Marked (Eternal Guardians, #1)

by Elisabeth Naughton

THERON – Dark haired, duty bound and deceptively deadly. He’s the leader of the Eternal Guardians, an elite group of warriors that defend the mortal realm.

From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life—silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her.

She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron’s duty to bring her in. But even the leader of the Eternal Guardians wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body.

As war with the immortal realm nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

• ISBN10: 0505528223
• ISBN13: 9780505528223
• Publish Date: 1 May 2010 (first published 24 April 2010)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Out of Print: 14 September 2010
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Dorchester Publishing
• Imprint: Love-Spell,U.S.
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[EBookObsessed]

This series is about the seven guardians. They are the descendants of the original seven Argonauts who journeyed with Jason to find the golden fleece. The Argonauts were favored by the Greek Gods and granted a home called Argolea. They protect their kingdom and the world of the humans from daimons, who are lead by Atalanta. She was an Argonaut not favored by the Gods (because she was female) so she made a deal with Hades for immortality.

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 Greek Gods who are always causing trouble.

Marked is the first story of the series and features, Theron, the leader of the Argonauts who is the descendant of Heracles a/k/a Hercules, and Acacia (Casey) Simopolous, a small town girl, by day, trying to keep her grandmother’s bookstore afloat, and by night, waitressing at a local strip joint. She comes upon Theron who is being attacked by several daimons and takes him home with her so he can heal and recover. We learn that Argonauts have no emotions and Theron starts our story a bit of a jerk, but the time he spends with Casey helps him tap into his human side and we see his character grow.

The Argonauts are also cursed by Hera (since most of the original heros were fathered by her husband Zeus). She curses them and their descendants to have only one soul mate and that woman will be the one person they would never choose for themselves. I found this aspect of the story to be a little off putting. Casey is human and although Theron will protect them, he feels interacting with humans is unfathomable.

I wasn’t really involved with these main characters right away, but they did grow on me a bit. Also getting into all the what’s and why’s of this series took some time. I found some of the subcharacters even more interesting than the main characters, like Nick, the leader of the misos, and Demetrius, one the Argonauts which a serious attitude problem. The third story in the serves, Tempted, will focus on Demetrius, and will hopefully unravel the mystery of his PMS attitude.

I was interested enough in the series to give the next few books a try.

[Cocktails and Books]

Great read. Excellent start to the series

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



"From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn't exist in real life - silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her."

It's definitely not a normal night at XScream, the strip club where Casey works. She's used to the college idiots who make her job hell, but not the gorgeous blonde woman who moves discreetly towards the back of the club. Casey also isn't used to the type of man, scratch that, Greek sex-god, who stalks in after the blonde.

Theron is the leader of the Argonauts. The Argonauts are a group of seven who are descendants of the heroes of Greek mythology. Theron descends from the line of Heracles. Their role is to protect their kingdom of Argolea, a kingdom separate from the human realm. Atalanta, a fallen Greek heroine, has vowed she will take her vengeance against the Argonauts, Argoleans and any one else who stands in her way. She has never gotten over not being chosen as one of the original seven Argonauts. Atalanta has waged her war for thousands of years.

Casey has never felt that she fit in anywhere. The same night that Theron enters the club, Casey saves him from things she can't possibly explain. These monsters are daemons and Atalanta's minions. Casey has no clue about everything she's about to step into, but she's inexplicably drawn to Theron for reasons she can't explain. Casey is an important piece to the survival of the Argoleans but at what cost?

I'm glad this is the first book in a series. There is much to look forward to. Elisabeth Naughton blends Greek mythology, romance and a gritty generations long war with ease. The plot line is stellar and original. I only have one minor complaint: the heroine is quite often referred to as Casey and Acacia, sometimes even on the same page. With that being said, there are several things to be pleased with in Marked. Naughton has been able to establish a world unfamiliar to our own but doesn't spend unnecessary time world building. Argolea is easy to visualize and is beautiful. The vocabulary is also easy to grasp. There are very few unfamiliar words to learn and there is a helpful one page glossary at the end of the novel.

Overall, if you're a fan of paranormal romance, Marked is a book you do not want to miss!