Ensnared (Eternal Guardians / 1001 Dark Nights) by Elisabeth Laughton-Review Tour
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RYDER–Mysterious, powerful, every woman’s fantasy come true.
For thousands of years, Ryder has reveled in his role as an immortal messenger—a dream weaver sent to seduce and manipulate. Until he’s ordered to deceive a fantasy of his own.
Zakara, the daughter of one of the mightiest Eternal Guardians, is his perfect woman. But she’s impervious to Ryder’s advances. Each attempt to sway her to his will pushes him deeper into a dreamscape she seems to be controlling. To survive, Ryder will need to find a way to master his sexy new prey. Because if he can’t, he risks forever condemning himself and the woman he’s grown to love to a never-ending nightmare drawn straight from the twisted depths of hell.
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REVIEW: ENSNARED is the latest novella in Elisabeth Naughton’s contemporary, adult ETERNAL GUARDIANS paranormal / fantasy, romance series based in Greek mythology, prophecy and history, as well as the latest addition to the multi-authored 1001 Dark Nights series.
The modern day heroes –the Argonauts-are descended from the Gods of Olympus whom fate has decreed the Eternal Guardians on Earth. This is the cosmic deity and dream weaver Ryder aka Morpheus (god of dreams), and Zakara aka Kara’s story line. ENSNARED can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Kara and Ryder) ENSNARED follows the building relationship between cosmic deity and dream weaver Ryder aka Morpheus, and Zakara aka Kara, daughter of Callia, and Argonaut father Zander. Zeus, the god-king has taken control of our hero Ryder, and in doing so demands Ryder seek out the descendants of the ancient goddesses the Horae (goddesses of the seasons). Ryder’s latest target is the daughter of Callia and the Argonaut warrior Zander, a target who has yet to come into her powers. As a dream walker Ryder infiltrates our heroine’s dreams only to realize there is more to Zakara than anyone could have imagined. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Ryder and Kara, and the potential fall-out as Zeus demands Ryder finish his assignment.
ENSNARED deviates from the previous story lines in that there is no mention of Zeus’ struggle to complete the Orb of Kronus a circular disk, designed by Prometheus, that holds all four elements, and the deity who is in possession of the Orb has the ability to start the war to end all wars. Zeus had previously stolen the Orb of Kronus from the Argoleans but the water element remains elusive, and Zeus suspects is has been hidden in Argolea, where the Olympians –and thusly Zeus- are unable to cross. Saying that, Ryder will be accepted by the Argonauts and thusly protected while living in Argolea.
The relationship between Ryder and Kara is one of immediate attraction perpetrated with a seduction and a lie. Zeus demands Ryder’s obedience but in doing so places Ryder together with the woman he loves. The $ex scenes are passionate and intimate without the use of over top, sexually graphic language and text.
The secondary characters include Zeus, Zeus’s Sirens, Callie and Zander, as well as a number of previous story line couples.
ENSNARED is a quick read; a story of power, control and love; a tale of vengeance and freedom. Once again, Elisabeth Naughton blends modern day with fantasy and mythology as the gods and goddesses of Olympus seek to win at all costs. The premise is inviting; the romance is seductive; the characters are strong and captivating.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
Only now that he was here, some part of him was thankful he no longer had to avoid her. He knew he should go on fighting the attraction but he didn’t want to. She was everything he’d been denying himself. Everything he craved. That connection he’d been missing for so damn long. For tonight, at least, he wanted to indulge in the one temptation he knew he could never truly have.
“I wondered when you’d return.”
She turned at the sound of his voice and lifted surprised eyes to his. Violet eyes. Mesmerizing eyes. Eyes that softened and warmed the instant they locked on his. “I was tied up all day with family stuff. This was the soonest I could get here.”
Damn, he didn’t remember those eyes being quite that brilliant.
“Thankfully, you’re here now.” He reached for her hand, silky soft skin sliding over his much rougher palm, and drew her toward him. Her lithe body brushed up against his without even the slightest hesitation.
“Where is here?” she asked, tipping her face up toward his, teasing him with her plump, pink lips beneath the softly swaying palms in the warm breeze.
“Right where we left off.”
He lowered his lips to hers with a kiss that sizzled along every one of his nerve endings and taunted his rock-solid self-control. But before he could deepen the kiss and tease her with the promise of a little pleasure, he registered that the water beneath his feet had turned cold, and the warm breeze that had once been ruffling his hair now left a shiver down his spine.
He drew back, lifted his head, and glanced around the beach, only to gasp at what he saw. No more palm trees, no more powder white sand, no gently lapping waves. The water was now still and black, the shore a mixture of rough sand and small round stones, and there was no more tropical foliage rising from the beach. Instead, steep, rigid mountains stood tall against a starry sky. Mountains covered in pine and fir and spruce and cottonwood.
“What in all the gods…” Still holding her hands, he turned to the left and looked back behind him, no longer seeing his bare footprints in the soft sand as they’d been moments before. Catching nothing but the dark rocky shoreline as it curved around what looked to be a small bay in a rather large lake.
“Something wrong?”
Her sweet voice drew him back around, and he looked down with wide eyes, shocked she didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned. “I…”
Words faltered on his lips. Had he altered the dream right there mid-kiss?
Before topping multiple bestseller lists—including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal—Elisabeth Naughton taught middle school science. A voracious reader, she soon discovered she had a knack for creating stories with a chemistry of their own. The spark turned into a flame, and Naughton now writes full-time. Besides topping bestseller lists, her books have been nominated for some of the industry’s most prestigious awards, such as the RITA® and Golden Heart Awards from Romance Writers of America, the Australian Romance Reader Awards, and the Golden Leaf Award. When not dreaming up new stories, Naughton can be found spending time with her husband and three children in their western Oregon home.
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