What do you think?
Rate this book
Surprise Goddess Mystery #5
Return Like a Goddess: A Paranormal Cozy Mystery
It’s a tale as old as time, finding that a goddess can change.
Evangeline Lewis walked away from life as a goddess, but that doesn’t mean her powers are gone. Far from it. Her life on the road has been filled with chaos, adventure, and every bit of freedom she didn’t have in Surprise. She’s perfectly content, or so she tells herself. Until she finds out that someone is abducting those who can’t protect themselves.
Suddenly, the life she left behind is standing in front of her, and Eva doesn’t have a choice but to return. Her investigation brings back those she abandoned, and the mistakes she made by leaving. Faced with her past, the future, and everything in between has never been more difficult. A world she’s never seen, and monsters she didn’t know existed stand in her way.
While Olympus is still reeling from her return, an invisible monster is creating terror in Surprise. Eva must find her place in a world where she no longer belongs, rescue those who have been taken, and somehow manage not to fall apart.
Evangeline Lewis walked away from life as a goddess, but that doesn’t mean her powers are gone. Far from it. Her life on the road has been filled with chaos, adventure, and every bit of freedom she didn’t have in Surprise. She’s perfectly content, or so she tells herself. Until she finds out that someone is abducting those who can’t protect themselves.
Suddenly, the life she left behind is standing in front of her, and Eva doesn’t have a choice but to return. Her investigation brings back those she abandoned, and the mistakes she made by leaving. Faced with her past, the future, and everything in between has never been more difficult. A world she’s never seen, and monsters she didn’t know existed stand in her way.
While Olympus is still reeling from her return, an invisible monster is creating terror in Surprise. Eva must find her place in a world where she no longer belongs, rescue those who have been taken, and somehow manage not to fall apart.
262 pages, Paperback
Published June 12, 2023
44 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
April Canavan
63 books2,037 followersUSA Today Bestselling author by day and superhero by night... Seriously, though. I write Contemporary Romance that will tear my readers apart and put them back together again.
As long I have coffee, I legit think I can conquer the world.
Find all my social media here:
geni.us/StalkApril
As long I have coffee, I legit think I can conquer the world.
Find all my social media here:
geni.us/StalkApril
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Read
July 28, 2020Return Like a Goddess
Surprise Goddess Cozy Mystery Series
Book 6
ongoing series
Purchase Link: geni.us/ReturnU
Surprise Goddess Cozy Mystery Series
Book 6
ongoing series
Purchase Link: geni.us/ReturnU
April 18, 2020
Good But...
I'm going to be honest, it seriously bothers me that in her Eva incarnation with brown curly hair Eva sees herself as no more than pretty but when she's sees her platinum blonde Asteria incarnation she refers to herself as beautiful. That's not right because throughout the series I've tried to ignore it but it's pretty much always the blondes she refers to as beautiful.
Also it bothered me that everyone treated her like a criminal for needing time to heal after a serious trauma. That's messed up. And the fact that she blamed Kai, and then feels guilty for it, why doesn't she ever ask him why Sean couldn't be mind controlled but he could. That's a question he needs to be asked and needs to answer.
Also I'm a little confused as to if she has all her memories or only a few. I mean the story is interesting but I feel like Eva is being mistreated and absolutely no one who claims to be her friend is taking the time to actually see and understand her side of things.
I'm going to be honest, it seriously bothers me that in her Eva incarnation with brown curly hair Eva sees herself as no more than pretty but when she's sees her platinum blonde Asteria incarnation she refers to herself as beautiful. That's not right because throughout the series I've tried to ignore it but it's pretty much always the blondes she refers to as beautiful.
Also it bothered me that everyone treated her like a criminal for needing time to heal after a serious trauma. That's messed up. And the fact that she blamed Kai, and then feels guilty for it, why doesn't she ever ask him why Sean couldn't be mind controlled but he could. That's a question he needs to be asked and needs to answer.
Also I'm a little confused as to if she has all her memories or only a few. I mean the story is interesting but I feel like Eva is being mistreated and absolutely no one who claims to be her friend is taking the time to actually see and understand her side of things.
June 17, 2025
Coming into power
It was great to see Eva finally gaining control of her powers, gaining memories, and gaining back her confidence. The first half of this book was a bit jumbled for me, but by halfway through I was hooked and on board with the events. There were some new friends, time at the library (yay!), Hades and Persephone pranks, and Kai. This is such a fun and quirky series, and it never fails to surprise and entertain!
It was great to see Eva finally gaining control of her powers, gaining memories, and gaining back her confidence. The first half of this book was a bit jumbled for me, but by halfway through I was hooked and on board with the events. There were some new friends, time at the library (yay!), Hades and Persephone pranks, and Kai. This is such a fun and quirky series, and it never fails to surprise and entertain!
October 20, 2021
A Titianess
Eva's life is never boring. After being on trial, Eva tries to leave Surprise for good. However she cannot abandon her friends when the children go missing. Now Eva needs to work with the gods that put her on trial- all to save the children.
Eva's life is never boring. After being on trial, Eva tries to leave Surprise for good. However she cannot abandon her friends when the children go missing. Now Eva needs to work with the gods that put her on trial- all to save the children.
September 17, 2025
Interesting book
The plot lines are well thought out and very entertaining. Eve coming into herself is important and her interactions with others engaging.
The plot lines are well thought out and very entertaining. Eve coming into herself is important and her interactions with others engaging.
February 18, 2020
So good
I can't wait to see how they stopped the next evil waiting to overthrow Olympus I really hope Darwin is going to be okay and that nothing happens to him I do not think Evangeline could stand anything to happen to her tortoise
I can't wait to see how they stopped the next evil waiting to overthrow Olympus I really hope Darwin is going to be okay and that nothing happens to him I do not think Evangeline could stand anything to happen to her tortoise
January 14, 2020
Still enjoyable
Yes I would still recommend this book and the entire series to my friends! However, I would have to recommend that this particular book, especially, be gone over by a serious editor as there are several continuity errors! The most glaringly obvious of these happened when Ataro had no idea what Eva was talking about when she said that she saw something happen in a vision (Ataro even went so far as to tell Eva that it was impossible) despite having not only discussed seeing this kind of thing earlier in the book but Ataro and Leo even provided proof of why they believed her! I realize that I'm not being VERY specific there but I don't want to give away ANY spoilers! That's why I've been intentionally keeping ALL of my reviews about these books so short...that, AND because I am just so excited to dig right in to the next one! If the author reads this review, the other thing that you/your editor should be on the lookout for are more typographical errors that slipped through. For example, there are several instances where a sentence ends and the next starts with no space between the period and the next letter which, obviously, prevented the next sentence from being capitalized. I'm the last person to judge grammar and/or punctuation and the only way that those change my ratings is when they make a book completely indecipherable! That is NOT the case in this book! Not for me, anyway! I'm only making note of these errors so the author knows they happened. The last thing I wanted to note was along the same lines as the one I just mentioned except that the next sentence was supposed to start with the word "The" a couple of times. If I had to guess...I would say that this only happened because these are extremely addictive to read and she may have had fans breathing down her inbox for the next book! LOL! The main character loves to watch the show "Supernatural" & I just can't help wishing that this was a weekly show too!
Yes I would still recommend this book and the entire series to my friends! However, I would have to recommend that this particular book, especially, be gone over by a serious editor as there are several continuity errors! The most glaringly obvious of these happened when Ataro had no idea what Eva was talking about when she said that she saw something happen in a vision (Ataro even went so far as to tell Eva that it was impossible) despite having not only discussed seeing this kind of thing earlier in the book but Ataro and Leo even provided proof of why they believed her! I realize that I'm not being VERY specific there but I don't want to give away ANY spoilers! That's why I've been intentionally keeping ALL of my reviews about these books so short...that, AND because I am just so excited to dig right in to the next one! If the author reads this review, the other thing that you/your editor should be on the lookout for are more typographical errors that slipped through. For example, there are several instances where a sentence ends and the next starts with no space between the period and the next letter which, obviously, prevented the next sentence from being capitalized. I'm the last person to judge grammar and/or punctuation and the only way that those change my ratings is when they make a book completely indecipherable! That is NOT the case in this book! Not for me, anyway! I'm only making note of these errors so the author knows they happened. The last thing I wanted to note was along the same lines as the one I just mentioned except that the next sentence was supposed to start with the word "The" a couple of times. If I had to guess...I would say that this only happened because these are extremely addictive to read and she may have had fans breathing down her inbox for the next book! LOL! The main character loves to watch the show "Supernatural" & I just can't help wishing that this was a weekly show too!
January 28, 2020
April never disappoint!
A new installment to Eva’s story - she’s back in Surprise and someone is kidnapping the children of the gods. Another exciting mystery where Eva races against time to save the children of the gods.
A new installment to Eva’s story - she’s back in Surprise and someone is kidnapping the children of the gods. Another exciting mystery where Eva races against time to save the children of the gods.
November 21, 2019
"It's the children." - Eris
Evangeline had left Surprise; needing a chance to heal her emotional wounds, to catch her breath; to just BE. The betrayals had cut deep, and the fact that the man she loved had tried to kill her? Well, that was the crap icing on her towering crap cake.
"I learned a long time ago that there's nothing I can do to make these people like me. I didn't grow up with them, and they're not important in the long run. Only what I think is important."- Eva
Six months had passed; six months of lounging in the beach, soaking up the sun; just her and her uncle Deston. But now... Now Eris had found her.... Her visions had found her... It was time to discover just what lay in store for her... In Surprise...
"It's the truth. You belong in Surprise, Evangeline Lewis. You always have. I just had to wait for you to come to terms with that fact." - Deston
Eve finds herself caught up in a mystery... A mystery she must unravel... All while figuring out what she really wanted from her life... Who she was, what she could do... And with whom. Did she really WANT to help the gods, the very same beings that had rejected her before? But... Did she really have a choice?
Action packed with twists and turns and an ending that you don't see coming!
Evangeline had left Surprise; needing a chance to heal her emotional wounds, to catch her breath; to just BE. The betrayals had cut deep, and the fact that the man she loved had tried to kill her? Well, that was the crap icing on her towering crap cake.
"I learned a long time ago that there's nothing I can do to make these people like me. I didn't grow up with them, and they're not important in the long run. Only what I think is important."- Eva
Six months had passed; six months of lounging in the beach, soaking up the sun; just her and her uncle Deston. But now... Now Eris had found her.... Her visions had found her... It was time to discover just what lay in store for her... In Surprise...
"It's the truth. You belong in Surprise, Evangeline Lewis. You always have. I just had to wait for you to come to terms with that fact." - Deston
Eve finds herself caught up in a mystery... A mystery she must unravel... All while figuring out what she really wanted from her life... Who she was, what she could do... And with whom. Did she really WANT to help the gods, the very same beings that had rejected her before? But... Did she really have a choice?
Action packed with twists and turns and an ending that you don't see coming!
November 22, 2019
When the goddess Hecate shows up and informs you, “There’s something weird going on in Surprise.” You know things are about to go sideways. No sooner does Hecate leave, then Eris shows up to tell her the same thing. One goddess Eva could possibly ignore, but not two. And even though Eva had sworn off the gods, and Olympus, you know she’s going back to try to fix it. I mean, that’s what they originally hired her to do. Before she knew she was a goddess, long before she discovered she’s actually a Titan.
When she returns, she discovers that someone or something has been kidnapping the children of some of the gods, including Ataro and Leo’s baby, Nora. Immediately, Eva knows that she’ll be solving this case and getting back the missing children. With the help of some new to the series goddesses, and her current friends, Eva sets out to figure out just who is kidnapping the children, and why.
Just like the first four books in this series, Return Like a Goddess keeps you glued to the pages until the very end. The characters run the gamut, from jerks to loving mothers, the writing is at times hysterical (Hades in a pink tutu and tiara anyone?) to downright suspenseful (Campe is free from Tartarus). I can’t wait to see what happens next with both the characters, and the storyline.
When she returns, she discovers that someone or something has been kidnapping the children of some of the gods, including Ataro and Leo’s baby, Nora. Immediately, Eva knows that she’ll be solving this case and getting back the missing children. With the help of some new to the series goddesses, and her current friends, Eva sets out to figure out just who is kidnapping the children, and why.
Just like the first four books in this series, Return Like a Goddess keeps you glued to the pages until the very end. The characters run the gamut, from jerks to loving mothers, the writing is at times hysterical (Hades in a pink tutu and tiara anyone?) to downright suspenseful (Campe is free from Tartarus). I can’t wait to see what happens next with both the characters, and the storyline.
November 23, 2019
Let your inner light shine
Another great read. She's left Surprise with Chaos. Now six months down the line she's got her full powers but it has done nothing to chase away the nightmares or visions as she calls them. One however stands out to her. A young boy being taken from his bed by an invisible kidnapper. Then she is tracked down and told that children are being kidnapped and that her BFF's six month baby is one of the stolen children. She has to return to help find them. Can she piece together who has taken them and why? Can she get over the feeling of betrayal she has against Kai? Is there a significance as to whose children have been taken? What does her birthday have to do with anything?
A great read that plays with mythology plus all the heightened emotions that the gods (and goddesses) display. Hope the next one is due out soon.
Another great read. She's left Surprise with Chaos. Now six months down the line she's got her full powers but it has done nothing to chase away the nightmares or visions as she calls them. One however stands out to her. A young boy being taken from his bed by an invisible kidnapper. Then she is tracked down and told that children are being kidnapped and that her BFF's six month baby is one of the stolen children. She has to return to help find them. Can she piece together who has taken them and why? Can she get over the feeling of betrayal she has against Kai? Is there a significance as to whose children have been taken? What does her birthday have to do with anything?
A great read that plays with mythology plus all the heightened emotions that the gods (and goddesses) display. Hope the next one is due out soon.
November 24, 2019
Titans and God’s unite! ⭐️👌🙌🏻
Finally some much needed answers!!! woohoo! Ive been waiting for Eva to remember her past.. any memory and finally she does! Its amazing 😉 She rocks and she truly is the light. Eva returns to her city after a much needed break from the last events from the book 😢. Her friends need her help yet again! She’s now able to use and control her powers more accurately thanks to the annoying but sexy Deston! Love this series so much! Evan has a squad of Gods backing her up and must work together to bring down the monsters! Im also happy Eva decided to try again with certain wind god 💋😘 I read this with my kindle unlimited!
Finally some much needed answers!!! woohoo! Ive been waiting for Eva to remember her past.. any memory and finally she does! Its amazing 😉 She rocks and she truly is the light. Eva returns to her city after a much needed break from the last events from the book 😢. Her friends need her help yet again! She’s now able to use and control her powers more accurately thanks to the annoying but sexy Deston! Love this series so much! Evan has a squad of Gods backing her up and must work together to bring down the monsters! Im also happy Eva decided to try again with certain wind god 💋😘 I read this with my kindle unlimited!
November 25, 2019
OMG!
Really? I don't want to give away any spoilers, but my heart was just breaking once the gaps were filled in. And who she is...oh my! My Greek mythology memory muscle was definitely getting a work out. So much more to come and I can't wait.
Really? I don't want to give away any spoilers, but my heart was just breaking once the gaps were filled in. And who she is...oh my! My Greek mythology memory muscle was definitely getting a work out. So much more to come and I can't wait.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews