Review: A Touch of Greek by Tina Folsom

Hi everyone, today we delve into the life of Triton, Greek God and womaniser extrodinaire...but can this man be tamed by the love of the right woman?

Title: A Touch of Greek
Author: Tina Folsom
Publisher: Tina Folsom
Release Date: 30th September 2010
Series: Out of Olympus, book 1
Source: My Personal Copy

Blurb from Goodreads:
Selfish and gorgeous Greek God Triton is cast out of Olympus after seducing Zeus’ mistress and can only gain reentry if he finds a woman who loves him for his kindness and selflessness, not his beauty. When the mortal Sophia – recovering from an eye operation and virtually blind – needs a home healthcare worker, he takes on the role, hoping she will be his ticket home.
While defending Sophia from an unknown adversary, Triton’s protective instinct emerges. At the same time rival Gods do everything to doom him to failure. And even if Triton can win Sophia’s love, will he throw it away to return home, or will he lose his own heart to the only woman who truly sees him?
A Touch of Greek is the first book in the humorous and sexy paranormal romance series Out of Olympus following the romantic adventures of four Gods: Triton, Dionysus, Eros, and Hermes.

Review:

First Line: 'What would be the punishment this time? A year in Hades for giving it to Zeus' mistress du-jour? Seemed like a fair exchange Triton thought. It could be worse. He could be bridled from any sexual activities for a decade - which would suck to say the least. Anything, just not that! He'd never survive it. Not sating his sexual urges for a week bordered on excruciating, a decade would be pure torture.'

Yeah...I wasn't too keen on Triton at the start either. He doesn't exactly make the best impression does he? Thankfully there is more to A Touch of Greek than the ramblings of a sex crazed God who has the oh so brilliant idea of sleeping with Zeus' mistress!! Triton is basically an egocentric, womanising ass in the beginning, his punishment however takes the floor out from under his feet. For sleeping with Zeus' woman Triton is cast out of Olympus and stripped of his powers, he can only reclaim his rightful place IF a woman falls in love with him because of something other than his looks. Considering Triton is drop dead, let me pick my jaw off the floor gorgeous...this task is harder than it sounds.
So, the genius' they are, Triton and his friends Dionysus, Eros and Hermes decide that the best solution to this problem is to find a blind woman! Granted it's quite a cunning plan but still a little heartless, and Triton is still being a complete ass about it. But can they find a woman who fits the criteria that Triton can successfully woo?
Sophia first meets Triton in his first few days among humanity. However Sophia is the one person who has ever rejected Triton... and this intreigues him, he can't stop thinking about her. When Sophia is temporarily blinded from an accident in her home Triton senses a golden opportunity, a way to get back onto Olympus as well as purging the memory of Sophia from his mind. Triton steps in as Sophia's Home Healthcare worker to get close to her but instead of sleeping with Sophia and leaving Triton begins to fall for her...leaving doesn't sound so simple any more. But forces are determined to see Triton fail in his quest, will the couple survive the wrath of the gods or will they be parted forever?

'Triton instantly shook his head. "It'll be a cold day in Hades when I issue a blank IOU. I'm not desperate enough for that."
"I think you are. By the way, I had a look at the woman you're working on right now. Nice piece of ass. Firm tits even without a bra was quite a sight when she stepped out of the shower this morning."
Before Triton knew what he was doing, his fist connected with Hermes' face, snapping it backwards. "You asshole, you spied on her?"
The god held his bloody nose. "Hey! Since when is looking an offence?"
"You don't look at her, do you understand me?" Triton hissed. His heart was pounding as his hand continued clenching and unclenching. How dare Hermes look at her naked? Nobody was allowed to look at her, but- Triton stopped his thoughts in its tracks. Seeing Sophia in her undergarments this morning had been arousing enough. The thought that Hermes had seen her without a stitch of clothing was unacceptable. He wouldn't allow this to happen again.'

Triton, Triton, Triton...I must say he isn't the most loveable character but I did warm to him eventually. As the son of Poseidon, Triton has had it pretty easy. Which is probably why he is such an ass in the beginning, I really was not keen on him as a character. BUT as Triton slowly begins to fall for Sophia, his softer side emerges, diluting his arrogance to the point where he's almost likeable. Triton will never be one of my favourite men but I will give credit to Tina Folsom because Triton still having an arrogant air about him at the end fits him perfectly! I can't stand it when characters have a complete personality change halfway through the book, a few weeks around one woman (even Sophia) would not be enough to re-write thousands of years of being an arrogant, womanising idiot. It just wouldn't be believable. So kudos for that :)

Our leading lady is Sophia and boy does she make the book for me. She's not weak and she will stick to her convictions throughout. I honestly just loves the fact that when she first met Triton (before she is blinded) she called him a HIMBO! Which is great...and in trying to prove her wrong Triton just pushes Sophia further away. She isn't shallow at all so if anyone could break Triton's curse it's our Sophia. Sophia has problems of her own, due to a clause in her aunt's will, if Sophia dies childless then her scheming cousin Michael inherits everything she owns...something Michael is quite determined to see through. Can Triton protect her from all the 'accidents' befalling her or will a more malevolent force separate them forever?

I enjoyed A Touch of Greek to a certain extent. It's a nice light hearted read, a little bit of comedy (namely when our four trouble makers are together) and some romance. I did like the interactions between Triton and his 3 best friends, Hermes, Eros and Dionysus but was less keen on the romance aspect. Don't get me wrong A Touch of Greek is a good romance but I personally disliked some of the cruder language Triton uses, it just spoils the scene for me because it doesn't sound very romantic. It didn't completely spoil the book and I can almost forgive it because it was used during Triton's asshole phase where he didn't seem to hold women in high regard...but it does linger in my mind. Either way A Touch of Greek has some pretty hot scenes and was a breath of fresh air because I haven't read many light hearted takes on Greek mythology.

One bigger problem I had was that there was too much of a HEA... I mean suddenly the cousin out to get Sophia disappears, and then once Triton and Sophia are together EVERYONE who had it in for Triton are suddenly no longer concerned! It was all wrapped up too nicely for my liking, heck it even had a pretty pink bow on top! Not that I have a problem with HEAs but this one wasn't explained thoroughly enough for me. I still liked A Touch of Greek though and will look out for book 2, which I believe is Dionysus' book :)

My Rating 3.5/5

Early Review: Queen of Swords by Katee Roberts

Hi guys, a new review for you all today! Queen of Swords by Katee Robert is book 2 in the Sanctify Series...Meet Ophelia and Boone.

Title: Queen of Swords
Author: Katee Robert
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release Date: 12th June 2012
Series: Sanctify, Book 2
Source: I received a e copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Blurb from NetGalley:
When the cards tell Ophelia Leoni she’s supposed to marry the Prince of Hansarda, the gunrunner grits her teeth and boards the starship that comes for her. It doesn’t matter if the ship’s commander is the gorgeous stranger she just spent a wild, drunken night with. As a Diviner, she’s painfully aware the cards don’t lie. Ever.
Boone O’Keirna knows Ophelia is trouble the second he sees the way she moves. Not about to let the deadly little hellcat marry his sadistic half-brother, Boone pretends to be the Prince’s emissary and kidnaps Ophelia. Too bad they can’t be in the same room without him wanting to throw her out an airlock–or into bed.
Even as they fight each other–and their explosive attraction–Ophelia and Boone sense something is wrong. Too much is going their way. Soon, they realize while the cards may never lie, the truth is sometimes hidden between them…and the future king of Hansarda is not one to take defeat lying down.

Review:

First Line - 'Ophelia couldn’t find her underwear. They had to have been around there somewhere. She’d been wearing them last night, after all, but she was hard pressed to find that small piece of silk amongst the other clothing scattered about the room.'

I like this opening, Ophelia seems like a fun person - though she isn't quite as promiscuous as she sounded to me initially. Though the guy she is in the process of sneaking away from is the very man who will change her life forever. Who knew a drunken one night stand could cause so many problems for a girl? Ophelia does eventually find her underwear but from there her day goes from bad to worse. Ophelia returns home to find that the prince of Hansarda wants her for his bride, not only that but her mother practically pushes her out the door when the emissary arrives to take her to her future husband. Only the emissary is an imposter, a man desperate to keep her from her future husband and Boone will do anything to keep Ophelia from his sadistic half brother - the prince of Hansarda. 

Boone (aka the one night stand guy and imposter) wakes to find Ophelia gone - he'd only meant to follow her to find out why his half brother (and heir to the throne) wanted Ophelia so badly but he couldn't resist her fire and fell for her instead. Now he has the urge to protect this little hellcat, though I did laugh when Boone's ego was severely dented because Ophelia didn't remember him from the night before...and again when she proves she's no meek woman to be kidnapped without a fight, man she kicks ass.

This wasn’t supposed to be a battle. This was just one woman. Before he could talk himself out of it, Boone slapped the palm lock and strode through the door. The only warning he received was an exhale, almost perfectly silent. He dove to the floor, the box flying from his hand as he rolled. A knife embedded itself in the floor where his head had been. A very large knife. Where in the seven hells had she hidden that?
He kicked but Ophelia was ready for him, diving over his outstretched legs in a ridiculously graceful move. She punched him in the ribs and then she was on top of him, straddling his chest and holding her knife dangerously close to his left eye. “Don’t move.”

Queen of Swords is more a Science Fiction/ Romance but thankfully the Sci-Fi isn't too hardcore, as I've said before I can't handle hardcore Sci-Fi. I liked the world that Katee Robert has created, full of different species like Ophelia - who is known as a Diviner, one who has their Goddess whispering in her ear. Diviners are able to read the past, present and future of anyone they come across and become stronger once they become mothers. The Diviners had been hunted to the brink of extinction by a radical hate group known as Sanctify. They detest anything human and Ophelia's 'punishment' should she ever be caught involves dismemberment and burning alive. The obvious genocide committed by Sanctify is handled supremely by Katee Roberts and I hope they radical group are brought to justice for the crimes against humanity they are guilty of. Thankfully the tortures aren't over described...just the thought is enough to make me shiver. Strangely Ophelia's mother is a Diviner but her father is a former Sanctify member...I am extremely curious as to how these two got together *makes mental note to read their book*.

Boone and Ophelia are great characters...Boone has the coiled strength that would have you backing him if he ever challenged his brother for the throne but he is also haunted by nightmares of a trauma that happened when he was young. A horrific incident that left him scarred at the hands of his brother. He is loyal to a fault and will protect those he loves with his life. Just the kind of character I love *smiles with happiness*. Ophelia is a smart, strong woman who will not be told what to do. The only things that have influence over her is her Goddess and sometimes her mother. No man will ever rule over her. Despite her intelligence there was one thing I understood and saw well before she did, every time Ophelia thought her stomach problems were from food poisoning I wanted to hit her over the head...but other than that she is a very likeable character. I personally love Jenny - she's a female version of Boone, its no wonder that her and Ophelia get along like a house on fire...though God help Boone if those two ever team up against him...he hasn't got a chance.

I really enjoyed Queen of Swords as a whole. I loved Katee Robert's writing style, the way she mixes the humour with the dark and scarred past of both Boone and the Diviner race as a whole is brilliant. If done wrong the humour can come across as inappropriate but this is the perfect mix to show that there is still a glimmer of light in the darkness of the Sanctify regime. I think fans of Sherrilyn Kenyon's The League Series will enjoy Queen of Swords and I will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author!

My Rating 4/5