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A Greek God at the Ladies' Club

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What if you had sculpted the perfect replica of a gorgeous Greek god and, right before you're about to unveil it to a group of ladies, it comes to life in all its naked glory? What if your creation wanted to reward you by fulfilling your every desire? What would you do? If you're Alexandra, you'd want to smash something. The statue of Darius, playboy god, was supposed to bring in much-needed cash for the orphanage where Alex grew up. Now that it has miraculously turned to flesh, she just needs to give it a small imperfection so that it'll turn back into the marble statue she created. Never mind that she fell in love with him—it—a little every day while she was sculpting the exquisite body. Never mind that he—it—is every bit as sexy and charming and powerful as she imagined. And she sure as heck shouldn't be tempted by his heated offer to fulfill her every desire . . .

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 25, 2003

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About the author

Jenna McKnight

12 books39 followers
Has anyone else ever sheltered through a hailstorm in the mountains with a skunk? If I put this in a book, you'd think it was made up, right?

Wrong. The story of my first week of wedded bliss could be titled "How Not To Spend Your Honeymoon." My husband (still) has this thing about seeing what's over the next hill. Did you ever notice that what's over the next hill is another hill? And if you're not watching the sky, black clouds can roll right in, open up and toss out big icy chunks of hail, not those puny pea-sized balls. So there I am, on my honeymoon, trying to keep my cool, and the only protective covering was a small building on stilts. It seemed to be part of a ski lift operation. (Don't ask; neither of us ski.) The skunk was there first, but to its credit, it shared without raising too much of a stink. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

People are always asking, "Where do you get your ideas?"

Does my honeymoon give any clues??

The idea for Two Weddings and a Feud was born in a flash flood on the Current River, during the Great Flood of '93 in the midwest. That's when I learned how fast I can break camp. Fast!!! Five of us moved everything uphill--tents, canopy, canoes, all the gear, even the fire where our steak dinner was cooking--and didn't lose anything but two days' time. We could've hiked out sooner, but leave our canoes behind? I don't think so.

During research for Alligator Alley, I had the opportunity to pet a tiger. He was on his side of the bars and I was on mine, thank you very much. I also wanted to see what the Everglades were really like, so I hired a boat and went out into the alligator-filled waterways. Awesome!

Wedding Knight research material came from a long-ago trip to Spain where I poked around old castles. I have pictures of my brother-in-law climbing the ruins. He didn't break his arm until he came home and stood on a chair to fix something, thank goodness. That kind of research I can do without.

I've had several books published since the first one, in 14 countries, last count. A Date on Cloud Nine has been picked up by Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs and is going hardback. I get fan mail from countries where the books weren't released, so some of them have travelin' feet of their own. Some I enjoyed writing more than others. But I always, always enjoy the research.

2009 Update

Sometime between the finish of Witch in the House and its release, I developed seasonal affective disorder (SAD). I don't know if you know much about SAD, but there are no tests for it. The only way you know you have it is when you have a couple really rotten winters in a row, and then you go, Oh gee, that happened last December too. And then the doctor says, You have seasonal affective disorder. Well, okay!

Life can do a one-eighty pretty fast. I went from hours-on-end at my desk, writing books, to reading beneath a special lamp many mornings, and just generally getting out more during the daytime. Neither is conducive to the type of writing I enjoy. So, in a nutshell, I haven't been writing much.

As for getting out more, you know how "they" warn us about the sun. It's bad for us, we shouldn't tan, it causes cataracts, best slather on the sunscreen!, and so on? Turns out that sunshine is my new friend. I get out more. I use sunscreen. I protect my eyes with polycarbonate lenses that aren't dark enough to call sunglasses.

In the meantime, I have been receiving more fan mail on Witch in the House than all my other books put together. Many letters are from witches who read the book and wanted to acknowledge how much they enjoyed it, how "dead on" it was. I thank all of you for writing, witches and non-witches alike. I truly enjoy your emails.

It's like sunshine!

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5 stars
54 (18%)
4 stars
74 (25%)
3 stars
95 (33%)
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40 (14%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
Profile Image for Best_beloved.
14 reviews64 followers
November 12, 2008
A retelling of Pygmalion, sort of. The set up for this book is that Darius, Greek god of Gems, changed himself into a statue and couldn’t change back when his statue was smashed. He was cursed by Zeus to remain without a body until someone creates a perfect statue of him to replace the one that was lost. Yeah, I know. Anyway, this means when that when Alexandra sculpts a marble statue of Darius, he inhabits it and becomes flesh again. Voila, no more statue. Downside? If he gets injured in anyway, a scratch or stubs his toe, statue. Obviously, this is annoying. It’s annoying to Darius, it’s annoying to Alex, and, most importantly, it’s annoying to the reader.

This whole book reads like something the author wrote after too many late night IMing sessions or way too much alcohol. Most of the book is centered on the Zany Adventures & Wacky Hijinks of the newly returned God. Some highlights include, but are not limited to:

Building catching on fire
Stolen Jewelry
Out of control police cars
Tiring amount of statue/not statue
Planted jewelry
Secret curses
Threats
Shooting
Secret children

I spent the first 50 pages wearing the polite social smile of someone listening to a bad joke, and the next 150 pages begging, begging for any character development or even a smidgeon of plot. Around page 200 (pacing, pacing, pacing) the author realized what everyone already has – you need more than Zany Adventures & Wacky Hijinks to form a relationship - especially when one of the characters keeps trying to make the other turn into stone. For most of the book, Alexandra would rather Darius be a statue. She needs him to raise money for the orphans (Really orphans. No, this is not a Victorian novel, why do you ask?) and, less importantly, her career. So, when he’s human, she doesn’t have her artwork.

The relationship between the Playboy God (yes, that’s his official moniker) and Alexandra the feisty, orphan loving sculptress is incredibly compressed. Darius falls in love, in less than 10 days, based on the way Alexandra rasps a file across his marble body. No, not kidding. Alexandra begins to have feelings for Darius because her ex-husband was a jerk. She was in a car accident and has a scar on her stomach. It sounds like it would be painful and ugly, but it’s on her stomach. Anyway, as soon as she’s out of the hospital he leaves her telling her that she’s not longer beautiful. Again, because of a scar on her stomach. Anyway, Darius doesn’t mind the scar which makes her fall in love, kinda, although she would still rather have a statue.

Sadly, Alexandra suffers tragically from Too Stupid Too Live. In this age, most adults know that if you unplug your television, it shouldn’t still play. Also, things just don’t float around your apartment. Lastly, if a life size nude marble statue that takes more than four men to lift disappears and a man looking suspiciously like said statue is left in its place – don’t accuse the naked stranger of stealing it.

Anyway, Darius beaks Zeus’ curse and gets his body back permanently or so he thinks. But he still turns into a statue at night. Why? It turns out that Hera wants grandchildren and cursed him to be a statue until he agrees to marry the goddess of her choice, live at Olympus, and has children. Yeah, it didn’t seem likely to me either.

In better hands, this book could have been good. As it stands, it’s poorly paced and annoying.



Profile Image for Jenn Bragg.
98 reviews3 followers
August 24, 2010
This was a really cute, enjoyable story...until the end. Then, as is all too common, the HEA was crammed into a few pages and was just a bit too perfect. You have this entire story built on overcoming problems and then, in the span of less than a chapter everything is all "here is everything you ever wanted and needed, all gift wrapped and EVERYTHING!". Blech. I guess I'm more of a realist than I used to be.
Profile Image for Maryann Larucci-Troche.
390 reviews46 followers
June 4, 2021
This was a fun book to read. Definitely laugh out loud funny and sometimes I felt like it was dragging. I enjoyed reading the Greek mythology gods and goddesses as everyday characters interacting with mortals. Satisfying ending.
Profile Image for Dani .
1,074 reviews16 followers
August 28, 2019
**I read a photocopy of the actual paperback (complete with yellowed pages) on the Open Library website.**

The overwhelming feeling I had about this story was "meh". It wasn't awful or poorly written, but I didn't find it laugh-out-loud funny, either. I know all the trouble the heroine Alexandra got into because the statue came to life was supposed to be considered hilarious hijinks, but it just stressed me out. Also, a lot of the cultural references sounded dated, even for 2004. The one bright spot was the rapport between Darius and Alex they finally had sex, but it was one scene that went by pretty quickly. I'm not sure that I would recommend this book to anyone.
Profile Image for Sarah.
318 reviews30 followers
July 8, 2018
Every bit as fluffy as I expected it to be; it had quite a bit of humour and was a very easy read.
98 reviews
September 6, 2021
A surprisingly entertaining and heartfelt birthday ok with many moments of hilarity mixed in. Lovers of Greek Mythology and feel-good romance will certainly enjoy.
342 reviews
November 12, 2022
Darius, the made-up Greek god, is an entertaining character. Cute story!
Profile Image for Mae.
37 reviews
August 4, 2024
A Great Book

I loved it! It was a cute & funny story. The ending should have been developed and stretched out a bit more instead of ending so quickly. But I stilled loved!
Profile Image for Danika.
110 reviews3 followers
July 15, 2010
While I give this a shelf of "Greek Mythology", it is very very far from any sort of true mythology. But given the context of the book, I had to add it (especially since I will have more of these coming).

Darius is a made-up god, one of the few-and-far-between children of Zeus and Hera. You would think that this would count for something to the mortals in the book; anyone who knew anything about mythology would know just how select a group this was: Ares, Hebe, Eileithyia, and often Eris. This alone rather irked me, as though the author could not be bothered with any real research. But it is a story and within it, the god has been banished for the past 3,000 years. Enough time, by the author's estimation, to have the mortals all forget who the God of Gems was. Darius who? Execute the first Head-Desk.

You know, I can't even fathom going into much about the book.

I got increasingly frustrated by the portrayal of the gods and goddesses that were popping up within the story. Maybe centuries of change had done them all a bit of... well I can't say 'good'. Hermes was a wuss. Aphrodite wasn't the proud, vain creature she should have been. Hera... wanted to force her son into marriage with a goddess of her choosing and have little grandbaby gods running around? Wait. What? Execute Head-Desk number... I actually lost count at this point.

If you want fluff, no real romance, and no absolutely nothing about Greek mythology... you might enjoy this book. But I warn you now: if you have even the most basic of knowledge about the gods, stay far away from this.
Profile Image for Jenifer.
301 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2014
This book was interesting to say the least. The storyline was good and the chemistry between Alex and Darius is good as well, but I felt like something was missing.

Darius finally gets to come back into a living, breathing body after being cursed to be without one for three thousand years. Every chance he had to come back had been thwarted, until artist Alex completed her statue for the Ladies Club Annual Auction to raise money to go to the local orphanage. The problem is now her statue isn't marble, but has just turned into a living, breathing man and not only that, but he's naked too. Now he's looking at her with eyes designed to make a woman melt on the spot and all Alex wants is her statue back...or is it?

I don't know what I was missing from this story, but I just feel like there could have been more closer to the end. It felt like Alex forgave too quickly and Darius didn't explain enough. I just needed more closer to the end.
Profile Image for Nancy.
Author 40 books668 followers
July 16, 2013
What’s a Greek god to do when he’s frozen inside a statue? He needs a sculptress to smooth out the imperfections if he wants to regain his humanoid form. For Darius, god of gems, he’s cursed to live out his life in stone unless he finds true love. With his playboy attitude, there is little chance of that happening until Alexandra comes along.

An artist and manager of an orphanage, she doesn’t understand why the statue she needs for a charity auction keeps disappearing. And who is that strangely garbed man that bears an uncanny resemblance to said statue? Might he feel as sensual in the flesh as he does in stone? When she and the children in her care begin to melt Darius’s heart, he sees there’s more to life than feasting and womanizing. Maybe he really can make a difference.

This humorous fantasy romance is just what you need for the perfect beach read.
Profile Image for Auriel.
4 reviews
December 12, 2024
I cannot finish this book. At first it was funny but then it does not able to attract me to read more. It's boring. I tried hard to finish but stop at page 200. I think there are some part where Jenna could describe a situation more but she didn't, and did when the situation didn't need more explanation. The development of the story is rather messed up. And I hate the heroin. She is twisted. She is depicted to be kind hearted because she would go to certain length to help the children but at the same time doesn't really care about darius and the fact that darius is real. All she did is trying hard to change Darius into stone again. How can a woman who is caring for children is barbaric to another. Her personality is twisted, and made me think whether or not she has bipolar.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Beth.
391 reviews1 follower
February 13, 2012
A fun book. I liked McKnight's later book, 'The Witch Next Door" much better but this was very entertaining. I'd recommend it as a summer beach read or any time someone wanted a light read.

Not that the story is all fluff. Alexandra has some serious challenges when the statue she carved, to raise money for the orphanage she was raised in, "disappears" because it came to life. And she was accused of stealing jewelry. And she's possibly being stalked by a mysterious man. But the nice thing about a romance is that you know it will all turn out right in the end and this is not an exception.

Now if only McKnight would write some more books...
Profile Image for S. Rutherford.
Author 4 books8 followers
September 19, 2013
A very funny book and very easy to read! I recommend it to anyone.

Though there are times I wonder if the writer forgot to polish a few things or add a few details because she confused the "hades" out of me severly by making you think one person was in the scene but never referring back to them again.

Other than that, it just seems like she's a new writer and that was her first book. But all in all, very good and hardly any "juiciness", which serves up there for the clean-hearted type. When there is a juicy scene, it's hardly even touched but for a mere paragraph or two.

Funny and a very good read. Plus, since I love Greek mythology it was enjoyable to read.
2,546 reviews
August 27, 2016
the Greek God Darius was in a married womans bedroom when her husband came back unexpectedly. so he turned himself into a statue, but the husband threw it out the window. so he was in limbo until a woman in the united states made a statue of him made of him out of marble. at the unveiling at the womans meeting he came to life (naked). it caused quite a uproar and the sculptor wanted to know what happened to her sculpture.

he had to go back to being a sculpture each night. they fell in love with each other. he got his parents to agree to let him marry her and they adopted kids. i normally dont like these kinds of books but it was good!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Yesashwini.
183 reviews
December 18, 2016
Wat would happen if you happen to make the perfect statue of a greek god and the god( he/she coz i dnt want to deprive the male population of this world) comes to life in the statue and to naked.
I would have passionate sex with him but Alexandra does not do that. Why? Well she was counting on the money coming from the sale of the statue is.. I dont knw... Frustrated physically, Shocked mentally, etc. Etc,
Im not gonna tell more of the book. I personnaly hate spoilers so i not gonna spoil someone else.( That came in a bad way... Ugh sorry)
Profile Image for Jill.
492 reviews3 followers
June 14, 2016
Bland and never-ending. The fact that Alex wanted to disfigure the statue throughout two thirds of the book is exasperating. The rest of my review would be a repeat of Jenn Bragg's and Best_beloved's reviews.
Profile Image for Freda.
20 reviews9 followers
June 13, 2008
I was expecting the funny. This book did not bring the funny. It just really didn't do it for me on any level.
9 reviews7 followers
March 4, 2012
This book had me laughing from the beginning to the end. It was sexy, funny, and a comedy of funny situations
LOVED THIS BOOK
Profile Image for Mallory Raichel.
10 reviews
Read
July 19, 2012
Great beach read! An artist creates a statue of a Greek God that comes to life...
Profile Image for Abiyasha.
Author 3 books14 followers
July 17, 2013
I started reading this book because I always amazed by Greek mythology. It was a fun book to read though I felt the characters are lack of emotion. Nothing special about this book.
Profile Image for Prescilla.
36 reviews6 followers
May 24, 2014
This book was funny, romantic, sweet.. a good read
Profile Image for Renee.
24 reviews2 followers
August 4, 2016
God-awful of Greek epic proportions.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews

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