Victoria Marmot and the Meddling Goddess

Victoria Marmot #1

by Virginia McClain

This is book one of five in the fast-paced, humorous, trope-twisty, lgbtq inclusive romp that is the Victoria Marmot series. The five book series is COMPLETE! No waiting. No wondering. Just bingeing the whole thing in a weekend. Victoria Marmot is just an average teenage girl... if by "average" you mean an orphaned, multi-lingual, martial arts expert who owns her own home and may or may not have magical abilities. When Vic is told her parents didn't die the way she thinks they did, her world is turned upside down and she's left with the task of finding out what really happened to them. But when her quest to uncover the truth reveals a massive conspiracy by a corrupt magical government, will her efforts save the world or take the whole universe down with her?

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural, Magic, Paranormal, Feminism

269 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 18, 2018

About the author

Virginia McClain is an author who recently stopped daylighting as a Spanish teacher in Arizona and switched to writing full time in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When she's not writing she can often be found climbing to the top of large rocks, running on trails, backpacking, and generally engaging in any excuse to go play outside. Now that she has moved to the Great White North she will probably add snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and ice skating to her list of outdoor adventures, but as it's still warm out she'll start with canoeing (something she hasn't done in years) and see how it goes from there. She lives with her husband and their furry, canine companion Artemis.

Reviews

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The beginning of this was so freaking weird.. but then I definitely got past that.

Victoria Marmot and the Meddling Goddess was an interesting book. I laughed when the narrator stepped in but wanted to see where this book was going to take me after that. The names in this book were hilarious. At one point, I thought this was a joke.. like the whole book. In the end, it turned out to be an enjoyable read and I'm kind of happy that I have the next two ARCs as well.

Victoria reminded me of so many different characters in books that I've previously read. She's smart, funny, sassy, and a bit of a bad ass. She's wondering what the heck happened to her parents but at the same time she wants to know what happened to her weird stalker friend. Without spoiling anything about this book, I'll just say it was enjoyable. I wish the characters that we met at this school or along the way weren't so weird (like the names) but I enjoyed it anyways.

In the end, I'm going to dive into book 2.. in like 3 seconds.

[Christina McMullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please understand that I make the following statement with love:
Wtf did I just read?
No really, this was something I didn't think existed: YA fantasy with humor, sarcasm, calling out absurd tropes, and fourth walk breaking in the first chapter. What's not to love? Seriously, I'm going to keep going with this one and pray for more of the same.

[Patricia Hamill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in a series of books featuring Vic (aka Victoria Marmot).

One of the things I most enjoyed about this story was how Vic reacts to the weird stuff that is happening to her. I think best of these were her reactions to the Twilight-esque vampire/werewolf love interests. Then you add in the nods to the Harry Potter universe. Honestly, it’s a toss-up between which of the two worlds this story seems to be poking fun at the most. Obviously Twilight. But then again, when the headmaster Albert says, “Didn’t they tell you? Surely you’ve wondered how they learned it all!” you can’t quite keep from picturing Hagrid introducing magic to Harry for the first time.

I also enjoyed the way the narrator is introduced. Quite entertaining, though I did have to go back and re-read it once I began to understand what was happening. Clever.

On the other hand, the core plot of this story is a bit straightforward, despite its best efforts to tangle itself up in elements from the two series aforementioned. Without those entanglements, I am not sure I’d have enjoyed this too much on its own merits. Still, my impression is that these nods and references are in fact the main point of the story.

So yeah, Vic’s no-nonsense denial of the “stupid” and her unwillingness to fall into the standard paranormal romance female heroine role totally make this book worth reading. Having read Harry Potter, Twilight, and other shifter-type PNR books made this one all the more fun. I got the jokes. I saw the contradictions. All the things that bug folks about those worlds are embraced and then denied in this one.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story for what it is. I think fans of fantasy and the paranormal who are looking for a huge dose of sassy heroine are in for a treat. No trope is safe!

I received the review copy of this book via NetGalley.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 26%

[KatsCauldron R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immensely entertaining, I needed a lark to take the edge off of the stress & this was it. A hysterical action filled romp. A teen book enjoyable by adults with a great kinda heroine: an over achiever whose lost her parents, had to move to a new area to finish high school by herself and runs into a wackadoodle that ruins her campout & plan to watch a meteor shower. There is alot of tongue in cheek & she fell asleep reading a fun series I've read: twenty-sided sorceress by Annie Bellet, so great hook in. YAS, D&D is coming back in vogue HARD so dust off those dice & notebooks. Her first day at school is a beauty, with an insufferable sparklie, a fuzzy & a principle enveloped in a fog of pot smoke lounging with iguanas. This was as easy to curl up with as hot spiced rum on a cold night, I love it & intend to continue the series asap

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

The recently orphaned (six months prior) seventeen-year-old mixed-heritage Victoria Adelaide Marmot is an adorably snarky and feisty high school senior on a quest announced by a goddess. A student of mixed martial arts since age 10 and a lifelong fluency in Spanish due to her father may or may not serve her well as she embarks on her own Hero's Journey in the peaceful mountain city of Flagstaff, Arizona, where she now inhabits the home her recently deceased parents bequeathed her. Her adventures will surely appeal to all lovers of urban fantasy or Potteresque schools.

[Cleocutie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts out with a pretty common plot- heroine finds that she is not entirely human and has to set out to save the world. But the way it was told takes it to a whole new level of fun. It pokes fun at other popular fantasy series, has the main character narrating her own story and knowing she is doing so and is not afraid to call out the absurd situations she finds herself in. This is not a book that you get invested in or with high stakes. But it is perfect if you like light, fun books that you don't have to think too hard to enjoy or if, like me, you just finished a kind of heavy series and want something that is fun and doesn't have to be thought about too hard to be enjoyed.

[Sunshyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The story was hilarious and I loved all the F bombs. I mean after all when your life gets turned upside down F!?< is the proverbial word that comes to my mind. The story is spot on. And I’m off to buy book 2

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story has magic, weres, vamps, phoenixes and awesome out of the box humor. Great use of colorful language, this story is so right up my alley!

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth five stars just for the entry alone. A wonderful frolic through popular fantasy, this book satirically references everything from sparkly vampires and clingy werewolves to ancient goddesses of luck and trees of life. Fun and short, this is a brilliant read sure to please fans of every one from Neil Degrasse Tyson to Tolkien.

[Kari Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC. This is an honest review.
**EDIT 1/22/18 : My final thoughts on this will be on book three because I am not able to separate out the books enough to not spoil things**
Victoria is young woman who just lost her parents and somehow inherited wealth and lawyers. Her parents had secrets and now she gets to uncover them in new town with some really weird residents.

The first part of this book was confusing but continue to read. It does get better. This was a short book partly because it did also move fast pace. It was short enough that I cannot for an opinion on whether to recommend this or not. A lot was going on in the first book and nothing feels resolved. This could have been fleshed out a little bit or this series is really just one giant book. I don't know because I was not granted the other two books to read. Hence the maybe. I think this is a series where you want the full set to truly recommend it or not. I just feel like somebody gave me a tiny bite of what could be awesome pie but won't let me eat the rest. *Edit: The author contacted me because NetGalley messed up by not granting the other two books. I will read the other two and this review will be changed accordingly.*

Three stars on NetGalley for a maybe recommend and two stars for Goodreads for It was OK (really 2.5 stars because I did sort of like it but I did not certainly like it).

[Bjørn]

"Life, this is my brother, Trev."
A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU.

When a book begins with the first person and the third person narrating the first person arguing about who is going to do all the narrating, you know it's going to be special.

Halfway through book one I went and bought the full five-book box set. Take my advice and do that immediately if you enjoy all sorts of pop-culture references, half of which I am probably missing, thrown into a blender, narrated (mostly) by MTV's Daria (if you're old enough to know who Daria is you will probably also miss half of the pop-culture references, but on the plus side you know who Daria is), hilarious, magical, and "action-filled" doesn't begin to cover it when you have a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter. The fact that the humour leans towards Pratchett-esque definitely doesn't hurt.

One of those reads I didn't know I needed to bad until I found it. "Whatever, reality could suck it." EXACTLY, Victoria. One word review? FUN.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

This is a very fun and quick Urban Fantasy satire perfect for those on the inside joke. If you're aware of the current Urban Fantasy tropes, you're going to have fun with this book. It's insanely fast paced, which is great for my tendency to speed read, and the story hidden among all of the parodies of various YA fantasies (Twilight is a huge one) is pretty compelling. Overall, the fun of this book can be summed up in one phrase the main character delightfully exclaims throughout the novel:
"I'M A MOTHERFUCKING SNOW LEOPARD"

[Anastasia ｼ · Rating 3 out of 5]

ehhhhhhh ... nope

[Adi · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Still currently reading, so I'll update this as I go*

**THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW because frankly, I can't talk about it without giving some stuff away. But I'll try not to ruin the ending. Basically, if you have read Harry Potter or Twilight, nothing in this review should come as a surprise.**

I picked up this book for free through a giveaway. Was not paid or given any gifts or anything or even asked for a review. So this is totally just me.

I'm about halfway through the book so far, and I'm debating whether or not to finish it. Not because it's a horrible book (it's not) but I'm just not sure it's really my cup of tea. I decided to pick it up because (1) free book, and (2) it was billed as something to the effect of "Harry Potter/Twilight with a strong feminist POC lead who fights the patriarchy and is generally woke." I liked Harry Potter and hated Twilight enough that it sounded like a good read to me.

What the ad failed to mention was the the book is basically a spoof in the same vein as "Fifty Shades of Plaid." The book opens with Vic, the titular character, taking some time off to herself on a hike in the woods, when she realizes that someone is narrating her life. She discovers some witchy/fairy/fate woman named Gwen hiding in the bushes, argues with her about the creepiness of having your life narrated, and then takes over the narration herself. So, right off the bat, it's clear this book is going for humor. But the gag kind of falls flat because the rest of the book does nothing to break the fourth wall in the same way. The book is narrated in the usual first-person POV, and Vic apparently never notices that her thoughts are drifting out to the reader.

And then the fairy woman disappears. To which Vic responds by.... going home.

The rest of the book can be summed up as "Mary-Sue orphan has weird stuff happen to her, she responds with varying degrees of WTF?!? and expert self-defense techniques." Occasionally we are shown how progressive she is because she brings up personal space and respecting pronouns. But for a character who has actually read Harry Potter and seems to have no trouble rattling off details about dark-matter because she watches NdGT on COSMOS, and is also an expert swimmer and mixed-martial-artist (?), she is extremely slow on the uptake when it comes to recognizing and accepting that there are magical things happening.

Like, she meets a person who can narrate her thoughts out loud in real time and disappear in a flash and tells her that her parents' disappearance was not what it seemed, and she just shrugs it off and goes to school.

She gets more rattled by a creepy naked guy than an actual wolf just appearing in school and straight-up attacking said naked guy. And when a teacher literally tells her that the wolf is her new friend in wolf form and the wolf disappears and is replaced by that new friend, she just .... ignores it? Even when the wolf follows her home? And acts all tame? And protects her again when the creepy guy shows up at her house? Seriously.... for someone who seems to be great at literally everything else, she is horribly slow on the big picture.

The writing is nothing spectacular, for a spoof book, but it's also not horrible. If you're just looking for a piece of entertainment that pokes fun at tropes in YA fantasy, this is a good one for that. But it's lacking a decent story of its own. For the first half of the book, nothing actually happens except for Vic constantly telling people to leave her alone. Aside from the violent encounters with Creepy McStalkerpants, there is no actual action, and every secret is revealed to her through the clever construct of... exposition. Like, magical people show up and just tell her stuff that they expect she ought to know because they can all tell she's magical too.

Since the book doesn't take itself seriously, there's no point in the reader doing so. It's a good enough book for what it's trying to be, and nothing more. So three stars seems about right to me.

[K. Lincoln · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, actually.

The book starts with a comedic conceit that wasn't to my particular taste:

"Her chestnut hair barely reflected the starlight, her mint-green eyes flashing with confusion as her caramel skin darkened to the color of milk chocolate with increasing ire.

"Who the f-ck is hiding in the woods describing me like a damned dessert?"

About 8 Kindle pages in, the book switched over to a more normal first person narrative that was easier for me to enjoy. Victoria Marmot is at a new school in a new town after both her parents die. But the folks at her new school are anything but normal. There is a stalkery handsome guy named Edik (cue some really fun lampooning of Twilight here) and a nice young man named Seamus who seems to disappear whenever a wolf happens to be around.

But don't get me wrong, this is not a Twilight-esque book. Its pretty comedic and fun in loosely-built world adventury kind of way. Vic learns a surprise about her past that indicates she isn't entirely human and thrusts her into a vague quest to save people from a shadowy government agency.

This quest involves climbing sheer rock faces naked (what do were-creatures do with their clothes is a running thread in this book) and handling a goddess who pops in and out of her life.

Vic herself is a pretty lively, fun, sarcastic narrator. I think I wasn't drawn as much into her world partially because I'm drawn into quests when the emotional stake are high-- and due to the brief nature of her acquaintance with her new found friends and also the obvious lampooning/light lambasting of popular franchises in this book I never quite felt like I had emotional skin in the game.

It's a great book to flirt with, but not boyfriend material, if you know what I mean.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Victoria Marmot and the Meddling Goddess" eBook was published in 2018 and was written by Virginia McClain (http://virginiamcclain.blogspot.com). Ms. McClain has published six novels or novellas. This is the first of her "Victoria Marmot" series. 

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains lots of Mature Language and some Mature Situations. The story is set in the contemporary US, but one that has magic. The primary character is seventeen-year-old Victoria Marmot. 

Marmot has just begun her Senior Year at a new school in Flagstaff, AZ. She is living there alone in the house that her parents left her in their will. She is struggling to get through the first day in a new school when things start to go strange in a big way. While camping alone Gwen, a beautiful redheaded girl, pops up naked at Marmot's campsite saying that she is Virginia's "Narrator". Then there is Edik, the young man in her class that turns out to be a vampire. 

From that point, the story of Marmot's life really begins to get crazy and she begins a quest. She finds she has magical abilities. She discovers that she has a sibling. She is attracted to both a boy and a girl that are helping her. 

I thought that the 3.5+ hours I spent reading this 269-page young adult fantasy were interesting. The character of Victoria Marmot is colorful. She does make a good main character, though she is far from what I would call normal. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a 3.5 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/. 

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me just start out by saying this book was nothing like I expected. The synopsis had me hooked right away, I mean who doesn't want to ready about a teenage girl who is orphaned, multi-lingual and a martial arts expert who has some magic thrown into her life? That being said, I almost stopped reading after the first two chapters. In the first few sentences we find out that there is a narrator who can speak to our main character Victoria "Vic" Marmot. Usually I'm not really into those kinds of stories where the narrator is part of the story. Going into chapter two I was still unsure if I wanted to keep reading because the book came off as trying to be humorous while also being rough and edgy.

I kept reading because the story line, although fast moving, was entertaining enough and had me questioning what happens next. Although the ending leaves a major cliff hanger, I did enjoy reading this story very much and plan on continuing to the next one.

However, my main reason for giving this story 3 stars instead of 4 is that I constantly felt like I was being told something was happening and was just supposed to accept that. This story actually gave me "Not Another Teen Movie" feels with reference to other YA books and movies, as well as throwing in just about anything you can think of fantasy and suspense related. I just wish there had been more foreshadowing to get us to the surprises then people just showing up and stating that "this is this and you don't need to have any background as to why or how".

I received a review copy from Hidden Gems in exchange for an honest review.

[Regitze Xenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recieved a free digital ARC ig this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It’s not that I hated this book. I just don’t care about it at all. The story wasn’t engaging at all. It took me forever to get into the story as the first chapter was so damn confusing and trying to be meta-edgy and I hated that part. From there the story went back and forth between infodumping and ridiculous dialogue with barely any action. I couldn’t tell you how many different mythological being and folklorish happenings were in this story, but it was a lot. None of the characters interested me and the only moment where I felt a tiny bit of excitement was towards the end. The last chapter ends of a cliffhanger and before that there’s hinted at some bigger questions. I read this book fast, but I wasn’t paying attention to it the same way I normally would. I loved the cover, but the story was a mess. I’m confused to who this would be entertaining and really I just wanted the book to be over so I could be done with it. A very disappointing read, that could have done with a heavy editing in pretty much all aspects.

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victoria Marmot is just an average teenage girl... if by "average" you mean an orphaned, multi-lingual, martial arts expert who owns her own home and may or may not have magical abilities.
When Vic is told her parents didn't die the way she thinks they did, her world is turned upside down and she's left with the task of finding out what really happened to them. But when her quest to uncover the truth reveals a massive conspiracy by a corrupt magical government, will her efforts save the world or take the whole universe down with her?

This is a great start to this new series.
Geared towards YA but if you dnjoy urban fantasy you will enjoy this.
Well written plot and story line that is engaging from the start.
Well fleshed out characters that are interesting and enjoyed reading about them.
Great world building that hints at some wonderful adventures to be had.
Looking forward to more of these.

I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was received as an ARC from Virginia McClain in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

When first hearing about this book, I did not know what to expect. From reading the description, the book sounded like a sci-fi fantasy book which does very well at our library. After reading this book, the fantasy, drama, current trends and references expressed throughout the book did not disappoint which makes the book easily relatable with our readers. Each chapter got more interesting and many events happened that were unexpected. The younger crowd especially will enjoy this book because of all the current pop culture references throughout the book. A very enjoyable read.

This book will find its way to our Sci-Fi/Fantasy collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

[Stephanie Caye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the basic premise of the book, and most of the wacky stuff that goes on (the opening argument around the narrator was unique and interesting, and Gwen is definitely my favourite character). That said, I feel like it could use a good edit. Information gets repeated unnecessarily and the pacing doesn't flow smoothly--like the sudden jump from meeting the new characters, to Vic having her whole life change due to hidden information, to suddenly being mid-fight at a government installation made me think I'd skipped a few chapters. While I love the idea of an urban fantasy parody, I don't really care about the characters or their relationships, and everybody's kind of one-dimensional. In any event, I'll probably try out the second book to see if it improves because there's definitely things to enjoy here.

[Bobbie Kirkland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of VICTORIA MARMOT AND THE MEDDLING GODDESS (Victoria Marmot Book One) by Virginia McClain in exchange for an honest review. We find Vic just as things are getting weird. She’s starting a new school soon, so she goes camping to refresh herself for the new experience. Instead of finding peace, she finds she’s being stalked by a weirdo describing her every action. After finally chasing off the weirdo, things settle down until she actually goes to her new school. Weirdness, chaos, quests, pop-culture references, and pot-shots at popular literature ensue.

This story was quick, entertaining, and, occasionally, funny. Contains frequent profanity.

#VictoriaMarmotAndTheMeddlingGoddessVictoriaMarmotBookOne #NetGalley

[R.M. Bang · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a delightfully fast and fun read. The first few pages were a bit hard for me to get through, but by the end of the first chapter I was hooked. If you're looking for some lighthearted and humorous brain candy this is the book for you.

Victoria is a smarter Buffy and more likable Harry. The author keeps things simple and doesn't bog readers down with boring details like 3000 word descriptions of furniture and houseplants.

I recommend this for anyone who just wants something upbeat and fun.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tale is straight forward. Parents die, provisions were made to take care of MC that places her in unfamiliar surroundings. Untold secrets slowly get revealed. This book totally feels like a spoof and I love the way this author did it. The supporting characters all feel like they have one foot in the psyche ward. The teenage MC has self defense on auto pilot. The snarkiness and humor is hilarious! It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it definitely had me giggling and snorting like a pig. Book one is just the intro so reading more is a must!

[Destiny Bridwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I got all three book in the series to read and review. I was not sure what I was getting into when I first found this series. I have to say Vic is a very quirky character and how she reacts to the weird things in her life is just crazy. In the first book in the series she is trying to figure how what really happy to her family. IT was a good base for the rest of the series. It made want to read the rest. 

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this book merits closer to 2.5, but since goodreads only allows full stars and I kept being annoyed by touches that seemed useless at best, it gets 2. This is the only book I have ever been intrigued enough by an ad on shmasebook to actually look up, and since it was free I downloaded it. I will likely only read more if the library acquires them and I am really bored. The book is also quite short and ends on a blatant cliffhanger.

[Mai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victoria is the most ridiculously Mary Sue of all the Mary Sues, and it is amazingly fun to follow along as the author pokes fun at or gives a nod to all sorts of books, tv shows, and movies and other supernatural tropes. It's really more the first part of a story as it ends on a cliffhanger, but it was still a lot of fun.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very fleshed out

I did not really enjoy this book. It seemed like it was trying to be meta (it starts out with a discussion of narrative styles) but I found it annoying rather than amusing. It just overall was not well written. The plot and characters are extremely thin. It ended with a cliffhanger and I truly don’t care what happens next

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked it up as it was billed as fantasy with more diversity and it delivered on that. Although I felt like it was weak overall (maybe needs some heavy editing?) the storyline is interesting and the humor is quirky enough that I’ll keep reading the series.