Sunday 27 November 2016

Flora Reviews... Ares (Guardians of Hades #1) by Felicity Heaton



Flora Reviews...
Ares (Guardians of Hades #1) 


 
Read: 24th – 26th November 2016
Format: Kindle
My Goodreads Rating:  5 Stars

...So what’s this book about?

This is the first book in Felicity Heaton’s new paranormal romance series - Guardians Of Hades. This new series is about the sons of Hades, the Greek God of the Underworld, and his Goddess wife, Persephone; Ares, Daimon, Esher, Valen, Keras, Calisto and Marek. Each son has been charged with guarding one of the seven gates to the Underworld - which are located here on Earth - from the daemons who want to use them. 
As the title suggests, this book features Ares who is the guardian of the New York gate. It is a full length novel of 115,000 words and is set in our world, at this time.   

Now as my regular followers will know, I never post any spoilers or reveal plot twists in my reviews, so this is what the official blurb says:

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 realisation 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 marvellous 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?

As with most of Ms Heaton’s work, this book contains material of a sexual nature and some graphic violence and as such is only suitable for adults.

I was lucky enough to be given an ARC in digital form for free from the author in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you Ms Heaton.

 ...So, what did I like about it?

I am already a big fan of Ms Heaton’s other series and love her writing style! Her world building is amazing; it is her mix of fantasy and reality that captures my attention right from the start. Her characters are never black or white, good or evil but a complex mix of positive and negative traits and emotions which they either have to embrace or overcome; Ares and Megan are no exception.

I have already mentioned in previous reviews how I love the way Ms Heaton makes the most explicit sexual scenes very romantic – I think she’s a very talented writer because, for me, a story is only really erotic if I’m emotionally connected to the characters involved, Ms Heaton gives her characters such depth that they do become real, but it’s not just her main characters, I find all of her characters complex, multifaceted and completely believable due to their very real human virtues and foibles even though most of them are mythical, paranormal beings.  We have been introduced to all the Hades sons in this book as well as Hades and Persephone themselves and learned a bit about them all; I am looking forward to getting to know them all throughout this series.

This story made me giggle, gasp in shock and shed a tear or two. Of course, I got caught up with the passion (who wouldn’t *blush*) but the tender insights into both Ares’ and Megan’s doubts, their feelings of “relationship unworthiness”  and the growth of their trust in each other’s love was heart-warming to read.

...So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?

Absolutely nothing! (Hence the 5 star review) ;-)

This is the first book in a new series, and as such, you must expect a cliffhanger or two. However, for those of you like me who HATE huge cliff-hangers, rest assured, Ms Heaton doesn’t leave us hanging. Yes, there are main story arc questions that are left unanswered but the paranormal romance aspect between our two main characters is happily concluded in Ms Heaton’s signature style.

...So, basically what I’m saying is...

I really loved this paranormal romance tale. It was a great read that made me smile, cry and feel all warm & fuzzy inside with well written erotic thrills, heart pumping fight scenes and tons of romantic gestures. 
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy reading stories about the battle between one’s duty and heart, inner strength, the lengths we go for our siblings or those we love, and of course, it's a must for those of us who adore tales about soul saving love. 

So, has my review of ARES (Guardians of Hades #1) sparked your interest? Just click on any of the links below to check out the book yourself, or to find out more about other books I’ve read, take a look at my profile on Goodreads.


Buy ARES (Guardians of Hades #1) in paperback or for your Kindle on Amazon.co.uk or through Amazon.com

(Of course, Ares is also available to download in e-book format from other online sites including: iBookstore, nook, KOBO, Google Play and All Romance eBooks.)

Visit FELICITY HEATON ‘s own little corner of the web