Enslaved: Eternal Guardians, Book 5

This is the fifth book in the Eternal Guardians series. I loved it!

My sister originally recommended this series; she thought I would enjoy it and she was right! I downloaded this as an audiobook, as I had previously enjoyed listening to the first four books in the series in audiobook too.

Enslaved is again narrated by Elizabeth Wiley. She does another fantastic job in telling the story. Her narration is crystal clear and her interpretation of the characters brought them to life, she has given each character their own tone and inflection of voice, which I liked.

Gryphon is an enigma, so I was excited to get to know this character more. As I read the story, I fell a little in love with him. He is an incredibly proud man and warrior, but to see him shamed by what he had to do in order to survive whilst his soul was trapped in Hell made me want to cry. He had no real choice or say, being a slave to Atalanta (or Dulas as she calls him). He is as traumatized by it as any victim of abuse. His self-esteem is extremely low, whilst his self-disgust is extremely high. I'm not a touch-y-feel-y person myself, but I really wanted to give him a huge hug!

Malea was introduced to us in Enraptured. She appears as a timid and almost teen-like (angst-y) woman although she is 3,000 years old in it, but as I read the story, I had a feeling there was more to this woman than first meets the eye. I was right. She is the daughter of Zeus and Persephone and is forced to live on Earth, unable to live in either the Underworld or Olympus. She has kept herself hidden from Hades, who has an intense dislike of her. But when a mysterious Eternal Guardian kidnaps her, she realises that running is not always the answer. Can she face her future fearlessly?

This series seems to be getting better as it goes along; I am completely hooked! The story continues from the end of the fourth book.
Gryphon has literally been to hell and back. The experience has left him emotionally, if not physically, wounded. Rescued by his brother, Orpheus, Gryphon finds himself fighting not only for his sanity, but against the dark pull of Atalanta's power. Meeting Malea may be a blessing in disguise. Can he break the curse placed upon him? What follows is a fast paced, action packed story that had me sitting on the edge of my seat! The story is told through various points of view, which I really liked. Not only do we meet all of the Guardians, including Titus, as well as Callia and Acacia (Casey) and Isadora again, we get introduced to a mysterious woman called Natasa. What does she want with Malea? Is she really a friend? Or is she something more sinister? I can't wait to read the next book to find out! Meanwhile, there is lots of danger and excitement, and the story arc is beginning to open up more. There is even a few shocks and surprises that completely caught me off guard. I loved the scene between Malea and her mother, Persephone. There's got to be something weird about your mother visiting you whilst being handcuffed to a bed; isn't there?
The heat between Gryphon and Malea is hot enough to melt the page! I love their chemistry. They make a wonderful couple and compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses.

As I have previously said in my reviews about this series, I love the world building. It has a wonderful mixture of fantasy combined with myth and reality. The characters' are extremely lifelike and they feel like my friends (apart from Hades - he's still a pompous ass in my opinion). The story ends on another cliffhanger and I can't wait to read/listen to Bound as soon as possible.

Elisabeth Naughton has written an exciting paranormal romance series. I love her fast paced writing style and the flow is wonderful. She has definitely found a fan in me!

Due to scenes of a sexual nature that are on the explicit side, I do not recommend this book for younger readers. However, I highly recommend this book if you love erotic paranormal romances with sexy heroes and strong female characters. - Lynn Worton