Ares

Guardians of Hades Romance Series

By: Felicity Heaton

Narrated by: Kevin Foley

Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Prince of the Underworld and Lord of Fire, Ares was banished from his home by his father, Hades, two centuries ago and given a new duty and purpose - to keep our world and his from colliding in a calamity foreseen by the Moirai.

Together with his six brothers, he fights to defend the gates to the Underworld from daemons bent on breaching them and gaining entrance to that forbidden land, striving to protect his home from their dark influence. Caged by the manifestation of his power, held apart from those he loves by his own fire and starved of physical contact, Ares lives a cold existence driven by duty and the desire to return to his world.

Until his world collides with a daemon who steals his power and a mortal female who shatters the ice around his heart and awakens the true fire within him - a soul-stirring passion both dangerous and seductive.

Megan has wandered far from her home, driven from everyone she loves by the devastating realization that she is different to them all. Unsure who to trust in the world, she keeps to herself, until a fateful stormy night brings a temptingly handsome warrior crashing into her life and into her heart - a warrior who seems to hold powers more frightening and marvelous than her own.

When the New York gate comes under threat, and Ares is put to the test, will he choose his duty and regain the power he needs in order to save his world or will he choose the desires of his heart and sacrifice his fire so he can be with the woman becoming his whole world?

©2016 Felicity Heaton (P)2017 Felicity Heaton

Strong male lead, weak female

Meh. Story baseline was great. So was the performance. I can't stand weak, whiny, clingy female characters. It ruins the whole story.

Ares

Ares by Felicity Heaton is the first book in the Guardian of Hades series. It centres on Ares, one of the seven sons of Hades. Hades banished each of his sons to the mortal world, giving them the responsibility of guarding the gates of the Underworld from the daemons determined to breach it. Ares was responsible for the New York gate. They also had a power unique to them, one that seemed like a curse. Ares wielded fire, which prevented him from having physical contact with those he loved. As a result, he lived a lonely life driven by duty to protect the underworld.

Megan, while on her way home from work, found herself caught in the middle of a fight between Ares and one of these daemons. From that moment her life would go through unexpected changes. I am still not sure if she is a mere mortal. The story portrayed her as such, but her ability to heal and withstand Ares’s fire revealed that there was more to her than it led the reader to believe.

I have been wanting to read this book since its release, but never had the chance to do so until now. I went into the story with high expectations, having been a fan of the author’s Eternal Mates series. Unfortunately, it did not deliver as I had expected. Not that it was a terrible story, but I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the romance.

What I Liked
World Building
I enjoyed my journey into the world the author created and I also loved her twist on Greek mythology. She created a world that was a mix of fantasy and reality. I found the fight scenes exciting and intense.

Main Characters

Heroine
Meagan’s selflessness and bravery shined throughout the story.

Hero
Ares, the son of Hades and nephew to the Greek god of war who never wavered in his dedication to his duty.

Secondary Characters
The story provided snippets about the other brothers whetting the reader’s desire for their stories.

The Ending
There were no cliff-hangers, however the ending hinted at a war in the making.

What I didn’t Like
Megan’s immediate acceptance of Ares and everyone and everything associated with him seemed unrealistic. There were no signs of trepidation, which one would have expected in such a situation. It was also odd that she gave up the life and job she had prior to meeting Ares but no mention was made as relates to these areas for the remainder of the story.

Romance
The chemistry between the key characters was non-existent, which made their whole connection seem forced.

Narration
I listened to the audio version, which proved to be a terrible decision. The narrator’s voice was monotonous. It was as if he was reading an academic book and not a novel filled with intense action and romantic scenes.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Although this installment didn’t live up to my expectations I intend to continue the series.

very good

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! After listening to this story,. I totally enjoyed reading this book. It’s well written and the characters were uniquely fantastic. I would suggest this book to my friends that like this sort of genera. this was a good book. The narrator was great.

Great!

I love Ms. Heaton, anyway, but if the rest of this series is as good as the first...... Can't wait to dig in! The only words I have for you readers......LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

Unbelievably boring

After the 3rd chapter I completely didn't care about the story line at all. The narrator was equally boring. I actually used this book for background noise to help me fall asleep. I won't purchase any more books from this series.👎

Narrator! omg bad

Narrator must go. could not listen for 10 min! need a new narrator. please have someone else read this book.

loved it can't wait to listen to the next one

loved it I just can't wait to listen to the rest of the series. fantastic duel point of view written and that is my favorite kind

Yas!

I loved the story! It had everything I like in a romance novel: adventure, danger, ass kicking and hot sex. I will be getting the next books in the series as soon as they come out.