

See more at http://ebookobsessed.com

The series involves the Argonauts (the Eternal Guardians), the Argoleans, the misos (who are mix of half argolean/half human), humans and the daimons, and don’t forget those rascally Gods who are always causing trouble.

Orpheus is once again on a search for the Orb, but this time is it not a quest for power and glory. This time he needs the Orb to return his brother’s soul to his body. When Gryphon’s body was stolen by an evil wizard, his soul was sent to the...more See more at http://ebookobsessed.com

The series involves the Argonauts (the Eternal Guardians), the Argoleans, the misos (who are mix of half argolean/half human), humans and the daimons, and don’t forget those rascally Gods who are always causing trouble.

Orpheus is once again on a search for the Orb, but this time is it not a quest for power and glory. This time he needs the Orb to return his brother’s soul to his body. When Gryphon’s body was stolen by an evil wizard, his soul was sent to the hell realm of Tarturus to be tortured for eternity; a fate which should not await a Guardian as brave and strong as Gryphon. Orpheus is determined to rescue his brother’s soul and return it and his Guardian markings back to Gryphon’s body.

Skyla is a siren, an assassin for Zeus. Her mission is to keep the evil half-demon Orpheus from obtaining the Orb, and she is to bring it to Zeus. When Skyla realizes she has been lied to by Athena and Zeus, she joins Orpheus in his quest to save Gryphon.

Although Demitrius is still my favorite guardian, I was very excited to read Orpheus’s story. Being part-demon, the presumption is that Orpheus would be untrustworthy, dangerous, etc., etc., and encompassing everything bad from the demon side. He has spent a good part of the last two hundred years doing things and making choices for his own personal gain, but could this be less demon in nature and more to do with the fact that he was passed over in the Perseus’s lineage for his younger half-brother simply because Orpheus was half-demon. Now that Gryphon’s soul has been ripped from his body, his Guardian markings transferred to Orpheus who is the last of the bloodline.

I did have a hard time getting into this story since there is a lot of jumping between various characters in the set up of the story. I always find too much switching characters to be distracting to the story. Although I understand that in this series, the demons and the Gods are always plotting go get ahead, between Zeus, Hades and Atalanta all plotting to get the Orb from Orpheus so they could be the most powerful, it was distracting and I had a hard time being interested in Skyla and Orpheus when every time the story got going, we had to be pulled away to watch Hades rant or see where Atalanta was in her goal to be released from her imprisonment.

Take out all the additional distractions and the story was enjoyable, the characters are well written and the quest to save Gryphon was engrossing. The tortures that Gryphon endured and the resulting trauma to the usually happy-go-lucky guardian are heartbreaking and I will be keeping my eye out for his story.
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Feb 12, 2013 Justyna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another beautiful story from Elizabeth Naughton. In this book, we are finally getting to know Orpheus and a shocking truth about his lineage. He meet a beautiful Siren during his quest to rescue his brother from the Underworld. This book is the 4th one in Eternal Guardians series, and so far the best one. I must admit that Elizabeth Naughton surprises me with every new book in the Eternal Guardian series as it is getting hotter and better!

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Nov 25, 2012 Jenni Ebba rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love Orpheus!!!! Hot, sexy, tortured alpha male is so so attractive! But, then I digress. This series is about descendants of the Ancient Greek heroes; Herakles, Perseus, Achilles, etc. The heroes are a warrior class in the Argolean race- a race created by Zeus living in another dimension with its own ruling class of nobility. The heroes' main enemies are an ex-hero/god Atalanta and the very gods who are responsible for their creation. Can you say battles of epic proportion? I can.
Major spoila...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Jaime rated it 4 of 5 stars

I did not read any of the previous books in this series. I never even hear of this series. How did this happen? Because this is the kind of series that is right up my alley.

Orpheus is a tortured man who has become an Argonaut (the elite protectors known as Eternal Guardians) because of his brother’s death. Always an outcast and hiding the secret that he is part Daemon makes him keep friendship’s and love at bay. But when the Siren Skyla is sent to interfere with his mission everything changes.

Me...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Kayla Tocco rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

This review an others can be found at www.wholelatteromance.blogspot.com

Publisher: Sourcebooks
Imprint: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN:9781402262128
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Book 4 of the Eternal Guardians Series

The Blurb:

Orpheus may have joined the elite protectors known as Eternal Guardians, but they’ve never trusted whose side he’s really on. And the half-daemon couldn’t care less. Orpheus has only one goal: rescue his brother from the Underworld. He’s not expecting a...more

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May 15, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, paranormal

Orpheus has taken a position in the Argonauts after his kid brother was possessed by a warlock. That warlock is now wearing a Gryphon suit and the Orb of Kronos. Orpheus feels guilty for having placed his brother in the situation that sent his soul to be forever tortured in hell. He'll do anything to try and rescue Gryphon and get rid of the Argonaut markings.

Skyla, an elite Siren assassin, has been sent by Zeus to track down Orpheus and stop him at all cost. Her first encounter with Orpheus rev...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle

This is the first Elisabeth Naughton book for me. I was aware of this series and wanted to read them but never got around to it until Enraptured came up on my radar. I think i saw information about it on twitter and thankfully Netgalley.com had it. I started it hoping that not reading the first 3 books in the series wasn't going to be a bad thing. I was drawn in pretty quickly in the first chapters and decided i was going to like this book a lot. Orpheus is on a mission to save his brother who w...more This is the first Elisabeth Naughton book for me. I was aware of this series and wanted to read them but never got around to it until Enraptured came up on my radar. I think i saw information about it on twitter and thankfully Netgalley.com had it. I started it hoping that not reading the first 3 books in the series wasn't going to be a bad thing. I was drawn in pretty quickly in the first chapters and decided i was going to like this book a lot. Orpheus is on a mission to save his brother who was sent to the underworld. Gryphon was always the worthy one the good that was a real hero. Orpheus feels tremendous guilt that he is free and his brother is stuck in the underworld being tortured in ways he can't fathom. His mission puts him in contact with a Skyla a Siren who works for Athena and Zeus. Skyla has been a Siren for thousands of years. Essentially she was hiding from herself after something happened to her with the man she loved who she discovers is Orpheus reincarnated. In the beginning she doesn't trust him. In his old life he hurt her terribly and she cannot let herself go there again. As the story goes on their relationship evolves. It can't be helped the attraction is there no matter how hard they try to deny it. Both keep getting flash backs but only Skyla knows what the flash back or visions are. Orpheus was given a second chance a new soul by the fates to prove himself but he was never supposed to remember the past. When he's with Skyla something about her triggers the visions and he doesn't understand what they mean. This is a fast paced story it moves a long quickly and there is plenty of action. You get to see many of the Argonauts in action as they come to Orpheus and Skyla's assistance in getting to Gryphon and bringing him home. It's a journey of love and trust and finding something in yourself you didn't think you were capable of. Orpheus comes to care for Skyla deeply and Skyla finds she never quit loving him in the first place. Then there is this realization at the end that could make it all come crashing down. Wow what a ending. I was afraid that Ms. Naughton was going to go in a different direction that what i was hoping for. lol I will say for me anyway that this book would probably have been better had i read the first three books. You can read as a stand alone but some of the secondary stuff will not make as much sense and you have to make assumptions on some things. The story between the two main characters is solid though. 4 out of 5 Modokker Book Pick stars for Enraptured ( love that title) by Elisabeth Naughton. I plan on reading the first three book in this series and following along with whatever book comes next in this series.

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Apr 01, 2012 Jenn of Frequent Reader, Infrequent Blogger rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-pub, own, romance-novels, review-written

RECEIVED FROM: Net Galley For Review

***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Skyla is a siren, one of Zeus’s assassins, trained by Athena to eliminate mortals the king of the gods sees as a threat. Her latest assignment is a Argolean –daemon hybrid – Orpheus. What she doesn’t expect is to be wildly attracted to her target and when she decides to pursue a little pleasure with her work she reveals a truth that rocks her to her core. Orpheus isn’t a stranger; he’s the reincarnation of the only m...more RECEIVED FROM: Net Galley For Review

***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Skyla is a siren, one of Zeus’s assassins, trained by Athena to eliminate mortals the king of the gods sees as a threat. Her latest assignment is a Argolean –daemon hybrid – Orpheus. What she doesn’t expect is to be wildly attracted to her target and when she decides to pursue a little pleasure with her work she reveals a truth that rocks her to her core. Orpheus isn’t a stranger; he’s the reincarnation of the only man she ever loved and the one whose betrayal has shaped her entire life. Orpheus needs to find Maelea, the daughter of Zeus and Persephone and the only god who can locate the Orb of Kronos. The Orb that currently resides with Apophos the wizard who’s stolen his brother’s body. Without it he has no chance of saving Gryphon and he won’t rest until he can right the wrong that was done to his brother. It doesn’t matter that he’s never felt attraction like he’s had with the Siren sent to eliminate him, he won’t let her stand between him and his goal. With dangers and secrets surrounding them will they ever see eye to eye or will their conflicting goals end up killing them both?

This story starts up three months after the previous novel and while it does become a fairly excellent novel in later chapters the beginning took me a lot longer to get into than any of the other titles. I did debate a little on my rating, but I just didn’t feel it was as good as the first three novels and therefore couldn’t give it as high of a rating as I did those. In her previous works Naughton has given us a lot more than just a love story and while she does so here, it’s not as much as she did in the first three. Before we had almost as many scenes with other characters as we did with the romantic leads, here we get some scenes with other characters but we spend more time with the romantic leads than anything else. She also has a lot more sex scenes in this book than she did in previous works and it’s not that I’m a prude but I don’t need a sex scene within the first few chapters. And I have issues when writers start to fall back on sex to sell their work, especially when Naughton has shown a talent for so much more in her other novels. The sex scenes in this novel were both longer and more frequent than they’ve been in other works. The thing is I’m an escapist reader, and while a racy sex scene in a romance can be great, anyone can have sex, however not just anyone can face down a Greek God or fight off a daemon. I’d rather have read more about the other goings on in Argolea or the colony or any number of places than sat there reading some of the longer sex scenes. I can escape more into a novel when I’m not reading about something I could just as easily be doing. The book isn’t solely sex or romance by any means it just relies on those scenes a lot more than her previous works did and therefore left me a little disappointed in that. While Naughton does spend some time building other mythologies and players for this world in the beginning, it’s not until about a hundred pages in that we start seeing characters we’ve grown to care about over the course of the series and that’s another thing that bothered me about this book. Even when we do see them Isadora is the only Horae who isn’t just a background character in this novel and even her scenes are few and far between. The new mythologies Naughton’s building with this book are really interesting, but I would have liked it more if she’d continued with the ones she had been building as well, meaning that in other novels from the very beginning we switched between the love story of the characters and the different political things in Argolea. We always saw a lot of the other characters even though they weren’t the focus of the story. Demetrius gets a lot of play in later scenes like Isadora does, and we do see a lot of Gryphon from the very beginning leading me to believe he’s probably going to be the focus of the next story. My guess it Gryphon and Maelea are destined, but then again that’s just a guess because both of these characters have had so much development in this story that it would be a waste for them not become a focus romantic lead in a later novel. The story is fairly fast paced even without it’s normal charm, but I guess what made it harder for me to get into it was I expecting to have more time with the characters we know like we did in the other novels and this one just didn’t have it because it spent more time on the romance, the sex and developing new mythologies to fit in with the story line. About half way in the story finally really hooked me and I couldn’t stop turning pages, but then again that was also about the time they brought in the familiar characters again. However it wasn’t just the familiar characters that gripped me. The sirens, the reincarnated souls and the underworld were all exciting and gripping storylines. Overall the plot was really good, it was just a little different from previous series works which might make fans have a little more trouble getting into it, should they continue reading despite this they will be rewarded with a highly entertaining close third person story.

Naughton has repeatedly been excellent with character development. Like in other novels she does rely on previous works for some characterization, this one more so than others. The only reoccurring characters that really showed new development in this novel were Orpheus, Lachesis, Hades, and Gryphon. The others did behave in the manners we’ve come to recognize, but time wasn’t spend really shaping their characters in this story and it mostly relied on previous works for you to know how they should behave and why they did so. Orpheus has been a major character in the series since the first novel and he’s always been interesting because you never know what he’s going to do. He’s got such a dark side and while he claims to be only out for himself there’s so much more to him than that. Getting inside this character, understanding his motives and watching him grow as a character was definitely a treat for readers of the series, or at least this one. Skyla as the female lead was of course extremely well developed and as Orpheus’s match had to be just as interesting and multifaceted as her male counterpart. She also brings a whole new mythology to the table which adds to the interest of this battered yet strong female lead. While Atalanta did have a few scenes, Hades kind of took over her villain role in this novel. Normally we’d get a lot of insight into her cruelty and depravity. This time we saw Hades’ depravity instead and I gotta say I think Atalanta might be the nicer of the two. Naughton also splits with the normal mythologies of the Underworld when she delves further into Hades and Lachesis. Normally Hades is portrayed as having control over the whole of the Underworld, but in Naughton’s works the Titan’s have their own little city that Hades can’t touch and the Fates oversee the Isle of the Blessed so that was kind of interesting as well. Gryphon’s development was a little disturbing but understandable. Instead of the easy going hero we’ve seen in previous works we watched a hero be broken by depravity, torture and pain. We watched him lose himself and I can’t help but hope that in future novels we’ll also see him heal and redeem himself. Maelea, one of the newly introduced characters was extremely well developed as well and she’s proving to a very intriguing character that I can’t wait to learn more about. Other introductions such as Athena, Zeus, Atropos, Kronos, and the other Sirens weren’t as well developed but they were distinguishable, meaning they didn’t all blend into stereotypical background characters, but at the same time we didn’t really get to know them yet. Overall while I’d have liked to have seen more with the reoccurring characters, the characterization of this novel was still very good.

I would definitely recommend the novel to readers of paranormal romance and I feel fans of the series will definitely enjoy this installment. I really did like the novel, I just didn’t feel it was as good as its predecessors. However with the new mythologies Naughton has weaved in to the storyline with this tale the series definitely promises some very interesting twists in works to come.(less)

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Apr 09, 2012 Rjsmommy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fourth in the Eternal Guardians series, Enraptured is probably my favorite so far (but I'm thinking the next might be even better)! This is a series that just keeps getting better. I love the mix of mythology and PNR. Orpheus was always that intriguing mix of badboy that seemed to have a hidden heart he wouldn't show to anyone and that's just what he turned out to be but also so much more. His backstory and true history was definitely nothing you could have guessed...heck, he didn't even know it...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Cocktails and Books rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reading-challenges, author-provided, paranormal

Orpheus, now bearing the mark of the Eternal Guardian since the "death" of his brother, lives with a secret he is trying to hide from the rest of the guards...his daemon half. But if he is going to go into Tartarus to save Gryphon's soul, he's going to need that evil part of him. It's that dark half that leads him to Maelea, the outcast daughter of Persephone and Zeus, at an outdoor metal concert. He believes her to be the key to getting into Tartarus and getting the Orb of Kronos to release his...more Orpheus, now bearing the mark of the Eternal Guardian since the "death" of his brother, lives with a secret he is trying to hide from the rest of the guards...his daemon half. But if he is going to go into Tartarus to save Gryphon's soul, he's going to need that evil part of him. It's that dark half that leads him to Maelea, the outcast daughter of Persephone and Zeus, at an outdoor metal concert. He believes her to be the key to getting into Tartarus and getting the Orb of Kronos to release his brother's trapped soul (the orb, when joined with the four elements of life can release the Titans from their prison in Tartarus...which is a bad thing). But while at that concert, Orpheus also discovers Skyla.

Skyla, part of Zeus' elite Siren execution team, is sent on a mission by Athena and Zeus to find Orpheus and get the Orb from him once he finds he. But once Skyla meets Orpheus, she knows there is more to what is going on than what she was told. Skyla agrees to follow Orpheus on his quest, saying she is going to protect Maelea, but she knows it's because of who Orpheus is that she's going to help him. Despite what Zeus and Athena have said about Orpheus, Skyla can sense the good in him and once she knows what he is attempting to do with the Orb is not about himself but saving is brother, it proves to her that he truly is a warrior and a protector.

Orpheus is one of those men that likes to walk around with an IDGAF attitude when the truth is, they do. In the previous Eternal Guardian books, he would help his brother, the other guardians and the princess...but at a price. But in Enraptured, we find out there is so much more to Orpheus. Despite what he might think about himself (thanks to his father) or what he portrays to everyone else, Orpheus is a great warrior and deserves to be a guardian. He proves that over and over in this book. The lengths he goes to in order to save the only family member to ever love him says it all.

Enraptured is my favorite of the Eternal Guardians series, although I think Orpheus will be bumped by his little brother's story this fall.
(less)

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May 02, 2012 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars
This story picks up right after the events from book #3 Tempted. You can read this as a standalone and enjoy the romance between Orpheus and Skyla, but you will be missing out on extensive world building and overall story arc information. Naughton does a good job of giving you the basics you will need to understand, but at book #4 there are so many character storylines that cross each other you would miss out on what makes this series such a pleasure to read. There is a glossary at the...more

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Apr 03, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Enraptured is the fourth book in the Eternal Guardians series by Elisabeth Naughton and a Paranormal Romance from SourceBooks Casablanca.

Blurb:

Orpheus - To most he’s an enigma, a devil-may-care rogue who does whatever he pleases whenever he wants. Now this loose cannon is part of the Eternal Guardian - elite warriors assigned to protect the human realm - whether he likes it or not.

Orpheus has just one goal: to rescue his brother from the Underworld. He’s not expecting a woman to get in the way....more

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Apr 26, 2012 Lisa Annesley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: demon, god-goddess, kindle, pnr, favorites, paranormal-powers, witch-warlock, siren, reviewed-4-blog, 5-hearts

Naughton caught me up in Enraptured on page one, and didn't let me go for 416 pages! Sleep? Who needs sleep when Orpheus and Skyla are up against a wall--literally and figuratively! I couldn't put my Kindle down.

Orpheus is a hero to die for. Really. You'll see. He's smokin' hot, and has a streak of honor a mile wide even though he can't see it. Skyla is his match. She's a true warrior and will not be deterred when she decides on a course of action. She's a real kick-ass heroine who also has a te...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Visionary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Naughton done it again. Simply, wow! I've been interested in Orpheus since book one. Just something about a man with a dark half and a light half.

Things took a twist in Tempted for Orpheus. Now he has an agenda - a personal one and he is letting nothing stand in his way of it.

Since Tempted I was curious what type of woman could Naughton give the snarky man. Skyla, she's tough, stand on her own type of female. Enraptured is like a reunion type story but different.

Maelea - now she's really cap...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Silver James rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: readers of paranormal romance, Greek myth romance

Shelves: 2013-books-read

Enraptured is the story of Orpheus and the Siren Skyla. O's brother, Gryphon, has been sent to the Underworld where he's being tortured. O thinks he's responsible and despite his daemon legacy, is honor-bound to save him. Skyla has been sent by Zeus and Athena to retrieve something O has and then assassinate him. This Eternal Guardian book gets a little deeper into Greek myth and it was a lot of fun. This addition to the series restored my faith after the slight let-down in the previous book, TE...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Latasha Hudgens rated it 5 of 5 stars

Okay after reading all four books I have to concluded that book four is my favorite. From the moment he was introduced I had a bit of a crush on the resident bad boy, Orpheus. This book definitely solidified my crush on him. What an amazing transformation for his character? Also to see Isadora rise to the challenge of being queen was very pleasant. As a writer myself, I love that authors have the power to make their characters evolve. That is so true in this book. Not only is their love here but...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: greek-mythology, fantasy, romance, series, soulmate, paranormal-romance

Another brilliant story from one of my new favourite authors. I have just recantly been introduced to Elisabeth Naughton's stories and am so glad I was. It is a brilliant entry into the paranormal, urban-romance genre. I adored Orpheus's story so much. It definetly started off fast. This couple jump into it hot and fast. Some new characters were introduced that I can't wait to hear more about. I think Skyla's my new favourite female character. Lets see if she stays at the top because Maelea's st...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Denise Strand rated it 4 of 5 stars

What a whirlwind. Elisabeth Naughton is quickly becoming one of my top favourite authors.

I really tried to savour this book as I knew the next in the series isn't out until november. I adore Orpheus and I loved reading his story. Outwardly he's this alpha male with an 'I don't give a damn' persona. But on the inside he cares deeply.

Skyla is a kick ass heroine, I think I may just have a Girly crush on her.

Seeing these two come together and both fight their demons (excuse the pun). They're just...more

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May 17, 2012 Kendra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

For full review including excerpt and dialogue highlight, please vist Reader's Edyn at:
http://bit.ly/L9rHeS

Review:

Let me first say that I have been reading about The Eternal Guardian Series, and reading about it, and reading about it, and finally … I have read one. While I did not start at the beginning, which is generally something I am a stickler for, I was given the opportunity to read ENRAPTURED, the fourth book in the series, so I jumped on it. That said, I could tell that there was informa...more For full review including excerpt and dialogue highlight, please vist Reader's Edyn at:
http://bit.ly/L9rHeS

Review:

Let me first say that I have been reading about The Eternal Guardian Series, and reading about it, and reading about it, and finally … I have read one. While I did not start at the beginning, which is generally something I am a stickler for, I was given the opportunity to read ENRAPTURED, the fourth book in the series, so I jumped on it. That said, I could tell that there was information that I could have taken with me by reading in order, but it was absolutely not necessary that I read the books in order. ENRAPTURED is just fine as a stand alone read, despite being part of a series.

Orpheus is an anomaly. Part daemon, part *****, Not only do people around him struggle with his background (the ones who know the truth), Orpheus himself struggles with who he is. But the kicker is that he is now living his second life. He has no memory of his first life until he meets Skyla and odd visions assail him intermittently. But the visions are strong, leading him to believe that he has an unknown connection with Skyla – almost as if the visions were in fact memories. And Skyla? It doesn’t take her long to realize exactly who Orpheus is.

Skyla is a Siren, a member of Zeus’ personal protection group; a security detail if you will. After recovering from a vicious attack, she is back in the saddle (as it were) and ready to complete he latest assignment – to stop Orpheus’ quest for power and end him once he obtains a very powerful orb – at least that is what she is led to believe.

As the mysteries unravel and both Orpheus and Skyla realize the truth of the situation, their connection blossoms and deepens into something more. But the truth could very well destroy the thin thread that connects them as neither is ready to trust and certainly not ready to open their heart to something potentially devastating: love. The journey of Orpheus and Skyla begins with opposite goals in mind, but eventually segs into a common purpose. And along the way, just maybe, a possibility of happiness could occur … but fate has a way of intervening in many things.

I really enjoyed Ms. Naughton’s world she built around the myths and legends that we all grew up learning about. Zeus and his gods and goddesses sure do like to stir up trouble. What was nice was that I started out with a slight understanding of the story with my knowledge of the Greek gods. But Ms. Naughton then took that information and spun it all into a world of her own. An exciting, interesting, captivating world full of twists and turns, and a whole lot of smexy!

Orpheus is a tortured man and reluctant hero, which makes the reader fall in love with him that much harder. I appreciated that he stayed reluctant toward, well … pretty much everything until the very end as it made his character seem more viable. And don’t we all love those tortured male characters who are basically forced into heroism. Those heroes that were possibly heroes all along but refused to admit it? Yup. You know what I am talking about. *nods*

And Skyla has an even harder time than Orpheus – at least I think so – because she remembers who Orpheus was and what he was to her, remembers what he did, what she didn’t do, and is now forced to relive that scenario all over again. The problem is that Orpheus is throwing her curve ball after curve ball because he is breaking Skyla down. She is at war within against the man he was and the man he is now while constantly struggling with her sense of duty as a Siren. She ultimately has to make a decision as to what path she will take. And, trust me, she has to choose paths more than once throughout the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with Ms. Naughton and her Eternal Guardians and look forward to reading more about these men; heroes that walk the earth with special gifts and a strong sense of duty and the women that conquer them. For those of you who enjoy romance mixed together with a bit of the paranormal, a touch of fantasy, legends given life through creativity, and compelling stories of honor, Ms. Naughton is an author you will not want to miss. I, for sure, will definitely be returning to this world.

(ARC eBook galley provided by NetGalley; Sourcebooks Casablanca)(less)

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Jan 06, 2013 Lynsey A rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-reads, kindle-library-book, ebook, naughton-eternal-guardians-series, paranormal-romance, part-of-a-series, reincarnated-lovers

Well, I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the previous two but it was still enjoyable. It took a bit of time for me to get into the story but once it started to pick up I was anxious to finish it.

The ending was quite emotional.

Unfortunately, the library does not have the next one in an e-book so I have to wait for the paperback to arrive at my location to read the next one. :( Poor Gryphon. He was such a fun loving character and I hate that his character changed. I just hope he can somehow...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Cami rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: demons, library-book, gods, paranormal, read-in-2012, romance, series

I didn't like Orpheus much in previous books, but he really grew on me in this one. It was great finding out more about him and his mysterious past. I was surprised to find out who he really is and how he is related to the gods. I enjoyed watching his relationship with Skyla grow even though there were some things about Skyla that bothered me. I did think it odd that the "soul mate curse" wasn't brought up much in this one. However, this was a great book and I can't wait to see what happens next...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Lisa Jo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, elisabeth-naughton, romance, tortured-souls

Gosh I loved this book! Orpheus & Skyla, Skyla, Skyla!! LOL! HOT, HOT, HOT! Whew!

Orpheus, the mad/bad boy of the Argonauts. A Medean magician (who acquired his half brother Gryphon's Argolean marks as a fluke (or was it?) That's how we enter the Guardians domain. Add in Skyla, one of Zeus's Sirens' sent to kill Orpheus and retrieve the Orb of Kronos (bad juju). Little does she realize that she's met Orpheus before (about 2000 yrs before!)

I loved this book! It had Hades who was Hot (and not...more

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Enraptured (Eternal Guardians #4)

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