Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Book Review: Court of the Phantom Queen by Liz Meldon


COURT OF THE PHANTOM QUEEN

Lovers and Liars: Immortal Wars, #1



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Genre: Fantasy (Romance)
Heat Level: 1/5
Rating: M
$2.99 99¢ Release Day Sale




For centuries, the house of Zeus has reigned over some of the world's largest, most powerful civilizations. First with the Greeks, next with the Romans and their conquered foes. Fueled by their worship, the old Hellenic gods remained unchallenged and supreme for centuries. Now, in the fourth century of the new world order, goddess Athena has discovered a growing enemy: the fanatical Cult of One.


As sanctions arise for pagan worshipers across the Roman empire, Athena decides to unite all the godly pantheons of the human world. Her vision: a council of rational, reasonable representatives from each house to come together and combat their common enemy.


But with arrogant gods and goddesses, both in her house and beyond, that's easier said than done.


Athena refuses to be beaten, however, and vows to bring her vision to life. The first step is to visit each house and plead her case. With a motley crew of world-wise companions, she begins in the western isles, where she stumbles upon a god who once set her heart aflame in the court of Dagda and his mistress Morrigan, the Phantom Queen.


Unfortunately for Athena, not all gods are interested in playing nice with others.

Court of the Phantom Queen is a fantasy romance novella. It is both a standalone and a part of the overall story of the Lovers and Liars: Immortal Wars series.


Review

SPOILER-FREE

I always enjoy Liz's creativity and the way she writes stories, it always sucks me in. I love how Liz weaves worlds so I have no problem diving right into the story. Athena is a fun and interesting character, much different from Aphrodite in her other series. The author stays true to how the goddess is described according to history but I kind of wish we knew more about her. Quirks and other little things that history wouldn't describe and make this Athena a little more unique or personable to the reader.


Since this story is shorter, I do feel that we don't get as much character development so I wouldn't expect too much in this story. I do believe that this series will be episodic like her other series. I felt like the pacing was a tiny bit slow mid-way but it picked up near the end. We do get a full story arc but I felt as a reader, I didn't get as a satisfying of a story arc when compared to her other books. Still the end makes me want to read the next book to see what happens to our heroes.

This a fun supplemental series and it's a nice enjoyable read if you enjoy Liz's other works. Highly recommended if you enjoy reading about various Greek gods and goddesses.

3.4 out of 5 for me!




(An ARC was provided through NetGalley for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way.)


Meet the Author

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Liz Meldon is a Canadian author who grew up in the Middle East. She has a degree in Bioarchaeology from Western University, and when she isn’t writing about her own snarky characters, she is ghostwriting romance novellas, loitering on social media, or taking care of her many animals. As a freelance ghostwriter, she has written thirteen books, which range from romance to horror, full-length to novella-sized. A handful are currently on the market, and she stalks their “authors” with fiendish delight. She loves writing realistic characters in fantastical settings.

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