Sunday, September 20, 2015

BOOK REVIEW - Ecstasy Unbound (The Guardians of the Realms #1) [Net Galley]

Professional ReaderI shall be posting my Net Galley reviews up on Sundays to keep the separate from other reviews (and because adding them to the queue may back them up too much). This shall not be posted every Sunday, only when I have an NG book finished.




Author: Jay Setta - http://www.settajay.com/
Format: Kindle ebook, free from Net Galley. Check out on amazon here
Did it feel like a full novel: yes
Cliffhanger: no, just continuing series
Genre: paranormal romance, mythology
Dates Read: July 27-Aug 30, 2015
Official Blurb: As one of the twelve Guardians, Urian has spent the last several centuries in a constant battle to keep the inhabitants of Earth’s Realms under control. Humanity has to evolve, hell beasts need to die, and Immortals need mates. But lately, Uri's mind is overrun with thoughts of when his sexy voyeur will find him again, watching him from the shadows, continuing their wicked game. All Guardians are forbidden contact with the little goddess and her brothers, but his need for her escalating, he finds it increasingly difficult to keep from pinning her down on the nearest surface and making her his.

Alexandra has managed to evade the Guardians and being cast out from the human Realm for centuries, ever since the Creators sent the Gods to sleep for their sins against humanity and banished all Immortals. Always sensing that she was needed on Earth, only once has Alex gone against her instincts and the price she paid will forever haunt her. It is for that reason she forces herself to stay away from the only male who has ever truly enticed her. The only one who has ever made her long for what she knows is dangerous. 

Great worldbuilding with alphamale that is on the fence of being an alphahole sometimes.

This is really a lovely start to a grand series with intricate worldbuilding and a variety of different characters! I was a bit lost at first, trying to figure out what a guardian is vs a god and such, and didn’t get too much explanation as it went. Enough to enjoy the bulk of the story though. Forget about trying to figure out who is related to who, and other family lines because that needs a nice flow chart. Also explanations on why all these guys are over 7 feet tall yet they all wear tight jeans and t-shirts. These guys have been alive for centuries, I’m sure they might like a variety of clothing.

Uri was the main hero, and I was not a big fan of him. He seemed to ‘love’ Alex mainly because she was just so hot, only later when they find out they’re predestined mates does he comment on her personality. I like when an H is enamored of his lover, but when this happens to be his thought process:

She was so damn perfect, with her flat stomach, high succulent tits, and a round little ass just begging to be bent over anything he could find...

It feels cheap. Yes, her body is “begging” for him to sex the crap out of it. Sure dude, whatever.

Alex is also kinda a meh heroine. She’s likable dealing with her brothers and her shoes, and kinda taking care of things on her own. She doesn’t loose too much of that with Uri, thankfully. Well unless they’re having sex. Or he gets possessive. OK, she does a bit. And then all of a sudden we’re supposed to believe she is a crazy awesome fighter? I couldn’t see it, and it felt like a ridiculous add on. 

As a side character, Sam was pretty interesting in the short part she started to develop, but it stayed short, alas. 

The sex was pretty good overall (well, if you ignore history of a rape scene and then a present rape scene). The mfm was very hot! It was only afterward that I thought about that things became annoying. The reasons for not just having the two lovers go at it was to please the female because that’s very important to them. But the guy made sure to let her know this was only the one time. “So yeah, here have the best sex of your life EVER....because you’re never going to have it again because I’m a possessive jerk.”

OK, so it sounds like I hated this book, doesn’t it? I didn’t, honestly! I think it’s just it’s easier to complain about those detailed things than go on about the more positive stuff without spoiling anything. But I shall try. Well, the change of POVs was well done, and not just between two characters, there were others as well. Though I was a little lost on the rules of this universe, the set up was grand, what with so many types of shifters and monsters (like hellhounds and dragons!). The villains had their own plan there, something that will likely be better explained in the rest of the series. But that’s good, instead of super insurmountable odds to be beaten in the first book, and then getting ridiculously and exponentially more incredible with every one thereafter. If you like paranormal or mythological romances, I would certainly recommend you give this a try.

Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3 stars


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