Review: Entwined

Entwined
Elisabeth Naughton
Paranormal Romance
Eternal Guardians/Book 2
Love Spell/July 27, 2010

From the back cover ~

Zander - The most feared of all the Eternal Guardians. It's rumored he can't be killed, and he always fights like he has nothing to lose. But as a descendant of the famed hero Achilles, he's got to have a vulnerability...somewhere.

Forces of daemons are gathering and have broken through the barriers of the Underworld. Now more than ever the Eternal Guardians are needed to protect both their own realm and the human world. Zander can't afford to think about what might have been with the bewitching physician he once regarded as his soul mate. But with eternity stretching out before him, he also can't fathom spending his life without the one woman who makes him feel most alive. Perhaps he's found his weakness, after all...

After reading the first book in the series, Marked, I was curious about the world Naughton has created but I wasn't salivating to read the next book. I figured I'd get to it eventually. Well, almost a year after it's release and I finally did. And after reading Entwined, I can't wait for Tempted, book 3.

There's certainly a medieval feel to the world of the Guardians. The king rules the realm and has decided his daughter should wed one of the Argonauts. No one is happy with this news least of all the Argonauts. As the king's personal healer, Callia works in close proximity to the royal family, such as it is. She prefers to keep her distance from the Argonauts, specifically Zander, due to a painful past association. I liked Callia, she's an intelligent and independent woman in a very male dominant world. She suffered a terrible loss and has submersed herself in her work at the clinic, trying to forget everything she has lost. She had a very 21st century feel to her.

Zander thinks he is immortal and apparently being an ass comes with immortality. He's very alpha, of course, but he's got this attitude of how he was so wronged in the past by Callia that he doesn't even try to see her side. But... he's still got the hots for her. LOL And being a man, doesn't always think with his brain. His stubbornness in doing what he thinks is the right thing went too far. There were moments when I liked him, then he'd go back to being a stubborn asshat and I'd roll my eyes and think Callia could do better.

The secondary character of Isadora, the king's daughter, is turning into a favorite of mine. Her book is next so thankfully I won't have to wait long for it. She's a chameleon, playing at being the meek, shy princess while having a backbone of steel. She's already been through a horrible ordeal and will probably get into even more trouble in her book. Let's hope her hero has enough patience for her.

The plot is thick with tension, drama and action with Zander and Callia in the middle of it. The big bad is really bad and powerful. She's a sick bitch who enjoys torturing and killing and hates the Argonauts. Nothing like a power crazed whackjob and her daemon horde to spoil the mood. While I liked Callia far more than Zander, and the romance was interesting, I found myself wishing for more page time with Isadora rather than the hero and heroine.

Between the angst filled romance, the sub-plot with Isadora, courtly intrigue and the fight against evil, Entwined proved to be a solid addition to the series. And most importantly, it left me wanting more of the world of the Argonauts.

Rating: B

Books in this series ~

Marked
Entwined
Tempted (September 1, 2011)