Review: Boarding on 4 stars
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 28, 2013
So I finished reading The Goddess’s Wishes, and what a cozy way to spend the weekend. Ms. Manning spins an interesting tale using characters most of us have at least heard of. She gives us a new tale of myths and legends and while a power struggle for the throne of Mt. Olympus isn’t necessarily new, Artemis being the mastermind behind it certainly is. I truly enjoyed the fresh take on characters I was already familiar with, though it did take me a second to stop thinking of these Greek gods in the tradition sense. I did have a few issues which is why I could only rate this 3 stars. Keep in mind that here on Amazon 3 stars is only "It was ok" when everywhere else it's I liked it but either way I certainly liked it.Yes, we know these characters but not the way Ms Manning brings them to us. If you can overcome the historical inaccuracies, which the author acknowledges right off the bat and makes no apologies for, there is an intriguing mystery. Who is this girl Artemis is following? Who is the Child of Calamity? Why does her existence mean someone could overthrow Zeus? Some of these questions get answered but others are not and that is one of the places I myself struggled. I know this book is the first in a series but with no word on when the next book might be coming out I don’t know if any of these questions will be answered further down the line. There were some plot holes along the way like why Artemis needed to involve anyone else to begin with; she is after all a god. I am chalking up to the fact that  this story could be a novel but it is a novelette length and maybe the author cut some detail to fit the length. It was also really nice to see Ms Manning put a different spin on characters that are so recognizable. She really does a nice job making the reader see them in a different light. She also didn’t shy away from the seedier part of Greek gods; ya know the fact that they are all one family tree. The language did seem a little stressed and formal but overall it didn’t take away from the story.Bottom line, this is a fun, fast paced mystery that keeps you on your toes the whole way through. Just be careful if you like a lot of closure at the end of a book in a series because there is definitely a cliff hanger here and if you are looking for historically accurate mythology skip this it isn’t for you. If you are looking for a fun book to waste the day with The Goddess’s Wishes could be your next book.