savage_book_review's reviews
261 reviews

I may have started my Empyrean reread a bit early at this rate! But the Graphic Audio version of this book is so good, I didn't want to stop listening! This style of audiobook is far and away my favourite way to ingest books now; they just heighten the whole experience, especially when the story is as well written and enjoyable as this one. 

What really helps in this case as well is the fact that the story 'hits the ground running', so you're immediately thrown into the world and you become ehaged very quickly. And then as the story progresses and you're able to hear Jack's unhinged threats, Violet's developing confidence, Dain's overbearing mother hen act etc., it really solidifies the characters and sharpens your impressions of Basgaith. I could feel the stomach churning dips and drops of the dragons in flight and the impact of blows landed during sparring, and felt even more immersed in the world than I did when reading the book. I am grateful I have both parts of the GA though; part one ends mid-way through a scene!

The voice performances are all excellent, although it did take me a couple of hours to stop picturing Xaden as a certain red-headed fox boy (and even now I haven't entirely let that drop). And one of the professors (and the guy who introduces the books and reads the credits) sounds and awful lot like Donald Sutherland to me, so I was mostly picturing President Snow when he was speaking! I think that's the only thing that pulls me out of the book a bit - there are a lot of cast members who also appear in the ACOTAR/CC graphic audios, and on more than one occasion I found my mind drifting from the story to try and place the voice with their ACOTAR character. I think my difficulty comes down to the fact that there are no visuals - if there were they'd be dressed as that character and I could separate them out more easily like I do with actors on-screen. But my brain struggles a bit more with just the voices - no idea why! 

Tairn and Andarna are just perfect throughout - the attitude of both characters comes through on the page well enough, but hearing them is hilarious! And while I know I'd end up in the Scribe Quadrant, I'd risk the high probability of death if I got to bond with those dragons! 

But of course, things heat up in part two... 😁😁😁

If it's not already obvious, if something is marketed as a Hades and Persephone retelling, I'm going to read it! So when I saw this pop up on my Instagram feed when it was released on 21 December, it jumped straight to the top of my TBR pile. And it was absolutely worth it!

It just feels like a joyous romp (sometimes literally 😉) from start to finish. The story is really well balanced between staying true to the lore that surrounds this couple, giving it the modern twist and adding its own unique take to the tale, so it feels familiar yet also fresh and new. The narrative takes you through a myriad of twists and turns, carrying your emotions with it - you can literally be laughing one moment and crying the next - and it's one of those books where nothing necessarily comes as a complete shock, but equally there are some things you can't anticipate. But while there are dark moments, it's definitely a book that made me smile throughout.

As for our two lead characters; Cole is just a dream. A hot-shot lawyer who can argue his way out of a corner and into a girl's knickers in 30 seconds flat, but who is an actual nice guy. Save for when it comes to protecting his woman, when he turns into the smouldering 'burn the world for you' dark hero, and when he's in the bedroom and demands to be called 'Sir'. He carries on the modern trend of being more nuanced than the traditional Hades, but by making him 'properly' human the author has given him an extra layer of normality, which somehow makes him more relatable than the actual God. Likewise, the author's approach to Evie puts her in the driving seat immediately. She's an incredibly strong and forthright character from the getgo. Even though there is a significant amount of male dominance shown by Cole even in the wider world (her lack of knowledge about modern life, for example, and more often than not she's being carried by him!), which does make her appear more delicate and submissive, she isn't afraid to speak her mind. But most importantly there is a great sense of equality between them throughout; it feels like a real partnership. Their chemistry is amazing, and there's plenty of good spice in here for those that like! The draw between them spills off of the page, and their jealous streaks are brilliantly portrayed.

I love that Cole has very little care for the mythology that is shaping his life, and so there is an element of you learning about his fate alongside him and Evie, and the characters you know slot into place in ways you might not expect. The introduction of the coven did initially feel a little odd to me (probably because I generally read history books about witches, rather than fiction), but again it ends up being tied in really well, both in terms of working with the Greek myth and as its own element within the wider story. 

There's definitely a reflection of American society (and society at large) in the depiction of the varying standpoints of the covens, from traditional to liberal, and their reactions to differing points of view. The underlying commentary about culpability, bodily autonomy and freedom of expression all add an undertone which makes a serious point, but it's done in such a digestible and enjoyable way; it makes you think while allowing you to switch your brain off, and I love that!

Honestly, the only reason this doesn't get the full five stars from me is that I would have perhaps preferred a slower burn; as much as there is still a whole lot of steam between the characters throughout, I feel like a slower burn could have resulted in some toe-curlingly good UST! But that's completely personal preference. Otherwise, this one is right up there with the best of them and I can't wait for more!

I started the year with the ACOTAR graphic audios (and have listened to them basically on repeat since), so it seems right that I (almost) end the year with the latest dramatized adaptation from the world of SJM. And honestly, it made the book a whole lot more enjoyable than the 'straight' audio version I listened to when the book was first released! It's not that Elizabeth Evans' narration is rubbish, far from it! It's just the pace of this book is so slow that the sound effects, music and full cast give it more of a lift , and make it far easier to follow the different threads of the story.

The main takeaway I had from this is that, while Bryce's character takes something of a beating in this book writing-wise, I now can see that a lot of my annoyance at her stems from the fact that she spends most of her time misleading and being unapologetically bitchy to characters which I (and a lot of the readership) have come to know and like. As a result, I was drawn to take their 'side' over Bryce's and view her through their eyes. However, when trying to look at things a bit more objectively, I can begin to understand Bryce's actions are those of someone who doesn't know these other characters or understand their motives. Still doesn't stop me from grinding my teeth at her attitude, but I'm really trying to like these books a bit more...

As is usual for the graphic audios, it really does help bring the characters and situations to life. While I am glad they didn't go too 'graphic' with the sounds and voice acting in the more harrowing moments, it does hammer (no pun intended) home the conditions in the Asteri dungeons, for example, which in turn makes the actions that take place down there all the more imaginable.

That being said, there were some elements that even the GA couldn't save. The biggest one is the absolutely massive info-dump/exposition speech by Selene. Yes, the fact that there were sound effects gave it a very slight lift, but it's just something that effectively stops the story for goodness knows how many pages just to give you a potted history of the Asteri, which feels really dull and comes as quite a big disappointment given the build up. There are so many better ways that that could have been woven into the wider narrative!

Having the cast of actors also made me realise just how much 'woe is me' and self-loathing goes on in here. EVERYONE is blaming themselves for something which is clearly not their fault, and as much as I don't get the hate for Ithan and Tharion, this book doesn't exactly give the characters a lot of opportunity to redeem themselves in the eyes of the readers. This does make Bryce's 'bitch queen' attitude stand out from the crowd, but this doesn't do a lot to endear her to me.

The performances are all great, as we've come to expect from the GAs, and overall I just think it highlights the difference in the writing - something went off the boil a bit here IMO and, while it tries to have the same scope and scale of the author's other books, given that so much of it is set in a couple of static locations with no links to the outside world, it misses out on so much of the worldbuilding that we've come to expect. But of course, part two is still to come...

When Prometheus breaks free from his endless torture, he is destined to be hunted for the rest of time by The Fury. But Zeus offers him a deal; find a true hero amongst the humans and he will go free. Meanwhile, in a smoky Victorian city, Jim and his Uncle Edward prepare to perform their travelling show, and perhaps pilfer a few things of value from their kind host...

One of my favourite fictional book series as a kid was Terry Deary's 'Tudor Terrors', and I love a good Greek myth retelling, so when I found out that the master of 'Horrible Histories' had written a trilogy of stories about Prometheus, I had to hunt them down! The writing style of this is very different; this is somewhere slap bang in the middle of the serious yet informative storytelling of those Tudor books and the complete irreverence of 'Horrible Histories'. The story is told as if Jim is writing it, with comedic  footnotes and chapter introductions that break the fourth wall and keep a reign on where you are in time and why. 

It felt aimed at a younger audience than the Tudor books; the story is quite simplistic and takes place over a very short space of time (or a million years, depending on your perspective!), and the depth of character and story wasn't quite there for me. It's a fun little read, but I think where I'm struggling is I was prepared for it to be more of a Greek myth retelling than it is. Although it introduces the Greek pantheon, that element comes across as more of a vehicle for the series than the main thrust of the story. Prometheus is going to be the main character if the series, but he's not the main character of the book.

The comedy is clever, while not being overly complex. There's plenty of eye rolls, sarcastic comments and other asides from the 'author', great banter between the young boy and girl (which is similar to the feel of the Tudor books, if slightly more juvenile in here) and an adult character who is all bluster. For the right age group, I can see this being laugh-out-loud funny in places, but even for the adults in the room it can raise a wry smile here and there!

It being a Terry Deary book, it doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of history; Prometheus' punishment is described, an execution takes place and the squalor and poverty of the Victorian slums are evident, but if course it's all dealt with in such a way that it sets the scene and invites/answers questions without being traumatising for the younger reader. It continues to amaze me how the author gets this balance absolutely spot on every time. 

I think what I struggled with most is that the depth of story and character just isn't there. Again, I can appreciate that this will work perfectly well for its intended audience; the plot skips along merrily and doesn't require too much concentration. However, I cannot help but compare it to the Tudor books, whose characters feel so much moren tangible. It seems a shame that the same level of craft isn't evident in this book, and I can't work out why. 

I'm still very pleased to have read this though!

Four childhood friends, who happen to be witches, have grown into adulthood and survived a brutal witches' war, all suffering loss in the process. When oracles start to see the rise of an evil entity, and the portent of doom shows up for real, each of the friends must decide where their loyalties lie...

Well that wasn't what I was expecting. Even slightly. I don't know why, but I had in my head that this might be more of a darkly humorous tale, but there's absolutely nothing funny about it. It starts off relatively pedestrian, but quickly becomes an examination of the prejudices and privileges of certain elements of society and the divides and dangers they can cause. The main focus of the story is on the acceptance (or otherwise) of a transgender character, and the author tackles both sides of the argument with gusto and does a great job at rebutting the increasingly ridiculous and circular arguments put forth by those who insist that biological sex and gender are the same thing. I feel like the book absolutely makes the point it's aiming for here, but it could have done so much more to make the arguments of both sides more nuanced and avoid the simplicity of 'accepting = good, prejudiced = bad' trap. There is a brief attempt to try and explain the prejudices of one character with a legitimate concern or fear, but it falls really flat and doesn't actually make that much sense.

Likewise, one of our band of friends, Leone, spends a lot of her time focused on the privilege of white women and the effect this has on women of colour. This starts off as an interesting and thought-provoking perspective, and seeing her run her own Coven to specifically cater for those she feels are excluded or discriminated against by HMRC felt like quite a powerful thing. But  as we progress and the same "rant" happens over and over (it felt like every time we shifted to her POV), it lost its effect and ended up just making me want to fast forward (not that I did). Now, I appreciate my perspective is entirely that which she's railing against, but a lot of the comments made me feel like the character (and by extension the author) want to see big change, which is completely right, but it came across as all  surface-level stuff within the story. I feel like if the author had had Leone's Coven play a more significant role in events to illustrate the points made about how they work, this would have made for a compelling and effective contrast between the old white ways of HMRC and the scope for progression which is clearly badly needed!

The amount of 90s pop culture references in here is astounding, and it's clearly written for someone of my precise age group to indulge in a little nostalgia, while at the same time reminding us just how old we actually are! The frustrating thing is that I just couldn't identify enough with any of the characters enough to really submerge myself into the story. I'm convinced that I'd have enjoyed this book far more if one of the characters spoke to me a little more. 

Nicola Coughlin is a fantastic actress, and she made bringing the characters to life in the audio version look easy with the sheer number of believable accents she was able to use to populate the world. Everything from Yorkshire to RP, from her native Ireland to French, the performances of the dialogue were impeccable. Sadly however, I can't say the same for her narration of the descriptions. She wasn’t monotone or dull, but the spark just wasn't there and I ended up feel like I was just powering through to get to the end. There are also odd moments where it doesn't quite flow properly, so it feels like it might need a few tweaks in the edit.

I'm also not convinced by the writing itself. It comes across as very much telling rather than showing, and there's a lot of convenience for the sake of the plot. Plus there are a good number of 'c' bombs dropped throughout. There is a plot and steps to get from one element to the next, but actually it doesn't feel like all that much happens, even during the grand finale, and none of the characters have huge amounts of depth to them. As you've probably figured from my above comments, while prejudices do play an important role in the plot, it comes across to me that the author has used this as a vehicle to set out their agenda loud and clear and has come up with a story to fit, rather than it being seamless woven in.

This has left me quite disappointed and underwhelmed overall. I had bought the second book on sale on Audible, but I'm not convinced I'll listen to it any time soon. The prequel novella does sound more up my street and I may give that a go. But yeah, this isn't one I'll be revisiting. And now I'll go and hide under a rock somewhere as I'm convinced that, despite my best intentions and a genuine desire to respect anyone and everyone, given the subject matter I'm sure I'll have offended someone...

I just needed a quick read to see me through lunchtime today, and I remembered I had this from Kindle Unlimited. I didn't realise it was quite this short though - only 92 pages - or that it was aged at quite so young an age group. However, it did the job and was actually a lovely little read.   We hear the story of Edwin, who discovers that he's about to travel to the USA on a brand new ship, the Titanic. Fascinated by the design and workings, he sets to exploring and making new friends. But we all know how this story ends. All that's left to find out is who lives and who slips beneath the waves...

This puts me very much in mind of one of my favourite kids books; 'Voyage on the Great Titanic'. The only real difference is that the MC in this is a boy rather than a girl and they have slightly different situations that bring themto the ship, and this is aimed at a slightly younger audience. Like the former, it managed to invoke the feelings and awe-inspiring nature of the great ship as seen through the eyes of a child, the class divide in society and the horror of the sinking, wonderfully balancing the level of detail with the need to keep the story suitable for its audience. Likewise, it introduces some of the well-known real people (Thomas Andrews, Bruce Ismay, Captain Smith etc) and situations in such a way that the story acts as a beginners guide to the facts of the disaster, hopefully inspiring the reader to want to find out more. 

The story is succint, giving you enough to work with in your imagination but not over-complicating matters. It does leave a few loose threads that I can imagine would cause a child to ask 'but why?' or 'but what about...', though IMO you want kids to be asking questions when reading this type of book. 

Yes, for an adult to read this is pretty pointless and there are many, many more books on this subject that will give you more. But I rate this book based on what it should be for its target audience, and if an adult can enjoy it, it's definitely got to have some merits!

One of my favourite books. The memoir of Adeline Yen Mah, the least-loved child of a Chinese family during the civil war, considered bad luck as her mother died in childbirth. With a wicked stepmother, a stern and traditional father and siblings all trying to battle their own way through life, her story is one of fear, isolation and humiliation, but ultimately one of hope overcoming adversity.

There is something about the way this woman writes that just grabs your heart and squeezes tight. Her fortitude and determination to remain true to herself, even as a young girl facing gross emotional abuse from those who should be showing her nothing but love, care and kindness, makes you root for her from the outset. It's so different to reading others of this 'type' of memoir; the darkness (mostly) doesn't come from physical actions, and so there might be some who say that she 'doesn't have it as bad', but there is something deeply horrifying about seeing this little girl repeatedly belittled, bullied and brought down for no reason whatsoever, and then just getting back up and dusting herself off with the hope that this time things will be different, even with the full expectation that they won't be. 

And yet, I recognise Adeline. While I have loving parents and a better-than-alright sibling (love him really), there is something in her loneliness that resonated as a kid when I first read this, and somehow still speaks to me today. Her assertion that she finds her escape in books and her imagination, with books giving her hope and her holding "a key in my head which enabled me to enter a magic land" sums up succinctly and perfectly how I experience the world. Sadly, I've also seen what the sort of emotional blackmail, twisted mind games and pitting family members against one another that Adeline goes through can do (though I hasten to add again, I'm fortunate enough to have not been the direct target), which just makes her story and her experiences all the more relatable to me, even with the cultural, familial and time differences. 

The thing is, it becomes so evident just how deeply the constant degrading of her as being worthless and unimportant becomes ingrained into Adeline. It affects not just her relationships with her family, but her romantic relationships, her attitude to marriage and divorce, her work and prospects and her financial security. Even as an adult, she defers without question and jumps at any crumb of praise or positivity thrown her way, even when it's accompanied by major red flags. And yet, she knows she is worth more and keeps pushing despite herself. 

The book also provides you with a potted history of China throughout the 20th Century. I don't know much about the communist revolution or Chinese history, but it is nevertheless a great insight into the changes that took place. More importantly, it's not just a history book; you're nit just regaled with dates, names and places. It intimately shows the effect of the rapid changes in direction on individuals, and the scope of those effects - from Adeline's father and stepmother having easy access to escape routes and ready cash to stay one step ahead, to her Aunt Baba who clings to her home and faces the full force of Communist rule, to her Grand Aunt, deemed a capitalist as the owner of a bank and 'punished' accordingly. It's interesting to read the different political perspectives of people that Adeline interacts with, and her own thoughts on the changes that took place.

On this latest reread however, my perspective was shifted slightly when I actually digested the age of the people at points in the story. For example, it's never struck me before now that Niang (the wicked stepmother) was married to a man a fair number of years older than her, had taken on his five children from his previous marriage and had an additional two children of her own, all at the age of 23. Now, that in no way excuses her controlling and manipulative behaviour in the slightest, but it's the first time I've ever actually acknowledged just how young she herself was. Likewise, while I've always been able to identify there would be cultural differences and different attitudes due to the era this takes place in, this time round it really seemed to stand out just how "long ago" the majority of the events were. It seems strange now to read of a person's surprise that a woman in her 60s might still be going out horseriding, playing tennis and so on, or that a woman over 30 would be deemed a perpetual spinster and a burden on her family. The double standards for men and women throughout are astounding as well. But that's history! All we can do is learn from it. 

This book is by no means an easy read content wise, but the writing and use of Chinese proverbs and sayings to illustrate her points is just beautiful. It will stay with you long after you've finished the last page - I first read this when I was 12, and I'm now in my mid-30s, and it's a book I come back to again and again and again. I've also just learned that the version of this book aimed at a younger audience, 'Chinese Cinderella' (which is just as good a read and focuses more on Adeline's childhood) is on Audible and narrated by the author herself. So that's gone straight onto my wishlist!

Following directly on from the events of 'Radiant Sin', we watch as lawlessness begins to overtake Olympus and Aphrodite steps up to try and divert attention from recent events by staging her own wedding to the interloper who has claimed the title of Hephaestus. Their mutual loathing could result in their marriage bed becoming either the scene of a murder, or of la petit mort... 

More than any of the books in the series to date, this one takes its job of moving the plot of the series along rather than just telling a spicy story. There's definitely still smut, and the relationship of the central characters is still at the heart of the book, but in this case that relationship has a direct link into the wider narrative. Things are getting interesting and I can't wait to see the resolution of the various plot points!

It also considers more of the motivations of the characters than previous books; Aphrodite's feeling of being duty bound to put Olympus ahead of everything else, and Haphaestus' history and reasoning fot his actions are very well played. I'm not going to say that it goes into deep character analysis; it's not that kind of book! But IMO this has a slightly different feel.

I did like the examination and development of the characters' feelings, and their wrestling with what they feel vs their stated purpose. The writing is very pacy and things happen incredibly quickly, but these introspective moments really help with the changes the characters go through. On the flip side, I wasn't a huge fan of the fact that this book only appears to take place over about a week; it made the overall scenario just feel a bit too implausible.

I feel that an opportunity was missed by not carrying Apollo and Cassandra through to this book; as they were central to the events if the previous instalment, it does feel slightly jarring that Apollo only appears very briefly, and Cassandra only appears in one scene, but isn't named. Despite the flow of the story from one book to the next, this give the first few chapters a bit of a disjointed feel. There are also a couple of background plot points that come out of nowhere, which I would LOVE to see in a more developed work (I suspect and hope I might find more details in the Patreon shorts). At this point I'm also missing the elder Dimitriou sisters; I know the series isn't "their" story per say, but the four girls were almost set up to be the central characters, and we've moved away from them. This gives a sense of the series being slightly less 'grounded' than before.

The author is a staunch supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, and while it does show throughout the series it really came to the fore for me in this book. With references to 'different' chosen pronouns (Xe/Xyr - if anyone can explain its connotations to me I'd be most grateful as I've heard of it but never seen it used before), gender neutral terminology (referring to someone as a 'parent' rather than a (?)father who doesn't identify as male) and various other small but meaningful inclusions, I actually found this book quite informative in this regard! I also love how the author has built a world where it's completely normal to be attracted to more than one gender, where polyamory/polygamy is just as acceptable as monogamy and where a woman can take on the mantle of a male god (or, I assume, vice versa).

The series continues to be a very enjoyable read, perfect for when you just want to switch your brain off for a while and dream of gorgeous men and stunning women taking their pleasure on their own terms. It may nit be the best piece if writing ever set down on paper, but it does exactly what it aims to do, and does it really well!

Another gorgeous, well built Fae male with bat wings to add to the collection! After seven years of silence, Callie returns home one evening to find the Bargainer waiting for her. Dealing in secrets and lies, he'll use his magic to get you anything you want... for a price. And Callie's in deep. Each bead on her bracelet is an IOU, and it's time to start paying back the debt she started accruing just before her sixteenth birthday.

My initial reaction after just finishing this books is that it's a great set up for the ongoing series, but essentially the whole book is just one long introduction. There is an overarching story arc for the series which gets set up, a great and in-depth introduction to our main characters and enough development to get you emotionally invested in their story, but while there is a plot for this book alone, it's a secondary consideration. To me, it's basically only there to introduce you to the dynamics of the relationship between Callie and the Bargainer, and feels pretty weak. There is an attempt to build some tension with Callie's worries about what she is going to be forced to do to pay off her debts, but this very quickly falls by the wayside when it quickly becomes apparent just where the Bargainer's interests really lie. 

The Bargainer does have a dark edge to his character (as you would hope for someone who initially sounds like he's some sort of supernatural mob boss), but this is quite quickly undermined. So, while he is morally grey, it's a fairly silvery shade. While this doesn't detract from his appeal, seeing him through Callie's starry-eyed gaze means my reaction to him isn't quite as strong as it would perhaps otherwise be. Plus, I'm still struggling over his title... it feels like all the good names were taken - "The Bargainer" just doesn't have quite the right menacing ring to it!

For the most part, each chapter is split between two time periods; the time where Callie accrued her debt, and the present where she's 'paying it off'. I'd recommend keeping the mantra "if he's Fae, it's OK" running through your mind throughout this read, as a lot of the former time involves a fully grown male (whose age isn't specified but, given that he's Fae, I'm assuming at least a couple of centuries!) hanging around in a teenager's dorm room at boarding school, encouraging a teen crush. When it becomes clear that she never grew out of said crush, it all just feels a leetle bit ick. Honestly, if the relationship and character development had taken place anywhere else, I probably wouldn't have batted an eyelid, but the school setting just doesn't sit quite right and even when she's an adult it does have a slight 'stockholm syndrome' feel. BUT, that aside, their relationship is compelling if predictable. 

The secondary characters do feel criminally underused - Temper, Callie's best friend, feels like she deserves some major page time to flesh her out, and Ely, while definitely an alphahole, feels like he has great potential. The fact that they only really appear as catalysts for an event is a real shame, and I hope they have more to do in the rest of the series. I also want to see more if the various characters' 'internal' beings - Callie's siren half is essentially always horny, and I can imagine this leading to some quite funny moments, especially given how she likes to flirt with the Bargainer. Likewise, Ely's alpha and Temper's witch are intriguing. 

The narrator does do a great job; her voices for each character, male and female, are nuanced and different enough that it's an enjoyable listen, and none of them are too OTT. There are some moments where she is narrating and then speaking lines for Callie that flow into one another just a bit too much; this makes it difficult in spots to tell whether what's being said is extremal dialogue or internal monologue, especially when she's having a conversation with someone else, but this is a relatively minor niggle in an otherwise very good performance.

I will come back to read the rest of the series I think, but I'm not so sold on it that it's going to immediately jump to the top of my TBR pile - I have too many other pressing reads for that! And although this was on my TBR pile anyway, the only reason I'm reading now is that it's being removed from the Audible Plus catalogue at the end of the year, so I wanted to catch it as part of my subscription before it disappeared.

Apart from taking a moment to change into my pyjamas, I read this in a single sitting. It really is that easy to read.

Essentially, the plot to this book is an Agatha Christie style whodunit (complete with classic party games), with added spice and a fake-dating trope. It really shouldn't work, but somehow the sheer randomness of it just does! The plot does make sense, and it flows nicely from the last book even with the introduction of new characters, but it's perhaps just a bit too 'twee' for the world the author is trying to build. There's also a few loose threads, which I'm hoping get tidied up in the next books.

That being said, the character of Apollo is also very different from the other members of the Thirteen we've met, in that he's actually a nice guy! And I'm not entirely convinced that throwing him into one of the darker scenarios would have worked. His working relationship with Cassandra is a great foundation, and his almost constant respect for her, her position and her past is a really lovely contrast to many of the other characters. Even when he takes on a dominant role in the bedroom, he's still somehow soft and gentle, which again works even though it probably shouldn't. However, it does mean his character doesn't come across quite as strongly as others - the author writes the wicked streak so well that, when it's missing, it just doesn't quite feel right.

I do feel a little sorry for Cassandra's character, mainly because she comes across as a cheap imitation of Psyche from book two, just with a bit more attitude. I feel like a little more thought could gave gone into the descriptions of her character to make her stand out more or give her more in the way of personality and individuality. 

I did enjoy how the author managed to subtly weave in elements of the mythical characters to her Dark Olympus counterparts. In particular, the fact that Cassandra is not believed by the majority, and the little hints at Apollo's musical interests. But equally, the original lore the author has created for the Olympians is really starting to come together, and the twists and turns serve ad a really good hook into the next book. 

I guess that's how I'd categorise this book at the moment; the bridging book between the set up and the meat of the action; it's getting all of the people in the right places at the right times so that the next section of the story can go off. Stuff of importance for the series does happen, but the majority of the book serves as something of a romantic interlude, leading to the third act action.  

Very enjoyable, even if it isn't my favourite of the series.