Strength

Curse of the Gods #4

by Jane Washington, Jaymin Eve

Willa Knight: Dead? Alive? Damned to a state of eternal bad luck?

Willa and the Abcurse brothers are back, and more determined than ever to stick by each other. Unfortunately, Staviti has other plans, plans that threaten to change the natural order of the worlds—though nobody really understands why. His agenda may very well affect all beings on Minatsol, even those that thought themselves safe in Topia. Even Willa-invincible-Knight.

Unsure with her new place in the worlds, Willa must follow the Abcurses to their new post: Champions Peak, a secluded mountain far from civilization, where the most powerful sols have been summoned to hone their abilities through direct contact with the gods.

There is a chance that she might survive her time on the mountain, but it seems like staying alive amidst the powerful occupants of the Peak is the least of her concerns.

Her real problem is staying on the mountain at all.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, New Adult, Magic, Gods, Paranormal Romance

274 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2018

About the author

Jane is a Wall-Street Journal bestselling author who spends all her time writing books and then telling people not to read them.
Find her here: https://linktr.ee/janewashingtonbooks

Reviews

[Felix (Helen 2.0) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wrote up a review for this book, then realized it was far more suited as a series review and consequently moved it to book one. If you're interested in reading it, it's here.

[AℳY♔Queen of Fat cats♔Ain't no lie Baby Byebyebye · Rating 5 out of 5]

♥♥♥ Update 4 ♥♥♥
Correcting 1 out of 1000 typos in my review.
♥♥♥Update 3♥♥♥
4.5 I-love-Rome-stars
Buddy read still in progress with the Q-T's (pronounced cuties)



♥♥Nena Junor ♥♥
♥♥Parvati Patil ♥♥
♥♥Corinne ♥♥
♥♥Laurie Cook♥♥
♥♥Lisa♥♥
♥♥Carolyn Ellis♥♥
♥♥ Kai P♥♥
♥♥ Vicky♥♥
♥♥ Tash♥♥
♥♥ April♥♥

Review to Come! I need time to process.


♥♥♥Update 2♥♥♥
*Kisses kindle
I'm so happy. I feel like re-encountering old friends. I probably won't post much because this book needs to be read in one sitting. Or maybe I'll post updates after finishing it. We'll see.

Buddy read with
♥Nena Junor♥
♥Parvati Patil♥
♥Corinne♥
♥Laurie Cook♥
♥Lisa♥
♥Carolyn Ellis♥
Join our awesometacular buddy read. Starting now and finishing in August 21st. I'll add links to your ratings and reviews.

♥♥♥UPDATE 1♥♥♥





GUUUUUUUUUUYYYYYYYYYYYYSSSSSSSSSS!

♥July 20th!♥
♥July 20th!♥
♥July 20th!♥
♥July 20th!♥
Did I say ♥July 20th?♥

I was about to run in circles around the streets seminaked ala Willa Knight because I needed my Abcurse dose. Thanks God it's finally here.
I'm so excited!



Forgive me if I don't interact much this weekend, but I have a date with 5 gorgeous guys.


♥♥♥ORIGINAL♥♥♥
Willa looking gorgeous in blue.

I can't wait! Publication date Pls?
#TeamRome

[Lucie V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

✅ Mythology and gods
✅ Funny banter
✅ Hilarious main character
✅ Sexy and funny harem
✅ Reverse-harem and some smut
✅ Action
✅ More powers
✅ Cyrus & Emmy
🆗 Plot
❗️❗️Trigger warnings: deaths (not graphic), death of loved ones,
🔥 Spice level : 🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5

_______________________

Third read: This series is losing some of its quality and addictiveness with this fourth book. It’s still good, but not as engaging as the previous books, because the plot feels weaker.

_______________________


Staviti designed a new plan to “help Topia”: every Beta will have to go to Minastol for one year to teach the best Sol in each category there is. Because of that, the Abcurses end up with 5 lady Sols to teach, but honestly, we don’t even know the name of the 5 Sols. I think they were meant to be there as a complication or maybe a way to add drama to the group dynamic, but they were completely irrelevant and just faded into the background… It was disappointing, actually. On a more positive note, I liked that we finally met Mama Abcurse, which is much nicer than Abil, and of course, Willa still wants to find a way to help her mom in between everything that is happening, which created some funny (but kinda annoying at the same time?) moments.

The weird standoff between the Abcurses, Willa, and Staviti continues in this book. We get to learn more things about Staviti, but we are also left with more questions about Willa (what is she? What are her powers? What does Staviti wants with her? Because it’s still not clear to me).

He wasn’t by any definition the ‘leader’ of our group, but he was the grumpiest and the most responsible, so that somehow translated to him policing most of the rules… but he definitely wasn’t the leader. If the leader was anyone, it would definitely be me-

The plot didn’t make total sense to me. The “Beta gods needing to teach the best Sols of their energies so they can either ascend as second-beta gods or be killed if they fail” part does not serve any purpose besides putting the Abcurse, Willa, Emmy, and Cyrus all in the same place. It was not a logical move, and it did bug me a little. It’s clear that Staviti has ulterior motives for this decision and that he’s on a power trip, but why the need for this whole charade? What was his real goal? Even after rereading this book and knowing what will happen in the last book, the plot felt weak, and the whole “new academy” was not that useful or relevant.

I was light. I was fire. I was invincible.
“She thinks she’s light,” Aros muttered to Siret. “If she jumps off the platform, it’s on you.”



“She sets things on fire,” Coen announced without preamble.
“All the time,” Siret added.
Rome shrugged. “It’s her thing.”
I really wanted to argue with them: it was not my thing. If anything was my thing it was … swimming. Arghh. Of course that would be the first thing on my mind, because I was addicted to se—swimming now. No, Willa! For gods’ sake, this was not the time. My thing was being naked, which was marginally better. Yael laughed out loud, which had a perfect O forming on Adeline’s full lips. I wasn’t surprised: Yael wasn’t really the laughing kind.”

The pact was dismantled in the previous book, so we have smutty moments in this book, more than in the third (thankfully, because there was a lot of sexual tension to deal with)! Willa has to try to keep everything equal between the five brothers, so she will probably be busy every day of her life because they want her BAD, and now that she has discovered the pleasure of sex, she seems to be obsessed with it too (although she refers to it as “swimming” because of what happened at the end of the third book… maybe that’s why there is water on the cover of this one?).

Right, I forgot they didn’t like me to use the domestic labour beasts as a reference point for relationship development. Unfortunately for them, my influence in this department had been limited to my mother’s relationships, growing up. Unless they wanted me to start charging them tokens for swimming lessons, they needed to let me pull references from wherever I wanted. Although, the ‘Abcurse’ way of mating sounded a lot nicer. The bullsen grunted too much, and I didn’t even want to think about what kind of noises my mother had made.
Siret lost it then, his laughter setting off the rest of the guys at the table.


"I really wish she’d stop saying undead,” Aros groaned.
Siret snorted. “You haven’t suffered until she starts talking about it while you’re naked.”
Aros was silent for a click, before shrugging. “Still worth it.”

After 3 books of silliness, I was hoping for something a little more substantial…
The vibe book is similar to the previous ones: Willa being a shameless walking disaster, the brothers trying to keep her from accidentally hurting herself or killing someone, and the rambling and inner monologues, but it doesn't get old, and I really enjoyed it. I have to say, though, that the plot is weaker, and just the crazy over-the-top situations are not enough anymore for me to give this book 5 stars.

"How could you tell the difference between mountain sickness and her usual sickness?” Cyrus asked dryly. “Was she talking crazy? Tripping over things? Or did she have a completely normal conversation with you while keeping her clothes on the entire time?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, choosing to be the bigger person and not acknowledge his words. Mostly because they were… well, accurate.

I said it already in my reviews of the previous books, but I love Cyrus. We finally get to see his powerful "don't mess with me" badass side, after hearing so much about it. Actually, we see him a lot more in this book and the author managed to make Cyrus a serious yet sarcastic and funny character (and I do adore sarcastic characters). Things are also getting intense between him and Emmy, and there was DEFINITELY some heavy sexual tension between the two of them near the end. 😏

"Will it help if I solve this little conundrum right now?" I asked, still receiving no response. I sighed, moving to stand directly between them. "Okay, here's the situation. Cyrus, big scary Neutral God, thinks that Emmanuelle, lowly dirt-dweller, has a really nice butt."
Emmy blinked, switching her gaze to me for the barest moment.
“And Emmanuelle kind of wants Cyrus to be touching all her stuff even though she complains about it, which means she kind of likes him-“

Cyrus is forced to supervise this new Academy for the best Sols, and it’s clearly meant as a punishment or a form of torture because he hates it. Emmy is assigned to him, to help him and make sure that things with the dwellers run smoothly, and it was amazing to see the sweet Emmy hold her own against Cyrus’ nasty moods and comments. The way she put him in his place every single time was awesome, and while I was not the biggest fan of Emmy in general (not because I dislike her, but because we didn’t see much of her in the series), I am a huge fan of her and Cyrus’ tense and snarky dynamic.

While I enjoyed this one a little less than the previous books, I still read it all in one day, and it cracked me up. I also love Cyrus and Emmy’s sexual tension, and I have a feeling that I will enjoy the Neutral novella a lot, too.


1. Trickery ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Persuasion ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Seduction ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


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[Marguerite (M) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number 1 rule of being an Abcurse:

'Keeping Willa alive is a priority,
but fully clothed not mandatory.'



booked.unicorn

[Alana]

These just keep getting worse and worse.
I was so excited and stuck around for this book because Rome was my favorite.
But since the third book was basically all about him and Rome and Willa already hooked up, I'm out.

[Elise ✘ a.k.a Ryder's Pet ✘ · Rating 2 out of 5]

⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱*This Series Is Going Downhill*⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱

It's been almost 7 sun-cycles since the end of book three. Now that Willa had died and been reborn as something - though we don't know what she is but her energy is like a god - her soul-link with the Abcurses are now a soul-bond: it’s a rare connection that only gods can share. It’s rare because they don’t like to share their power or energy with anyone, they’re greedy that way. A soul-bond ties you to someone, giving you access to their energy and life-force. Abil believes that the link Willa share with his sons has transformed into something deeper. More permanent. Something that cannot be broken in death. So her relationship with the brothers have become very deep, they are all expressing love and care for one another.

That being said, the book itself didn't do it for me. While I liked Willa maturing a bit, the plot wasn't all that. I just simply didn't care anymore. I love the brothers, but they've kinda become side characters while being the main characters. I don't know how to explain it. They are there, they talk and threat and love Willa, but now I just think of them as Willa's Abcurses and not the Abcurses own their own. Also I don't like it when authors makes new couples that takes the attention away from the main character. This author (Jaymin Eve) has a tendency to do that, I have noticed. She did it with Supernatural Prison series with Mischa and Max. She also tends to put one character almost on the same line as the main character like Jessa and Mischa, and with this series Willa and Emmy. I didn't like it.

The second I realized in book three that Cyrus and Emmy could be a potential couple I started to feel disconnected straight away. Because, of course there has to be something special about Emmy as well. For me, I wish the authors could've waited until this series is over to focus on side characters. Luckily Cyrus and Emmy didn't "ruin" it, but the story itself was just boring anyway so technically they had nothing to ruin for me. Overall, it was simply boring and lacked depth, and I found myself skimming.

“I’m sorry, okay? I wasn’t aware that this was something I could do. I mean, they don’t exactly teach you about penis-manifestation in the dweller schools. It’s more about cleaning and bowing and scrubbing pans. Will you let me fix it?”
“FIX IT!” she screamed in response, her hands balling up into fists.
“Alright, jeez. Calm down, it’s just a penis. We all have them.”
“You do?” the Seduction sol asked, her eyebrows shooting up.
“Well yeah,” I waved a hand behind me. “I have theirs. So technically I have five of them. But that’s not really important. Can you please take her arms so that she doesn’t punch me?”

Characters:
→ Willa ‘Will’ ‘Rocks’ ‘Solider’ ‘Dweller-baby’ ‘Willa-Toy’ Knight (18), a dweller. Because of the curse that was meant for one of the Abcurse brothers hit Willa instead, she's now the Beta to Rau (a theory), a dweller-sol-hybrid.
The Abcurse brothers (made up name) - believed to be the most powerful sols at Blesswood - are gods (they got exiled to Minatsol because Trickery tricked Staviti into trying to mate with one of Bestiary’s creations for the rest of this life-cycle (year), and that Minatsol weakens them):
→ Coen ‘One’, the gift of Pain.
→ Rome ‘Two’, the gift of Strength. Coen and Rome were twins.
→ Siret ‘Five’, the gift of Trickery.
→ Yael ‘Four’, the gift of Persuasion.
→ Aros ‘Three’, the gift of Seduction. Siret, Yael and Aros were triplets.

→ Emmanuelle ‘Emmy’ ‘Em’, Willa's best friend, pseudo-sister and fellow dweller recruit to serve at Blesswood. Staviti killed her towards the end of the book, but Willa saved her and turned her into a god.
→ Cyrus, a Neutral god who deal in the disputes of the gods. Has power that is beyond even Staviti, was created as a balance, which means Cyrus have gods trying to take him down on a regular basis. Gods that don’t want balance. Steve, his server. Cyrus broke the soul-link between Willa and the Abcurses and soul-linked himself to her for a short period of time in book two. Whoever Willa’ve been soul-linked to will always have a connection with her. An eternal bond.
→ Leden, a pantera.
→ Sienna, the Beta of Revelry who had a brief liaison with Aros and Coen.
→ Lancaster, a god, healer.
→ Jakan, Staviti’s brother.

The God tree:
→ Staviti (Original God)
Ten companions - The Original Gods who Staviti created:
→ Adeline (Goddess of Beauty) - the Abcurses mother. In order to get children Abil used his magic to disguise Adeline as Pica. She ran to Staviti and asked him to gift her with children. It’s the only way to have children, in Topia, since Staviti controls everything. So she told him that she would finally love him, if he allowed her children. He agreed, and gifted her two pregnancies, on the condition that she not seek out Rau to be the father of her children. The Abcurses brothers are the only beings born of a union between the gods.
→ Abil (God of Trickery) - Aka D.O.D. (dear old dad), the Abcurses father.
→ Rau (God of Chaos) - has one big problem: he’s one of the only Original Gods without a Beta and no one really knows why there has never been a sol to step into the role.
→ Terence (God of Bestiary)
→ Lorda (Goddess of Obsession)
→ Pica (Goddess of Love) - Staviti has been in love with her since the beginning of time; she was the first companion that he created. Though she loved Rau so Staviti banned all of the gods from pairing up, or having children together.
→ Ciune (Goddess of Wisdom)
→ Gable (God of Vice)
→ Crowe (God of Death) - was the only Original God capable of killing other gods.
→ Haven (God of Nature)
There are ten Originals, nine Betas to the Originals, and about a hundred and eighty others who form minor deities. The chosen sols.

Glossary:
→ click – minute
→ rotation – hour
→ sun-cycle – day
→ moon-cycle – month
→ life-cycle – year
→ minateur – soldier
→ bullsen – domesticated work-beast
→ sol – dominant race
→ dweller – serving race
→ minatsol – world of the dwellers and sols
→ blesswood – the center of Minatsol
→ topia – world of the gods
→ luciu – floating city of the gods
→ dvadel – first city of the sols
→ soldel – second city of the sols
→ tridel – third city of the gods
→ minatsol – world of the dwellers and sols
→ swimmer – fish
→ pantera – winged horse
→ dormire – server residence
→ howler – wolf
→ longneck – flamingo
→ sleeper – spider

Quick basic facts:
Genre: - (Upper YA/NA) Fantasy Romance.
Series: - Series, Book Four.
Love triangle? - No, it's a menage between one girl and five brothers.
Cheating? - No.
HEA? - No.
Favorite character? - Coen, I think.
Would I read more by this author/or of series? - Yes.
Would I recommend this book/series? - Unsure Now...
Will I read this again in the future? - Not Sure.
Rating - 2.5 stars.

[Roxy D.C · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 out of 5 stars ⭐️

"Please, for the love of sanity. Keep your focus so we can keep ours"

Crazy, sexy, and pure awesomeness is all I have to say to describe Strength. It truly was worth the long wait, and now I'm crying on the inside since Pain isn't coming out until October😭!

Spoilers ahead, just letting you know😊:
~ The stakes are much higher in this book than the previous ones.
~ Mumma Abcurse is so much nicer than Abil!
~ Pica is crazy.
~ Cyrus and Emmy together?!
~ A LOT of sexy time with the Abcurse brothers😉.
~ We learn more about Staviti's past and his ultimate plans.
~ Staviti had an older brother (who could possibly be Willa's father)?!
~ We get to see Leden and the other Panteras again.
~ EMMY BECAME A GOD!!!!
~ Rau may or may not be dead🤔.
~ Five female sols studying under the Abcurses (easily ignored throughout the book).
~ We meet a few god children in the Banishment realm.
~ HOLY SHWEED I WANT MORE😭!!!

***********************************************
Update 5/16/2018: GUYS!! GUYS!! WE HAVE A DATE😃!!!! It’s July 20th😍😍!! I’m super pumped✊🏼!!!

Update 2/7/2018: THEY JUST RELEASED THE COVER😃!!! IT’S SOO BEAUTIFUL😍♥️!! This might be my favorite cover so far😃.

YESSSSSS COME TO ME ROME!!❤️

I can’t decide between him and his brothers!! Curse you all for being so protective and caring towards Willa!❤️😃

The publication date says 2017, hopefully that comes true🙏🏻😃!! If not early next year !✊🏼

[Darcey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 STARS

I was SO excited to read Strength, but I found it a bit of a let down. It was still immensely funny in parts (as per this series, that’s why I love it) but I’m so tired of Emmy not dying. I mean, she’s close to Willa, but she is part of her OLD life. Willa has the Abcurses now . Anyway, there was some good romance but I found some of the storyline boring because it’s getting very focused and intense, and I think of this series as a fun, easy and (seriously) funny read. Not a series plot line. I’m tired of Emmy and Willa’s mum and all the drama with that, and I honestly can’t be bothered reading the novella with Emmy. Does anyone know if I have to read it for the storyline in Pain?? Thanks and please comment if you do.

Also sorry guys, this review is short and doesn’t talk about the book much (it’s just me ranting) so sorry xoxo

[Maria Dimitrova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.75 And those .75 is because I'm way too emotionally involved to bear giving a CotG book the rating it deserves.

I read the previous 3 books in one sitting and by the end of Seduction I was feeling the burnout but at the same time I was elated. So while the bigger part of me wanted Strength to come out asap, there was a tiny part that felt relieved that I'll have some time away from Willa. She can be extremely annoying but also charming in her flightiness. One of the things I found most charming about her was that Willa reminded me of Charley Davidson and to an extend that likeness defined what I expected of Willa. I never expected Willa to become a serious character or for her incessant inner chatter to disappear. However, I expected a marked character development in any direction. But no! Willa is precisely the same, personality wise, character she was in Trickery. And after 4 books it's no longer endearing.

The Abcurses are also starting to get on my nerves. Good looks and washboard abs can get you so far. After that you need to show some character and maybe a little bit of brains. Because muscles and superpowers are good but damn when all your enemies also have them you need that extra edge a couple of brain cells can provide.

But what really pissed me off was that there was almost no development plot-wise. I mean we only have one book left and we're practically nowhere. Sure most of it is because Willa's too scatterbrained to actually do something with the information in her possession but damn I expected a lot more development. At this point the next book will have to be 500 pages long just to answer all the questions and that's without the added 200-300 pages of Willa's ramblings. Talking about her ramblings I'll share one of my favourite moments of the book - it's at the very end so don't open the spoiler tag if you haven't finished the book. When Willa was dealing with Pica and her craziness following the confrontation with Staviti, I felt immense satisfaction at her finally experiencing what it's like for the people around her. Pica might be a tad crazier than Willa but she's just as random and chatty. I actually feel bad for the Abcurses knowing that they'll have to deal with both Willa and Pica's craziness for awhile. Back to the plot. There were a lot of clues and I've started putting the pieces together. With the new info I'm pretty sure that some of my previous theories are correct but with such a random character one can never know. So while I was disappointed by this book I'm looking forward to the last instalment.



Mystery & Mischief entry for the 2018 Madcap MacHalo Fantabulous Bookish Challenge Extravaganza aka MMFBCE™

[Parvati Patil · Rating 5 out of 5]

New ship. I need Pain ASAP.

[Al *the semi serial series skipper* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this book a harbour , because I see lot of ships #Emma+Cyrus

Before starting this book I had quite the talk with myself. I have waited for what seems like eons for this book, I read the entire series over and over again like an addict wanting her fix. When this was released I immediately downloaded it, first mistake, I should have waited until September at least so I'd have just one month until Pain but I caved after three days which makes me pretty patient in the grand scheme of things. I am a champ.

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

rtc
____________
Not sure what it is about this re-read but I am loving this series. I'm just kind of vibing with it all and enjoyed each and every page. It also doesn't hurt that I just love everything about all the people in the book either.

In it, you still have the same gang but it features lots of reunions. Whether it has Willa being yelled at or trying to not die. Either it way I was there for it all. I honestly really liked getting to know a bit more about the original gods - like Staviti. I still think his name is beyond weird and either killed/ate his brother.. or he's just shady AF.

Other than that, then ending gave me all kinds of crazy vibes.. from Pica. I don't know what she is on but someone needs a therapist. It's also kind of cool that Emmy is now a god as well? So now I'm even more intrigued as to what Willa is - power wise.
_____________________________________
Not going to lie, this book definitely had it's boring moments.

Strength is the fourth installment of the Curse of the Gods series. In it, Willa and the guys have to deal with another obstacle thrown their way. Stravati, the OG god, has some secrets that end up coming out. Willa finds out that he actually had a brother.. and that he mysteriously died. Lowkey, totally called him murdering him.. but I wanted to know where all these gods or sols went if they weren't accepted or anything.

Luckily, I got some answers. However, it broke my heart once I did. I felt so bad for those sols/gods that were banished.. because it was just their souls that were banished.. and their actual bodies were somewhere else, rotting. AND the thing that got me the most.. was that they could see and feel what was happening to their bodies and they were so sad. Again, it broke my heart and I really hope that Willa and the guys can find a way to help them out.

Other than that, Willa is just a bad ass. I want to know what she actually is. Having some theories as to who her dad might be and I'm also thinking she's probably a born god.. maybe, just like the guys. Not certain yet but that's where I'm heading.

[Anna [Bran. San. Stan] · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 I’m-in-it-for-the-laughs stars. After having concluded my re-read of books 1-3, I’ve finally made it to book 4 and new territory. My main takeaways: the hilariousness and overall light-hearted tone is no longer quite enough to keep me as invested as before – maybe I’ve become desensitized somewhat – but is still the best part about this series because it sure as hell is not the plot; I have come to find Willa‘s dependency on the five brothers and her overall neediness rather annoying; I can understand why every female hates her guts - though I still love her and her ridiculous inner monologue. And finally, I’m most intrigued about where Emmy and Cyrus, the Neutral god, will end up. And of course I need to know if Willa ever has an orgy with more than two brothers - all five of them? - and the logistics of a ménage à six.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books continues like the others, right after the last one ended. Is Willa alive? Dead? Or something else entirely? I honestly thought more water would be involved in this book with that cover, but really Willa just wants to go swimming, a lot; but usually doesn't get to. Willa and her gods finally crosses a boundary and that happens a lot. Overall a good book, but as Willa starts to figure things out the parts of her I love the best (mainly her clumsiness) (those scenes kept me laughing nearly the entirety of the first books) have slowly become less and less. This makes me sad, and I fear for the fun of the last book.

Well there was one scene, the dickhead scene; I laughed so hard I cried. It took me forever to get through that scene! Every time I tried to keep reading, I cracked up again.

[Kai P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review as of 7/20/18
5 freaking stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Willa-freaking-knight, you’re one of a kind.

I like how their sexy scenes were enough to leave you breathless unlike other sexy scenes that could get you pregnant. Lol


Emmy and Cyrus? Holy cow, didn’t see that one coming!
It was worth the wait. It was entertaining and hilarious.

OMG. I almost died laughing. I haven’t had that kind of laugh for ages. Here are my favorite parts:

It was too small to be Rome’s, and it wasn’t anywhere near as nice-looking as Siret’s or Yael’s. “Nice looking?” Yael choked out. “You mean you ... you ... manifested a cock, and it isn’t even one of ours?” Coen’s tone was hard, almost pissed-off.

“But still probably don’t touch it. You might get pregnant ... and I think that would make me the father of your baby.”

“I looked at it,” she moaned out in regret. “It has purple hair on it.”

“Willa Knight, the dweller with the cock power.”


Update as of 7/17/18

Okay, that’s it. Waiting another ten days is driving me nuts. Seriously, I miss my abcurse harem and Willa’s klutziness. Ppppppllllleeeeaaaaase, I’m begging! Come on out!


I never read a book twice, but this series broke my sanity. Now, every single day, I go to goodreads just to see if it’s released or at least when. I feel like having withdrawal symptoms from addiction. I, so, totally need this. As in ASAFP. Crap, my patience is driving me cray-cray!

Update:

Come on out! Damn it. I can’t stop thinking about this. I want my abcurse harem, please!!

[saya ☽ the moody reader]

It felt like it was more strength centred in the last book

IT DOESNT REALLY MATTER
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BEXAUSE
I LOVE ALL THE ABCURSES EQUALLY

sigh

all these books just keep getting better and better

i’m so glad the pact is over

[Monty Cupcake ☠ Queen of Bloodshed ☠ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one. It brought back crazy Willa, but more mature and actually trying to think through things vs running head first into them. I also really liked the cohesiveness of the group; teamwork. I’m ready for book 5! Gimme!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

Yep. I did. I feel that in this book, we really get a sense of how solid the relationship is with the 6 of them. I also feel more of a connection between Willa and Emmy this book, which I really appreciate. So much of Willa’s time is caught with her men, and having Emmy trail behind.

This book especially-the second half of it- digs a little deeper. Also, and this may be contrary to what others feel, I think Willa started to show more signs of acceptance of her role and (dare I say it?) maturity. Ok, maybe maturity isn’t the best word. I mean, it’s Willa and all that we love about her is still there in full force, but once she started to really try to piece things together and actually listen I felt we were gaining a glimpse at new level of Willa. I like it.

MUCH, so much happens in this. It’s funny and so sexy (I mean like DAYUM!), but you’re getting a big chunk of story, so pay attention! Some new characters, some old ones, panteras, SO MUCH. If I tell you all of it, I’ll ruin it.

This series really doesn’t disappoint. I think it actually gets better. It’s really a lot of fun guys, a PERFECT summer read. It’s funny, but has characters and a story you can really get behind. It’s also all sorts of sexy!

[Natalia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf @ 23%


The last one was already a struggle to finish.... This one just couldn't...

Coen being my favorite, I was waiting for this book, but Willa kills it for me... The stupidity, the clumsiness taken to extreme, the inner monologues that don't go anywhere..grrrr

The way they patronize her, like a bratty toddler... Cute but dumb!
"Let add a word to dictionary because Willa-Toy just invented it" 🙄

The story is losing track and I'm tapping out!!!

[Cyn]

Alert! Alert! Pub date! Pub date! July 20! GAHHHHJH, I can't wait!

-----

This wait is killing meeee
Book 1 was released February of last year, book 2 in May, book 3 in November.. a gap of 3 months and then 6.. it has been 5 months..still no news on the release date for this :/

I swear I'm not impatient :P

Guess I'll just keep reading this series over and over til this is out.

[S.R. Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series so freaking much!!

I don't think i can adore a female MC as much as I do Willa. To me she is the perfect MC. The plot is moving along so much more in this book and boy oh boy is the steamy scenes hot and perfect and well worth the wait.

It is rare to come across two authors who write so well together. Their individual books are just as good as their collaboration.

[★Me Myshelf and I★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buddy Read with RHR

Still one of my favourite RH and still hilarious and entertaining

Has the "shiny" novelty of Willa's antics worn off?

“Was she talking crazy? Tripping over things? Or did she have a completely normal conversation with you while keeping her clothes on the entire time?”

Slightly yes, but its still better than 90% of RH out there regardless. Its why I've rated the last two 4 stars instead of 5.



My only wish is she'd get a hang of these powers better - we are on book 4 now with only 1 left...
There's a lot of ends to tie up in one more book but I have faith in Jaymin and Jane.



The last 20% is where it all kicks off and we get some major developments. Before that it was a bit "samey" as the previous instalments, the format is the same but hey


P.S Willa's new moto is and has always been my moto in life

[Nicla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun series that has totally got me hooked. Can't wait for the next book to be released.

HEA Cliffhanger
Cheating/OW/OM No cheating or scenes with OW/OM. Just the Willa and her guys
Any push/pull No
Any couple separation No separation.
Angst Level: Medium
Heat Level: High
Triggers This is a reserve harem book.

[Petra Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny, but at this point I feel everthing is recycled. What's the goal of these characters by the way? Keeping Willa alive (not necessarily clothed) isn't enough to sustain a plot.
More a guilty pleasure than anything else, the 4 stars are because it's very difficult to find books that make you laugh.

[Loretta (Quixotic Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Laughing Listener
August 2018
Format: Ebook

Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars

Yay! It’s back!! Four books later and I still don’t completely understand why I love this reverse harem series so much, but I do. So here we are. And I’m happy to report that my fourth foray into the Curse of the Gods was just a great as the previous books!

I will say that the plot felt a little stunted in this installment because more time is spent on Willa getting it on with the Abcurses. But it’s just so hard to care when those guys are around. All I’m gonna say is, they DEFINITELY aren’t treating her like a girl-brother anymore and Willa is getting pretty good about keeping things “even”...



Plus, any slow movement in the plot department is made up for with hilarious humor and a pretty explosive ending. There’s one specific part of this that had me CRYING I was laughing so hard. Willa never fails to bring the funny and I think this might be the funniest book in the series yet. And I was caught completely off guard by those plot twists in the last few chapters. I’m so curious to see how it all plays out in the last book!

And I’m LOVING the Emmy/Cyrus ship that’s happening. I would have never put them together, but they’re freaking cute and I want more!

FINAL WORD

I loved this! We get more humor, more Willa, and more of our favorite Abcurses. What’s not to love? Can’t wait for the final installment to be released in the fall!

#1 ↦ Trickery ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
#2 ↦ Persuasion ↦ ✦✦✦✧✧
#3 ↦ Seduction ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
#4 ↦ Strength ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
#5 ↦ Pain ↦ ????

—————————————
↬ UPDATE June 22, 2018
FINALLY WAS ABLE TO PRE-ORDER ON AMAZON!!!!



—————————————
↬ June 12, 2018
Why can't I pre-order this yet??? I'm so excited.
TAKE MY MONEY, IT'S YOURS.

[Rose Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

The installment carried the same vibes from the previous books in the series. But when I was reading the last part, I finally figured out what I felt was missing from the series.

Apart from Willa setting things on fire and Siret constantly clothing her, WHERE IS MY SUPERNATURAL ACTION, DAMMIT??! I love it when people exercise their powers freely. If you have it, you flaunt it. Not hide it away, especially if you are arrogant and powerful gods. I don't know if I am the only one who missed it while ogling the brothers but I don't remember what they can do apart from the ability their title implies. Let's take Aros for example. So it's obviously he can seduce anyone he wants. What else can he do? Can the person under his spell tell or do anything he asks, similar to Yael's persuation? If so, put it to use. Or do people under his spell think for themselves? Do all gods have some generalised powers? What else can Coen do other than inflict pain? Can he apply the same thing to plants and animals? Can he also drawn in pain from someone and heal them in the process?

So many questions, no answers. They were used only in the last chapter. So I'm hoping that we get to see more of what each can do atleast in the next book, since it's supposed to be war against Staviti. Hoping for the best.

4.5 stars for this one....maybe.

[Ashlee » libraryinthecountry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annnnnd it only continues to get better! I’m looking forward to reading Neutral this week and Pain next month!

[Pippa]

I’m just sat waiting here to see more of Willa with ALL-DA-BROTHERS!!!!
I can’t believe I have to wait even longer now for the next two😭 But it shall be worth it!
And ah ma gawd, I want to know some answers to the big questions too like... who is Willa’s father?🧐🤔

[Keri Solaris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars

"I have never seen six beings mesh so seamlessly before. A bond to surpass all others."

When it comes to Strength by Jaymin Eve and Jane Washington, all I can really think about is... what the hell even happened with this? This series hasn't really been standing strong with me to begin with, but at least with the last two books there seemed to be some semblance of improvement. Now, it feels like I've been transported all the way back to book one and all of book one's terribleness.

Prepare for some minor spoilers... and a small rant. 

The premise surrounding Strength seemed promising: Willa and the Abcurse brothers, along with a bunch of other Betas and sols, are sent to Champions Peak, a secluded mountain far from civilization where sols are to train with their pairing Beta gods in order to prepare for ascension into Topia.

Sounds intriguing, right? Especially with the blandness of the previous three books, this part of the story actually seems interesting. There's potential for new characters to be included and old characters to be more developed. There is a chance for some more world building to occur. And a secluded mountain filled to the brim with tense sols and gods ready to get shit done so that they aren't killed by Staviti? This is a receipt for action galore!

But were any of these things present?

No.

Instead, we just get more of the same. Barely anything new has happened. It's more of Willa's antics and Willa fawning over the Abcurses and the Abcurses being freakishly obsessed with Willa. Not only is the main plot being downright ignored, random events are being thrown in that don't add to the plot whatsoever. It's like they want us to forget what the story is even about so that we aren't paying attention to where it's going. Not feeling the "romance" between Willa and the Abcurses? Here, we'll throw you a romance between Emmy and Cyrus, but we're gonna keep any context and understanding of it to ourselves! Oh, things are getting a little boring? Let's just randomly kill someone! That will surely spice things up! But don't worry, we won't actually kill the important characters, we'll bring them back to life just as randomly as we killed them!

Like, I get how this could be interesting if it was done right, but it was not done right at all. When new things were introduced, they were done so tritely. And I'm talking about BIG plot points here. Willa's powers, Staviti's origin story, Willa's still-developing relationship with the Abcurses... all things that should be given the time and consideration that they deserve. They shouldn't take a backseat to all the "perfect and amazing" sex that Willa is now suddenly having.

Speaking of sex, I've never been so bored by a sex scene a very long time. I'm all for sex and erotica but, just like everything else, it needs to be done right. The sex that Willa was having with the Abcurses was just too perfect. So perfect to the point that it was unrealistic. The sex scenes were gratuitous in a book where practically everything else seems gratuitous to begin with. I recently read a blog post entitled "Rules of Writing Erotic Fiction" over on Christian Mihai's blog: irevuo. It gives excellent advice and guidelines on creating erotic fiction. The erotic scenes in Strength read this post, took down notes for every good point mentioned, and then set all of the notes on fire and chucked the ashes out of a window so that they would never have to reference them again. Unrealistic and uninteresting is what I would associate most with the attempted erotica in this installment.

Back to the plot, I know I've trashed on it a lot, but it's mainly because I'm just so disappointed. There's so much potential and the ideas within the book have so much going for them, but they are more often than not just left to fizzle out and die. Like Willa's powers, for instance. Why isn't there more focus on this? She's the main protagonist and a major driver of the plot - anything surrounding her should be pushed to the forefront. But sadly, even though it is book four out of five in the series, we still know absolutely nothing about what she can do, or even what she is for that matter. There isn't anything being done with the plot points that are introduced in the book; they kind of just hover in the air while the characters decide whether or not to interact with them.

Character development is still severely lacking. How has our protagonist remained the same during all four books?! The only thing that has possibly changed about her is the development of her powers, but as mentioned above, those don't get any real development either. The Abcurses still have no role other than acting as man-candy. They stand there, look pretty, and contribute practically nothing to the plot. They still only act as a single entity - Willa may be able to tell each of her Abcurses apart, but we sure as hell can't.

Ugh, I'm just so over this series. This is the staple for the reverse-harem genre? This???

This series isn't even a guilty pleasure read for me anymore. It's just annoying at this point and I'm not impressed. I think the only reason that I have stuck with it for so long is because the reviews for it are amazing. I'm stumped, because I've got to be missing something that everyone else is seemingly obsessed with.

I'm debating whether or not to finish off this series. There's only one book left, along with a novella, but... I'm still not sure. It took me 21 days to get through this one book alone... if that tells you anything.

For more reviews like this one, check out my blog at https://riaoum.wordpress.com/ !