Mary’s review of Tempted (Eternal Guardians #3) by Elisabeth Naughton
DEMETRIUS—He’s the hulking, brooding warrior his fellow Guardians avoid. Too dark. Too damaged. And given his heritage, he knows it’s best to keep everyone at arm’s length.
Isadora is missing. The words pounded through his head like a frantic drumbeat. For her own protection, Demetrius had done all he could to avoid the fragile princess, his soul mate. And now she was gone—kidnapped. To get her back, he’ll have to go to the black place in his soul he’s always shunned. As daemons ravage the human realm and his loyalty to the Guardians is put to the ultimate test, Demetrius realizes that Isadora is stronger than anyone thought. And finally letting her into his heart may be the only way to save them both.
As there are two other books in the series before this one, I was a little overwhelmed character-wise at first. However, the introduction when I was introduced to Demetrius and his band of Argonaut brothers, caught and held my attention so I was able to power through the many characters to find their places in this creative and detailed world. Demetrius is a gorgeous warrior who’s got some seriously dark sexual appetites. Well-respected amongst his brothers, he holds himself apart from them because of his twisted parentage (that they don’t know about and he hopes they never will) and his unquenched desire for the princess Isadora, who he sees as a delicate little flower.
Isadora’s anything but fragile. She’s a strong capable woman who hates Demetrius because he’s been cruel and rude to her since she was a child. He believes he can’t show her his softer side (such that it is) or trust her with his secret because, if he relaxes the tight control he has over his emotions and his body for one second, he’s finished—in more ways than one. It’s always a bit stalker-ish to be when one character, especially one who is quite a bit older than the other, is in love with someone he/she watched grow up from a child, as Demetrius did Isadora. But whatever, I guess that’s a human ideal, since it seems to be prevalent in the fantasy/paranormal genre. Despite the immediate ick-factor, I got over it, especially since these people are near-immortals and not human.
While I wish more of the book focused on Demetrius and Isadora and didn’t involve the other brothers and their mates as much, the story was fast-paced and kept me turning the pages. I probably would have been a lot happier with the non-Demetrius/Isadora parts if I’d read the first two books in the series and gotten involved in the other pairings. However, I loved Orpheus, one of the secondary characters. He’s irreverent, prickly, headstrong, and very intriguing—I’m hoping he’ll have his own story!
Rating: 4.0/5.0
This book is available from Sourcebooks Casablanca. You can buy it here in e-format.