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Mythica #1
Midnight Medusa
As a child, Renata witnessed unspeakable horrors in war-torn Bosnia. Now a world away in New York City, Renata channels her pain and anger into her art, sculpting war criminals--all of whom die once her pieces are complete. It seems like just a sick coincidence until Damon, a son of Ares, kidnaps her and tells her the shocking that Renata is a gorgon with the power to kill with her art.
Will Renata use her newfound power to get revenge, or will the sexy, mysterious Damon stop her first?
Will Renata use her newfound power to get revenge, or will the sexy, mysterious Damon stop her first?
51 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2012
4 people are currently reading
436 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Draven
18 books203 followersStephanie Draven lives in a city of ravens and purple night skies with her favorite nocturnal creatures. And when she is not busy with dark domestic rituals, she writes her books.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 3, 2019
An entertaining novella about Renata, a war-forged gorgon and Deimos, a son of Ares.
Loving the mythology aspect of Stephanie Draven's books.
This was just waaaay too short!!
Loving the mythology aspect of Stephanie Draven's books.
This was just waaaay too short!!
May 6, 2011
The emotions that this story brought forth when I read this book when it came out, are still with me and so wanted to re-read before writing this review. It is just as beautiful to read now as before and so much more I felt this time reading it. Just starting with the first and few paragraphs, you will be absorbed into Renata's haunting past as a child in Bosnia and her current memories of agony she is struggling with. Renata's a sculptural and had done her art of sculpturing the war criminals that were on trial. Until this time, she has been under great fear to testify and these war criminals have been dying before she does testify. Renata is kidnapped by a Greek god of war, during the time she's doing an exhibit of War Criminals in a museum, she is kidnapped by Damon (Demos, one of the twin sons of Ames). Damon wants to protect Renata from the other gods of war from using her skills and help her understand who she is as a gorgon. As he also has the skill to take away her fear, they become one in love to do whats righteous for those to be punished for the war crimes.
Set in many settings as he takes to hide her from the others, this author gives you the whole feel of her surroundings including all the senses of visual, taste and so much emotional. With flashbacks of her childhood, she lived as a victim in fear until she met Damon. Together they reach so many heights of happiness together that both never had through life. With the awesome themes within this story, the reader will want to read even more about the Greek gods and mythology that was so skillfully blended into this fulfilling paranormal romance story! After a second read of this, I'm on a cloud nine of the emotions I went through reading this and the growth of the characters that the author Stephanie Draven so brilliantly portrayed as realistic with Damon and Renata. I'm now planning to read her second Nocturne Bites available now, WILD, TETHERED, BOUND too sounds like another unique read!
Set in many settings as he takes to hide her from the others, this author gives you the whole feel of her surroundings including all the senses of visual, taste and so much emotional. With flashbacks of her childhood, she lived as a victim in fear until she met Damon. Together they reach so many heights of happiness together that both never had through life. With the awesome themes within this story, the reader will want to read even more about the Greek gods and mythology that was so skillfully blended into this fulfilling paranormal romance story! After a second read of this, I'm on a cloud nine of the emotions I went through reading this and the growth of the characters that the author Stephanie Draven so brilliantly portrayed as realistic with Damon and Renata. I'm now planning to read her second Nocturne Bites available now, WILD, TETHERED, BOUND too sounds like another unique read!
July 2, 2011
Renata is a Bosnian survivor and a sculptor, she sculpts only the dead or soon to die, until she is kidnapped by a son of Ares and discovers that war has transformed her too and given her powers which can make her into as much of a monster as the war criminals she wishes to punish. - The idea here was interesting but it was quite short.
September 15, 2010
Renata wears the scars of her war-torn past both inside and outside. As a child, Renata has lost her parents and her innocent to warfare in her homeland of Bosnia. As an adult, she deals with her anger and pain through sculpting -- but the subjects of her artwork mysteriously end up dead. On the opening of her latest show, she's kidnapped by a mysterious and attractive stranger who reveals the source of her powers. She's a Gorgon and she's been sculpting her revenge in stone.
This short story was a fresh and creative integration of Greek mythology with very current themes. The story doesn't shy away from the pain of war and its psychological effects, nor does it gloss it over with airy romance. Instead, Stephanie Draven handles the deep issues of healing, fighting fear, and finding love after tragic loss.
Renata is a complex heroine who struggles with her own past. There's another twist on the paranormal hero in this book -- Deimos isn't a superhero with magic powers who swoops in to save the day. Like the Greek gods of old, these immortals are very "human" with human faults. I loved this take on how the Greek gods might have evolved to walk among us today.
This short story was a fresh and creative integration of Greek mythology with very current themes. The story doesn't shy away from the pain of war and its psychological effects, nor does it gloss it over with airy romance. Instead, Stephanie Draven handles the deep issues of healing, fighting fear, and finding love after tragic loss.
Renata is a complex heroine who struggles with her own past. There's another twist on the paranormal hero in this book -- Deimos isn't a superhero with magic powers who swoops in to save the day. Like the Greek gods of old, these immortals are very "human" with human faults. I loved this take on how the Greek gods might have evolved to walk among us today.
July 20, 2009
Midnight Meduas is the first Nocturne, let alone Silhouette, novel by Stephanie Draven. Knowing the author by her other unknown works, expectations were high going in. That's when I realize, this IS Harlequin. What developments that might appear in a stand-alone fantasy novel would greatly differ on a Harlequin platform.
That said, it is my greatest hope that Ms. Draven would store this "world" into her back pocket for when she decides it is time for a stand-alone fantasy novel. The twin brothers, the sculptress and ancient gods/monsters captivated. I can see the potential for a series to keep me turning the pages over and over and re-reading.
A quick-read, I was able to finish it in a night and during a brief commute. Not bad. Not her greatest. In my notes, I kept marking places for more character development. Places to open the reader into her main characters a little more. For example, actually giving her foster parents names. A name gives meaning. BUT I can see in a Silhouette, the number of words are limited. And because of that certain places that in a stand-alone we're used to seeing more development, it's shaved off in order to proceed with the plot.
I find the use of the twin brothers combined with a lesser-known gods to be the best possible choice. Too many novels these days handle the main gods. It was refreshing and enchanting to read about panic and terror. I wish there was a little more development regarding gorgons and their ties to the old gods (aside from what a common mythological reader would know). Likewise with the Zeus portion. What powers or wants does she want as a daughter of Zeus? How is that tied to the twins? The choice of a sculptress with black stone...riveting. To me, the two went so hand-in-hand. What would be awesome is if that stone was specific to Bosnia - carved out of the rubble there. But the black with the War Criminal is chilling and ripe with horror, anger and anguish.
I could go on and on about other little details which makes this novel pop. Cause it does have those charming points which make you say - I like that.
Some novels opt to go a trashy route with their sex scenes. Ms. Draven definitely did not go that route; this one builds to that point that it isn't disappointing when the scene is a brief part of the storyline. In fact, I loved the chemistry build-up. The want. The thoughts. The haunting looks. The aches. Great choices there.
The ending left me wanting more. So again, I absolutely hope a future full-length novel in this "world" will be done. I want to see what happens to those two. What of the other gorgons? What do /they/ become? What future battles await? And will another war god tempt her away?
Good work. Great start. Refreshing to see something different in the Nocturne series than the classic sparkly emo-loving vampires.
That said, it is my greatest hope that Ms. Draven would store this "world" into her back pocket for when she decides it is time for a stand-alone fantasy novel. The twin brothers, the sculptress and ancient gods/monsters captivated. I can see the potential for a series to keep me turning the pages over and over and re-reading.
A quick-read, I was able to finish it in a night and during a brief commute. Not bad. Not her greatest. In my notes, I kept marking places for more character development. Places to open the reader into her main characters a little more. For example, actually giving her foster parents names. A name gives meaning. BUT I can see in a Silhouette, the number of words are limited. And because of that certain places that in a stand-alone we're used to seeing more development, it's shaved off in order to proceed with the plot.
I find the use of the twin brothers combined with a lesser-known gods to be the best possible choice. Too many novels these days handle the main gods. It was refreshing and enchanting to read about panic and terror. I wish there was a little more development regarding gorgons and their ties to the old gods (aside from what a common mythological reader would know). Likewise with the Zeus portion. What powers or wants does she want as a daughter of Zeus? How is that tied to the twins? The choice of a sculptress with black stone...riveting. To me, the two went so hand-in-hand. What would be awesome is if that stone was specific to Bosnia - carved out of the rubble there. But the black with the War Criminal is chilling and ripe with horror, anger and anguish.
I could go on and on about other little details which makes this novel pop. Cause it does have those charming points which make you say - I like that.
Some novels opt to go a trashy route with their sex scenes. Ms. Draven definitely did not go that route; this one builds to that point that it isn't disappointing when the scene is a brief part of the storyline. In fact, I loved the chemistry build-up. The want. The thoughts. The haunting looks. The aches. Great choices there.
The ending left me wanting more. So again, I absolutely hope a future full-length novel in this "world" will be done. I want to see what happens to those two. What of the other gorgons? What do /they/ become? What future battles await? And will another war god tempt her away?
Good work. Great start. Refreshing to see something different in the Nocturne series than the classic sparkly emo-loving vampires.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2013
Writing: 4
Story: 3
Satisfaction: 4
Midnight Medusa was included in my copy of Poisoned Kisses and it was a nice short read. I really like the way to Draven incorporates the mythological creatures into her universe and the skepticism of the non-aware characters is well done.
In Midnight Medusa, Renata is a sculptor who's subjects die suddenly as soon as she finishes their image in stone. An orphan from Bosnia from a young age, Renata has become a gorgon due to the horrors that she witnessed and there are those who would take advantage of her ability. Damon kidnaps her before she can kill again. As a short story, I didn't find Midnight Medusa quite as enthralling as Poisoned Kisses and I didn't think the chemistry was as powerful but it was still a good read.
Story: 3
Satisfaction: 4
Midnight Medusa was included in my copy of Poisoned Kisses and it was a nice short read. I really like the way to Draven incorporates the mythological creatures into her universe and the skepticism of the non-aware characters is well done.
In Midnight Medusa, Renata is a sculptor who's subjects die suddenly as soon as she finishes their image in stone. An orphan from Bosnia from a young age, Renata has become a gorgon due to the horrors that she witnessed and there are those who would take advantage of her ability. Damon kidnaps her before she can kill again. As a short story, I didn't find Midnight Medusa quite as enthralling as Poisoned Kisses and I didn't think the chemistry was as powerful but it was still a good read.
June 22, 2015
well, I liked this one loads better than the other story I read by this author. I liked the whole concept of the gods' roles in today's world and cultures. Loved that the heroine had a pet snake, which is perfectly suited for her, considering the discovery we have as to who and what she is about halfway into the book. Trust me, it'll make sense when you read it, if you haven't already. :-) I wasn't sure at first though who the hero would end up being considering how we're introduced to the two key male characters. But I'm glad it ended up being who it was, even though at first it seemed like it might be the other guy.
October 28, 2010
This is included as a short story in Draven's Poisoned Kisses book that was released in September. I love the different takes on the ancient mythology. The characters were believable and you want to read more about them. The story line was fast paced and it kept you saying "I need to read one more chapter, just one more before I go {do whatever- like laundry :(}", and then you would get to the end of the chapter and have to read one more. I can't wait to read more by this creative genius!
November 22, 2009
This was my first read by author Stephanie Draven, but not my first Nocturne Bites book, of which, typically, I enjoy. This book was no exception to the Nocturne standards. An enjoyable read from the very first line, and an interesting, unique plot drove the romance along nicely.
I'll definitely be keeping my eyes out for more books from Stephanie, I liked her flow, and style.
I'll definitely be keeping my eyes out for more books from Stephanie, I liked her flow, and style.
September 8, 2010
Very creative story and great inclusion of mythology into the real world.
October 1, 2010
needed more.
September 26, 2014
short and sweet :)
March 28, 2017
very good for a short read and I definitely recommend it. I deducted a star b/c I know this book would've been even more awesome if it were longer (and had more smut scenes Lol).
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews