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Of Ambrosia and Stone: Pandora's Curse
Spicy. New Adult. Romantasy. Greek Mythology Retelling. Perfect for adults who grew up on Percy Jackson.
BOOK OVERVIEWA curse is a heavy burden.
For the past ninety seven years, Apollo crosses the veil and abducts maidens from the mortal realm every solstice.
No one is safe.
Whoever Apollo wants; he gets.
With a curse as evident as hers, Pandora believed she was as close to safe as anyone could be. To most of her world, she is a jinx. A reminder of the old ways and the ancient immortals who treated humans like pawns in their war games.
But now, the gods need her help to break a curse which is turning their kingdom to dusty stone and forgotten myths.
When Apollo drags Pandora to his court, she’s thrust into a world of mysteries, politics, and lies.
Love was not on her agenda.
Especially not from the gods who took everything from her.
Now Pandora must join the Olympians and fight against the dark forces infiltrating the land before her new life crumbles around her.
Will Pandora survive?
And at what cost?
BOOK OVERVIEWA curse is a heavy burden.
For the past ninety seven years, Apollo crosses the veil and abducts maidens from the mortal realm every solstice.
No one is safe.
Whoever Apollo wants; he gets.
With a curse as evident as hers, Pandora believed she was as close to safe as anyone could be. To most of her world, she is a jinx. A reminder of the old ways and the ancient immortals who treated humans like pawns in their war games.
But now, the gods need her help to break a curse which is turning their kingdom to dusty stone and forgotten myths.
When Apollo drags Pandora to his court, she’s thrust into a world of mysteries, politics, and lies.
Love was not on her agenda.
Especially not from the gods who took everything from her.
Now Pandora must join the Olympians and fight against the dark forces infiltrating the land before her new life crumbles around her.
Will Pandora survive?
And at what cost?
396 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 25, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 31, 2025
I did enjoy the Greek mythology aspect but this book has A LOT of grammatical errors. I do like the more unique storyline however the ending does feel rushed and I wish there was more of a relationship development/dialogue for the romance in this book.
February 26, 2024
Of Ambrosia and Stone follows Pandora, or Pandy, as she protects her family and finds solace in the garden while testing her limits in the forest. She is then abducted by Apollo in order to save their land and gods from a plague that turns them into stone.
While the plot line is interesting, my 2 star rating comes from the grammatical errors throughout the book. The syntax is repetitive while the participial phrases don’t correlate with the rest of the sentence. There are missing punctuation marks, words not capitalized when they need to be, contracting/varying verb tenses, and incomplete sentences.
There are sections and descriptions in this book that are detailed and beautifully done. The romance doesn’t happen for quite a few chapters. Pandy and Apollo’s romance seemed forced and rushed, but I did enjoy the two together once they reached that point. I found they were cold to one another and they only got together after she saved him. We saw Pandy think of him romantically a few times, but they didn’t have a lot of dialogue together. When they did speak, they didn’t click or have the fun banter of rivals(?)/lovers.
The ending did get me by surprise with who turned out to be bad guy, but Pandora finding out she is Persephone and the readers learning who Ari is was slightly confusing. It felt like it all happened in 10%. We had this build up to something big and someone evil trying to destroy Apollo, for it to fly by at the very end.
All in all, I rated the book two stars because of the lack of editing and a rushed relationship/ending.
I received an advanced copy of this book and am posting this review voluntarily.
While the plot line is interesting, my 2 star rating comes from the grammatical errors throughout the book. The syntax is repetitive while the participial phrases don’t correlate with the rest of the sentence. There are missing punctuation marks, words not capitalized when they need to be, contracting/varying verb tenses, and incomplete sentences.
There are sections and descriptions in this book that are detailed and beautifully done. The romance doesn’t happen for quite a few chapters. Pandy and Apollo’s romance seemed forced and rushed, but I did enjoy the two together once they reached that point. I found they were cold to one another and they only got together after she saved him. We saw Pandy think of him romantically a few times, but they didn’t have a lot of dialogue together. When they did speak, they didn’t click or have the fun banter of rivals(?)/lovers.
The ending did get me by surprise with who turned out to be bad guy, but Pandora finding out she is Persephone and the readers learning who Ari is was slightly confusing. It felt like it all happened in 10%. We had this build up to something big and someone evil trying to destroy Apollo, for it to fly by at the very end.
All in all, I rated the book two stars because of the lack of editing and a rushed relationship/ending.
I received an advanced copy of this book and am posting this review voluntarily.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 18, 2024
Of Ambrosia and Stone by Bella Taylor is a romance based off Greek mythology, however, I would say the romance is not the central theme of the story until the second half. This book is well-written and I did enjoy the characters for the most part. The plot itself was interesting and I finished this book in a day because I was interested to see what was going to happen next.
This story follows a girl named Pandora who lives with her father in a small town that fears the Greek gods and goddesses. Through a series of events, Pandora ends up working with the sun-god, Apollo, to attempt to cure a disease that is sweeping through his kingdom. I had a lot of questions throughout the course of the book, and they definitely were not all answered, but this is said to be the beginning book in a series, so that makes sense.
The character of Pandora is a pretty good protagonist. I did find her annoying at times because she would make silly choices without thinking things through occasionally, and I also could not figure out how old she was supposed to be as sometimes she would do things that a child or teenager would do and sometimes she acted like an adult. But she was a pretty strong female character and she did have a character arc, which is good. Apollo fluctuated between being a great love interest, and being a terrible character. Some of his choices just seemed power hungry and I wasn’t sure about him. Their relationship also just didn’t always seem genuine, there wasn’t much buildup. As for background characters, I loved the character of Artemis and found her to be a compelling and well-written background character. Additionally, Pandora has an imaginary friend that I didn’t find to be a completely necessary character and I found her annoying at times. But, the characterization of all the characters was pretty well done.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and would give it 3.25/5 stars. I found it enjoyable and the plot flowed at a good pace. It was well-written and I would be interested in seeing where the other books in the series go. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books based of Greek mythology because I really enjoyed that aspect of this book and felt it was really well done.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This story follows a girl named Pandora who lives with her father in a small town that fears the Greek gods and goddesses. Through a series of events, Pandora ends up working with the sun-god, Apollo, to attempt to cure a disease that is sweeping through his kingdom. I had a lot of questions throughout the course of the book, and they definitely were not all answered, but this is said to be the beginning book in a series, so that makes sense.
The character of Pandora is a pretty good protagonist. I did find her annoying at times because she would make silly choices without thinking things through occasionally, and I also could not figure out how old she was supposed to be as sometimes she would do things that a child or teenager would do and sometimes she acted like an adult. But she was a pretty strong female character and she did have a character arc, which is good. Apollo fluctuated between being a great love interest, and being a terrible character. Some of his choices just seemed power hungry and I wasn’t sure about him. Their relationship also just didn’t always seem genuine, there wasn’t much buildup. As for background characters, I loved the character of Artemis and found her to be a compelling and well-written background character. Additionally, Pandora has an imaginary friend that I didn’t find to be a completely necessary character and I found her annoying at times. But, the characterization of all the characters was pretty well done.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and would give it 3.25/5 stars. I found it enjoyable and the plot flowed at a good pace. It was well-written and I would be interested in seeing where the other books in the series go. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books based of Greek mythology because I really enjoyed that aspect of this book and felt it was really well done.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 26, 2026
I am unsure if the final copy of this story was ever updated or rewritten but my review is based off the copy that was given to arc readers in 2024. Because....yes I am just that late on my own arc copy. 😭
But despite my terrible arc reader capabilities, here is my review.
I am always wary when it comes to mythology rewrites. But I am pleased to see that this had its own twist. The Gods using magic turn to marble. I like that plot point. I didnt have issues with the characters. I feel they were well done. I adored Chiron. I feel he was the best executed. But that being said there are a few things I wish were done differently. Which quite a few other reviews said the same thing.
The imaginary character that the main female character sees I feel could have been left out. She doesn't contribute much other than for the main character to get confirmation and for the ending to be a significant twist.
I also feel like the romance of it starts abruptly about 50% in. I don't look for romance in the stories but when you go from being untrusting , angry, etc in that person to all of a sudden all for them, uncontrollable urges, etc it doesn't exactly add up. It kinda seemed like it was an idea change and thrown in.
The last thing I noticed was the ending seemed rushed pace wise. I loved it but compared to the rest of the book it kinda throws you off guard. We also I feel dont truly get to see how she can help the gods curse of turning to marble. Its touched on in the beginning but never truly followed up on. But this is also only book 1. Perhaps when book 2 happens it might more?
But I really cant say this is one people shouldn't read. I enjoyed it but I know had an editor been involved and a team of some sort I think it could have been phenomenal. Give it a shot.
Thank you to booksirens and the author for this gift to read early even though its 2 years later!
But despite my terrible arc reader capabilities, here is my review.
I am always wary when it comes to mythology rewrites. But I am pleased to see that this had its own twist. The Gods using magic turn to marble. I like that plot point. I didnt have issues with the characters. I feel they were well done. I adored Chiron. I feel he was the best executed. But that being said there are a few things I wish were done differently. Which quite a few other reviews said the same thing.
The imaginary character that the main female character sees I feel could have been left out. She doesn't contribute much other than for the main character to get confirmation and for the ending to be a significant twist.
I also feel like the romance of it starts abruptly about 50% in. I don't look for romance in the stories but when you go from being untrusting , angry, etc in that person to all of a sudden all for them, uncontrollable urges, etc it doesn't exactly add up. It kinda seemed like it was an idea change and thrown in.
The last thing I noticed was the ending seemed rushed pace wise. I loved it but compared to the rest of the book it kinda throws you off guard. We also I feel dont truly get to see how she can help the gods curse of turning to marble. Its touched on in the beginning but never truly followed up on. But this is also only book 1. Perhaps when book 2 happens it might more?
But I really cant say this is one people shouldn't read. I enjoyed it but I know had an editor been involved and a team of some sort I think it could have been phenomenal. Give it a shot.
Thank you to booksirens and the author for this gift to read early even though its 2 years later!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2024
I really wanted to like this book, the summary seemed like it would satisfy the middle schooler in me who was obsessed with Percy Jackson. The potential for a good story is there, but I have some grievances.
The romance between Apollo and Pandora feels so rushed. I can’t even decide if this was supposed to be enemies to lovers because they both alternated between being incredibly rude to each other and being full of infatuation. At times, it seemed like a Beauty and the Beast retelling but it was missing the build up of chemistry. Even when Pandora was trying to save Apollo he acted a complete ass in front of everyone.
There is no variation of sentence structure in this book causing the story to drag. The syntax is broken in so many sentences. There are massive amounts of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors, each one causing a little glitch in the flow causing you to reset. It got to the point that I was skimming pages at a time so that I could avoid this.
The cliff hanger ending was frustrating to say the least. I understand the author is setting us up for the second book, but after the forced romance AND ending I felt like I was due for more answers.
The romance between Apollo and Pandora feels so rushed. I can’t even decide if this was supposed to be enemies to lovers because they both alternated between being incredibly rude to each other and being full of infatuation. At times, it seemed like a Beauty and the Beast retelling but it was missing the build up of chemistry. Even when Pandora was trying to save Apollo he acted a complete ass in front of everyone.
There is no variation of sentence structure in this book causing the story to drag. The syntax is broken in so many sentences. There are massive amounts of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors, each one causing a little glitch in the flow causing you to reset. It got to the point that I was skimming pages at a time so that I could avoid this.
The cliff hanger ending was frustrating to say the least. I understand the author is setting us up for the second book, but after the forced romance AND ending I felt like I was due for more answers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2024
I wish I could give this more than five stars. I’m kicking myself for letting it sit on my shelf for a month before reading it. I didn’t realize this wasn’t a novella until pretty much the end of the book and I’m so glad there will be more. Absolutely loved Pandy, which is the cutest nickname. I hope the next book has a lot more to do with Artemis I absolutely loved her especially in the last like 50 pages. Everything made so much sense all at once. Can’t wait for what comes with the next book.
April 25, 2024
I rounded up, I would rate this book 3.5 stars. I will admit I was unsure of this book because it is not something I would typically read. While I love romance books, fantasy is not usually my go-to. However, I found myself very invested in this book. It gave me Beauty and the Beast vibes and I was hooked on Pandy's destiny.
A great first book by Bella Taylor, I would 100% read a sequel to hear more of the story! There are still some questions left unanswered that I would love to know!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A great first book by Bella Taylor, I would 100% read a sequel to hear more of the story! There are still some questions left unanswered that I would love to know!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 6, 2024
I love "Of Ambrosia and Stone" Taylor's simple yet evocative storytelling keeps you hooked till the very end, making this a delightful read for those who enjoy a touch of enchantment in their everyday lives. I love how the story has a nice blend of mythology and fantasy. I can not wait to read the next book!
May 30, 2024
I thought Pandy was really interesting, I felt like I could connect with her on many different levels! I've always been a fan of Greek Mythology, so to read a new telling of it made me really happy, it actually reminded me of the Lost Goddess books that was a HadexPersphone storyline but overall if you like the gods/goddesses of old-- you'll like this book!
August 25, 2024
👍 This was a very original take on a Greek myology story. I think the world building was interesting and I’m curious do see how the story is fleshed out in book two.
👎 Had to rate this lower as it could have benefited from editing. There were typos and grammatical errors. The relationship between our two MCs didn’t feel organic either.
👎 Had to rate this lower as it could have benefited from editing. There were typos and grammatical errors. The relationship between our two MCs didn’t feel organic either.
June 21, 2024
Great story!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews