Review: Better than the first
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 31, 2013
Originally posted here: [...]Sequels normally never exceed the first book, but Staci Hart was able to do just that with Snake in the Grass. It was definitely more moving and heartfelt. It’s also a little more intense and dramatic, but it was definitely entertaining. The characters were also more lovable. (I want a Persephone and Hades book.) There were predictable parts and there were some surprising as well, but I honestly just loved it that I easily got lost in it.Aphrodite (Dita), the goddess of love, is now going against Ares, the god of war. They have a lot of sexual tension going on between them and Dita cannot easily resist Ares. But Ares also has a secret that would make Dita hate him, and it could really change their relationship if Dita finds out. In the midst of this turmoil, they also want to beat each other in the challenge where Dita must make the players fall in love while Ares has to keep them apart. Dita likes playing not only to win, but also to see these humans be happy in love. But Ares doesn’t like losing and will do anything it takes to win.Katsumi (Kat) is the daughter of a yakuza (Japanese mobster) so she is not oblivious to the dangers of the world. She has always been a lot like her father so she was taught how to protect herself and her younger sister, Kiki. She also inherited her father’s love for cars and racing. Her main goal in life has always been to protect Kiki no matter what it takes, even if it means putting her first over everything else. And once Dillon moves into the picture, it definitely wouldn’t be easy for Kat, especially if Dillon is able to rile her up but also make her feel all fluttery unlike anyone else. She’s definitely a badass who won’t take s*** from anybody, especially men who think less of women. She can be a little explosive too when she’s angered.Unlike a lot of bad boys, Dillon doesn’t drink or do a lot of girls, but he has a temper that couldn’t be messed with. He has an inner beast that makes him rage and beat the crap out of people. He lived a pretty messed up life and carried a lot of baggage, but at least he was trying to deal with it despite failing at times. I’m not into violence, but I definitely liked his character. He’s also very protective of his younger brother, Owen.I like the side romance between Owen and Kiki. These two were the opposite of their siblings and they were just both nice and sweet. I’m also very curious about Kat and Kiki’s parents, and I think it’s awesome that there is a book just for them, What the Heart Wants. The love scenes were definitely more romantic. There were also some side characters or extra scenes in Olympus that were pretty interesting, and I just loved the book overall.**************************************************OVERALL, Snake in the Grass is definitely a step up from Deer in Headlights. I fell more in love with the modernized Olympian gods that I met in both this and the first book. This is a new round for the challenge to stop two people from falling in love in order to beat Aphrodite, the goddess of love. But it will also deal with a couple of other conflicts. The challenge players were definitely interesting though. I wasn’t expecting to like them, but I ended up falling in love.