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Four Realms #1
Murdering Eve
Eve Moore is very likely going insane. In one week's time, she has clear memories of surviving a murderous attack by her dead husband's mistress, teleporting to another Realm, learning her best friend isn't human, and uncovering the existence of trolls, Titans and mythical Gods. If she hadn't gone off her nut, Eve wouldn't be coming to grips with the fact that her mother had an affair with an immortal and she is apparently their love-child.
But since she's getting pretty comfortable with it all, she figures she's probably strapped down somewhere cold and antiseptic with drool dribbling down her chin. Except if she's locked in sanitarium, as she must be, why is she so damn scared of the God of War who threatens to send her soul to the Underworld? And why does the mere glance from a gorgeous man, one that she was tasked to find and return to Olympus, set fire racing through her veins?
Whether it's reality or lunacy, Eve has no idea, but she is on one hell of a ride. If only she could get that red-headed harlot who tried to kill her the first time to cease and desist on the murder attempts, she could enjoy her psychosis in peace…
But since she's getting pretty comfortable with it all, she figures she's probably strapped down somewhere cold and antiseptic with drool dribbling down her chin. Except if she's locked in sanitarium, as she must be, why is she so damn scared of the God of War who threatens to send her soul to the Underworld? And why does the mere glance from a gorgeous man, one that she was tasked to find and return to Olympus, set fire racing through her veins?
Whether it's reality or lunacy, Eve has no idea, but she is on one hell of a ride. If only she could get that red-headed harlot who tried to kill her the first time to cease and desist on the murder attempts, she could enjoy her psychosis in peace…
412 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 3, 2011
23 people want to read
About the author
Kelly L. Lee
2 books6 followersKelly L Lee – Wicked Writer of Turbulent Tales . . .
Kelly Lee is an award-winning author who lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, two daughters, and three dogs.
Kelly’s first book, Murdering Eve, won the 2011 Readers Favorite award for best Fantasy Romance, and was a finalist in the Golden Quill awards for Best First Book. She is a proud member of the Romance Writers of America, and Dallas Area Romance Authors.
Kelly holds an MBA, and when her alter ego is not toiling away at a full time corporate gig, reading, or writing – she travels as much as humanly possible, drinks copious amounts of wine with incredibly supportive girlfriends, and eats as much sushi as she can realistically endure.
Kelly Lee is an award-winning author who lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, two daughters, and three dogs.
Kelly’s first book, Murdering Eve, won the 2011 Readers Favorite award for best Fantasy Romance, and was a finalist in the Golden Quill awards for Best First Book. She is a proud member of the Romance Writers of America, and Dallas Area Romance Authors.
Kelly holds an MBA, and when her alter ego is not toiling away at a full time corporate gig, reading, or writing – she travels as much as humanly possible, drinks copious amounts of wine with incredibly supportive girlfriends, and eats as much sushi as she can realistically endure.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 23, 2013
You know, I’ve learned something – it sucks to be the main character in a paranormal story! I mean, nine times out of ten, they discover that they are actually not what they thought they were and turn out to be something entirely – such as a god, a spirit creature, or some other form of supernatural being. Usually this discovery ends up ruining their otherwise mundane life and puts a real damp on their day.
So imagine how our heroine Eve (the protagonist of Murdering Eve feels when she discovers that she may be linked to the Gods of Olympus, then charged with finding a Wind troll that was banished to Earth within a certain time period or else all hell will break loose. Oh, and add to the fact that someone is trying to kill her, I have to be honest – I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes!
One of the first things I noticed about Murdering Eve was the blurb, which described it almost in a pretty dark way – so I was kinda expecting this book to be really dark as well as romantic. On the whole though, it was pretty tame compared to what I was expecting – but that’s not a bad thing at all. Once I got to grips with the book, I did actually find the story pretty decent. Any story with Gods and supernatural entities always tick a lot of boxes in my book (excuse the pun) and so the idea of Eve trying to find a Wind troll to bring back to Olympus was pretty cool. The story is very easy to follow and not as convoluted as some other books. I was able to keep up with the story pretty easily. It also helped that there were only a few characters in the book, so I didn’t have to keep reminding myself who was what – so props for having an easy to follow story.
My first gripe would be that there is maybe a little TOO much exposition in this book. Sometimes, we focus on a character and it then transcends into a flashback, or an explanation into the history of a certain race or magical force. I don’t really have a problem with flashbacks or expositions and realise that they can be important to a story – but too much can really slow the pace down. I honestly think that the author could have just used a few paragraphs in these instances to just give us a general gist rather than going into too much detail. Secondly, chapters tend to repeat themselves occasionally. There is one scene where the heroes get into a fight, and then the next chapter we see the villain and the chapter pretty much explains what happened before. Considering it was just after one chapter, I didn’t feel it was too necessary to go into this detail.
Also, there were quite a few formatting issues with the copy I was given to review. Sometimes, lines would be cut off mid sentence and then started again on a new line, it made the text look broken up and messy. I’d suggest a reformat if the author hasn’t done so already.
Now, let’s look at the characters. Eve, the heroine, I really wanted to say I liked and supported. But actually, I found her a little bit whiny and needy in places. I understood that she was trying to cope with the problems of finding out her real nature, but she just seemed too dependent on Whit (the troll she was sent to find, who eventually becomes her lover). I prefer heroines that aren’t afraid to take control of a situation when needed. Also, I felt that she was dangerously close to being a mary-sue on some occasions. On the same level, I wanted to support Whit as he had gone through a lot of pain since being banished from Olympus – but honestly I just wanted to slap him on occasions and say “Man up!” Or “Troll up!”
Actually, the character I enjoyed the most was Holly, the would-be assassin of the book. She had an interesting back story (being a Titan) and I could actually understand her motivations and needs. She also provided a lot of humour for the piece. In the end I hoped that she would come out ok and that nothing bad happened to her.
Aside from those points, I did like the way Kelly Lee tried to do something different with the Olympus myth and I give props to the way she portrayed the trolls in the book. It was nice to see trolls in a more heroic light (mostly) instead of the monsters that they usually are portrayed as. And, on the whole, I felt that the ending of the book did resolve itself satisfactorily, although (without giving away too many spoilers) it did feel a little “Scooby Doo” in places – and by that I mean I was expecting the villains to say “And I would have got away with it if it wasn’t for you meddling kids...” You know.
Whilst for me, it did have some flaws, the bits that were good did make me want to continue reading to the end and I’m glad I did. I would suggest that the author goes back and reformats the book again as the errors are glaring and need to be addressed. But overall, if you like paranormal romance, I’d give this one a try.
So imagine how our heroine Eve (the protagonist of Murdering Eve feels when she discovers that she may be linked to the Gods of Olympus, then charged with finding a Wind troll that was banished to Earth within a certain time period or else all hell will break loose. Oh, and add to the fact that someone is trying to kill her, I have to be honest – I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes!
One of the first things I noticed about Murdering Eve was the blurb, which described it almost in a pretty dark way – so I was kinda expecting this book to be really dark as well as romantic. On the whole though, it was pretty tame compared to what I was expecting – but that’s not a bad thing at all. Once I got to grips with the book, I did actually find the story pretty decent. Any story with Gods and supernatural entities always tick a lot of boxes in my book (excuse the pun) and so the idea of Eve trying to find a Wind troll to bring back to Olympus was pretty cool. The story is very easy to follow and not as convoluted as some other books. I was able to keep up with the story pretty easily. It also helped that there were only a few characters in the book, so I didn’t have to keep reminding myself who was what – so props for having an easy to follow story.
My first gripe would be that there is maybe a little TOO much exposition in this book. Sometimes, we focus on a character and it then transcends into a flashback, or an explanation into the history of a certain race or magical force. I don’t really have a problem with flashbacks or expositions and realise that they can be important to a story – but too much can really slow the pace down. I honestly think that the author could have just used a few paragraphs in these instances to just give us a general gist rather than going into too much detail. Secondly, chapters tend to repeat themselves occasionally. There is one scene where the heroes get into a fight, and then the next chapter we see the villain and the chapter pretty much explains what happened before. Considering it was just after one chapter, I didn’t feel it was too necessary to go into this detail.
Also, there were quite a few formatting issues with the copy I was given to review. Sometimes, lines would be cut off mid sentence and then started again on a new line, it made the text look broken up and messy. I’d suggest a reformat if the author hasn’t done so already.
Now, let’s look at the characters. Eve, the heroine, I really wanted to say I liked and supported. But actually, I found her a little bit whiny and needy in places. I understood that she was trying to cope with the problems of finding out her real nature, but she just seemed too dependent on Whit (the troll she was sent to find, who eventually becomes her lover). I prefer heroines that aren’t afraid to take control of a situation when needed. Also, I felt that she was dangerously close to being a mary-sue on some occasions. On the same level, I wanted to support Whit as he had gone through a lot of pain since being banished from Olympus – but honestly I just wanted to slap him on occasions and say “Man up!” Or “Troll up!”
Actually, the character I enjoyed the most was Holly, the would-be assassin of the book. She had an interesting back story (being a Titan) and I could actually understand her motivations and needs. She also provided a lot of humour for the piece. In the end I hoped that she would come out ok and that nothing bad happened to her.
Aside from those points, I did like the way Kelly Lee tried to do something different with the Olympus myth and I give props to the way she portrayed the trolls in the book. It was nice to see trolls in a more heroic light (mostly) instead of the monsters that they usually are portrayed as. And, on the whole, I felt that the ending of the book did resolve itself satisfactorily, although (without giving away too many spoilers) it did feel a little “Scooby Doo” in places – and by that I mean I was expecting the villains to say “And I would have got away with it if it wasn’t for you meddling kids...” You know.
Whilst for me, it did have some flaws, the bits that were good did make me want to continue reading to the end and I’m glad I did. I would suggest that the author goes back and reformats the book again as the errors are glaring and need to be addressed. But overall, if you like paranormal romance, I’d give this one a try.
January 25, 2012
Originally posted at: http://www.longandshortreviews.blogsp...
You know you've had a bad day when your car breaks down and leaves you stranded in the middle of nowhere. Or when you've had the worst week at work dealing with coworkers. That's bad, right? At least you weren't a victim of attempted murder and learned information that would change the way you see the world forever. Yeah, that's a tough week. The heroine in Murdering Eve has gone through hell and back, and it isn't even over yet.
A country song came to my mind while reading this story, one that talks about finding who your friends are when a string of bad luck occurs. Just when I thought things would get better for this heroine, a new surprising element popped up and the chaos began again. Eve is one tough cookie, though even if she'd prefer to live in the state of denial, and chalk it up to a wickedly crazy dream.
Eve is matched with a man that defied an order for the greater good and is paying his price. He's a man with no regrets. Whit Blackstone is a strong willed man who listens to his gut and heart. Where does that get him? Sent to earth to live among the humans. Now that Eve has discovered some truths that might have been better left untold, he has found a purpose in what was supposed to be his punishment.
This book puts an exciting new twist to the contemporary fantasy world. The characters drew my attention in, along with the fast pacing of the plot. There's plenty of action and suspense to go around as well. Eve and Whit make for a great leading couple, and the cast of characters, good and bad, kept me intrigued the whole way. Ms. Lee is an author to watch! In this thrilling and enchanting beginning to what looks like a new series, readers have a chance to fall in love with a world unlike ours, one with a simple good vs evil plot, but the elements that make up this storyline takes a fresh unique spin.
I look forward to more books from the author. If you enjoy a contemporary fantasy novel that explores a new take on mythology and characters that fly off the pages then don't miss Murdering Eve.
You know you've had a bad day when your car breaks down and leaves you stranded in the middle of nowhere. Or when you've had the worst week at work dealing with coworkers. That's bad, right? At least you weren't a victim of attempted murder and learned information that would change the way you see the world forever. Yeah, that's a tough week. The heroine in Murdering Eve has gone through hell and back, and it isn't even over yet.
A country song came to my mind while reading this story, one that talks about finding who your friends are when a string of bad luck occurs. Just when I thought things would get better for this heroine, a new surprising element popped up and the chaos began again. Eve is one tough cookie, though even if she'd prefer to live in the state of denial, and chalk it up to a wickedly crazy dream.
Eve is matched with a man that defied an order for the greater good and is paying his price. He's a man with no regrets. Whit Blackstone is a strong willed man who listens to his gut and heart. Where does that get him? Sent to earth to live among the humans. Now that Eve has discovered some truths that might have been better left untold, he has found a purpose in what was supposed to be his punishment.
This book puts an exciting new twist to the contemporary fantasy world. The characters drew my attention in, along with the fast pacing of the plot. There's plenty of action and suspense to go around as well. Eve and Whit make for a great leading couple, and the cast of characters, good and bad, kept me intrigued the whole way. Ms. Lee is an author to watch! In this thrilling and enchanting beginning to what looks like a new series, readers have a chance to fall in love with a world unlike ours, one with a simple good vs evil plot, but the elements that make up this storyline takes a fresh unique spin.
I look forward to more books from the author. If you enjoy a contemporary fantasy novel that explores a new take on mythology and characters that fly off the pages then don't miss Murdering Eve.
February 11, 2012
Eve Moore is having a bad week, first witnessing her husbands murder by his newest girlfriend, then being transported to Olympus where she learns she may not be human after all, but the product of a love affair between her hippy new-age mother andd a god. All Eve wants is for things to go back to normal, unfortunately to do that she has to find Whit Blackstone a troll who has been banished to the Earth for disobedience in the next two weeks and bring him back to Olympus. But Eve has enemies she doesn't know about and one has set an assassin on her trail determined to kill her.
This was an entertaining read, I like books that somehow involve the Greek gods and goddesses as I always find it interesting to see how they are potrayed. But although it did involve the Pantheon, most of this book was set in the Earth realm, with Eve and Whit.
Although I did like this book, Eve and Whit were amiable characters and I loved that she Kelly Lee changed our preconceived notions of Trolls from ugly generally disgusting and primitive creatures to the sexy manliness that was Whit, I found this book was quite slow. It took a while for it to get started and when it did, I didn't feel any tension in the plot line or feel any sense of danger for Eve and Whit even though they were being pursued by a murderous Titan. It was also one of those books where everything seems to happen all at once at the end, in one big confrontation with the big daddy of all the gods Zeus.
But although there didn't seem to be any tension and urgency in the plot, I did like the chemistry and sexual tension between Whit and Eve, I thought they were a good couple, the sex was smoking hot and they were also really cute together.
This was a good read, although not spectacular, I did like the couple.
This was an entertaining read, I like books that somehow involve the Greek gods and goddesses as I always find it interesting to see how they are potrayed. But although it did involve the Pantheon, most of this book was set in the Earth realm, with Eve and Whit.
Although I did like this book, Eve and Whit were amiable characters and I loved that she Kelly Lee changed our preconceived notions of Trolls from ugly generally disgusting and primitive creatures to the sexy manliness that was Whit, I found this book was quite slow. It took a while for it to get started and when it did, I didn't feel any tension in the plot line or feel any sense of danger for Eve and Whit even though they were being pursued by a murderous Titan. It was also one of those books where everything seems to happen all at once at the end, in one big confrontation with the big daddy of all the gods Zeus.
But although there didn't seem to be any tension and urgency in the plot, I did like the chemistry and sexual tension between Whit and Eve, I thought they were a good couple, the sex was smoking hot and they were also really cute together.
This was a good read, although not spectacular, I did like the couple.
September 3, 2012
I love Greek Mythology and this did not disappoint. The book kept me on the edge of my seat and was extremely well written. I liked all of the characters. My favorite was Athena. The Goddess of War, though not a main character, did not disappoint. Eve was being pulled in numerous directions at once and still pulled it together at the end. Whit was a alpha troll whom I loved from the beginning. The story flowed and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes mythology/fantasy. I can't wait for the next book.
January 8, 2013
Excellent book.
May 1, 2021
What a cool twist on Greek Mythology! I thoroughly enjoyed Eve's journey. I even enjoyed Holly, the assassin - morally questionable as she is as well. It's fun to get multiple POVs in a romance. And the troll!!! Hotty with a soft center. This one is introspection heavy which isn't my thing normally but the plot kept moving and all the characters were so interesting. Definitely spicy hot on the heat level and a satisfying ending. Actually, the ending was my favorite part and the such a satisfying resolution.
January 6, 2013
Murdering Eve, A Four Realms Series, volume 1 by Kelly L. Lee
The most important thing for me when I read a book is to be entertained. If it doesn't captivate me, I tend to lose interest and have to struggle to finish. This was not the case with Murdering Eve. The first novel in Lee's Four Realms series did not disappoint. The characters were alive and rich with detail and emotions. The story started fast and continued to build throughout. Kelly Lee blends the mythology of Olympus gods with the fantasy world of trolls and Faeries, and gives it a modern twist.
The main character, Eve, is sent on a mission for Ares, a god from Olympus. She must hunt down a troll in the earth realm. This is all new to Eve, who has always lived on earth believing she was human. In the course of her exploits, she battles for her life and finds an insatiable love. During her adventure, she finds out who she really is. The story is descriptive and rich in imagery. The tension between would be lovers escalates to a climactic finish as does the story.
I highly recommend "Murdering Eve" for those readers who like passion filled stories, suspense, and fantasy. I'm looking forward to reading her second installment to the Four Realms series.
The most important thing for me when I read a book is to be entertained. If it doesn't captivate me, I tend to lose interest and have to struggle to finish. This was not the case with Murdering Eve. The first novel in Lee's Four Realms series did not disappoint. The characters were alive and rich with detail and emotions. The story started fast and continued to build throughout. Kelly Lee blends the mythology of Olympus gods with the fantasy world of trolls and Faeries, and gives it a modern twist.
The main character, Eve, is sent on a mission for Ares, a god from Olympus. She must hunt down a troll in the earth realm. This is all new to Eve, who has always lived on earth believing she was human. In the course of her exploits, she battles for her life and finds an insatiable love. During her adventure, she finds out who she really is. The story is descriptive and rich in imagery. The tension between would be lovers escalates to a climactic finish as does the story.
I highly recommend "Murdering Eve" for those readers who like passion filled stories, suspense, and fantasy. I'm looking forward to reading her second installment to the Four Realms series.
March 29, 2012
Super hot, fast, and fun. The action started with page one and didn't stop until the end. I felt for Eve and her struggle to become 'herself', handle her quest, and her fate. She was very 'real', very likable. With snappy dialogue, hot and heavy scenes of intimacy, and intense fight seuqences - Murdering Eve was a quick, yet gripping read.
September 19, 2012
I absolutely adored this book. It was a fast read for me & when l was able to sit & read I couldn't put it down. I loved it so much! I loved the characters & it was funny & endearing. The steamy scenes were hot hot hot!!!! I am sooooo excited for the next one! Excellent debut! Kelly is a fantastic author!
October 15, 2020
This really is a great book, Eve finds her husband has been murdered. She’s fighting against Greek Gods, she’s friends with fairies and trolls!
It is a great read.
It is a great read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews