Author: Nazarea Andrews
Publication Date: 20 September, 2016
Publisher: A&A Literary
Series: StandAlone
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Age Recommendation: 17 and Up
Rating: 3.5 Stars
~ I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ~
Book Description:
He was the sun god, the god of healing and song.
And prophecy.
Apollo has lived alone for centuries, content to spin out the years wandering a new and strange world, lost in the past and endless versions of the future. He has cut all ties with the remains of Olympus and his power, and hidden himself in humanity.
His twin thinks he’s depressed, spending his time in coffee shops, hospital waiting rooms, and concert halls…and nothing matters. Not really.
Until her.
Iris. With her teasing mouth and soulful music and eyes that remind him of the past.
He can’t resist her smile.
A girl as wild as he was, once, with a poet’s tongue and the body of a siren, who for one night makes him forget all the years and everything he gave up.
And he can’t stop fate.
Gods knows he’s tried.
He can’t help taking her.
Even if he knows better.
When Iris wakes up screaming, caught up in visions of the future, Apollo realizes that he didn’t leave his power quite as far behind as he thought.
He’s the god of prophecy and he’s been running from it, for centuries.
Iris is everything he has to avoid.
Now he has a furious Oracle on his hands, his sister trying to fix him, and someone is killing the gods.
It’s not just his tenuous sanity that hangs in the balance this time.
It’s all of Olympus.
Godhood really wasn’t supposed to be this hard.
My Review:
I love all things Greek mythology so I was excited when this book crossed my path, then I saw the cover and my heart gave a little flutter, and after reading the description I got even more excited!
This is one of those books that is extremely hard to review for various reasons but mainly because you can't talk much about it with out giving important parts away. I think that the best part of this book for me was the different take on Apollo. Apollo in everything I've read before now has always been cocky, a bit of an ass...no a big ass, and so full of himself he can't see past his own nose. This Apollo...this is an Apollo you've never seen before. He's caring of his family, (though they would never understand that) especially his twin sister, (who in much of mythology he never got along with, etc) he's quiet, introspective, deep, and mad/insane. This is an Apollo who doesn't make me hate him, it's an Apollo that makes me feel all the feels. I wanted to wrap him up and hug him tight, hum him quiet songs and sit with him in the beam of sunlight. I loved his Apollo and am a bit sad to say that since this is a standalone I won't get the chance to see more of him.
I also enjoyed Iris, she's strong willed, she's compassionate, she's likable and the perfect match for Apollo. She is what he needs on so many levels, she sees him, she sees past his godhood and into the man that he has become after thousands of years and hundreds of years on the brink of total insanity.
Now, here comes the hard part. This can be a challenging read. Challenging because it bounces back and forth in time quite a bit and you have to keep up, although there is clear delineation between the two time periods with the use of italics, but the constant back and forth can get overwhelming. There is also the fact that Apollo is going insane so at times his mind wanders and his thoughts are scattered, he will have visions and well we all know how confusing prophecies can be. Also, was Del one particular oracle of Apollo's or was Del all his Delphi Oracles? I have yet to figure that out. One minute I think it was one and his last one before he made his fateful choice, but then at times when he is reminiscing he speaks of Del in the sense of multiples. Are Del and Iris two separate beings, is Iris a reincarnation, is she just the next in a long line only since thousands of years have passed Apollo looks at her differently so in actuality she is the same as all the other Delphi but he's the one that has grown? I never do well with two people being merged into one though so likely that's simply an issue for me and won't bother anyone else in the least, haha. You will want to go into this in my opinion with a basic knowledge of Greek Mythology, even if Apollo is portrayed differently than you've ever seen him the other gods and the basics of the pantheon are all the same.
Now, I will mention that I was reading an ARC copy so there may have been changes to all of my issues by the time you get the final copy in your hands. I love the concept of this story, I love the characters, I loved the twists and turns, I just think the book perhaps needed to simmer a little longer. for all the kinks to be worked out and written more clearly. I think that this is a great story though and I hope that any fans of romance and Greek mythology will give it a try. The way this Apollo is written is enough of a reason to read this book because it is so different from any you've read before but there are a lot of other really good reasons to read it too. Definitely give this one a try!
~ Happy Reading ~
Nazarea Andrews (N to almost everyone) is an avid reader and tends to write the stories she wants to read. Which means she writes everything from zombies and dystopia to contemporary love stories. When not writing, she can most often be found driving her kids to practice and burning dinner while she reads, or binging watching TV shows on Netflix. N loves chocolate, wine, and coffee almost as much as she loves books, but not quite as much as she loves her kids. She lives in south Georgia with her husband, daughters, spoiled cat and overgrown dog. She is the author of World Without End series, Neverland Found, Edge of the Falls, and The University of Branton Series. Stop by her twitter (@NazareaAndrews) and tell her what fantastic book she should read next.
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