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rheah's review
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
In a world where deities and humans coexist (this is part of a broader universe created by the writer but you don't need to read previous books to understand this one), Calliope, yes that Muse, is a workaholic who decides to take some well-earned vacations to Scotland near a temple dedicated to her and her sisters. Meanwhile, we are introduced to Jordan a daredevil businness owner who plans to open an adventure park near the previously mentioned temple.
I was intrigued by this premise and the inevitable relationship between two very different women who are both fighting on opposite sides of a construction conflict. Jordan wants to build this park desperately both because she doesn't want to lose her money and she believes that's going to be fun. We also are told that's it's going to create more jobs in the area but Jordan almost never uses that argument herself which makes her look less morally-righteous than the other side, Calliope's side. Calliope fights to protect the tranquility of the area as well as preserve the forest and environment. This had a lot of potential to develop into a real conflict but it's all swept under the rug (after devoting two-thirds of the book to it) in favor in another third act conflict.
There's one thing that I noticed immediatly and that really bothered me when reading : I didn't like the writing. I don't know if it wasn't for me or if it was just bad, especially because some senences clearly had some thoughts put into them but a lot of parts felt like a chore to go through especially the dialogues.
This writing issue really tied in with how I connected with the characters and their romance. At no point I felt like they had an actual connection besides them saying "we have an connection". We're supposed to believe that there's some tension building up between them but I just couldn't see it besides both of them just thinking that the other was sexy. The writing really was surface-level when it came to their feelings and it was a shame because I absolutely did not care about them. Even the sex scene felt cold and short. I would have loved to see how the plot played out if the writer had really leaned in their physical connection (more than just thinking "she's really hot I want to sleep with her"). Because then come their feelings for each other... Several times when one describes what they love about the other, she always says "beautiful and smart" like what? Several times! (there was one "great listener", and "good singing voice" too). that's not helping me believe that they have feelings for each other, especially since neither had done anything "smart" really. So I still don't know why I should root for them as a couple.
One of the book highlight is that it takes advantage of the universe it's set in to talk about mortal/god relationship, which is a classic trope that I really like. It even brings up a subject that's not often explored "what if the human hated gods?" I wished there had been more of that in the book rather than only at the end.
I was given a copy of the book to review, thank you to Netgalley
I was intrigued by this premise and the inevitable relationship between two very different women who are both fighting on opposite sides of a construction conflict. Jordan wants to build this park desperately both because she doesn't want to lose her money and she believes that's going to be fun. We also are told that's it's going to create more jobs in the area but Jordan almost never uses that argument herself which makes her look less morally-righteous than the other side, Calliope's side. Calliope fights to protect the tranquility of the area as well as preserve the forest and environment. This had a lot of potential to develop into a real conflict but it's all swept under the rug (after devoting two-thirds of the book to it) in favor in another third act conflict.
There's one thing that I noticed immediatly and that really bothered me when reading : I didn't like the writing. I don't know if it wasn't for me or if it was just bad, especially because some senences clearly had some thoughts put into them but a lot of parts felt like a chore to go through especially the dialogues.
This writing issue really tied in with how I connected with the characters and their romance. At no point I felt like they had an actual connection besides them saying "we have an connection". We're supposed to believe that there's some tension building up between them but I just couldn't see it besides both of them just thinking that the other was sexy. The writing really was surface-level when it came to their feelings and it was a shame because I absolutely did not care about them. Even the sex scene felt cold and short. I would have loved to see how the plot played out if the writer had really leaned in their physical connection (more than just thinking "she's really hot I want to sleep with her"). Because then come their feelings for each other... Several times when one describes what they love about the other, she always says "beautiful and smart" like what? Several times! (there was one "great listener", and "good singing voice" too). that's not helping me believe that they have feelings for each other, especially since neither had done anything "smart" really. So I still don't know why I should root for them as a couple.
One of the book highlight is that it takes advantage of the universe it's set in to talk about mortal/god relationship, which is a classic trope that I really like. It even brings up a subject that's not often explored "what if the human hated gods?" I wished there had been more of that in the book rather than only at the end.
I was given a copy of the book to review, thank you to Netgalley
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
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