Book Review: The Goddess of the Rose, by P.C. Cast (2006).

This addition to the Goddess Summoning series is based on the whole “beauty and the beast” fairy tale which is one of my favorites from when I was a little girl. I guess in a way this makes me bias with this story since I honestly adored this book. P. C. Cast has delivered an amazing adaptation and used Hecate and Asterius to help delve into the mythical and magical realm of the ancient Greek Gods using the timeless tale of Beauty and the Beast (and yes I have broken out .
The books main character is Mikado Empousa, who discovers that her name denotes her as one of the High Priestess’ of Hecate, the ancient Greek Goddess. Mikado finds out that this is the source of the magic in her blood and that she is the last of her line. When Hecate gifts her with this knowledge and that of the Kingdom of the Rose, she feels compelled to help her, even though she really doesn’t know what to expect.
The role and character of Hecate really gives the book a mythology feel, and with the whole story outline based on fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, the story has a magical feel to it. P. C. Cast has outdone herself with this addition to the series. I have enjoyed the whole series but this book has to be my favourite so far. Usually I’m not a fan of perfectly happy endings, but in this particular instalment the happy ending was welcome. Overall I give this book a rating of 8.5/10. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a bit of romance and some Ancient Greek mythology. Suited to young adults and older.

Book Review: The Goddess of Spring, by P. C. Cast.

The Goddess of Spring, authored by P. C. Cast, is a yet another nice addition to the Goddess Summoning Series. It delves into the mythological legend of Persephone the Goddess of Spring, and how she becomes the lover of Hades, The Lord of the Underworld, and ultimately, the Queen of the Underworld herself.

Persephone’s mother Demeter, trades her daughters soul with that of the modern mortal woman Carolina Francheska Santora, and allows each woman to live out six months of their lives in the others body. The whole idea being that she would force her daughter into finally maturing and becoming more responsible. However, the Goddess’s plans go awry, and Carolina finds that while residing inside the body of the Goddess Persephone she has become head over heal’s in love with Hades, and the feelings are mutual.

Throughout this novel the secrecy and restrained love keep the reader interested. But for some reason I found it lacking in the usual spark that have been in other novels of this series. The myth of Hades and Persephone is a great one to rework, but I just don’t feel P. C. Cast has given this story the individuality that is seen in the other novels. Overall I thought it was still good and worth reading but my rating for this book has to be 6.5/10.