Review of The Darkest Seduction by Gena Showalter

One of the things that persuaded me to get back into this series was the fact that I knew Paris had a book. Not only do I sort of grudgingly like Paris (I'll explain the grudging part in a minute), but the set up between Paris and Sienna, which took place earlier in the series, was really excellent.

Paris is possessed by the demon of Promiscuity, and one of the consequences of his possession is that he can only sleep with a woman one time--after which, he will fail to respond to her sexually ever again. Sienna had the distinction of being the first woman to arouse him twice, before she was abruptly killed. Now Sienna is a spirit, and is also possessed by the demon Wrath. Paris still wants her, and is willing to brave all kinds of hell to get her back.

The secret society/band of brothers trope in paranormal romance usually features some predictable cookie cutter personality types. There's always the leader/series strategy guy. There's the hacker/technology savvy genius. The legitimately crazy/genuinely scared one. The unusually normal guy who is the most in touch with the human world. The smurfette.  And then there's Captain Super Dick--the one who sleeps with approximately all of the women. I generally hate Captain Super Dick. I even had problems with Rhage from BDB, though admittedly he won me over in the end. But generally, I hate unapologetic man-sluts. I hate that their behavior is rarely seen as bad and is often actually lauded for behavior that would get a female character blacklisted.  And Paris is, of course, Captain Super Dick.

What distinguished Paris to the point where I'm kind of fond of him is the fact that he actually doesn't like the revolving door to his bedroom. Showalter describes his dilemma in such a way that I can see why that would get really depressing after a hundred years or so. She actually made me sad that he has so much sex. I don't think any author, not even Ward, has made me feel the plight of the ever-horny in quite this way. What's more is that, this dilemma makes Sienna valuable to Paris even before he really loves her, and that gives us an interesting premise to build the entire quest of this book on.

Sienna, if I'm being honest, is still a bit bland in personality. Despite Showalter's attempts to load up her back story and give her solid motivation, in the end I don't feel that I'll remember her. When I compare her to some of the other heroines in the series, who stand out both for their huge personalities and grand powers, she just falls short. No matter who's power she absorbs or how big a deal she is.

Anyway, the romance in this one is more than adequate, and I found the plot quite engaging. I would say that among the books in this series, it is far from the best, but it is certainly not the worst. 3.5 stars.

On Beastkin: A Review of Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews

Oh, Ilona Andrews. You write the very best and most entertaining urban fantasy on the market. Now, this latest book happens to be a spin-off of the most beloved Kate Daniels series. Was I cranky that we wouldn't be getting another Kate book for well over a year? Yes, a bit. But in the end, if I couldn't have a Kate book, this was a damn good substitute.

This book follows Kate's best friend, Andrea, as she investigates several untimely deaths related to a vault of mysterious ancient artifacts. The case brings her into close contact with her ex, Raphael, whom she is not over yet. As she fights for her life against the latest threat to Atlanta, Andrea must confront her own identity issues and old insecurities. Will she join the Pack of shapeshifters and get Raphael back, or flee and be alone forever?

Positive Comments

I can certainly understand how this book came to be. The Kate Daniels world lends itself to a lot of stories outside what might be going on with Kate herself. Andrea was introduced in book 2 (I think), and has progressively grown on me like a fungus. The side stories of her relationship with Raphael have always been intriguing, so its nice to see some resolution to that as well.

Andrea is an intensely interesting character, in that she has survived some serious shit. Child abuse, rejection, leading to mild self loathing and identity issues, leading to a tenure as a knight in the very prestigious Order of the Knights of Merciful Aid. When The Order kicks her out for being a shapeshifter, her life is shattered. In this book, she has to put the pieces back together and find a new purpose for herself, all while trying to solve this heinous crime. The emotional story is fascinating.

The emotional journey is fascinating, but it never gets in the way of the action (and the violence) of which there is a great deal. Ultimately, Andrea and Raphael go head to head with the Egyptian god Anubis,  taking huge risks to end his existence as best they can. How does one kill a god?

Negative Comments

I did feel that a bit more raw mythology would not have gone amiss in this story. Since we have an Egyptian god as our "villain", why not delve into his back story thoroughly? We are given the bare minimum to serve the purpose of the story, and I'm sure some readers like it that way, but I would have liked a bit more.

Recommendation

Probably the first question you might ask is: Does it stand alone? Umm, hmm, uhh....No. I don't really think it does. I think to understand the world and it's characters and everything Andrea is struggling with, you really need to have read the five Kate Daniels books already available. But trust me, that's no hardship.

If you are already a fan of the Kate series, you'll enjoy this one. The shift in point of view is temporarily refreshing. We do see enough of Kate that you won't miss her too much. And as with all of Andrews' books, there's mythology, violence, horror, and romance in a very nice package. 4 stars.

On Nott: A Review of Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep

I received an ARC of Dark Frost from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book in the Mythos Academy series, featuring a gypsy named Gwen. Gwen is a champion of the goddess Nike, and she's charged with finding and hiding a special dagger. This dagger has the ability to free the evil god, Loki, who would unleash chaos on the world.

Positive Comments:

I find Gwen extremely charming. I like that she's a comic book geek. She's blossomed a great deal since book one, going from loner to a confident young woman who supports her friends and flirts with Logan.

Logan is sexy as hell. He's a tormented bad boy, which is an extremely popular archetype, and I can't get enough of him. I'm anxious to see Logan and Gwen finally start to connect on a deeper level.

The secondary characters are fantastic. In this on, I give special mention to Grandma Frost, who kicks ass and bakes cookies. I love that. I also loved Nott, Gwen's mythical wolf companion.

This story was action packed from start to finish. It opens with a battle, has a mystery in the middle and finishes off with some big, game changing events.

Critical Comments:

Some of Gwen's actions--or lack of action--maddened me. She makes questionable (arguably stupid) decisions, and then when things go bad as a result, she survives only by luck and because her friends rescue her. I want to believe that she will improve in this--that soon Gwen will be standing on her own feet. But three books in, I expected more.

Recommendation:

I'm very fond of this series. I'd recommend it to fantasy fans, young adults, and those who love mythology. 4 stars.

Buy from Amazon: Dark Frost: A Mythos Academy Novel

On Thor: A Review of Hammered by Kevin Hearne

This poor book fell victim to my crazy life. I started it while still finishing school, literally in between finals and packing. It got carried home an lost in a box, found again when I needed something to read on the way to my wedding dress fitting. Got shoved aside again because one of my my best friends was in town for the first time in ages, and I wanted to spend every waking moment with her. And finally, I finished it while dining on hastily ordered Chinese takeout behind a pile of boxes that I will have to sort through at some point. Later. I always reason that the mark of a good story is the ability to survive a reader's reality, to still make an impact no matter what might be going on. Hammered survived my reality in as much as I was never tempted to give up on it, even after the third time I had to reread the middle because I'd forgotten what was going on. 

The book opens with Atticus climbing Yggdrasil, the world tree of Norse legend, signaling that this is going to be a Norse mythology themed book. In fact, the book focuses on Atticus's quest to fulfill his promises, first to steal an apple or immortality and later to help his friends kill Thor. This book is a bit weightier than it's two predecessors in that it asks questions about fate and morality and decision making.

Positive Comments:

Again, I was invested despite an awful lot of distraction. Atticus is a likeable character, and I wanted to see him succeed. I was invested in Hearne's version of the mythology, and how all of the gods of this world fit together. It borrows much from American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and I mean that as the highest compliment.

It has a questing, adventure seeking tone to it, and I love that in a fantasy novel. I deeply respect a quest. By far my favorite part of the book was when the group of men who want Thor dead sit around a fire and tell stories about why they want Thor dead. Is this a cheap, quick way to deliver character motivation? You bet. Did I lap it up like chocolate syrup? Oh yeah. By the time they got done, I wanted Thor dead too. And even though I was tired of this book, and wanted desperately to move on to other things, I had to finish at all costs.

Critical Comments:

I'm not a big fan of fate/destiny plots. The introduction of gods who warn Atticus that they've seen his future if he helps to kill Thor, and it's a grim future, frustrated me on a couple of levels. First, because it isn't necessary. He should be able to figure out for himself that this course of action is likely to screw him over. Do we really need harbingers of doom to tell us that? Second, because the prophecies are so vague and so heavy-handedly foreshadowing. Perhaps something slightly more or slightly less subtle would have suited the story better.

I felt that there were far more characters than necessary. It was a crowded story. I can sympathize with the author's desire to display so many awesome characters, but I can't help but feel that the overall story suffered for it.

Recommendation

I'm continuing to recommend this series whenever possible. I love the mythology, the ideas, and the writing style. I love Atticus. This wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't bad either. 3 stars.

Click here to buy: Hammered: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Three

On Polish Witches: A Review of Hexed by Kevin Hearne

I treated myself to Hexed by Kevin Hearne because I really liked the first book in the series, Hounded (see my review HERE), and because I kind of felt I needed a break from YA and angels.

In this book, our hero, Atticus, is dealing with a very full plate. He has fallen angels, Bacchants, and tricky gods to deal with, and for some reason everyone thinks he should kill Thor. Because in this world Thor is a dick, I guess. But the main focus of this book is on a group of German witches who've been consorting demons, who move into the Tempe territory and threaten the  general peace. So, Atticus teams up with the Polish witches who live in the territory to kill all the nasty witches.

Positive Comments

I'm half Polish, so I'm simply tickled pink to see the touches of Polish language and mythology in this book. I love all of the mythology that Hearne makes use of. It follows the same logic used in Neil Gaiman's American Gods, where all of the gods that anyone has ever believed in exist, and some of them aren't too nice. This leads to endless possibilities, and I really enjoy the character interactions and plot lines that result from it.

I liked the plot, which has Atticus dealing with so many different obstacles. I like his motivation: he wants to stay in the area so that he can heal damaged earth, so he has to fight off anything that threatens peace. There's a ton of action, the book is never boring, and it all comes to a satisfying conclusion.

I love the characters. Atticus is completely unique, very intelligent, and very likeable. It isn't easy to write ancient characters (Atticus is 2000 or so?) and actually make them seem ancient to the reader. I know, because I've been reading vampire books for years and I've seen so many authors fail at this task utterly. Hearne succeeds spectacularly, dropping hints about Atticus's history, giving him mannerisms that make him seem weathered. At the same time, he isn't stuffy--he has a sense of humor, blends in well, and is self aware. The side characters are also fantastic. Oberon, the Irish wolfhound, always makes me smile. I like Granuaile, the apprentice. I think I'm a bit jealous of her, actually. I like Leif the vampire/lawyer. The list goes on.

Critical Comments

While I like all of the plot elements, I find myself wishing they fit together better. Some of them seemed like random and unrelated events that might become important later in the series, but felt out of place in this book.

Atticus's love life, sex life, however you want to look at it, has started to bug me. A tad. He's very casual about sex in certain situations, which I can buy because the argument is that he's from a time where it's less of a BIG DEAL. And it's not like I've ever wanted my book heroes to be celibate. But there's a scene in the book where he has sex with one chick, and then another shows up and she wants him, and flips out when she can't have him...And in the last book there was yet another woman. All of whom are high up on the mythological food chain, are beautiful, could have anyone and everyone, but want him specifically. And so it's starting to feel like wish fulfillment, and it's starting to bother me, because of the objectification of the characters in question. To be clear, I'm not arguing sexism here--this would bug me equally if we reversed all of the genders. I don't like blatant wish fulfillment subplots with lots of horny people who all happen to want the protagonist. Unless it's erotica, but that's a different story.

Ok, short story long...I liked this book. If you like urban fantasy, and you like it with a lot of obscure mythology, you should give this series a try. 3.5 stars.

On Frost: A Review of Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep

I happened to win an ARC of this book back in October. It's the second book in the Mythos Academy (see my review of book one HERE). I had mixed feelings about the first one. This one, on the other hand, left me feeling pleasantly surprised.

In Kiss of Frost, Gwen is convinced that a Reaper is out to kill her because of the events of the first novel (which is all I can say, and still try to be spoiler free here). Gwen is still relatively unskilled when it comes to weapons and self-defense, but she does have a talent for investigation. Thus, wanting to prove herself and uncover her would-be killer, Gwen uses her psycometry powers to sift through her classmates' secrets.


Positive Comments:

I liked the winter setting and themes. I fully expected this book to be set entirely at the academy, which would have been fine. Instead, most of the story takes place at a ski resort where the Academy hosts a Winter Carnival. The change of scenery makes the story seem fresh.

As I said in my first review, the characters are quite interesting and thoughtfully written. In this book Gwen has finally started to come out of her shell socially, but she's still a fairly geeky and introverted character. I love Daphne, Gwen's best friend, who is the perfect blend of cheerleader and warrior princess, with a dash of computer nerd on top. Logan, the obvious love interest, is still hot and intriguing, and his character is finally beginning to show some depth. I also liked how the background characters were handled; Oliver, Carson, Preston, and so forth. The author manages to give them distinct and interesting personalities in very few pages.

As an aside, yes, there is actual kissing in Kiss of Frost. But I'm not telling you who kisses whom, because that would be a spoiler.

The overarching plot of the series seems to be headed in an interesting direction. This story by itself is pretty small and not overly exciting, but it does feel like it's building to something epic.

Critical Comment:

Gwen makes some questionable judgement calls. There are times when she seems to be willfully refusing to see obvious facts. This is frustrating for the reader, but I will acknowledge that Gwen is new to her role in the Mythos world, so a few mistakes may be excusable.

The only other complaint I have is that these books have a lot of untapped potential. The author has taken the time to build a world where all gods and goddesses and mythological creatures from all cultures exist, but she doesn't do much with them. Instead we get mortals fighting other mortals, with a little help from a giant killer wolf. There is so much more that could be done with this kind of world building, and as much as I enjoyed the story a part of me is disappointed at the wasted opportunity.

In the end, my expectations for this book were met and I dare say exceeded slightly. In the world of YA fantasy novels, these aren't anything special or ground-breaking, but they are enjoyable. I recommend them. 4 stars.

On Druids: A Review of Hounded by Kevin Hearne

By now, I hope that I've made it abundantly clear that I love mythology of any kind: Celtic, Greek, Norse, Jedi, anything goes. I especially love books with a mix of pantheons, so Hounded seemed to be exactly my kind of book.

Atticus is a 2000+ year old druid masquerading as a harmless young bookstore owner. He is under the dubious protection of the goddess Morrigan, who comes to warn him that his life is threatened. Atticus possesses the magic sword Fragarach. The god Aenghus Og wants the sword and has been tracking Atticus for centuries. When it becomes clear that Aenghus is now serious about killing Atticus, the druid is left to call for help from his varied list of friends. To my delight, we are then introduced to a cast of witches, werewolves, vampires, and gods. But most importantly we meet Oberon, Atticus's beloved dog and best friend.

Positive Comments:

Since I mostly read female-centered books, reading something told from a male perspective was different and refreshing. Atticus is a very well written character. At times you do get the impression that he is ancient and wise. Yet he has adapted well to modern times, has a sense of sarcasm and humor, and does not take himself too seriously. I also really liked the way that his druid powers were explained and utilized throughout the plot.

As I said above, I loved the supporting cast of characters. Oberon makes a delightful sidekick. Atticus has two lawyers: one a vampire, and one a werewolf. I'll admit, they aren't well fleshed out in this particular novel, but I still found their presence in the story amusing. I enjoyed the way that the gods were portrayed: powerful, selfish, and out of place in the modern human world.

There is a decent balance between world building and action within the plot. I never felt overwhelmed by information, and I was never bored. At the same time, I was never confused. To me this shows that the author has the ability to deliver information in a concise and entertaining manner.

Negative Comments:

As I said, I love the side characters, but Hearne walks a fine line in that he has so many of them. Having a large cast of characters can be fun, but it can also be confusing for readers. In addition, it means that each character might not be as thoroughly developed as you would hope. Several of them are introduced well into the book, and then set aside without being given full character arcs.

This brings me to my second complaint, which is that this book is full of sequel bait. It doesn't have a cliffhanger, but there are a lot of loose ends. Don't get me wrong, I was already looking forward to reading book two, and this will no doubt motivate me to pick it up soon, but I like my books to be self contained and stand alone as much as possible.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel immensely. If you like urban fantasy, especially the kind filled with gods and magic, I highly recommend picking this one up. 4 stars.

On Mermaids: A Review of Goddess of the Sea by P. C. Cast

A Painting by Josephine Wall

Goddess of the Sea was one of the books I attempted to read this weekend. When it comes to paranormal romance I try to suspend disbelief and just go with the story, trusting that either the author will create a plausible world or that the story will be so amusing that I won't care about implausibility. This book is a rare case in which the author wasn't successful in either manner to my great disappointment. I did a lot of skimming to the end of this book.

The premise of the book is that on her 25th birthday CC is lonely and drunk and performs a ritual in which she asks the goddess of the earth, Gaea, to bring magic into her life. The result of this is that CC switches places with Gaea's mermaid daughter, Princess Undine. She is also sent back in time to about 1014 I believe. CC is allowed to return to land as a human (in Undine's very beautiful form) but she must return to the water and transform into a mermaid every 3 days. The only way to break this cycle is to find a man, fall in love, and have him accept her completely. On land Undine is "rescued" by a hansome solicitous knight who she assumes will be the man for her. Meanwhile, she has already encountered a merman who she is drawn to, Dylan, and they enter into an erotic relationship.

Now in fairness this book had it's good parts. I liked the use of mythology/fairy tale that made the story seem familiar and comfortable. I liked a lot of the discriptive ideas, like the scene where she actually becomes a mermaid--very well written. The setting was fairly intrigueing, all though the time travel portion of it was somewhat pointless. The romance was passable. And from what I could tell, there are some interesting plot twists thrown in to keep things fresh.

My issues with this book are many. The humor is at best awkward and clumsy. It's never fully commited to. The openning scene of the book has the heroine talking to herself and pathetically drinking alone. At the same time we are supposed to believe that she's a smart professional member of the United States Air Force. I guess my problem with her character and this part of the premise is that I wanted to like her, but she's inconsistantly written. I think that the author either need to commit to making a humorous slightly ditzy character, or a smart well put together one. Or give us some background to justify the lack of consistancy. This problem carries over into the actual story as well. Half of the time the effort is made to give good logical reasons for things, and half of the time no explanation is given at all. The other major issues is that the characters are, for the most part, flat and underdeveloped. An effort is made to show that CC has a meaningful change in her worldview and character...but thats about it, everyone else is fairly static. Overall the writing is rough. 2 stars.

On Horsemen: A Review of Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione

Hmm, I always thought hellhounds would look like Yorkies.

This is the first in Larissa Ione's Lords of Deliverance series, which is a spinoff of the Demonica series. For those unfamiliar, I think it would be best to start with the Demonica series before trying this one, because it sets up a lot of the mythology. For those who are fans of the Demonica books and wondering if this one measures up, I can tell you you won't be disappointed. I was initially skeptical, but was pleasantly surprised.

Plot Summary: MINOR SPOILER ALERT. This series focuses on the four horsemen of the apocalypse, each of whom has a seal which, when broken, causes them to turn completely evil. When all the seals have broken, the end of the world will begin. The first seal, belonging to Pestilence, has broken. The other three horsemen are desperate to avoid turning evil and signaling the end of the world. This book focuses on Ares (War), for whom the seal is contained in a person--if the person dies, the seal breaks. That person is Cara, a human woman of mild supernatural talents. Ares tries to keep Cara safe while finding someone to pass the seal to, because harboring it is slowly killing her. Cara is also bound to a hellhound puppy, who's life force is helping to sustain her--but if the puppy dies, she will die also. In the meantime, Pestilence is free to cause disease and suffering in the human world, and the only weapon that could take him down has been lost.

The book starts out a bit slow while all of this is laid out, but it improves tremendously. It's stylistically diverse, mixing fantasy, romance, and horror in an almost seamless blend. I was very impressed by Ione's efforts in world building, which are steadily improving with each book she writes.

The characters were fairly three dimensional and interesting. Ares has a long and violent history, and it really comes through in his attitude and emotions. Cara initially seems weak, helpless, and even naive, but you quickly learn that there is more to her and she grows into a surprisingly tough heroine. I liked them as a couple, and I though Ione did an excellent job of developing their relationship from misunderstanding and dislike to love and acceptance. A few new characters are introduced, and all intrigued me sufficiently that I'm looking forward to their books. And yes, many of the characters from the Demonica books show up and play strong roles in this book.

Overall, this is an excellent choice if your looking for a dark paranormal romance. 4.5 stars.

On Wednesday: A Review of American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I read American Gods several months ago as an intentional departure from my usual reading. Not that much of a departure, since it still counts as urban fantasy. But it has a very different tone from what I'm used to. Here is my review.

Plot Summery (MINOR SPOILERS)--Shadow is released from prison to find that his wife and best friend are dead, and he has no job or life to go home to. He is recruited by Mr. Wednesday as an errand boy, and soon discovers that Mr. Wednesday is actually a god. The gods of many religions followed their believers to America, but have since been largely forgotten or ignored. Wednesday's goal is to gather other old school gods to battle the new gods of America--things like credit cards, the internet, and cancer. The story follows Shadow as he observes the ways of gods and ultimately realizes the part he has to play in the scheme of things.

This book requires a good amount of patience on the part of the reader. The plot rambles and sidetracks, and you have to be willing to get through a lot of detail that seems random and unrelated before everything comes together. For a fantasy novel, there isn't much in the way of world building or explaining--it's all showing and little telling. In other word, rarely if ever does a character explain "I Loki. I'm a Norse God."--you have to figure a lot out for yourself or just remain ignorant. I thought about giving up several times, but was intrigued just enough to continue. I'm glad I did, because in the end it was a very rewarding and thought provoking reading experience.

Shadow is a character about whom I have conflicting feelings. Gaiman gives him a minimum of character traits, letting him remain a ghost-like observer rather then an active character for most of the book. He shows few strong reactions to the fantastic things he sees and is told, just going along with everything. At one point another character comments that he doesn't seem very alive, and I'd say that's quite accurate. On one hand I feel that this is a terrible way to portray a main character, but on the other hand I can't think of a better way to tell this particular story. After all, the story is really about the gods. When Shadow did start to show development and liveliness (in the last 100 pages or so) I really found myself liking him. The other characters are extremely intriguing and well written.

Overall, while not a perfect epic reading experience, this book was worth the time I invested in in. It portrays Gods as victims of their believers, and America as a muddled and fascinating mix of cultures. 4.5 stars.

On Gypsies: A Review of Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep is this month's book club pick over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I just finished it last night, with mixed feelings. Primarily I liked the book. But the issues I have with it are many, although all very minor.

The book is told in first person narrative with Gwen as the narrator. Gwen is the new girl at Mythos Academy, a school for teens descended from the gods and champions of classic mythology. Most of the teens are warriors from rich families, and grew up knowing their heritage and their purpose. Gwen, however, has no warrior abilities to speak of and knows nothing about her mythological origins. She does possess a "gyspy gift"--psychometry--the ability to touch objects and people and get information about them (images, thoughts, emotions). When a girl is brutally murdered in the school library where Gwen works, she tries to use her gift to solve the mystery.

I thought that the initial ideas within the book--the use of mythology, the setting, the characters--were pretty fantastic. I had really high hopes early on when the book introduces Valkyries, Spartans, Amazons, etc, that it was going to build into an epic and detailed story. Estep uses Gwen as the fish out of water type character who doesn't really know anything about the mythological world, and thus has to have everything explained to her. This is generally a good world building strategy. The problem with it in this case is that it kept the story small. We are limited to Gwen's point of view and Gwen's knowledge of events. So instead of an epic story about gods and goddesses, you mostly get a murder mystery with a paranormal touch. It's almost entirely exposition, with a lot of pages devoted to building up to future books. It's a good story, but I thought there was a lot of unrealized potential.

The narrative gets a bit repetitive. The author seems compelled to remind readers of important details over and over, and in my opinion it makes for a lot of wasted space.

I liked that the characters had actual personalities. I've been noticing in my YA reading that protagonists are often given minimal character traits, as though authors are afraid that by giving them real personalities they might make them impossible to relate to. Not so here. Gwen is full of sarcasm, curiosity, and a touch of geekiness. It's unfortunate that, due to grief over her recently deceased mother and not really fitting in at Mythos, she spends most of the book friendless and isolated. Because of that, it took me almost the entire book to get a handle on her character, but at least she isn't flat and boring. And her development is fulfilling. She comes out of her shell, learns a lot about herself, and helps to save the day.

I had one problem with Gwen: I didn't really buy her skepticism regarding the fantastical elements of the story. I've had this complaint with other books. If you personally have a magical power that you've lived with your whole life, why would you be surprised or in denial about other powers existing?

Now imagine theses girls had super powers. Scary, right?

The social scene at the school was pretty intriguing. Mostly we learn about the Valkyries, who are the most popular girls. As you might expect, their mean and catty to one another and everyone else. Pretty accurate to what I remember from high school (minus the super powers, of course). Many of the other kids behave more like typical college students--lots of drinking and sex. None of which Gwen actually experiences, being isolated as she is, but she tells us about it repeatedly.

That brings me to Logan, the "love interest" of the book. He's a cool character, a Spartan with a lot of warrior skill, but he's under-utilized. There isn't really any romance to speak of, only a mutual attraction between he and Gwen that doesn't go anywhere. To be fair, I only expected romance because of the source of the recommendation. To my knowledge this is mostly being marketed as YA fantasy. And I'm sure we'll see more of Logan in future books.

This book is a nice meld of classic mythology elements and a few modern paranormal elements. If you like that sort of thing, and especially if your looking for a decent young adult book, I'd recommend this. I have high hopes for this series. 3.5 stars