Keras

intense and dramatic

KERAS is the seventh instalment in Felicity Heaton’s contemporary, adult THE GUARDIANS OF HADES paranormal/fantasy romance series loosely based in Greek mythology, focusing on seven brothers- the sons of Hades and Persephone -banished to Earth to guard the gates to the Underworld. This is Prince of the Underworld and Lord of Darkness Keras, and goddess of war Enyo’s story line. KERAS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order as the brothers struggle against an unknown enemy to keep the human world and the Underworld from colliding.

NOTE: The Guardians of Hades series is Felicity Heaton’s interpretation of, and does not follow, the actual Greek mythological family tree or events.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line content, there may be some triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Keras and Enyo) KERAS follows the sons of Hades and Persephone as they continue to battle the daemons and otherworldly figures at the two remaining gates to the Underworld but with each subsequent closure of the previous gates, the brother assigned to the specific gate sacrificed his blood, a sacrifice wherein the blood is often ‘stolen’ in an effort to control the brothers from afar. Keras, as the Lord of Darkness struggles to keep the darkness under control, a growing darkness he, his brothers and his mother, blame on the loss of the only woman he has ever loved, but Keras’ battle with the darkness reveals a battle of another kind, an all too human battle with addiction and drugs. With a war on the horizon between the brothers and the daemons of the Underworld, the goddess of war Enyo believes it is time to seek out Keras, and offer her help, but in doing so sets a series of events into motion pushing Keras into a downward spiral of abuse and hatred aimed at our story line heroine. As the brothers prepare for war, Keras must come to terms with his addiction, and the darkness he has directed at the woman he loves.

KERAS is an action packed, fast paced story of family, betrayal, vengeance and war; a story about a fight for power and control; a tale about addiction, abuse, acceptance and blame. Felicity Heaton pulls the reader into an intense and dramatic story wherein our heroine must face the fall-out of two hundred years of heart break and regret. With the approach of war, Enyo’s presence is needed, for as the goddess of war, she is capable of so much more.

There is a large ensemble cast of creatures, gods and goddess from Greek mythology including Nyx and Thanatos, Enyo’s brother and god of war Ares; all of Keras’ brothers and their significant others as well as their parents Persephone and Hades. Enyo is a strong, female heroine who has been secluded from the man that she loves; Keras is a prince of the Underworld but struggles to control the darkness within. Thanatos’ story line is next.

There are some light moments interspersed throughout the story line- everything isn’t always heart breaking and dark. We are witness to the next generation of gods and goddess entering the world, as well as the rebuilding romance and relationship between our leading couple.

The story line premise is difficult at times as Keras loses control and attacks the woman he loves but saying that, our heroine purposely places herself in the direct line of fire in an effort to ‘lull’ Keras into a fight meant to ease the darkness and pain. As a fantasy story line, the heroine is immortal, a goddess with the ability to heal from the life-threatening wounds but for some readers, Keras’ actions may hit too close to home.