Goddess of Love

Goddess Summoning #5

by P.C. Cast

The story of the mythical Venus who comes to life to help a nerdy woman find her inner goddess.

Pea Chamberlain needs a makeover-shoes, hair, clothes, make-up-if she wants to attract an übersexy fireman. And who could better coax Pea out of her pod than the Goddess of Love, whom she invokes in a moment of desperation?

Venus works her magic on Pea, but who will help her when she falls for that same sexy fireman? Could Venus need a love makeover for herself? Check out the five-alarm heat when the Goddess of Love unexpectedly loses her heart.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Mythology, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Fiction, Magic

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2007

About the author

PC was born in the Midwest, and grew up being shuttled back-and-forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell in love with Quarter Horses and mythology (at about the same time). After high school, she joined the United States Air Force and began public speaking and writing. After her tour in the USAF, she taught high school for 15 years before retiring to write full time. PC is a #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today Best-Selling author and a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious: Oklahoma Book Award, YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Prism, Holt Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, Booksellers’ Best, and the Laurel Wreath. PC is an experienced teacher and talented speaker. Ms. Cast lives in Oregon near her fabulous daughter, her adorable pack of dogs, her crazy Maine Coon, and a bunch of horses. House of Night Other World, book 4, FOUND, releases July 7th, 2020. More info to come soon about the HoN TV series!

Reviews

[Liliana Sousa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This series is my favorite from P. C. Cast but this "Goddess of Love" was such a deception!

The book was so poor that I'm really here trying to know what to say about it and nothing seems to pop up...

I know that this is just a story and all but... what was P. C. Cast thinking to put the main character farting in a restaurant (yes "fart" is not a typing error) and expect us to believe that Vulcan (God of Fire) sees it and likes the girl!!!!
For God sake!

I don't want to talk about this book anymore.

[Suzan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bunu gerçekten sen mi yazdin P.Cast?

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-reading 5/3/15

I am so happy to get to re-read The Goddess Summoning books again. They are some of my favorite books. I've always had a fascination with the Goddess of Love... maybe most girls do. I love how Venus is bored with life on Olympus and wants to help a mortal woman by giving her a makeover and helping her find love. While she does this, she discovers even more than she expected about herself.

I LOVE the ancient world and the modern world being combined. It makes for a great story. One that I know I'll re-read for a third time in a few more years.

[Jessy Rey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh man, ich hab schon lange nicht mehr so ein schlechtes Buch gelesen. Zum einen vermischt P.C. Cast einfach mal griechische und römische Mythologie und dann noch nicht mal richtig.

Pea ist das unscheinbare Mäuschen, kein Mann beachtet sie und noch dazu passieren ihr allerhand peinliche Sachen. Sie hat keinen Sinn für Mode, für ihre Haare oder für sonst etwas, was sie selbst betrifft. Dafür ist sie in ihrem Job perfekt. Für die Liebe zu ihrem Nachbarn Griffin bittet sie Venus um Hilfe – und zack ist Venus auch schon da und stellt ihr Leben auf den Kopf.

Zu aller erst sind mir neben der Mythologie wirklich der Schreibstil und die Sprache sauer aufgestoßen. Venus Art war vielleicht teilweise ganz unterhaltsam, aber auf Dauer hat es einfach nur genervt. Sie benimmt sich wie ein reicher, verzogener Teenager und nicht wie eine Göttin. Aus Pea wird natürlich nach Venus Umstyling die umwerfenste Frau ever und ever und ever… Natürlich steigt auch direkt das Selbstvertrauen und sie kann alles schaffen was sie will – keine peinlichen Sachen mehr, die Männer liegen ihr zu Füßen und anscheinend setzt auch bei ihr die „erzwungene“ Teenager Sprache ein. Grausam.

Natürlich darf auch die Liebe auf den ersten Blick nicht fehlen. BaZumm und die Liebe selbst ist unsterblich und für immer verliebt und es brennt ein Feuer in ihr… ach lassen wir das.
Abgesehen davon ist es für mich kein JUGENDroman, eher eine krampfhaft erotische „Komödie“, denn ehrlich, mehr als den Kopf darüber zu schütteln kann man einfach nicht.

Natürlich finden beide ihre große, ewige Liebe und es wird viel gevögelt und geschmachtet und am Ende treten noch ein paar „unlösbare“ Problemchen auf – Unsterblicher Gott + Sterbliche Liebe = Edward Cullen und Granny. Natürlich gibt es für alles eine Lösung – aber erst noch eine Runde guten, alten Sex – alt, haha.

Ihr merkt schon, ich konnte das Buch nicht ernst nehmen und es fällt mir schwer, hier ernst zu bleiben. Ich habe schon lange nicht mehr so ein Buch gelesen, dass man nichtmal mehr als Buch bezeichnen möchte.

Ich frage mich, wer P.C. Cast mal gesagt hat, dass die „jugendliche“ Sprache (Verkrampftheit) irgendwie Hip ist? Denn ganz ehrlich? Die Protagonisten sind 25+ und Uralt. Da finde ich das mal überhaupt nicht mehr angemessen und ich bin froh, dass ich dieses Buch aus meinem Regal streichen kann. Wieder eine Reihe, die ich nicht fortsetzen werde. Amen.

[Jordyn Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

P.C Cast is one of my favorite authors because she is one of the first I ever read and loved. The way she writes her books makes me feel like we are close friends or like she is my second mother. Her goddess summoning series will always hold a place in my heart because it truly does have a beautiful underlying theme of love filled with mutual respect and living life like the goddess you are inside. Its cheesy and often times annoyingly unrealistic but it is also beautiful. This particular book in this series disappointed me. I can usually get past P.C Casts cheesy quirks but this time I just couldn't do it. I don't feel like going into detail about what I didn't like about the book, mostly because i'm lazy but also because I don't want to disrespect an author I hold so dear to my heart. I will say that if their was a one book in the this series I would recommend skipping, it would be this one. It wasn't awful! If it was I would have given it one star. It was just disappointing.

[Carlyn Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't finish. Life is too short to waste on horrible books.

[bibz reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This kind of disappointed me in several ways but I really liked it in some ways.

1. how is EVERYTHING supposed to work out so perfectly?!? Well i guess i should be glad, since I was super sad at the bittersweet ending in Goddess of Light :-/ meh...

But the ending somehow bothered me, it reminded me of The Host by Stephenie Meyer 8l (now I feel like re-reading it to compare.)

2. EMBARRASSING. THE BEGINNING BROUGHT SHAME TO EVEN ME :( POOR PEA but I guess it just shows harsh reality in the making.

Those are probably the two most annoying things I found about this book.

But if you're looking for some hot/sweet lovemaking and true (maybe) love then this is perfect for you.
I really liked Pea and Hephaestus ^^ (er ... Vulcan I mean.)

[Diandra Knutson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confidence is probably the moral of this story. Confidence in yourself and being confident in love. If you start doubting yourself, well then... You make mistakes and you have regrets.
These series has really got me thinking about myself, like feminity, my confidence and srlf-esteem, my love life, and my regrets (just to name a few lol). This book was a great addition and really picked up the slack from the last book "Goddess of the Rose", which was disappointing to me. "Goddess of Love" is impressive like "Goddess of Spring" and it gives me hope that this series is about to end with a bang!
The characters in this book were the most relateable to me and actually had me rooting for them! Especially Pea, who I felt wasthe epitomy of a lot of girls and women in this world. The girls who feel invisible and overlooked, who are talented and amazing, but arent ones who command attention like the tall blondes that men seem to constantly worship in the world. This book speaks to women like that with small quotes and big lessons to bring into the real world. I loved it!
I recommend this book and this series to all who want a little magic in their life.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning...Venus is so hilarious in this book with her use of colorful curses involving the god's genitalia...that you will laugh so hard you cry, or spit your drink out all over the pages. So don't have a beverage while reading this book!

I loved this book, absolutely loved it! The four main characters pulled me in and just when I thought all hope was lost, P.C. Cast does what she does best and made the ending even more imaginable than I could have ever imagined. The two main men in this book are HOT, HOT, HOT, (and not because one is a fireman and the other is the God of Fire)!

Absolutely a great read. I was captured by the characters and the story moved along at a great pace. There certainly were not many, if any, slow spots. Goddess of Love is one that I will have to reread and soon.

[Tuğba Atıcı Coşar · Rating 4 out of 5]

İki aşk hikayesi tek kitaba sığdırıldığında eksik bir şeyler kalıyor bana yetersiz geliyor evet ama yine okumaya bayılıyorum. Yazad yine sihrini konuşturmuş.
Not: bir kez daha öğrenmiş olduk ki, Zeus uçkuruma sahip çıkamıyor.🤣

[Paula Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you one for the Greek Mythology ? Adore all those Gods and Goddesses up on Mount Olympus ? What about Time travelling novels ? PC Cast's Goddess Summoning series has something for everyone as it takes a modern world , everyday situation and somebody like us mere mortals and mixes it with the supernatural and fantasy of Gods and Goddesses with magical powers. In Goddess of Love we meet Pea Chamberlain , she is the director at the local community college handling all the adult education classes, she has always found herself the invisible one and when she's not being invisible , she continues to make a fool out of herself. Over in the Land of Gods and Goddesses we meet Venus - the Goddess of Love and Vulcan - The God of Fire , these two have not felt a love connection in centuries, their marriage based on platonic friendship. When Pea decides to unlock her inner goddess , she invokes an incantation that links Venus to her aid but little does she realise that Hera - mother of Vulcan has decided to play a little matchmaking of her own and send him into the Mortal world. Pea has her eyes on one man - Griffin, the hot firefighter but what happens when it seems that Griffin has only eyes for Venus ? Enter Victor aka Vulcan, can he show Pea the love that she has yearned for and will Pea accept Vulcan for who he is ? What will happen though to the two couples when it is time to return the Gods and Goddesses back to Mount Olympus ? It is here that we will see the sacrificial element of True Love.
A wonderful book and one that as I enjoyed the past 4 books look forward to reading more in the series. Beware though that as this book is situated around the Goddess of Love there is more than it's average dose of sexual references.

[Megan (BookWifeReviews) · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh... I didn't like that there was 2 different couples. I just want to focus on one.

[moi, k.y.a. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gün geçmiyor ki Olimpos'ta attığınız bir adımınız, şerefsiz-oğlancı-Zeus'un döllerinden birine denk gelmesin. 🙊 Şaka maka Olimpos'un 2/3'sinin kökü bu herifte.

İşte, Roma Ateş Tanrısı Vulcanus'u gördüğümde düşündüğüm ilk şey bu oldu.

Kendisi, Yunan'ın Afrodit'i Roma'nın Venüs'ü olan Aşk Tanrıçası ile evlidir ancak ilişkileri çıkarlar üzerine kuruludur.
Venüs, Persephone'dan dinlediği Tulsa'yı ziyarete gelir. Anlayacağınız işsiz Tanrı & Tanrıçalarımız Dünya'ya dadandı, gelende gitmeyi bir türlü beceremiyor. 😒 Sonra gene bir dua, gene süper-önemli-ölümsüz-görevi çıkıyor karşımıza. Tabii olaya erkekler dahil olana kadar sıkıntıdan patlamaca oyunu oynadım bende. 😋

Serinin klasiği haline gelmiş güzel, bundan habersiz, öz güveni sıfır, orgazma hasret ve orta yaşa yakın kadın karakterimiz vardı. Tanrıçanın yardımıyla bir erkeğin ilgisini çekebilecek hale gelmeye çalışıyor. Sonrasıyla ilgili yapmak istediğim çok yorum var ancak spoilera girdiğinden dikkatli olmaya çalışıyorum, haberiniz olsun.

Bir kere bu bahsettiğim kadın tiplemelerine gıcık oluyorum! Hayatım boyunca kendim için yapmayacağım bir değişikliği başkası, hele hele bir erkek için hiç yapmam. Böyle zayıf, erkeksizlikten ölen kadınlara da dayanamıyorum o yüzden. Serinin bendeki en büyük dezavantajı kadınlardaki bu eğilimdi.

Kadın karakterlerle yaşadığım soruna rağmen erkeklere bayıldım.☺

Griffin ve Vulcanus'u okurken birbirlerine benzerlikleri dikkatimi çekti yalnızca. Yani madalyonun iki yüzü gibiydiler. İkisi de cayır cayır ikisi de ateşliydi ama bir adam çekingen ve umutsuzken öbürü kendini bilen kısmıydı.
Bu durum beni yer yer rahatsız ediyordu zaten ancak o son olanların ardından iyice iğrenç gelmeye başladı. Ben kitapta bir erkek ve iki kadın okuyor gibi hissettim.
Keşke o son olay olmasaydı da kitap gözümde çöpe gitmeseydi. 😐

P. C. Cast gene yaptı yapacağını...

[Dr. Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, Pea cries wayyyy too much for comfort. Lmao. I know some people cry really easily but I am not one of those. Anyway, sometimes crying Pea was actually kind of endearing. Besides the crazy romance and smut in this book, I really really loved Venus and Pea's friendship. It was so refreshing and I loved how much they came to care for one another. Now if they had ended up together, I would've been okay with that too 🤔😂😂

I liked the depiction of Venus and Vulcan in this book. Venus wasn't a shallow fickle goddess and Vulcan had hidden depths. 😂 I love how each the gods and goddesses in this series aren't perfect, and are more than the myths made them out to be. I kind of called the ending of this one, but I still enjoyed it a lot and the epilogue was so cute.

Also the freaking smut in this book made me feel like I needed to fan myself and hide away from the public eye. Lmao I need to not listen to these books in public.

[LadySlytherin05 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my least favorite of the Goddess Summoning series through #5 when I was hoping I would like it the most! I love books where the protagonist is an underdog who basically has her dreams come true and that's what I wanted for this book and that is, indeed, what happened. My problem with this book is that the supposed protagonist is NOT the main character. The goddess Venus (whose name I don't understand because every other book used the Greek name) was the one I had to read about the most. I'm sorry but I really don't want to read about the absolutely perfect goddess of love's problem. Is P.C. Cast really trying to convince me that the GODDESS OF LOVE can't find love? And that I should CARE? I have difficulty feeling sympathy for a woman who's apparently perfect and has no problems besides never being in love. I understand what the author was going for, I really do, but with any book there has to be some characteristic that a reader can share with a character and empathize with for it to be successful as literature. Venus is not that character. Also, for the record, I think the guy she falls for is conceited and shallow.

Thankfully, there is another character to at least break up the bouts of beautiful people problems. Pea (terrible nickname btw) is the type of character I wanted to read about although a little too comical to be totally believable. She's the relatable one who's supposed to be the main feature and I feel that ironically she turns out to be almost an afterthought. Venus gives Pea a makeover and Pea's problems go away. I don't agree with this plot point for obvious reasons but I still wish there was more of her and Vulcan (squee!) than the other two. In conclusion I feel that this book completely missed the mark.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a plus, there is only the vaguest sort of formula the author uses. It's not just the same book over and over again with different characters, but each follows a different standard romance plot (of course; it's romance!).

In this particular book, I kept feeling that involving Hera was unnecessary, and it was easy to see from the beginning how this was going to end. I also felt it was unnecessary to have the heroine embarrassed that much that many times. I didn't find her humiliation funny and started skimming as of the second time it happened.

I think this is the last one in the series for me.

[Esra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitabın adı Aşk Tanrıçası ama ben Venüs'ün hikayesindense Pea ve Vulcanus'u deli gibi bir merakla ve zevkle okudum.. Hatta tüm kitap keşke onlara odaklansaymış :D
Ama Şimdi Venüs'e de haksızlık etmeyeyim.. Ben onu şöyle kibirli, burnu havada, fazlasıyla kendini beğenmiş ve itici bir tip olarak bekliyordum ama kendisine hayran oldum :D
Kitabın sonunda yazar hem Venüs'e hem de Pea'ya ta en başından beri asıl istediklerini de vermeyi başarmış..

[Burak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Allah'ım o kadar mükemmeldi ki anlatamam. Övgü kelimesi bulamıyorum. O kadar eğlendim ki okurken aynı zamanda çok da romantikti. Venüs o kadar komik ve edepsiz bir tanrıça ki ona bayılmamak elde değil. Serideki en sevdiğim ikinci kitap bu oldu. Bu seriye bayılıyorum.

[Bettina_kPunkt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meine Rezension zu Mythica

http://lovelybooksbytine.blogspot.de/...

[belle ☆ﾐ (thisbellereadstoo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The marriage between Venus and Vulcan was just an arrangement between two friends. Both of them were starting to get restless about this fake union. Pea, with the unruly hair and frumpy clothings, had been crushing on a gorgeous fireman called Griffin but he had never turned to look at her. Didn't even know she existed even though they are neighbours.

After venturing into the modern world and meeting Pea, the Goddess of Love was bounded to her by a spell. She was to teach Pea love and pleasure. The transformation of Pea was amazing, I loved how the makeover was described as "bringing out Pea's inner goddess". While helping Pea with Griffin, Venus couldn't help but feel a connection with him. The ironic thing about being Venus was that love had alluded her. She had helped people sought for love but she had never loved anyone until she met Griffin. Somewhere in Olympus, the God of Fire was getting more and more attached to a beautiful mortal named Pea.

Both Pea and Vulcan had so much in common. They were outcasted by the people around them, never fully fitting into anywhere but were uniquely their own person. When the Goddess of Love started teaching Pea how to love herself, she started seeing how beautiful she truly is. The moment she met Vulcan, Pea felt a strong connection and couldn't help but be attracted to this man. Though he does not have a beautiful sculptured face, he have a beautiful heart.

The friendship between Pea and Venus was genuine and touching. Venus really wanted to help Pea to love herself. Their friendship was so strong that nobody stood in between them when it could have been the case.

[Jasmin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Als eingefleischter House of Night Fan hab ich mich sehr über eine Rückkehr nach Tulsa gefreut. Leider zu früh. Ist das der Ernst der Autorin: Als selbstständige erfolgreiche Frau: solltest du dir was Hübsches anziehen, die Haare machen und dann erst fliegen die Männer auf Dich? Zudem hab ich mehr als einen Softporno erwartet.
Das ist so schlimm und unnötig wie die Paper Reihe. Ich werde nicht weiterlesen.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfassbar kitschig. Bah hab ich mich über die Mixerei von griechischen und römischen Göttern geärgert. Band 2 wartet schon.

[Tiera McMillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Reread Review*

Changing stars from 4 down to 3-3.5 in regards to audio. So I found this book in Audible escape and had remembered liking the story quite a bit and even knew I had read most of the series. I probably should have started my reread with book one but I grabbed this one up anyways and dove right in. The narrator... this whole audio was extremely hard to sink into. I'm not sure what is up with the narrator but she has a really odd inflection habit. Its almost.. robotic at times. Like Siri on my phone trying to pronounce my contacts or my gps trying to pronounce road names. Its incredibly distracting. The words weren't pronounced incorrectly but the inflection was put in odd places in weird parts of the sentence on words that weren't that important. It definitely threw me off. The inflection problem ended when the narrator would go into dialogue.. so the dialogue portion was just fine which made the narrative portion of the story the part that had the weirdness going on. Anyways it was just odd and definitely lessened my enjoyment of the book this second time around.

This book, imo, could stand alone in the series.. I can't remember if they all are that way or not but though there are some allusions to the other books in the series there aren't any spoilers and we go from beginning to HEA all the way. I really enjoyed this spin on the Greek/Roman goddess of love, bringing the gods into the century and pairing them up with mortals making them seem.. .well more human really. However, in all honesty I wasn't really a huge fan of Pea, our FMC, in this. I really felt it might have been the narrator who kind of made her seem a little on the whiney side for most of the book. I will admit that Pea comes around as she gains more self confidence and casts off her self esteem issues to embrace her woman power, so it wasn't like it was a huge deal for me or anything. Pea, summons the goddess of love to help her find love.. only to find Diana granting her wish in all her glory. Not only is she granting her wish she seems to be trapped in the mortal realm through a little interference from the queen of gods herself. Now Diana is stuck and needing a place to stay. In helping Pea discover her inner goddess, Diana realizes that in spreading and helping people find love all these centuries she really hasn't been able to fill her own life with love..

Its a really great little story, filled with uplifting moments. I wish I actually owned these books instead of having to go the audible escape route since I'm pretty sure their all read by the same narrator.... Oh well, maybe I'll be able to get into the next one faster since I know whats up.

[Jacquy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inhalt: Die unscheinbare Pea bittet Venus um Hilfe, damit sie endlich von Griffin bemerkt wird, in den sie schon lange verliebt ist, der sich aber nicht mal an ihren Namen erinnert. Unerwartet kommt Venus wirklich auf die Erde, um Pea zu helfen. Von ihrer Kleidung bis zu ihrer Einstellung verändert sie alles an Pea – doch dann verliebt sich auch die Liebesgöttin selbst in Griffin – obwohl es doch ihre Aufgabe ist, ihn und Pea zusammen zu bringen!


Meinung:
Eigentlich weiß ich gar nicht, was ich schreiben soll.
Das Buch hat mir sehr gut gefallen, ich kann es aber irgendwie nicht richtig begründen.

Die Autorin hat einen lockeren und etwas frechen Schreibstil, der mir schon bei der „House of Night“ – Reihe aufgefallen ist, dort aber ziemlich gewollt wirkte.
Hier scheint P.C. Cast nicht so gewollt jugendlich zu schreiben, sondern eher wie sie selbst.
Das Buch ist witzig, aber – bitte schlagt mich nicht, wenn ich jetzt schon zum 3. Mal „gewollt“ sage – scheint mir an manchen Stellen wirklich etwas zu gewollt zu sein. ;-)
(Ich glaube das ist die schlechteste Rezension, die ich je geschrieben habe. :D)
Wenn eine Göttin Sachen wie „Bei Hermes‘ schwulem Arschhut“ (Alternativ einfach beliebige Götternamen und Genitalien einsetzen) als Kraftausdrücke verwendet, erscheint es wirklich nicht mehr sehr natürlich.

Der vollständige Titel von Venus lautet „Venus, die Göttin der sinnlichen Liebe, der Schönheit und der erotischen Künste“. Daran erkennt man schon, dass es in diesem Buch einige Sex-Szenen gibt und über dieses Thema viel geredet wird, weshalb ich es niemandem empfehlen würde, der jünger als 15/16 Jahre alt ist.
Allen anderen aber schon!
Wie gesagt habe ich keine richtigen Argumente, aber das Buch ist witzig, locker und irgendwie frech und perfekt, um sich bei schönem Wetter in den Garten oder auf den Balkon zu setzen, oder einfach drinnen zu bleiben, um sich von schlechtem Wetter abzulenken.

Die Charaktere (sowohl Venus als auch Pea) sind liebenswert und witzig.

Ich hatte nicht erwartet, dass mir das Buch so gut gefallen würde, aber wie ich schon vorher mal erwähnt hatte, interessiert mich die griechische Mythologie immer mehr. :-)

Fazit:
Ein witziges und freches Buch für zwischendurch, aber trotzdem fesselnd genug, um es am Stück durchlesen zu wollen.

[Percontation Points · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I'm just getting used to these Goddess Summoning books, but this one wasn't nearly quite as bad as some of the other were.

Granted, Cast's constant flip-flopping between Greek and Roman mythology had me gritting my teeth a lot... (THEY ARE NOT INTERCHANGABLE JUST BECAUSE THE GODS ARE NEARLY THE SAME, KTHXBAI), but the actual story was...

Predictable.

At this point, there's practically a formula for the Goddess Summoning books. I could practically get a check-list and go down and mark everything off.

Every book is a tiny bit different, so you're not quite sure how it is that Cast is going to get to each check point, but at the same time... almost right on schedule, the marks were hit.

Now, Goddess of Love was a tiny bit different than the others in the series mainly because there were two love stories instead of one. I kind of got the impression that Cast had started to write first Venus's and Griffin's love story, but then she ran out of ideas halfway through. And then she started to write Pea's and Vulcan's story, and also ran out of ideas. So she decided to smash them together. So instead of being fully satisfied over the singular story, I feel like we missed out on both of these stories. Mainly the Pea/Vulcan story, which is too bad, because that one seemed the most interesting.

And speaking of Pea... scraping the bottom of the naming barrel are we, Cast? If I was Venus, as soon as Pea introduced herself to me, I would have said “Just because the Girls Who Were Mean To You In High School® called you that, doesn't mean that you have to continue to introduce yourself as such. Why can't you get a date? Probably because you introduce yourself by a name that sounds like a bodily function and IS a vegetable. For no apparent reason do you continue to call yourself this.” Ugh. Seriously.
Should have been step one.

All in all, this is probably one of Cast's better works, but at the same time, I can't say that it's a good thing. Because in my mind, PC Cast is forever tied to the WHALE FAIL of the House of Night series, which stands out so much because it was so awful. So when I think of her, I'll think of that... rather than something that was just a mediocre romance.

[Courtney Malpass · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in the Goddess Summoning Series by P.C. Cast. And while it isn’t a new theme or concept, Cast’s take on love learning/finding love does warrant a chuckle every now and then. It follows true romance novel form and everyone gets their happy ending with very little drama along the way.

That said, I really disliked this book. First, it was too predictable. While a familiar theme or gimmick might be appealing to readers and authors, it shouldn’t consume the entire book. Second, the main character’s name irked me throughout the story. “Pea” is said to be a nickname… but the nickname is never explained and then all of a sudden it’s her actual middle name. This main character is supposed to be just shy of 30 years old. Cast has this problem frequently in her writing. Age-appropriate names and nicknames are something she should work on in future novels.

Third, Venus is too cliché, like a Barbie doll come to life. The author has her acting like a vapid blonde and describes her as such, too. And then all of a sudden she has feelings she can’t control, like Love had never experienced it herself. It’s really a stretch for any reader who even knows just the slightest bit of mythology to throw out all other trysts this particular goddess has had in her past.

Fourth, the leading men in the story really have no substance to their characters. They are extremely two dimensional and the author throwing in a side hobby or emphasizing a limp does not fix the problem. They are too perfect which makes them unbelievable.

Lastly, this book was all about the sex. And coming from a female author, I have to say it was disappointing. Other books in the series did include sex scenes but they were well integrated and came along at a natural pace. Here, the characters meet, make steamy eyes across the room/table, then fall into bed with each other. Those scenes read as if they were thrown in for the sake of being there.

Overall, I gave this book a 1-star rating. The characters were flat, the plot went nowhere, and the sex took over. However, I am not completely turned off to finishing the series. Some books in the Goddess Summoning Series I have liked, so I believe there is still a chance for the last two installments.

[Anna-Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice and entertaining read for inbetween. ;)

*** german review ***

Inhalt: Venus, die Göttin der Liebe, kommt nach Tulsa und möchte dort der Pea Chamberlain helfen, aus sich heraus zu kommen und endlich sie selbst zu sein, ohne ständig das Gefühl zu haben, dass sie nicht gut genug ist oder alles falsch macht. Sie möchte Pea helfen, ihren Schwarm Griffin, einen heißen Feuerwehrmann, für sich zu gewinnen. Fände sie Griffin nicht selbst zu anziehend! Und wäre da nicht Venus unsterblicher Ehemann Vulcanus, der einen Blick auf die süße Pea geworfen hat....und so nimmt der Reigen seinen Lauf.


Meine Meinung: Ich habe ja bereits einen Band aus dieser Reihe gelesen und wusste somit, was mich erwartet.

P.C. Cast hat mit "Göttin der Liebe" einen witzigen Liebesroman geschaffen. Man darf nicht viel Tiefgang erwarten, dennoch ist der Liebesreigen locker geschrieben, die Charaktere sind sympathisch und für zwischendurch würde ich dieses Buch jedem empfehlen, der gerne Liebesromane mit einem Schuss Fantasy und knisternder Erotik mag.

Die Charaktere fand ich allesamt sympathisch. Die Frauen waren beide sehr starke, moderne, selbstbewusste Frauen und die Männer waren nicht nur gut aussehende Machos, sondern hatten auch Herz und eine weiche, verletzliche Seite. Das war auch mal ganz erfrischend.

Die Handlung schreitete allerdings sehr schnell voran und durch die Seelenverwandschaft der Liebenden, ist die Geschichte natürlich schnell und ohne großen Tiefgang oder Drama erzählt.

Für mich hat die Geschichte aber funktioniert, ich konnte bei diesem Buch herrlich entspannen und genau das habe ich davon erwartet, nicht mehr und nicht weniger. :)

[Mandymac · Rating 4 out of 5]

P.C. Cast continues her tradition of mixing some great mythology with a Tulsa-twist! Just like the others, there is mounds humor (Persephone and Venus at dinner and examining an "adult toy" with curious innocence) and of course lusty romance. Yummy men, although I would say these were not the best of her heros, but still likable (Hades will always be my favorite). Venus and her "make-over job" on Pea are the focus of this one and I love that this set in Tulsa for the majority of the book instead of the "Otherworld". Her resolution of the mortal/immortal issue at the end was acceptable and of course, happy. Venus steals the show with her frank vocabulary and conversation about sexuality and her "curses" involving goddesses' and gods' genitalia had me giggling over and over. She actually teaches a classroom full of fireman how to pleasure a woman, complete with vagina diagrams and color-codes! These men loved it! It actually made me wish there really was a class like this that I could send my man to :)
In this book, I believe the humor outshines all other aspects and it was a fabulously entertaining read. Have a glass of wine or a martini handy and kick back on a patio chair to enjoy this slice of escapism :)

[Esma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tanrıça Serisinin en rezil kitabıydı bence. Ya da Deniz Tanrıçasından sonraki en rezil kitabıydı.

Öncelikle biri P.C. Cast'ı Tulsa'nın dışına çıkarmalı. Uzakdoğu ülkesi olsa bile fark etmez.

Sonra isimlere takıldım. Venüs ve Vulcanus Roma tanrılarıdır. Ama Zeus ve Hera Yunan tanrısıdır. Tabii ki yine aynı tanrıları simgeliyorlar ama o ikisine sürekli aynı isimle hitap ederken.. Ne biliyim can sıkıcıydı.

Konu deseniz öyle ahım şahım bir şey değildi bence. Vulcanus direk aşık oldu kadına. Kadın da aynı şekilde. Alooo noluyoruz? P.C. Cast'a biraz aşk kitabı okumasını öneriyorum. Öyle damdan düşer gibi olmuyor canım bu işler. Mümkünse İçinde Aşk Saklı'yı okusun :D

Griffin ve Venüs daha gerçekçi oldular bir çift olarak.

Neyse artık bir sonraki kitabın güzel olmasını umuyorum.

[Glenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an okay read for me, not as creative as lets say "Goddess of the Rose" (which I absolutely recommend by the way!) but far better than "Goddess of Light". It's really simple, plot wise. A plain-Jane gets a personal makeover from the Goddess of Love herself and (Big surprise) finds love because of it. I really just wasn't feeling this book. I usually base how much I like a book by the re-read worth, but this one I think I might just pass along to a friend perhaps and make some much needed room on my bookshelf.

The only reason I gave this one a 2/5 rating was because of Venus' humor. This character's got such a great, witty sense of humor and I admired it!

Besides that, It's a so-so read.