The Guardian

Secrets and lies. That's what it boils down to, secrets and lies.

Lydia is a Dream-hunter charged with finding the missing god of dreams, Solin before he betrays everything.

Solin is being tortured by Seth, a demi-god warped and tortured over centuries. He has to find the answers before his own tortures re-start but Lydia is proving to be a greater torture than anything else.

These two are interesting and you could see the pain he had suffered through being an overriding feature of his life to the future but that with Lydia with him he could work on making his future better. I really enjoyed this one.

How hot is a man who has known very little comfort or kindness yet still knows right from wrong and has the capacity to love deeply? Or am I just a sicko for thinking that? I’m a sucker for a tortured hero and Sherrilyn Kenyon is the queen of the tortured hero.

Seth is the son of the Egyptian god Set and a human woman. When he was six years old, his mother took him to pay homage to his father at his temple but instead of accepting Seth, his father berated him and his mother because Seth was scrawny. His mother, who had never been the most loving of mothers, took him out to the desert that day, smashed his kneecaps and legs to pieces with a hammer and left him to die. A month later, after he had wandered the desert and learned he was show more immortal and couldn’t die of thirst and hunger, a clan of jackal Were-Hunters found him and took him in as part of their family…or at least, that is what he thought until they sold him to Noir, one of the most evil beings ever, when he was thirteen. His adoptive father told him that he was so pathetic that his own parents hadn’t wanted him so why should anyone else? That was over 4,000 years ago.

Since then, Noir has drained him of his powers and tortured him. He now serves Noir without question. No, that isn’t true. He can never keep his mouth shut and always taunts Noir which earned him a bolt through his jaw and tongue to keep him from speaking. He rarely gets unchained but Noir comes to him and tells him he has a job to do for him.

Lydia Tsakali is half jackal and half dream god or Dream-Hunter. Her birth was somewhat of an enigma since the only way a Were-Hunter can have children is if they have been mated. But apparently, there is a loophole in the curse that the Fates put on the Were-Hunters that they hadn’t counted on. Everyone thinks that the Fates cursed the Were-Hunters by not allowing them to pick their own mates because it was part of the original curse where the Greek gods were offended that Lycaon dared to get around the Apollite curse of dying at age 27 by doing magickal experiments between Apollites and animals which resulted in Were-Hunters. But the truth is…that when the Greek gods refused to hand over Apollo and Artemis to the goddess Apollymi after Apollo killed her son, she promised them a day of retribution. She vowed, “A combination of all you have sought so desperately to destroy, it will survive against all odds. And its blood mixture will be your poison. And on that day when it comes for you, my laughter will ring in the Hall of Zeus, and every Greek god will feel my wrath as the die in utter agony. All hail the queen’s justice!”

Yeah, I couldn’t figure out what the heck that meant either but the author was kind enough to explain. The Fates always choose mates for the Were-Hunters because they want to make sure that this prophesy never came true. I am not sure which bloodlines they were preventing from mixing but they missed something because a god can impregnate a Were-Hunter without being mated. Lydia’s mother was a Katagaria jackal and her father was or is a Dream-Hunter…only nobody but Lydia and her father, Solin, know that. Except her mom who died a long time ago.

Lydia doesn’t know it but she is Apollymi’s curse against the gods. She is what they call “The Key of Olympus.” She has the ability to drain all of the powers from the Greek gods and give it to someone else. Solin knows this and has been hiding her from everyone who would either want to use her against the Greek gods and from the Greek gods who would kill her.

Seth’s job for Noir was to pull Solin from his world into Azmodea where Noir and Azura live. Seth can pull people in and out of Azmodea but he cannot leave. Noir took that power away from him. His job is to torture Solin to find the Key of Olympus. When he catches Lydia sneaking in to save Solin and notices how Solin obviously cares for her, he assumes she is Solin’s lover and decides to use her against Solin. He grabs Lydia and flashes her to his room that has no door to escape. He tells Solin that he has three days to find the key or he will send Lydia back to him in pieces. He releases Solin from his chains and sends him home.

Seth doesn’t what the Key of Olympus is. He is just following Noir’s orders. But he doesn’t tell Noir about Lydia for some reason. Each day, Noir asks Seth if he has broken Solin and where the Key of Olympus is and each day, he beats Seth for not succeeding. He returns to his room where Lydia is and passes out on the floor from the injuries caused by Noir and Azura. Lydia uses the sheets from the bed to bandage him while he is unconscious, not only because she is kind but because she fears that if he dies, she will die because there is no way out of the room. Seth is shocked when he wakes up that she helped him because nobody has ever helped him before.

She also helps him with his laptop. He’s been chained for centuries and was unaware of modern technology but a demon told him about computers so he conjured one. Lydia helps him with it and asks what he wants to know. He tells her he wants to learn about the Key of Olympus. She Googles it but has no luck. He asks her if the computer has pictures of sunlight so she pulls up images of sunlight scenes and she sees a look of utter amazement and longing on his face. She falls asleep while he is looking at the images.

They start to care about one another. She sees the good in him and Seth has never had anyone be kind to him without stabbing him in the back later. He’s still leery of her but he can’t help liking her.
Meanwhile, Solin sucks his hatred of the Greek Oneroi and goes to Madoc, one of their leaders, for help. He asks Madoc if he remembers the Key of Olympus. Madoc asks, “Do you mean the one you were supposed to have destroyed a long time ago?” Solin tells him he didn’t destroy it and why. They decide to ask Thorn for help. We met Thorn in a previous book #17, he also lives in Azmodea, a hell realm. He and Noir have a shaky agreement to share the realm but Thorn and Noir are far from friends so Thorn may or may not help them.

In a later scene, Solin, Madoc, Delphine and a few other dream gods are imprisoned in a glass-like enclosure. There is a traitor amongst the dream gods. We knew that from a previous book but nobody knows who it is. The traitor must have told Zeus about Lydia so he or locked up the few Dream-Hunters and Dolophoni who he knew would go against him and he has probably sent out the Greek Phonoi after her. They are three blood-thirsty granddaughters of Ares who Zeus calls upon when he wants someone killed pronto.

An alarm sounds and demons make a doorway to Seth’s room. They are under attack. He takes Lydia to Jaden and asks him to keep her safe. Jaden agrees because he owes Seth for something that happened when Seth first arrived in Azmodea. Jaden is another mystery man. We know he is Noir and Azura’s slave and that he is super powerful but we don’t know much more about him. He tells Lydia that he can never leave, that he agreed to serve them to protect someone he cares about but he didn’t go into detail. Jaden also tells her he knows everything about everything and that she shouldn’t tell Seth that she is a jackal. He then touches her head and shows her images from Seth’s past of how his parents and the jackals betrayed him. Jaden is afraid that Seth will kill her if he finds out.

Now, the Greek pantheon wants her dead, Noir wants to use her against the Greeks and she has to find a way to free Seth from Noir and Azura…that is if he doesn’t find out she is a jackal and kills her first.

This is one of those books that I couldn’t get enough of so I read until my eyes were blurry. I would have finished it in less than a day but alas, there is life outside of the book world and I had to attend to it. There was just so much I liked about this book. I loved Seth. He was big and scary to everyone except Lydia. I like characters who aren’t just black and white and who have shades of good and bad in them and Seth had lots of shades of grey in him. I liked Lydia because she was just so positive and just assumed people were good or have goodness in them. She wasn’t naïve by any means but she saw the good in Seth and Jaden. I see the good in Jaden because he is my book boyfriend. When or if Sherrilyn Kenyon writes a book dedicated to him, I will be the heroine of the story. Sherrilyn will make me younger and give me a killer body but it will still be me. Nope, I’m not delusional…not at all!

I have already started the next book.


Terms and Definitions that may help with this summary

Apollites – A race of people made by Apollo with the intention that he would one day replace Zeus. He thought that he could create a race superior to humans. Apollites are stronger and taller than humans with psychic powers. Angered by this, Zeus made declared war on them and exiled them to Atlantis.

When the Apollite queen became jealous of Apollo’s beloved mistress, Ryssa, she ordered Ryssa and her newborn’s son to be killed and ripped apart. In sorrow and rage over this, Apollo cursed all Apollites to die painfully on their 27th birthday because that was how old Ryssa was. They also could no longer live in the daylight and had to live only off of Apollite blood. In doing this, he also cursed his son, Stryker.

Were-Hunter – A long time ago, a king, Lycaon, with the help of a god did magickal experiments on animals of prey and Apollites to save his sons from the Apollite curse of dying when they reach the age of 27 which resulted in humans and animals to shift into each form. There are two kinds of Were-Hunters, Arcadian and Katagaria. The gods cursed them to hate each other so they always fight between the two races.

Arcadian – Were-Hunters who are born human but can shift into animal form when they reach puberty and unlock their magickal powers. Arcadians believe they are superior to Katagaria because they are more human. When they sleep, they retain the natural form of a human.

Katagaria – are animal hearted Were-Hunters who are born in animal form and able to transform into human form when they reach puberty and unlock their magickal powers. When they sleep, they retain their natural form of an animal.

Dream-Hunter – children of the Greek gods of sleep Morpheus and Phobetor. The goddess Mist or Myst is the mother of most of them but some Dream-Hunters have human mothers. Dream-Hunters visit the dreams of humans, gods and Apollites. There are two kinds of Dream-Hunters, Oneroi and Skoti.

Oneroi – Oneroi are dream gods who visit the dreams of humans, immortals and gods. The Oneroi are in charge of policing dreams and keeping track of the activities of the Skoti to make sure they don’t harm any human.

Zeus cursed the Oneroi because one played a trick on him while in his dream. Zeus cursed them to not have any kind of emotion and the only way they can have emotions are by going into people’s dreams. They are only allowed to visit a person’s dreams once and move on to the next person. There are different classes or types of Oneroi and their roles or assignations can usually be recognized by the first letter of their names.

Dolophoni – children of the Furies who are the assassins for the gods. The gods call on them to take care of anyone they consider a threat. They use weapons forged by Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods, and can only be called off by the Erinyes and that never happens.
Phonoi - the granddaughters of Ares, the Phonoi are the embodiment of Killing, Murder and Slaughter. They are the ones Zeus calls out when he needs someone removed from the earth, pronto.

Apollymi – also known as the Destroyer, a powerful Atlantean goddess who destroyed everyone else in her pantheon over an event that nearly tore out her heart. After sinking Atlantis into the ocean and practically annihilating the world, the Greek gods imprisoned her in the nether world called Kalosis. She may be contained but she is far from helpless. Nobody wants to piss her off because she will crush them. If she ever gets free again, not only will she kill the Greek gods but she will obliterate the world.

Azura and Noir – two of the three evil primal gods. They have a sister named Braith but they don’t know where she is or if she is still alive. Noir and Azura live in Azmodea, a hell realm and want to take over the world.

Jaden – a powerful being but nobody knows exactly what he is. He is enslaved to Noir and Azura over a bargain to protect someone he cares about but no one knows the details except Jaden and maybe Noir and Azura. He’s more powerful than Noir and Azura and could kill them at any time but he stays and they torture him horribly. He has one green eye and one brown eye and claw marks on his neck. He also is a broker between the demons and the gods or other immortals. Demons summon him when they want to make a bargain like trading their soul to him for some deed they want done. He doesn’t do the deed but he sees that it gets done. He sometimes turns down the deals, saying their sacrifice is not good enough or worth it.

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Published at http://rubys-books.blogspot.com/2011/11/book-review-guardian-by-sherrilyn.html

Finally, the day of a new release in the Dark Hunter realm has come. I think I should've read slower, but here I am, about 10-15 minutes after I closed the book. The book was good, but like all the Dream Hunter books, this one confused me. I can't exactly decide if it takes place exactly after Retribution or it's way ahead in time. It could also be the fact that some of the details in the entire series are a bit lost to my memory (hence the Dark Hunter series reread I'm doing currently).

I loved this book for a number of reasons. First of all, Ms. Kenyon manages to create the best tormented heroes out there. All of her Dark/Were/Dream Hunters are show more scarred, all of them have painful pasts, but very few of them are truly tormented. So when I read Seth's story, I couldn't help but think about Acheron and Zarek. Seth's story is just as painful and heartbreaking as their stories. Even having all the goodness and kindness tortured out of him, Seth could still feel enough compassion for those his master told him to torture and beat. He also saved Lydia from having a very painful end at the hands of Noir and even gives her the one thing she craved most: her voice. Granted, he might have an ulterior, egoistical motive for protecting her, but he did it, even after all he's been through. I do believe he had a code of honor even before he met Lydia, otherwise he would've told Noir she was inside his domain.

Lydia was different than I expected. I think she's very insecure, so she lashes out very often. I would've liked to know her a little more. I think she kind of grows up with the story. She has a big sense of loyalty and she's willing to die for those she loves, but she also is very afraid of losing those she cares about so she keeps herself a little distant.

We meet Jaden again and I really want to know more about him. I feel like Jaden's a bigger mystery than Ash was and I hope we'll be getting his book sooner. We're also see Solin. I love that guy. I hope he gets his HEA someday.

The book was good, but it felt rushed at the end. Also the timeline confused me. Is this book right after Sundown's story or is this more in the future? Then again, I am rereading the entire series, so maybe after I've read them all I'll be able to have a better timeline and I'll understand more.

Next book in the Dark Hunter series is Time Untime and we have to wait until August, 2012 to read it *pout* But I'll have time to read the books slowly and thoroughly, so I don't really mind waiting this time.


All in all, I do think this is a great book and it's fresh and another of the reasons I love Kenyon's books. It's different, but I wasn't disappointed. show less

Read from June 12 to 13, 2013

Read/Listened for Fun (Kindle/Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.50
Story Rating: 4.25
Character Rating: 4.75

Audio Rating: 4.50 (Not part of the overall Rating)

First Thought when Finished: Seth is officially in my top 5 favorite men from this series!

Story Thoughts: Going to say it: I was SHOCKED that a Dream Hunter (they are my least favorite of the three types) book touched me as much as The Guardian did! There were many times during the story where I would gasp at the amount of torture that the lead character Seth had to endure. His trials and tribulations were heart-string pulling and made me want to put him in a bear hug! I also liked how the story carried forward the overall story arch and of course took us back show more to Sanctuary. Since the Were Hunters are my favorite, I was pretty much giddy as a school girl when we made a visit there. Overall, this was just a fantastic story all around!

Character Thoughts: Lydia was a leading lady that was both fun and kick ass. She was perfect for Seth because she understood exactly what he needed. She also was smart enough to see behind his initial impression on her but also sassy enough to put him in his place. The moments I liked best were when one of them would "cross a line" but were adult enough to pull back and ask what the line was. Lydia had to be that because Seth has a major learning curve for trust. Seth was the epitome of the tragically scarred hero. His back story was almost as heart breaking as Ash. Seriously, it was on that level horrid! He ranks with my favorites: Dev, Talon, Ash, Fang, and now Seth. Those are my 5 and it took a lot to knock Sundown off that list! I loved Jared and Solin too. I am hoping we see more of them in the books to come!

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Fred Berman / Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

I have listened to this series on/off from the beginning. Pretty much if Fred or Holter Graham narrate then I pick it up. Fred is excellent at getting the emotion that Sherry writes across in the narration. His pacing, accenting, and characterization is fantastic. Seriously you can't go wrong when Fred is narrating.

Final Thoughts: Wonderful addition to the series. I can't believe it took me forever to read this! show less

This was a quick read that ultimately left me disappointed. Perhaps Kenyon is running out of steam, and that’s why we got the new Native American storyline begun in “Retribution.” Guardian doesn’t follow that line, but instead tries to tie together the various threads of the new source god pantheon, Noir, Hellchasers, etc., with the original D-H gods. Sadly, nothing is explained.

I agree with other reviewers that this felt like a retread. I didn’t think we could get a more tortured hero than Ash, but now we have Seth. The very first page has him being tortured in disturbing detail. We subsequently learn that Noir has been tormenting him almost non-stop for 4500 years. Yet somehow we are to believe that he’s not only still show more sane, but that only Lydia sees the man he can be? Um, been there, done that – repeatedly. I’ve been reading the D-H series for years, so I do enjoy the format. However, the first 6-7 books had something to distinguish them beyond the woman redeeming the tortured hero. Aside from more detailed torture than I ever needed to read, there was no substance to the plot, or the romance. She meets Seth when he is torturing someone she loves, and he takes her prisoner. Wallah! He needs to find the Key to Olympus for Noir, but nothing ever comes of it. Zarek, Valerius, the original redeemed bad boys, all had a purpose beyond being tortured heroes. Seth just exists. Why should I care about him other than not wanting to see an innocent person repeatedly gutted?

There were a few good things here and there. I was happy to see Jaden again (perhaps the only character besides Savitar left who truly interests me), and get the barest hint of what he might be. I did like Seth and Lydia, they just weren’t developed enough. And the truce between Thorn and Noir is intriguing – just what is he that Noir would honor a truce rather than face him head on? Overall, I’d like to see Kenyon takes a break from the D-H world for a while (maybe start that new SciFi series she mentioned on her site). I’m still interested in reading more in this world, but I’d prefer to wait until it’s a story she just has to tell and not a few more threads of filler. show less

I didn't like the book. The heroes: demons, demigods, and gods - they didn't touch me at all. They are all immortal and their plights are unrealistic, to say the least; have nothing to do with us - mere human readers. I didn't understand the logic of their actions or their cartoonish emotions. I finished the book though, not because I cared about the protagonists (they left me indifferent) but because the writing was good and easy to follow. Simple curiosity propelled me. After all, Kenyon has a huge following. She is definitely a master of the craft of writing. If she just applied her craft to something real and human, I'd like her much better. As it is, I can't even rate this book. The story rates maybe 1 star. The writing rates at show more least 4. I'll leave it at nothing. show less

I really liked this book. Of course, I am a sucker for the whole Dark Hunter series, so no surprise there. I also feel that this is the strongest Dream Hunter book in the series, so far. I read Sherrilyn Kenyon's books because I love the highly imaginative world she weaves her stories around and the characters that you just love to see show up throughout the series. Her books are unapologetically fun with a strong dose of sarcastic humor throughout and, when I read them, I get the impression she enjoys writing them as much as I enjoy reading them. I hope she continues to do so for many years to come!