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ruthiemacgregor's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
janienefe's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
spell_reader's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
pages_and_procrastination's review
I picked this up and put it down for whatever reason. From what I read it was a bit ridiculous. Okay maybe a bit too over the top for me. I mean it was fine when I was reading it, but it wasn't something that I missed once I put it down. Even though I had every intention of picking it back up and just finishing it to complete the challenge, I don't have any interest. I forgot how far I made it into the book -maybe the first 5 or 6 chapters? It wasn't bad while I was reading it, it just didn't hold my attention.
lilith_elinor's review against another edition
3.0
I am of two minds with this book. There are things I really liked and others that didn't work so well for me.
Once again, the format with three writers was seamless and well integrated and didn't detract from the story at all. I appreciated the addition of a symbol for each character.
I liked the theme and the feel of the story : ancient Mesopotamia, ancient temples, goddesses and myths, lineages of priestesses, magic and potions... It was cool and felt fresh compared to the ubiquitous vampires and shifters (not that I don't like shifters!). It gave the book a good atmosphere.
And there were dogs, lots of dogs, of course, and I love dogs! But therein lies one of the biggest faults in the book in my opinion, the way the dogs were handled. Look, maybe this is partly my fault, because I am so passionate about dogs. I am typing this with one of my own dogs lying against my leg. But these dogs were so, so unrealistic. Dogs just don't behave that way. Barking is not used at all like speaking for them. This sounds obvious when I type it but the way barking was used as an equivalent to speech in the book was so frustrating for me. It really made me wonder if any of the authors has spent any time around dogs? I can guarantee none of mine would ever behave that way.
I have also attended animal ethology classes, and have an interest in dog behaviour. This book had a great opportunity to explore how a different species might think, and I feel like it wasted it completely. It could have been so interesting! Sometimes watching my dogs and with my background knowledge I attempt to imagine what's going through their minds, and it's so different from ours, much more immediate, impulsive and instinctive and utterly unlike our own view of the world. I would have loved to see the authors had done some research and were honestly attempting to portray this. Instead the dogs were so anthropomorphic they felt like mini humans with a one track mind. It was a big let-down for me.
As for the plot : I feel like the middle dragged. In fact while I was reading it I was thinking that this book was definitely inferior to the Miss Fortunes one, and I was wondering how to grade it. And then the last third picked up, there were more of the myths and the priestesses and the worldbuilding and characters discovering what all this was about, all the elements I liked about this story, and I wanted to grade it higher after all. All things considered this would get 3 and a half stars from me, which isn't bad at all! Still, I feel like if the myths and backstory and magic elements had been more developed the story would have benefited. And if the characters did more! The girls should have had to explore and discover. Maybe this is the fantasy reader in me speaking. I liked those elements of the story and wanted more.
But the romance elements were well handled. I especially liked Sam, he was hilarious and cute and his devotion to Shar was touching. He was a type of hero I hadn't read about before, goofy and over the top but also kind and caring, and completely uninhibited. Shar was an older heroine, 48, and she was confident and funny. It's good to see representation of different ages in romance. As usual, since this was Crusie's couple there were some laugh out loud moments with them.
I also really liked Christopher and Abby, their story was perhaps the one that was the most emotionally engaging for me, I felt Abby's fascination for this guy and her hurt when he treated her coldly.I would have liked more of an explanation on why he got up and left after he took her virginity, it was never explained why he was such an ass ?
Overall a fun read with some unique elements and solid romance. A bit of a missed opportunity with the dogs.
Once again, the format with three writers was seamless and well integrated and didn't detract from the story at all. I appreciated the addition of a symbol for each character.
I liked the theme and the feel of the story : ancient Mesopotamia, ancient temples, goddesses and myths, lineages of priestesses, magic and potions... It was cool and felt fresh compared to the ubiquitous vampires and shifters (not that I don't like shifters!). It gave the book a good atmosphere.
And there were dogs, lots of dogs, of course, and I love dogs! But therein lies one of the biggest faults in the book in my opinion, the way the dogs were handled. Look, maybe this is partly my fault, because I am so passionate about dogs. I am typing this with one of my own dogs lying against my leg. But these dogs were so, so unrealistic. Dogs just don't behave that way. Barking is not used at all like speaking for them. This sounds obvious when I type it but the way barking was used as an equivalent to speech in the book was so frustrating for me. It really made me wonder if any of the authors has spent any time around dogs? I can guarantee none of mine would ever behave that way.
I have also attended animal ethology classes, and have an interest in dog behaviour. This book had a great opportunity to explore how a different species might think, and I feel like it wasted it completely. It could have been so interesting! Sometimes watching my dogs and with my background knowledge I attempt to imagine what's going through their minds, and it's so different from ours, much more immediate, impulsive and instinctive and utterly unlike our own view of the world. I would have loved to see the authors had done some research and were honestly attempting to portray this. Instead the dogs were so anthropomorphic they felt like mini humans with a one track mind. It was a big let-down for me.
As for the plot : I feel like the middle dragged. In fact while I was reading it I was thinking that this book was definitely inferior to the Miss Fortunes one, and I was wondering how to grade it. And then the last third picked up, there were more of the myths and the priestesses and the worldbuilding and characters discovering what all this was about, all the elements I liked about this story, and I wanted to grade it higher after all. All things considered this would get 3 and a half stars from me, which isn't bad at all! Still, I feel like if the myths and backstory and magic elements had been more developed the story would have benefited. And if the characters did more! The girls should have had to explore and discover. Maybe this is the fantasy reader in me speaking. I liked those elements of the story and wanted more.
But the romance elements were well handled. I especially liked Sam, he was hilarious and cute and his devotion to Shar was touching. He was a type of hero I hadn't read about before, goofy and over the top but also kind and caring, and completely uninhibited. Shar was an older heroine, 48, and she was confident and funny. It's good to see representation of different ages in romance. As usual, since this was Crusie's couple there were some laugh out loud moments with them.
I also really liked Christopher and Abby, their story was perhaps the one that was the most emotionally engaging for me, I felt Abby's fascination for this guy and her hurt when he treated her coldly.
Overall a fun read with some unique elements and solid romance. A bit of a missed opportunity with the dogs.
robinhigdon's review against another edition
started out strong and funny, but then kind of lost me when it took a mystical turn.
booksnsims's review against another edition
5.0
I just finished this book. It is really good. I love how they can talk to the dogs! The way that they become friends so quickly is a little unbelievable but overall the story is very engaging.
sarah_'s review
5.0
I don't know that I would have given this 5 stars if I read the print version, but the audiobook was an absolute delight and laugh-out-loud funny. The narration was excellent and this has remained one of my favorite audiobooks I've listened to.
ibeforem's review
3.0
This was fun, but don’t start looking at it too closely. One of the things the authors did do right was manage a consistent voice, which couldn’t have been easy with three of them writing it. The different women do have their own sub-voice, but overall the tone was very consistent. Also, the dog sidekicks were rather entertaining, and it wasn’t particularly difficult to tell the difference between them.
The part that doesn’t really hold together is the mythology, from the overall goal of the ancient goddess to the fact that an ancient temple had been moved to this small town piece by piece and was now being used as a home. There were seven goddesses total, but it seemed that everyone but Abby, Daisy, and Shar didn’t really matter.
But, when push comes to shove, we don’t really read a book like this for an air-tight plot. We read them because we want something fun and sexy, and that’s exactly what we get.
The part that doesn’t really hold together is the mythology, from the overall goal of the ancient goddess to the fact that an ancient temple had been moved to this small town piece by piece and was now being used as a home. There were seven goddesses total, but it seemed that everyone but Abby, Daisy, and Shar didn’t really matter.
But, when push comes to shove, we don’t really read a book like this for an air-tight plot. We read them because we want something fun and sexy, and that’s exactly what we get.