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lottieemoore's review against another edition
5.0
Probably my favourite book of the year... I realise this is only Feb. HOWEVER I have read over 20 books this year.. So still a compliment. Also FINALLY a character that isn't 18 years old. Lina is 43 and I'm ABOUT IT.
You will laugh, you will cry and you will get a warm fuzzy feeling. Absolutely recommend this book.
You will laugh, you will cry and you will get a warm fuzzy feeling. Absolutely recommend this book.
momogajo's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
sookie458's review against another edition
5.0
I cannot describe how much i liked this book. It made me smile. It made me cry. It angered me so much I had to shout. And I loved every page of it. I added a new character to my Favorite smoking hot, lick your fingers, drool all night studs.:)
disconightwing's review against another edition
1.0
This book downright offended me. Once again we have the same cut-and-dry story about a middle age midlife crisis woman who has an awesome grandma and parents that never really get mentioned because the grandma is Just So Awesome, who lives in Oklahoma, yadda yadda.
This woman, Lina, is the only protagonist in a book by Ms. Cast that I have read that doesn't have a Cherokee awesome grandma, so I guess I should take what I can get.
But anyway, boo-hoo, she picked an accountant without making sure he was worth it and expected him to take care of all of her problems and he doesn't. So she makes her own business decisions for once in her life and, while researching recipes to save her failing bakery, she comes across what anyone with half a brain cell would recognize as a ritual to Demeter. She, without any real knowledge of Demeter (seriously didn't even stop to look up any basic myths or stop and refresh her memory--no indication at all she even knew who Demeter was), without any thought of "hey maybe I should stop and consider what I'm doing" DOES THE RITUAL and is surprised when she ACTUALLY GETS A RESPONSE.
That right there was enough to make me want to stop reading, but I pressed on.
Lina is so shocked to realize that her ritual has been answered and that Demeter actually exists that she in fact repeatedly insults that goddess but all of the gods and goddesses in that pantheon. Demeter suggests that she exhange places with Persephone for six months. Persephone will run Lina's bakery and Lina will go to the Underworld and flirt with Hades.
Seriously.
Throughout the entire book, Lina whines constantly about how hard it is to impersonate a goddess and how hard it is for her and how it sucks because she gave her word to Demeter that she'd keep a secret and all she wants to do is break it.
And her insistence that the Underworld was really Hell throughout the entire book, even though she was supposedly "learning differently," just made it worse. We're expected to just accept that Lina finds what is clearly a witchcraft ritual in a cookbook and performs it but then can't seem to wrap her head around the fact that what the Underworld was to the Greeks is not the same thing that Hell is to Christians.
If I had to hear Lina compare Hades to Batman one more time I probably would have burned this book. Seriously.
And then when Hades and Lina/"Persephone" actually fall in love with one another, everyone, including Demeter, who came up with this whole idea, mind you, was shocked and dismayed to see the plan working.
Lina then blatantly usurps a goddess's title (Queen of the Underworld/Queen of the Dead) and everyone is okay with that. Despite all of the evidence in mythology about what a huge no-no stuff like that is.
I don't know why I'm surprised, though; this book shoves mythology in our faces when it's convenient but then disregards it when something needs to be "different."
Lastsly, despite the fact that everyone including Demeter kind of seems to think of Persephone as a giant bitch, the end of the book when Persephone actually shows up was the most enjoyable for me. I would have rather read about her trying to adjust in the mortal world than 300 pages of Lina whining about how hard it was to be pampered and loved.
So basically, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone and clearly this author is not for me. I probably won't pick up any more of this series or any other. It's beginning to come off as blatant self insertion which downright bastardizes any and all parts of mythology that the author doesn't think is pretty enough. The Hades and Persephone myths are lovely enough on their own without this kind of ill treatment.
This woman, Lina, is the only protagonist in a book by Ms. Cast that I have read that doesn't have a Cherokee awesome grandma, so I guess I should take what I can get.
But anyway, boo-hoo, she picked an accountant without making sure he was worth it and expected him to take care of all of her problems and he doesn't. So she makes her own business decisions for once in her life and, while researching recipes to save her failing bakery, she comes across what anyone with half a brain cell would recognize as a ritual to Demeter. She, without any real knowledge of Demeter (seriously didn't even stop to look up any basic myths or stop and refresh her memory--no indication at all she even knew who Demeter was), without any thought of "hey maybe I should stop and consider what I'm doing" DOES THE RITUAL and is surprised when she ACTUALLY GETS A RESPONSE.
That right there was enough to make me want to stop reading, but I pressed on.
Lina is so shocked to realize that her ritual has been answered and that Demeter actually exists that she in fact repeatedly insults that goddess but all of the gods and goddesses in that pantheon. Demeter suggests that she exhange places with Persephone for six months. Persephone will run Lina's bakery and Lina will go to the Underworld and flirt with Hades.
Seriously.
Throughout the entire book, Lina whines constantly about how hard it is to impersonate a goddess and how hard it is for her and how it sucks because she gave her word to Demeter that she'd keep a secret and all she wants to do is break it.
And her insistence that the Underworld was really Hell throughout the entire book, even though she was supposedly "learning differently," just made it worse. We're expected to just accept that Lina finds what is clearly a witchcraft ritual in a cookbook and performs it but then can't seem to wrap her head around the fact that what the Underworld was to the Greeks is not the same thing that Hell is to Christians.
If I had to hear Lina compare Hades to Batman one more time I probably would have burned this book. Seriously.
And then when Hades and Lina/"Persephone" actually fall in love with one another, everyone, including Demeter, who came up with this whole idea, mind you, was shocked and dismayed to see the plan working.
Lina then blatantly usurps a goddess's title (Queen of the Underworld/Queen of the Dead) and everyone is okay with that. Despite all of the evidence in mythology about what a huge no-no stuff like that is.
I don't know why I'm surprised, though; this book shoves mythology in our faces when it's convenient but then disregards it when something needs to be "different."
Lastsly, despite the fact that everyone including Demeter kind of seems to think of Persephone as a giant bitch, the end of the book when Persephone actually shows up was the most enjoyable for me. I would have rather read about her trying to adjust in the mortal world than 300 pages of Lina whining about how hard it was to be pampered and loved.
So basically, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone and clearly this author is not for me. I probably won't pick up any more of this series or any other. It's beginning to come off as blatant self insertion which downright bastardizes any and all parts of mythology that the author doesn't think is pretty enough. The Hades and Persephone myths are lovely enough on their own without this kind of ill treatment.
cityofstarlightt's review against another edition
5.0
A saga Chamamento da Deusa tem como intuito enaltecer o sagrado feminino presente em cada mulher e sem dúvida que não falha. P.C.Cast já me tinha conquistado há anos atrás por isso não foi difícil tornar-me a envolver na história de Lina. A forma como descreve os cenários e recria a história da mitologia é incrível.
sailor_moon239's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kbrainbows's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
morgan_haybook's review against another edition
4.0
Once in a while, a girl needs a good romance with little else to interfere in the story. Initially I thought I was reading a book from the series of "Goddess by Mistake" and I anticipated more danger and a darker tone to the underworld. The comfortable beautiful underworld that Cast created in this book was still fascinating, and it made me reread the original Greek stories about the gods and goddesses.
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars: The book felt a bit rushed in places, and I get the feeling that her publishers wanted the book before it was really finished. I would have loved a few more glimpses into the stranger more exotic parts of the underworld.
So far I have enjoyed everything I have read so far from this author. P.C. Cast is a reliable source for a light, well done romance with great women's characters.
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars: The book felt a bit rushed in places, and I get the feeling that her publishers wanted the book before it was really finished. I would have loved a few more glimpses into the stranger more exotic parts of the underworld.
So far I have enjoyed everything I have read so far from this author. P.C. Cast is a reliable source for a light, well done romance with great women's characters.
readingrenbo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75