Review: Warrior Rising

Warrior Rising is the 6th installment in P.C. Cast’s Goddess Summoning series, and it couldn’t be more different when compared to her tamer House of Night series of books (which is more for the kiddies, as they say).

The story revolves around 36 year old shrink Katrina Marie Campbell, who finds herself in a predicament when Greek Goddesses Athena, Venus and Hera decide to relegate the task of halting the Trojan War to her. As it turns out, both Kat and her best friend, Jacky, have died from a modern-day car accident, and their only choice is to assume the slain bodies of Polyxena (for those unfamiliar with the tale, Polyxena is a princess of Troy, and sister to Cassandra and Hector) and her handmaid, Melia. In exchange, the Goddesses decide to grant her a boon at the end of it.

Kat is presented to Achilles as a war prize under the guise of being granted oracle powers by Athena herself, only to discover that he’s a scarred man, overcome by an inner berserker when agitated. Men and women alike fear him for his violence and invulnerability on the battlefield. The plot flows predictably from there – Kat asserts herself as his personal psychiatrist, looks beyond his outer wounds and heals his spirit, hatches a plan that magically ends the war and the pillaging… the book practically writes itself.

The sex: what P.C. Cast book would be without? The smut was fairly tame by Cast’s standards, though the random hypnosis sex creeped me out.

I’ll admit that I was drawn to the story since I’ve always been a big fan of the Trojan War and the characters involved – not too many cameos in this story though (Agamemnon, Briesis, Odysseus, and a smattering of others), and character development was fairly weak. The notion of Kat and Jacky blending seamlessly into olden-day Greece, frequently using modern day lingo and colloquialisms and pandering about without being beheaded for their insolence was ludicrous in every sense. Cast also took liberty with various aspects of the history of which I’m still a tad undecided on; examples include Odysseus’ true love being the Goddess Athena (and not Penelope, the whole reason why he’s trying to sail home to begin with??), Briesis being a conniving nymphomaniac, Agamemnon cast as that fat guy from Borat but with numerous piercings and a golden throne… the list goes on.

Only recommended if you don’t mind a load of inaccuracies in favor of a very predictable romance. Not one of Cast’s stronger works.

See also: Goddess of the Sea, Goddess of Spring, Goddess of Light, Goddess of the Rose, Goddess of Love

Plot/originality: 2.5/5

Characters: 2/5

Writing style: 2.5/5

Total score: 7/15

Review: Goddess of Spring

Goddess of Spring tells the story of Carolina Santoro, a 43 year old woman running a bakery. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she finds herself in the body of Greek Goddess Persephone, the Goddess of Spring and daughter of Demeter.

It turns out that Demeter has sent Persephone to the real world in an attempt to make her more mature. In Persephone’s stead, Lina must travel to the Underworld, realm of the dead, and make nice with the Ruler of the Underworld himself, Hades. He isn’t all blue flame and snarky wit, though (I do believe Disney has warped my take on Greek mythology a tad) Cast’s portrayal of Hades will have you swooning, and he’s probably the reason you’ll be buying this book. Goddess of Spring is rich with references to the mythical underworld – the river Styx, Lethas, Dread steeds and lovable three-headed canine Cerberus all make their appearances throughout the book.

There’s not much action in this book; it’s more of a take on mythological romance than anything else. Those wishing for a more plot-oriented reading experience will have better luck with Cast’s House of Night series.

See also: Goddess of the Sea, Goddess of Light, Goddess of the Rose, Goddess of Love, Warrior Rising

Plot/originality: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing style: 3.5/5

Total score: 9.5/15

Review: Divine by Choice

I didn’t enjoy Divine by Choice as much as I did for its predecessor, Divine by Mistake (which I didn’t enjoy that much to begin with. Sigh). P.C. Cast continues Shannon’s story in the Partholon series, where Shannon is the Beloved of an mythological utopia. Married to her centaurian husband ClanFintan and loved by the masses, Shannon has the perfect life – well, an almost perfect life, just without the comforts of the modern world.

The plot devices Cast used in this book had me yawning uncontrollably for most of the book. We all know the chant: first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes… a mutant centaur baby! Shannon’s pregnancy becomes painfully obvious within the first few pages of the book – poor appetite and nausea for a newlywed, imagine that! She remains annoyingly dense to the whole situation, though, and it’s only when she hurls all over ClanFintan’s lap that the truth finally makes it to her addled brain.

Things are not all marital bliss and overprotective husbands, though. Shannon soon finds herself back in the real world through Rhiannon’s intervention. It turns out the former Beloved isn’t happy with the hand she’s been dealt with and wants a do-over. Not all is lost, ho! For Shannon runs into hot guy Clint, who happens to be a parallel of ClanFintan in her world, only human. This is where the book’s stock plummeted for me, since the novelty of a centaurian husband was what was holding my attention. Replacing him with a cookie-cutter version of him sans two legs made me very grumpy indeed.

Shannon explores the rift in the forest with Clint, at the location where Rhiannon was working her magic. The story then moves, snail slow, through the budding connection between Shannon and Clint (yawn) and their eventual copulation (double yawn).  Don’t get me wrong – Clint is fine and everything, and I’m sure the somewhat threesome spices up Shannon’s adventures of erotica – but honestly, now. People probably picked this up for a good mythological romance, not some run-of-the-mill modern day harlequin rubbish. Shannon eventually returns to Partholon, leaving Clint heartbroken in the real world. Naturally, ClanFintan welcomes her back with open arms, and all is well and highly disappointing.

The problem with Cast’s writing style is the way she manages her plot resolutions. All her characters get happy endings, with no casualties or events involving red hot pokers, KY jelly, and lifelong mental/physical trauma. Her sappy, perfect ending had me fervently fighting my upchuck reflex and wishing I’d found a better way to spend my two hours.

Shannon’s story continues in Divine by Blood, where it’s an epic battle of her daughter (human, alas! Not some three-legged, human-centaur mutant) versus Rhiannon’s daughter. Stay tuned.

See also: Divine by Mistake, Divine by Blood

Plot/originality: 2/5

Characters: 2/5

Writing style: 2/5

Total score: 6/15

Review: Divine by Mistake

Divine by Mistake is the first in P.C. Cast’s Partholon series, focusing on schoolteacher Shannon Parker, who is magically transported to a parallel realm when she purchases a mysterious antique vase. Unlike the Goddess Summoning series, a collection of standalone stories, the Partholon series closely follows Shannon’s adventures in the fantasy realm.

I tore into this book with a morbid sort of fascination – I’m a notorious page-skipper, and I tend to skim midway of all new books before actually starting from the beginning. ‘Lo and behold, my eyes caught onto words like “centaur” and “husband” and “mating”. I just had to read it after that.

This book just might be intended for an older audience – the main heroine is 31 (but apparently still bootylicious) and residing as a schoolteacher in Oklahoma. When she buys an old vase with the Celtic goddess Epona on it, the last thing she expects is to get sucked into an alternate realm, with no electronics or comforts of the 21st century. Instead, she finds herself priestess of Partholon, engaged to be married to reluctant centaur ClanFintan.

Apparently, she’s swtiched places with evil priestess Rhiannon (her lookalike with quite the bad reputation). Shannon must struggle with adjusting to her newfound visions, as well as to her centaurian husband ClanFintan.

And the centaur smut: nay, there was none to speak of. There was smut, naturally – just not the centaurian/human kind (though there was one particularly disturbing scene in the forest that was a real head-scratcher). All too conveniently, ClanFintan can shapeshift into a human for the actual sex part, which is too, too boring. Blast it all!

I found side characters to be pretty two-dimensional, and I was disappointed that Cast wasn’t more creative with them. Best friend/maidservant Alanna was pretty much a cardboard stereotype cutout. Her beau was just… boring. Medicine man/advisor? Too predictable to be engaging.

The writing is quick with wit, with Shannon making for a likeable heroine. I enjoyed the scenes of her and ClanFintan getting to know each other (the younger centaurs are hilarious!), though the predictable plot resolution and the simple, linear flow of events was vaguely annoying to read. The Partholon series is a female-empowering one – Shannon carries most of the story, with ClanFintan and well, others left to pick up the war/battle slack. I would probably have enjoyed it more if Cast had put a heavier focus on ClanFintan; he’s got oodles of potential and he’s a friggin centaur, for crying out loud.

See also: Divine by Choice, Divine by Blood

Plot/originality: 3.5/5

Characters: 2.5/5

Writing style: 3/5

Total score: 9/15