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annarella's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this mix of fantasy and mystery. It was an engrossing and entertaining read that kept me hooked.
The world building is interestesting, the characters fleshed out and the mystery is solid.
I hope to read other books featuring these characters
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
The world building is interestesting, the characters fleshed out and the mystery is solid.
I hope to read other books featuring these characters
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
j3ss1c4r34d5's review
5.0
How am I just now hearing about this book? With the current love for mythology, I am shocked this title isn't floating around more within the reading community. I received an e-galley after it was published, and 30% into the book, I immediately ordered myself a physical copy.
The Goddess of the North follows a low-ranking Hindu goddess as she lives amongst humans...as a human. A detective, no less. Cutting ties with her family due to a past conflict, Sara chooses to abandon her goddess nature and live life simply. Having no followers, believers, or worshippers of her own, she is only capable of rewinding time for a few moments. She keeps her life, both personal and professional, in strict order. That is, until a sudden earthquake plus stabbing happens right in front of her. Soon, she is found unraveling a mystery that can only be tied to another god or goddess that is wrecking havoc in her town.
Things I loved:
- this book made me hungry non-stop. Every single time Sara or her mother started cooking, I immediately got a craving for Indian food. I see take out in my near future
- the main character is a HINDU goddess. I'm so tired of seeing Greek and Norse used over and over and over again. Don't get me wrong, I love those stories. But it's such a breath of fresh air to get a taste of a different pantheon and culture, especially as a main character! There is also trans representation in a supporting character.
- the police procedural aspect wasn't overdone and had just the right amount of lingo dispersed throughout the story. If police procedural normally isn't your thing, you won't have any issues with this book. It's woven into the story so perfectly and it's not a snoozefest.
- the side story that deals with Sara's past conflicts with her family. It had a coming-of-age vibe, even though she's technically immortal and way beyond that stage.
- the potential for a series is HIGH. Kamsika fleshed out just enough of Sara's life as both goddess and human that literally anything is possible at this point. I almost even want to say I got a whiff of a sequel vibe from a certain sentence or two. But maybe that's just me hoping?
Things I didn't love:
- the pacing towards the end of the book lagged a bit more than I would have preferred. I also felt like the two storylines were competing for closure at the same time, rather than one being given the spotlight.
Do yourself a favor and order a copy. I will be eagerly awaiting any and all that Kamsika does in the future!
The Goddess of the North follows a low-ranking Hindu goddess as she lives amongst humans...as a human. A detective, no less. Cutting ties with her family due to a past conflict, Sara chooses to abandon her goddess nature and live life simply. Having no followers, believers, or worshippers of her own, she is only capable of rewinding time for a few moments. She keeps her life, both personal and professional, in strict order. That is, until a sudden earthquake plus stabbing happens right in front of her. Soon, she is found unraveling a mystery that can only be tied to another god or goddess that is wrecking havoc in her town.
Things I loved:
- this book made me hungry non-stop. Every single time Sara or her mother started cooking, I immediately got a craving for Indian food. I see take out in my near future
- the main character is a HINDU goddess. I'm so tired of seeing Greek and Norse used over and over and over again. Don't get me wrong, I love those stories. But it's such a breath of fresh air to get a taste of a different pantheon and culture, especially as a main character! There is also trans representation in a supporting character.
- the police procedural aspect wasn't overdone and had just the right amount of lingo dispersed throughout the story. If police procedural normally isn't your thing, you won't have any issues with this book. It's woven into the story so perfectly and it's not a snoozefest.
- the side story that deals with Sara's past conflicts with her family. It had a coming-of-age vibe, even though she's technically immortal and way beyond that stage.
- the potential for a series is HIGH. Kamsika fleshed out just enough of Sara's life as both goddess and human that literally anything is possible at this point. I almost even want to say I got a whiff of a sequel vibe from a certain sentence or two. But maybe that's just me hoping?
Things I didn't love:
- the pacing towards the end of the book lagged a bit more than I would have preferred. I also felt like the two storylines were competing for closure at the same time, rather than one being given the spotlight.
Do yourself a favor and order a copy. I will be eagerly awaiting any and all that Kamsika does in the future!
thewomancalledsun's review against another edition
1.0
*1.5
Considering my love for mythology this book was right up my alley. Especially considering that the main character was a Hindu goddess and the mythological fiction world is definitely in need of more diverse stories. When put together, the mythology & police procedural aspects should have created my perfect book. However, as you can probably tell from the use of the words 'should have' I was left a bit disappointed. The book wasn't bad but something about the writing and pacing was just not up my alley, and I found myself completely bored and uninterested throughout. I really wanted to love this book but it somehow just didn't work for me. Overall, it isn't a bad book, just lacked an important something for me personally.
*
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Considering my love for mythology this book was right up my alley. Especially considering that the main character was a Hindu goddess and the mythological fiction world is definitely in need of more diverse stories. When put together, the mythology & police procedural aspects should have created my perfect book. However, as you can probably tell from the use of the words 'should have' I was left a bit disappointed. The book wasn't bad but something about the writing and pacing was just not up my alley, and I found myself completely bored and uninterested throughout. I really wanted to love this book but it somehow just didn't work for me. Overall, it isn't a bad book, just lacked an important something for me personally.
*
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
mweis's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
5.0
ghostie_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Detective Sara Nayar is the Hindu goddess of order who has been in England since Queen Victoria's reign. She knows that Sheffield is a city that contains many gods, but they typically stick to themselves and don't cause trouble. When she witnesses a murder, she knows immediately that the murderer is of the divine variety. She knows that she has to solve the crime before the killer makes their next move, but having lived as a human for so long has left her extremely weak. Sara works throughout the novel to not only continue to live the mortal life she is used to while also being an immortal being. With time ticking down, Sara feels the pressure more than ever. Can she find the killer and save the city of Sheffield before it's too late?
Police procedurals typically highlight the locations where they are set and Goddess of the North is no different. Kamsika definitely creates an engrossing world separate from our reality, but ultimately totally on point.
I enjoyed a lot about this book, but there were definitely pieces that could have used some more development. One of my favorite things about this book was that Kamsika features divine beings from multiple cultures, it created a delightfully enrapturing world. I think that one of my only complaints about this book is the pacing. There were certain pages where it was just descriptions that didn't really further the plot. Overall, I do think that this book is worth reading. Sara is a delightful character and I hope readers get to see more about her life and adventures in future books.
Overall rating: 3.5/5 (rounded to 3)
Goddess of the North will be available for purchase on August 4th. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf and see where it's available to buy here. Also, be sure to check out Georgina Kamsika's website here!
I was lucky enough to be able to read this Advanced Reader's Copy through my partnership with NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Police procedurals typically highlight the locations where they are set and Goddess of the North is no different. Kamsika definitely creates an engrossing world separate from our reality, but ultimately totally on point.
I enjoyed a lot about this book, but there were definitely pieces that could have used some more development. One of my favorite things about this book was that Kamsika features divine beings from multiple cultures, it created a delightfully enrapturing world. I think that one of my only complaints about this book is the pacing. There were certain pages where it was just descriptions that didn't really further the plot. Overall, I do think that this book is worth reading. Sara is a delightful character and I hope readers get to see more about her life and adventures in future books.
Overall rating: 3.5/5 (rounded to 3)
Goddess of the North will be available for purchase on August 4th. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf and see where it's available to buy here. Also, be sure to check out Georgina Kamsika's website here!
I was lucky enough to be able to read this Advanced Reader's Copy through my partnership with NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
laurareads87's review
4.0
Goddess of the North is a fun combination of urban fantasy and police procedural following Sara, a minor goddess of order from the Hindu pantheon who has chosen to live, for the most part, amongst humans; she expresses her divine aspect by working as a detective inspector in Sheffield. When a murder with clear evidence of supernatural involvement occurs, Sara must investigate it alongside her human colleagues while also trying to figure out which deity or deities might be behind it. On the one hand, the book focuses on Sara’s everyday experiences as a woman of Indian descent working in a very predominantly white, predominantly male police station in an English town. On the other, it focuses on Sara’s experiences as a god – the daughter of a goddess of chaos, a member of one pantheon amongst many, trying to navigate her dedication to humanity and her own divinity. While it took me a little while to get into, by the end I was really enjoying the story – I’d happily read more by Kamsika; I have no idea if the author has plans to feature Detective Inspector Sara Nayar in future works, but if so I’d happily read them.
Thank you NetGalley and REUTS Publications for providing me with an ARC.
Thank you NetGalley and REUTS Publications for providing me with an ARC.
graculus's review
3.0
Goddess of the North piqued my interest originally because of a couple of things - firstly, that it's an urban fantasy set in Sheffield, rather than London and secondly the main character being a goddess of order who is working in the local police. Our protagonist is Sara Nayar, currently a Detective Inspector, and also a transplanted Indian goddess who is juggling her desire to live as close to a normal human life as possible with the fact that she is going to watch all the people she knows age and die because of her own immortality. She's able to manipulate time, allowing her to see the past of murder victims, which is a skill I'm sure most detectives would think handy to have.
Her power is limited, however, due to an incident when she first came into being - the gods are sustained by belief and worshippers and her own mother had interfered in Sara's development as a deity, meaning that when the more powerful gods start messing about in her adoptive home city, there's not much Sara can do power-wise to counter them. That is, if she can figure out exactly who is responsible, which takes a significant (and slightly frustrating) chunk of the book to happen.
It lost stars from me (3 seems a bit harsh but I'm struggling to push my rating upwards) for a couple of reasons: firstly, I don't know what research was done around the police but there seemed to be some basic things going on here that didn't work for me, as someone who spent quite a few years working adjacent to police investigations. There seemed to be a surfeit of Detective Inspectors - our main character is one, so is her putative love interest and so is the guy who thinks she's done him over for an impending promotion. That seemed very top-heavy for me, as what's portrayed in the book is a murder investigation run by two DI's, one Detective Sergeant (rank never confirmed) and a couple of uniforms putting stuff into the computer.
Secondly, the pacing of the book really struggles in the back half - there's a lot going on and I found myself skimming the supernatural stuff as Sara tries to figure out just who's responsible for what's going on. She also messes with history without any major repercussions and that always makes my skin crawl a little. This dropped another star for me, as I might well have DNF if I hadn't picked this up on Netgalley.
At the end of the day, it's a competent enough urban fantasy with some interesting things going on and clearly set in an area of the world the author knows very well.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Her power is limited, however, due to an incident when she first came into being - the gods are sustained by belief and worshippers and her own mother had interfered in Sara's development as a deity, meaning that when the more powerful gods start messing about in her adoptive home city, there's not much Sara can do power-wise to counter them. That is, if she can figure out exactly who is responsible, which takes a significant (and slightly frustrating) chunk of the book to happen.
It lost stars from me (3 seems a bit harsh but I'm struggling to push my rating upwards) for a couple of reasons: firstly, I don't know what research was done around the police but there seemed to be some basic things going on here that didn't work for me, as someone who spent quite a few years working adjacent to police investigations. There seemed to be a surfeit of Detective Inspectors - our main character is one, so is her putative love interest and so is the guy who thinks she's done him over for an impending promotion. That seemed very top-heavy for me, as what's portrayed in the book is a murder investigation run by two DI's, one Detective Sergeant (rank never confirmed) and a couple of uniforms putting stuff into the computer.
Secondly, the pacing of the book really struggles in the back half - there's a lot going on and I found myself skimming the supernatural stuff as Sara tries to figure out just who's responsible for what's going on. She also messes with history without any major repercussions and that always makes my skin crawl a little. This dropped another star for me, as I might well have DNF if I hadn't picked this up on Netgalley.
At the end of the day, it's a competent enough urban fantasy with some interesting things going on and clearly set in an area of the world the author knows very well.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
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