Review: Amazing anthology for an amazing cause!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 20, 2014
Warrior Goddess by Rebecca PooleA beautiful picture to start of this anthology. Fierce. I like it, Rebecca did a marvelous job.Down Came the Queen of Heaven by Aubrey DiamantThis is the story of how the Goddess Nicasia came to be Queen of Heaven. A lovely story, that contains everything your heart desires; love, hate, fight and responsibility. I like the way Aubrey has chosen to tell the story. In the beginning and end it’s a prophetess that share the ancient story. It made it even more believable to me. VERY nice touch!!Bia by Samantha KettemanLove this story!! Bia is the youngest sibling out of four. Her two brothers; Katos and Zelos, and her sister; Nike. Bia has done what shouldn’t be done; she has fallen for a simple human. In a single, stupid weak moment she accidently tells her sister, which makes all hell turn loose – literally. The question is now; are their love strong enough that Matthew could accept her for who she truly is?Loved, loved, loved it!! Samantha creates a short story that truly grabs you and doesn’t let go. Wonderful!!Carmaterdea by Sinead MacdughlasThis was really thought provoking. And very accurate. The young Goddess Carmatera (Carm for short) is running away from her home planet, when she stumbles over a planet with some funny inhabitants. Or so she thinks until she sees what they do to each other. Horrified she tries to destroy them in order to save others, but is stopped by a deity. He takes her on a journey through the deities history on Earth, and what became of them. The question is; will Carm actually learn something along the way, or is she too blind?Sinead has created a wonderful short story, and it caught me. I tore through it, and couldn’t help agreeing and snorting accompanied by laughing out loud several times. Sadly, she also has a very valid point, and a lesson hard learned by the young goddess.Amazing story!Goddess of My Heart by Michael CrossThis story is about Osiris and Iris. On how Osiris was tricked by his brother Set, and how Iris reacted to it.Egypt has always fascinated me. Always, and I have a huge weakness for mythology and ancient religions and cultures in general. So no surprise I enjoyed Michaels story. Wonderfully written, although I would’ve loved to see more. :-DAnd the ending is just amazing. Love it.Her by Rebecca PooleA tale of a man devoting his life to a forgotten Goddess, the Goddess of the Blood and Night. How he is mocked, and looked down upon, because other have moved on, religion being a thing of the past.A simple and captivating story. His acceptance was soothing and it was impressive to read what he and his family had sacrificed for the Goddess.A Goddess’s Revenge by Catherine StovallKel is the daughter of Enneth and Nia, Goddess of the Earth. But when a plague sweeps over Wade, destroying not only the people, but the earth as well. Catastrophes comes right and left, and in the end, Nia and Enneth only sees one way; to protect their daughter and try to save their world. In the end they failed at killing their adversary, but succeeded in protecting Kel.1500 years pass before Kel finally begins to rise from her sleep, and what she finds is more destruction, more hate, violence and despair. Now the young Goddess stands before a great battle; she has to defend her old home and land, but what is the price?Catherine surprised me yet again, and dragged me into this short story. I loved her story in Cogs of Time, this was just as good, but in a different way. The choice has to make is heart breaking, but luckily she’s not alone. Great story!!Aphrodite by Jackie McMahonAmazing drawing by Jackie. The way she tilts her head, her hair behind her ear. Beautiful.Hunting the Dark by Marion C. LanierArtemis is alone and on the run. Her uncle Hades killed not only her father, but many other gods as well. Right now she is the only one left of the gods. And she is running from Hades and his hell hounds.Do you remember who Artemis is? No? The great Huntress. Read this amazing short story by Marion and find out how the Great Huntress reacts to being the hunted.Loved it, thought it was a great twist to the story, and the ending was awesome. Well done!!Mother of Monsters by Andrea L. StaumEver wondered where all the ancient monsters came from? Meet Erica, a.k.a Echidna. The mother to all monsters in Greek mythology.She is living undercover from humanity, but still alive for some reason, even though many of the other ancient gods have been turned into myth and disappeared from earth.Now she’s on a mission to hunt for one of her missing children who’s been accidently released from his frozen prison. But will he recognize his mother, and what about the partner she’s been saddled with? Can the damaged clairvoyant handle the truth about Erica?Great story, loved how Andrea had taken something not so commonly known and made her survive what the old ancient great gods couldn’t; time and evolution. I would love to know more about Echidna and her work.Goddess Touched by Elizabeth A. LanceOh wow…. This one was amazing, one of my favorites so far. We all know the ancient stories of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. But what if they weren’t all gone, but still here?21 years ago, a child was born. But this little girl was special. Born with roots from the gods, blessed by three of them, Moira has no idea exactly how special she is, but carries on with her life. Her life is special though; she can act and sing like no one else. And she’s very humble about it. Moira truly is a beauty inside out.In comes Mars – yes, the God of War himself. In desperate need for a vacation, he stumbles upon Moira just as she is on a tour to perform for the US forces.Sparks fly, emotions run off, but how will Moira react when she finds out she is more than what she appears?Amazing story, loved every page!! I would sooo love to see more of Mars and Moira, it would be awesome!!!The Cast iron Skillet by Shebat LegionThis story has a more serious character compared to the others I’ve read so far. But I can say this with conviction; every person should have an inner Goddess like Amanda does. Hands down. I was truly impressed by Shebat’s narration, she roped me into the story for the few pages it lasted and kept me captive. Well done.The Weaver by Zoe AdamsAthena is on a holiday from work. For once, she’s actually back in Greece, for the first time in many, many years, and on her last day there, she decides to go to the local marked to see what’s happening and to find some trinkets for her friends. She stumbles over a weaver who doesn’t own a shred of humility.Athena made a promise to her father a long time ago, to not meddle in humans lives, but will this weaver be her undoing?Yet again, Zoe has created a great story. I truly enjoyed reading about Athena and the little weaver.Shield of Light by Beth W. PattersonFrank is working at bars. For years he’s been listening to others stories, been there for people when they needed it, been a shoulder to cry on – for complete strangers. The only one who isn’t leaning on him, but offering HIM a shoulder is one of his favorite customers; Mary.But not everything is what it seems, and there are more things lurking underneath the cover, if you dare to believe.I didn’t like this story in the beginning, but the further I read, the more it grew on me. In the end, I was delighted, and couldn’t help smiling.Beautiful Secrets of the Sea by Jackie McMahonAnother drawing by Jackie. I loved Aphrodite, and this one is gorgeous as well.Vanquish (A Fur, Fangs and Fairies Short) by Mariana ThornI’ve not read the first book in the Fur, Fangs and Fairies series by Mariana Thorn, but this short just gave me the “I want to read more”.Kalypso is a rare breed, a mix of different races, feared by most of the supernatural, considered a Goddess by some humans. She’s on the run from the vampire who fathered her; Diokles, but in reality she wants to kill him. Badly.The opportunity comes when a hellhound walks into her life, giving her a proposition she hardly can refuse; help him defeat Palden, the current leader of the Hellhounds, and he will help her defeat her nemesis.But will they be able to trust each other, and work with each other, or will all hell break loose?I loved stepping into this world, I fell so hard and I didn’t want to leave. Sadly, since it was a short, it HAD to end, but I will DEFINITELY be looking into Seizing Darkness – I might have it on my kindle… Hmm….Falling for You by Cecilia ClarkThis is a story about a young archeologist who came across the wrong kind of men. He tried to save an important archeological artefact and almost paid with his life. Now, he’s in the hospital trying to remember who he is, piecing together all the little pieces of the puzzle. But will he be able to right his wrongs?Amazing end to a wonderful anthology, Cecilia takes us deep into the jungle and back again, showing us ancient religions and beauty. I truly enjoyed her story, but then, I’ve always been a sucker for archeology. Always. Beautiful story, and loved the ending.All in all:This anthology was born to help out a library in the little town Elliott, IA, where CHBB’s wonderful author Ada McEwan works. Budget cuts have made it even harder for the public library to make end meet.Looking at this anthology, and every story in it, I am overwhelmed by the amazing support people all over the world has come to shown Ada and her library.Each story is unique, and I loved every page of it. Every story evolves round gods and goddesses (which is something that never fails to captivate me), and I think this anthology is the best I’ve read so far from CHBB/Vamptasy/Hot Ink Press.