Twisted

Publisher's Summary

Nick, leader of the half-breeds and the last true hero, has spent his life fighting a dark pull toward the gods - a pull he now knows is linked to his father Krónos and the Titan's plan to escape from the Underworld. But Nick's hidden powers are coveted by more than just his father. Imprisoned by Hades, Nick battles every form of torture imaginable as the god schemes to break him. Only one thing keeps him sane - one woman who gives him the strength to fight the relentless darkness. But she has a dangerous plan of her own, and as Nick's powers grow stronger, even she might not be enough to alter his destiny.

Contains mature themes.

©2014 Elisabeth Naughton (P)2014 Tantor

Finally We Get Nick's Story!

Since he was introduced in Marked, the first book in the Eternal Guardians series, I have been itching for more Nick. While we have seen him in every book and even got his POV briefly, nothing prepared me for his darkness. Oh, Nick, you dirty, dirty boy. *swoons*

So much time had passed since Bound, book six in the Eternal Guardians series, was released that I had forgotten very important details. I started Twisted and was completely lost. So what's a girl to do? I decided it was a fine time for a series re-read and when I discovered that Twisted would be released in audio format even though it was self-pubbed, I decided to feed my audiobook addiction and buy the whole series. I'm soooo glad I did. While I was slow to warm to her, Elisabeth Wiley ended up being a great narrator for this series and I thoroughly enjoyed my re-read.

I will admit, Twisted wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Elisabeth Naughton is phenomenal when it comes to world building and maybe due to Zagreus' lair being somewhat lame and tamer than I was expecting, I was a tad disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the torture was definitely there, it was just much less torturey than what we dealt with in Gryphon's book, Enslaved. I'm not saying that Nick was treated well while in Zagreus' prison, but we certainly didn't get the details that I needed to feel that Nick had really suffered there. Due to that and how easily the book was resolved, I didn't enjoy Twisted as much as I did the last couple of books in the series.

All that said, Twisted was super smexy as well as action packed, I really liked Cynna, Ari was a fantabulous addition to the mythology, and I'm beyond thrilled that Ms. Naughton decided to continue this series on without a publisher. There are sooooo many great series that are cut short because they don't get extended contracts and this is a series that would have left many unsatisfied if it had just ended. So I want to say thank you, Elisabeth, for continuing on with this world and making your readers very happy. I truly would have been heartbroken had I not gotten more of the Eternal Guardians.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Nick Nick Nick

I have to say this was my favorite out of the Eternal Guardians series. For all the books they had me so curious what was it about Nick that made you want to know who he was and why he wasnt in Arogolea even though i felt like he belonged so much. I was so excited that in this book i finally found out!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Twisted

I loved this book each of the stories in this series gets better and better. This is the best so far. I loved the H and H storyline it was very intense and interesting. The heroine was very strong. I would definitely recommend this series to everyone it is kickass.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Nick's Story.

This wasn't the best in the series, it had a bit of a dark and icky feeling. The backgrounds of the main characters leaves something to be desired. The thing that bugs me is the whole Nick/Isadora/Demetri soul mate mess. My favorite book from this series is Demetri's and Isadora but this story line makes me like their relationship less. It does all come together in the end and although this is my least favorite book it still is fairly good. I will read more from this series if the author comes out more. Narrator was still good, she is the same one from the whole series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good grief.. SPOILERS, maybe..

Any additional comments?

This was far from my favorite of the Eternal Guardians. In fact, if I hadn't loved the other books so much I might have given this 1 star. I just could not like Cynna. As far as I'm concerned she WAS just Zagreus's slut, I don't care if it was willing or not. For 6 months she tortured Nick at the devils' spawn request and we were supposed to like her? When Nick was in the other books I really liked him but in this one, not so much. It was almost like their story was built around their dark and painful sex. I mean, they both had their turn at being chained while doing their "business." If this is the route EN is taking I'm through with her EG books.

As to the narrator: Ms. Wiley did a wonderful job. Every one had their own voice, whether it was male or female. She could use a little more emotion but I was still pleased with her narration.

5 of 9 people found this review helpful

DONE!

I am so over this series its not even funny, It starts off Nick in Zagreus's lair fighting the satyr's. The first half is about his torture which is handed down from Zagreus to Cynna who Nick is attracted to. Then the second half is about Nick dealing with soul mate curse and Cynna's insecurities and his own self deprecation and the evil within.

What I can say is she added another twist to the story and I won't give that away. The narrator does a very good in bringing the story to life. But I am done with this series it took me about two weeks to get through the whole book. I cant stand whiney characters and I really don't like syrupy stories. Which this story contained.

this is a very sexy and Steamy book. ❤❤❤

Great story line. it's easily to get addicted to this book. all 8 books in this series is all equally fantastic. the love scenes are so detailed it puts butterflies in your stomach. the lady that's reading the book, changes her voice tone to match the story lines and she makes it feel like your really there watching it all happen. I completely love these guardian books and I admit I have read them all several times. I still cant get enough of this series ❤❤❤❤

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Twisted

All of her books a great to listen to!
The narrator stayed in character for the whole series but you must read them in order.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Awful

I really didnt enjoy this book in the series I hated Cyna and Nick was just abusive. Glad it finally ended. Took me 4 days to get through it.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Heroes for everyone

This is a good series and this book was as good as the first in the series. Characters had to live with the choices they made and frequently the price they aid wasn't worth the price and the people they wanted revenge on weren't really guilty of the crime. Sometimes people have no control over their actions or actions done in their. My only criticism is it seems some sex scenes could have been left out. They didn't move story forward and actually were intrusive.

0 of 2 people found this review helpful

can't wait for next

really enjoyed it , can't wait for the next in the series. I drive a lot so it's ideal for me to be able to listen to the books as I love to read but hardly had the chance recently until I discovered books I could listen to instead.

A Fantastic Series!

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

I downloaded this as an audiobook, as I had previously enjoyed listening to the first six books in the series in audiobook too.

Twisted 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.

Nick is an enigmatic character, so I was excited to get to know him better. He is the leader of the half breed Misos, half Argolean/half humans, who live together in a colony for safety against the Daemons of Atalanta. He also happens to be the brother of Demetrius, one of the other Guardians, and the son of Kronos.

Cynna is a remarkable character. I wasn't sure what to make of her at first. However, I knew there was more to her than first met the eye when she was introduced near the end of book six. This is one tough lady! She has basically volunteered to live in Hell, under the command of Zagreus as a slave. But she is also full of secrets. However, I did feel that Cynna wallowed too much in self-pity at times, which drove me crazy.

The story continues from the end of book six and it quickly swept me up. This is another fast paced, action packed story that had me sitting on the edge of my seat! The story takes the reader through a roller coaster ride of emotion from beginning to end and is told through various points of view, which I really liked. This story is focused mainly on Nick and Cynna, though the story arc opens up even further and surprising revelations are made.
The reader also gets to see a little more of Hades's son, Zagreus. He may be a twisted and perverted character, but I have a feeling he's not completely "evil" and doesn't take after his father, thank goodness. Although he hides it under his perversions and doesn't wear it on his sleeve, I think Zagreus has a huge heart, dark though it may be. I wonder if he will be the subject of the next book?
Nick and Cynna have their own demons to deal with; they both have a lot of baggage, but they are more than capable of carrying their burdens. I love their chemistry, which fairly sizzled on the page. They make a wonderful couple and compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses.

As I have previously said in my other 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 the next book 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. Although this book can be read as a stand-alone compared to the other books in the series, I do recommend you read them first before reading this one. - Lynn Worton