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Strangely Beautiful #3
The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess
The Goddess:
In the beginning, there were lovers: a winged deity of power and light, and a queen of grace and beauty. Phoenix was murdered, his beloved stolen away to the Whisper-world. But their passion inspired the Muses. Through great sacrifice, it could live again.
The Guard:
There are always six, mortal hosts for the divine. Battling spirits through the ages, they defy Darkness, Lord of the Dead. In 1867, a shadow rises. The tide turns against them, and all hope falls on a child of prophecy, an eerie, snow-white girl yet to be born. But her path must be cleared. A Great War is coming, and song, wind and stars whisper that the eighteen-year-old Beatrice Smith must give everything to prepare.
In the beginning, there were lovers: a winged deity of power and light, and a queen of grace and beauty. Phoenix was murdered, his beloved stolen away to the Whisper-world. But their passion inspired the Muses. Through great sacrifice, it could live again.
The Guard:
There are always six, mortal hosts for the divine. Battling spirits through the ages, they defy Darkness, Lord of the Dead. In 1867, a shadow rises. The tide turns against them, and all hope falls on a child of prophecy, an eerie, snow-white girl yet to be born. But her path must be cleared. A Great War is coming, and song, wind and stars whisper that the eighteen-year-old Beatrice Smith must give everything to prepare.
354 pages, Paperback
First published April 22, 2011
3 people are currently reading
683 people want to read
About the author
Leanna Renee Hieber
66 books1,097 followersAuthor, actress, artist and playwright, Leanna received a BFA in Theatre, a focus in the Victorian Era and a scholarship to study in London. She adapted 19th Century literature for the stage and her one-act plays have been produced around the country. She is a 4 time Prism Award winner for excellence in Futuristic, Fantasy, or Paranormal Romance. Her debut novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, first in the "Strangely Beautiful" saga of Gothic Victorian Fantasy novels (Barnes & Noble Bestseller) won two 2010 Prism Awards (Best Fantasy, Best First Book) has been hailed by Tor Books as a "foundation work of Gaslamp Fantasy" and has been reissued in new, revised editions as STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL. The prequel, PERILOUS PROPHECY and the never before published MISS VIOLET AND THE GREAT WAR finish the quartet (Tor Books). DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul was named an Indie Next title by the American Book Association and a Scholastic book fair "Highly Recommended" title. All books in the Magic Most Foul trilogy are now available as is THE ETERNA FILES trilogy of Gaslamp Fantasy novels (Tor Books). Her new series with Kensington's new Rebel Base imprint, THE SPECTRAL CITY, a Gaslamp Fantasy / Supernatural Suspense became a # 1 Amazon bestseller in Gaslamp Fantasy, Steampunk and Metaphysical Fantasy as well as hitting the top ten across other platforms. The series continues with three novels. Her short fiction has been included in anthologies such as QUEEN VICTORIA'S BOOK OF SPELLS and the MAMMOTH BOOK OF GASLAMP ROMANCE. All her Victorian-set series feature crossover characters. A member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America and the International Thriller Writers, she is a proud co-founder of Lady Jane's Salon Reading Series in New York City. A member of Actors Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, Leanna works often in film and television on shows like Boardwalk Empire and Mysteries at the Museum, works as a ghost tour guide for Boroughs of the Dead tour company and creates unique neo-Victorian and Steampunk jewelry on Etsy. In 2018 Leanna wrote, developed and now tours a one woman show "By the Light of Tiffany: A Meeting with Clara Driscoll" about the talented 19th century artist. Visit http://leannareneehieber.com for free reads, writers' resources, interviews, videos and more, and follow her on Twitter http://twitter.com/leannarenee and FB http://facebook.com/lrhieber.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
August 7, 2019
For those who love Greek mythology mixed into their historical fantasy, I highly recommend Leanna Hieber’s Strangely Beautiful Victorian gaslamp series. Here’s my review of the prequel to the series, Perilous Prophecy. A version of this review first appeared in Historical Novels Review Nov 2017 issue.
Perilous Prophecy is the prequel to Hieber’s Strangely Beautiful series weaves Greek mythology into a supernatural Victorian England and Cairo. The novel provides the origin story for the series. A manic and flighty but peace-loving Persephone plots with her mortal six member Guard to free the world from unquiet spirits and Darkness, the ruler of the underworld. He’s a god who intriguingly shifts between handsome man and skeleton. As in the Greek tradition of gods, Persephone has faults and doesn’t always consider fully the well-being of mortals. Each of the six human Guard have distinctly developed characters in harmony with the role they play as one of the Muses: Memory, Art, Intuition, Healing, Heart, and the Leader. While romance is easy for some of the Guard, the two top members stubbornly resist their powerful draw with Victorian decorum, providing the romantic focus and engaging tension. Hieber skillfully uses language reminiscent of the era to enrich her historical world. The atmospheric depictions of London and Cairo are otherworldly while effectively grounded in detail. Being a prequel gives the book, appropriately, a slightly unfinished feel, inviting you forward, with the worst yet to come—the worst for the characters being what is most entertaining to the reader. Highly recommended for readers of gaslamp fantasy, Victorian and paranormal romance, or dark fantasy.
Perilous Prophecy is the prequel to Hieber’s Strangely Beautiful series weaves Greek mythology into a supernatural Victorian England and Cairo. The novel provides the origin story for the series. A manic and flighty but peace-loving Persephone plots with her mortal six member Guard to free the world from unquiet spirits and Darkness, the ruler of the underworld. He’s a god who intriguingly shifts between handsome man and skeleton. As in the Greek tradition of gods, Persephone has faults and doesn’t always consider fully the well-being of mortals. Each of the six human Guard have distinctly developed characters in harmony with the role they play as one of the Muses: Memory, Art, Intuition, Healing, Heart, and the Leader. While romance is easy for some of the Guard, the two top members stubbornly resist their powerful draw with Victorian decorum, providing the romantic focus and engaging tension. Hieber skillfully uses language reminiscent of the era to enrich her historical world. The atmospheric depictions of London and Cairo are otherworldly while effectively grounded in detail. Being a prequel gives the book, appropriately, a slightly unfinished feel, inviting you forward, with the worst yet to come—the worst for the characters being what is most entertaining to the reader. Highly recommended for readers of gaslamp fantasy, Victorian and paranormal romance, or dark fantasy.
May 12, 2011
(4.5 stars) In The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker, we met Beatrice Smith, a member of the Guard that preceded Alexi Rychman’s circle. The Perilous Prophecy is a prequel, focusing on Beatrice’s time in the Guard and on the goddess Persephone as she makes preparations for the war against Darkness. While this book is set earlier than the two existing books, I recommend starting with The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, because the Grand Work is explained there in more detail.
Beatrice is the daughter of a British archaeologist living in Cairo. As the story begins, she and five other young people in Cairo receive the call: they are to be the next Guard. At first it seems almost too easy. They settle smoothly into their new lives and couples begin to form. But then Persephone sends the group to England, and everything changes. Beatrice and her Guard are faced with the prospect of finding purpose in their lives when they thought they’d already found it.
Meanwhile, Persephone is weakening after centuries spent in the sinister Whisper-world, and Darkness is persecuting the spirits of the Guards that have come before. Persephone’s only hope of reuniting with her lover, Phoenix, is to take human form and become mortal. Here we get to see Persephone in her divine form and get to know her better than we did previously. Leanna Renee Hieber avoids the trap of making her too perfect and instead gives us a complex character. She can be capricious — in part because she’s losing it, and in part because a certain degree of flightiness is just part of her nature — and at times I was angry with her right along with Beatrice even as I had a great deal of sympathy for her.
Perilous Prophecy features a touching love story between Beatrice and her fellow Guard member, Ibrahim, two incredibly stubborn people from very different backgrounds. Running alongside that is the story of another relationship, a platonic one: that of Beatrice and Persephone. Stoic and reserved, Beatrice is the perfect foil for Persephone’s utter emotional openness, and Beatrice has just the right kind of personality to dispense “tough love” to a goddess!
Like the previous books, Perilous Prophecy is written in Hieber’s lovely, old-fashioned style. She evokes the literature of the period and also incorporates it into the story, particularly in one terrifically tense scene in which two characters use a passage from a novel to convey emotions they’re too shy to confess any other way. The mythology is compelling, the emotional journeys are moving, and the treatment of diverse religious backgrounds is beautifully done: all who work toward good are seen as having common cause, no matter the external differences.
The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess may well be my favorite of the Strangely Beautiful books so far. Certainly it had me reaching for the Kleenex! I only wish it had been longer. After the conclusion, Hieber includes a teaser for book four, Miss Violet and the Great War, which will tell the story of the daughter of Percy and Alexi. I can’t wait.
I originally wrote this review for FantasyLiterature.com.
Beatrice is the daughter of a British archaeologist living in Cairo. As the story begins, she and five other young people in Cairo receive the call: they are to be the next Guard. At first it seems almost too easy. They settle smoothly into their new lives and couples begin to form. But then Persephone sends the group to England, and everything changes. Beatrice and her Guard are faced with the prospect of finding purpose in their lives when they thought they’d already found it.
Meanwhile, Persephone is weakening after centuries spent in the sinister Whisper-world, and Darkness is persecuting the spirits of the Guards that have come before. Persephone’s only hope of reuniting with her lover, Phoenix, is to take human form and become mortal. Here we get to see Persephone in her divine form and get to know her better than we did previously. Leanna Renee Hieber avoids the trap of making her too perfect and instead gives us a complex character. She can be capricious — in part because she’s losing it, and in part because a certain degree of flightiness is just part of her nature — and at times I was angry with her right along with Beatrice even as I had a great deal of sympathy for her.
Perilous Prophecy features a touching love story between Beatrice and her fellow Guard member, Ibrahim, two incredibly stubborn people from very different backgrounds. Running alongside that is the story of another relationship, a platonic one: that of Beatrice and Persephone. Stoic and reserved, Beatrice is the perfect foil for Persephone’s utter emotional openness, and Beatrice has just the right kind of personality to dispense “tough love” to a goddess!
Like the previous books, Perilous Prophecy is written in Hieber’s lovely, old-fashioned style. She evokes the literature of the period and also incorporates it into the story, particularly in one terrifically tense scene in which two characters use a passage from a novel to convey emotions they’re too shy to confess any other way. The mythology is compelling, the emotional journeys are moving, and the treatment of diverse religious backgrounds is beautifully done: all who work toward good are seen as having common cause, no matter the external differences.
The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess may well be my favorite of the Strangely Beautiful books so far. Certainly it had me reaching for the Kleenex! I only wish it had been longer. After the conclusion, Hieber includes a teaser for book four, Miss Violet and the Great War, which will tell the story of the daughter of Percy and Alexi. I can’t wait.
I originally wrote this review for FantasyLiterature.com.
April 29, 2011
Five stars to this beautiful, passionate, sophisticated and moving gothic fantasy set in Victorian England. Leanna Renee Heiber’s language is like poetry in prose form, evocative, beautiful to the ear and rich with many-layered meaning. A memorable book.
‘The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess’ is the third in the award winning, bestselling ‘Strangely Beautiful’ series’. Although it’s a prequel to the first book, ‘The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker’ - which I awarded an M-Award to - it is definitely one to read after the first two because the previous books have wetted our appetite for the details revealed in this one.
The blurb says simply -
The goddess Persephone begins her quest to be reincarnated with her true love, and more secrets of The Guard are revealed.
In this story, we discover more about Beatrice and about her role in the grand plan that leads to the events at the end of book two. Most of all we come to know and love the goddess Persephone as she was before she incarnated as Percy Parker. In parallel with Persephone’s tale is the story of Beatrice and Ibrahim and the trials and dynamics of the Guard before the one lead by Alexi (as it was in the previous two books).
The first novel in the series was so captivating right from the start, that perhaps it is too much to expect that any book not starting with Alexi Rychman and Percy Parker could compete with the instant fascination I had for ‘The strangely Beautiful Tale of Percy Parker.’ We’re given a tantalising taste of the young Alexi in the prologue, but Beatrice and Ibrahim carry the story in the beginning and for a start, I found it not so engaging as the previous two books, though probably simply because I was thirsting for Alexi. My engagement soon warmed up as I got to know Persephone in her Goddess form and began to see in her character aspects of the mortal woman she was to become. When the story began to explore Persephone’s fascination with Alexi, I became totally, blissfully, enraptured by the interactions she made him forget! It was all the better for the wait.
Favorite quotes –
‘But truly, the gods are such shameless flirts.’
‘One must meet darkness with joy. It lessens his power.’
This is a book you can immerse yourself in like a warm scented bath, and I recommend the series for everyone who loves romantic gothic fantasy, the Greek tale of Persephone and the underworld, and beautiful language. This book also set the scene for another in the series, one that, it appears, will follow Alexi and Percy’s daughter. I look forward to that as avidly as I did this one.
‘The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess’ is the third in the award winning, bestselling ‘Strangely Beautiful’ series’. Although it’s a prequel to the first book, ‘The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker’ - which I awarded an M-Award to - it is definitely one to read after the first two because the previous books have wetted our appetite for the details revealed in this one.
The blurb says simply -
The goddess Persephone begins her quest to be reincarnated with her true love, and more secrets of The Guard are revealed.
In this story, we discover more about Beatrice and about her role in the grand plan that leads to the events at the end of book two. Most of all we come to know and love the goddess Persephone as she was before she incarnated as Percy Parker. In parallel with Persephone’s tale is the story of Beatrice and Ibrahim and the trials and dynamics of the Guard before the one lead by Alexi (as it was in the previous two books).
The first novel in the series was so captivating right from the start, that perhaps it is too much to expect that any book not starting with Alexi Rychman and Percy Parker could compete with the instant fascination I had for ‘The strangely Beautiful Tale of Percy Parker.’ We’re given a tantalising taste of the young Alexi in the prologue, but Beatrice and Ibrahim carry the story in the beginning and for a start, I found it not so engaging as the previous two books, though probably simply because I was thirsting for Alexi. My engagement soon warmed up as I got to know Persephone in her Goddess form and began to see in her character aspects of the mortal woman she was to become. When the story began to explore Persephone’s fascination with Alexi, I became totally, blissfully, enraptured by the interactions she made him forget! It was all the better for the wait.
Favorite quotes –
‘But truly, the gods are such shameless flirts.’
‘One must meet darkness with joy. It lessens his power.’
This is a book you can immerse yourself in like a warm scented bath, and I recommend the series for everyone who loves romantic gothic fantasy, the Greek tale of Persephone and the underworld, and beautiful language. This book also set the scene for another in the series, one that, it appears, will follow Alexi and Percy’s daughter. I look forward to that as avidly as I did this one.
March 30, 2016
It was nice to see how everything happened but it wasn't as interesting as the other books in this series.
July 21, 2017
"Perilous Prophecy" is the prequel to the two books in Ms. Hieber's Strangely Beautiful books. I have not read the other two books in the trilogy but after reading this book, I definitely want to read them! I've heard this book described to me as "gaslamp fantasy," which is the perfect description. You have the history of the Victorian age combined with a paranormal bend that made even the familiar seem different and new.
In this book, we meet Beatrice, a young woman, who is called up to perform the ultimate duty as the leader of the Guard, a group charged with protecting our world from another. This book does not go that much into the legend behind the Guard, which I was very much interested in. I would love to see if the other books talked more about this and gave some more background. We see how this group storms when they first get together to eventually getting to a better place where they begin to function, which is interesting. Each member of the guard is unique and many of them come from different places with different customs, which take awhile to get to where they understand each other. I loved that part of the journey.
One of the things that I really liked in this book is the setting and the way that the author weaves together the real and unreal. Set in 1800s Cairo and London, this book was off the beaten path for me. I read a lot about London but Cairo was relatively new for me, especially with a historical setting. I loved the detail that the author used to bring everything to life! This book makes for a great story to get lost in. I love how the real and unreal become one in this fantasy. This book is a great start to what promises to be an interesting trilogy!
In this book, we meet Beatrice, a young woman, who is called up to perform the ultimate duty as the leader of the Guard, a group charged with protecting our world from another. This book does not go that much into the legend behind the Guard, which I was very much interested in. I would love to see if the other books talked more about this and gave some more background. We see how this group storms when they first get together to eventually getting to a better place where they begin to function, which is interesting. Each member of the guard is unique and many of them come from different places with different customs, which take awhile to get to where they understand each other. I loved that part of the journey.
One of the things that I really liked in this book is the setting and the way that the author weaves together the real and unreal. Set in 1800s Cairo and London, this book was off the beaten path for me. I read a lot about London but Cairo was relatively new for me, especially with a historical setting. I loved the detail that the author used to bring everything to life! This book makes for a great story to get lost in. I love how the real and unreal become one in this fantasy. This book is a great start to what promises to be an interesting trilogy!
December 3, 2017
Mon avis en Français
My English review
I admit that this novel seemed very intriguing but as I had not read the previous volumes, I did wonder if this would pose any problems. Not necessarily knowing what we follow at the start, it is difficult to say … Yet it is true that I had the impression that I was missing something so I advise you to start with the first volume in order to understand a little more the universe.
The story is divided into two big parts. We first follow Persephone to the underworld. She tries so much to survive but it is complicated, especially when we know that she is constantly monitored. I think this is the part that I really preferred! Persephone is a very interesting character and full of complexity. We realize that all that she must have underwent for hundreds of years and yet she keeps hope that things will change. We also follow the guards, those people who are there to help humanity. It was also interesting to learn to know them all, especially since they are all different but I had a little trouble hanging on to their problems and their quest …
It was an original and intriguing story but I think something was missing. Perhaps the background of the first two volumes …
My English review
I admit that this novel seemed very intriguing but as I had not read the previous volumes, I did wonder if this would pose any problems. Not necessarily knowing what we follow at the start, it is difficult to say … Yet it is true that I had the impression that I was missing something so I advise you to start with the first volume in order to understand a little more the universe.
The story is divided into two big parts. We first follow Persephone to the underworld. She tries so much to survive but it is complicated, especially when we know that she is constantly monitored. I think this is the part that I really preferred! Persephone is a very interesting character and full of complexity. We realize that all that she must have underwent for hundreds of years and yet she keeps hope that things will change. We also follow the guards, those people who are there to help humanity. It was also interesting to learn to know them all, especially since they are all different but I had a little trouble hanging on to their problems and their quest …
It was an original and intriguing story but I think something was missing. Perhaps the background of the first two volumes …
April 26, 2011
Ms. Hieber has done it again. This book is just as wonderful as the other two books this series, although this is sort of a prequel to the other books. You get to find out so many things in this book, so many questions are finally answered, and I know I am going to have to go back and re-read these books just so I can jump back into the world with this fresh new knowledge. Ok, I am going to try and keep the gushing to a minimum but you all know how I get about books I love.
First off this book is not wholey focused on The Guard we already know, this book lets us meet The Guard centered around Ibrahim and Beatrice (from the last book) which is super neat because we get to see a whole new world and whole new interation of The Guard, as well as learn to love these characters even more than we already do. We also get fun facts and learn new things about our old friends from London as well.
There are so many things answered and brought to light in this book, there is no way you can go without reading it if you are a fan of the series. I want to tell you all everything but then you wouldn't need to read it. Just expect some of your burning questions answered. This book also has a totally different flavor then the other book, which is fitting, in my mind. Definitely read it. Just go get it and read it, you won't regret it.
First off this book is not wholey focused on The Guard we already know, this book lets us meet The Guard centered around Ibrahim and Beatrice (from the last book) which is super neat because we get to see a whole new world and whole new interation of The Guard, as well as learn to love these characters even more than we already do. We also get fun facts and learn new things about our old friends from London as well.
There are so many things answered and brought to light in this book, there is no way you can go without reading it if you are a fan of the series. I want to tell you all everything but then you wouldn't need to read it. Just expect some of your burning questions answered. This book also has a totally different flavor then the other book, which is fitting, in my mind. Definitely read it. Just go get it and read it, you won't regret it.
Read
May 1, 2011We find out why Alexi wears a red cravat! Woo hoo.
February 28, 2016
This prequel to the Persephone Parker books (set about 21 years before those books) gives us back story on the Goddess' fight against the Darkness as well as the Guard directly before the Persephone Parker Guard (plus background on the Goddess herself).
Interestingly it should be noted that this book is set in 1867--the year that Alexi's crew become the Guard--but months before when a cadre of young people in Cairo come into possession of that duty. This other Guard, a more disparate group of young men and women then the Guard we know, share similarities with Alexi's crew, but are cut from a wholly different fabric.
I'll say this upfront--I adore Leanna's writing. I have since the very first page of the first book. That said there were times when I'd grow impatient with the Cairo Guard because of their reactions and actions. They're younger then Alexi's Guard (at least, younger then when we see Alexi's Guard working. Comparatively speaking they receive the Summons to Duty later in their age then Alexi's Guard), and are from several different religions and nationalities so their responses to things would by nature be different. Intellectually that all makes sense. Doesn't mean I wasn't glaring at the screen of my e-reader demanding they get their heads on straight however.
I can say this for the Cairo Guard though, it was fascinating watching how they learned to work with each other and mesh their various beliefs. Alexi's Guard, maybe because they have two decades on the Cairo Guard or maybe because they are all (to my knowledge) Christian of some nature, rarely had the problems the Cairo Guard faced. For instance when Ibrahim moves in with Ahmed's family or even when the Guard first meet each other, cultural misunderstandings are voiced. However the Grand Work smooths out a lot of the troubles as the teens find themselves suddenly given a place in the world.
I appreciated that Leanna used this book to also illustrate better the other side of being called to duty. Most of the members of the Cairo Guard had families--mothers, fathers and siblings who could never know about their new roles. Deliberately Leanna shows us what this toll has on those members especially with Beatrice who until her call to arms was very close with her father. She muses at one point that there was now a distance that couldn't be bridged, not a painful one, but an instinctual one both her and her father felt. Ahmed expresses a similar feeling, though with less wistfulness I believe.
The book is really two sided--we see the Cairo Guard (of whom we met Beatrice in the Percy Parker books previously), but we also watch Persephone (aka the Goddess) as she begins to fade more and more. This is a more realized Persephone, one who isn't perfect and doesn't present herself as perfect. In between her encouraging speeches to the Guard she begs to see the sights or becomes desperate as the Underworld eats away at her. Ultimately this book also sets the stage for why Persephone finally took human form (in the form of Percy Parker) and paves the way for the fourth book (Miss Violet and the Great War).
This should be read as the third book in the series if only because though this is about an earlier Guard, Leanna treats this not as a true prequel. We are given background, but the foundations are not addressed. The assumption being that the reader has read the Percy Parker books beforehand I think, so Leanna doesn't feel as great a need to elaborate on the Grand Work. Partially I think this is because the Cairo Guard are treated almost as placeholders for Alexi's Guard. We know this Guard doesn't last an extraordinary amount of time, we also know that what transpires is mainly set up for when Percy is born and the Grand Work is truly in play.
Interestingly it should be noted that this book is set in 1867--the year that Alexi's crew become the Guard--but months before when a cadre of young people in Cairo come into possession of that duty. This other Guard, a more disparate group of young men and women then the Guard we know, share similarities with Alexi's crew, but are cut from a wholly different fabric.
I'll say this upfront--I adore Leanna's writing. I have since the very first page of the first book. That said there were times when I'd grow impatient with the Cairo Guard because of their reactions and actions. They're younger then Alexi's Guard (at least, younger then when we see Alexi's Guard working. Comparatively speaking they receive the Summons to Duty later in their age then Alexi's Guard), and are from several different religions and nationalities so their responses to things would by nature be different. Intellectually that all makes sense. Doesn't mean I wasn't glaring at the screen of my e-reader demanding they get their heads on straight however.
I can say this for the Cairo Guard though, it was fascinating watching how they learned to work with each other and mesh their various beliefs. Alexi's Guard, maybe because they have two decades on the Cairo Guard or maybe because they are all (to my knowledge) Christian of some nature, rarely had the problems the Cairo Guard faced. For instance when Ibrahim moves in with Ahmed's family or even when the Guard first meet each other, cultural misunderstandings are voiced. However the Grand Work smooths out a lot of the troubles as the teens find themselves suddenly given a place in the world.
I appreciated that Leanna used this book to also illustrate better the other side of being called to duty. Most of the members of the Cairo Guard had families--mothers, fathers and siblings who could never know about their new roles. Deliberately Leanna shows us what this toll has on those members especially with Beatrice who until her call to arms was very close with her father. She muses at one point that there was now a distance that couldn't be bridged, not a painful one, but an instinctual one both her and her father felt. Ahmed expresses a similar feeling, though with less wistfulness I believe.
The book is really two sided--we see the Cairo Guard (of whom we met Beatrice in the Percy Parker books previously), but we also watch Persephone (aka the Goddess) as she begins to fade more and more. This is a more realized Persephone, one who isn't perfect and doesn't present herself as perfect. In between her encouraging speeches to the Guard she begs to see the sights or becomes desperate as the Underworld eats away at her. Ultimately this book also sets the stage for why Persephone finally took human form (in the form of Percy Parker) and paves the way for the fourth book (Miss Violet and the Great War).
This should be read as the third book in the series if only because though this is about an earlier Guard, Leanna treats this not as a true prequel. We are given background, but the foundations are not addressed. The assumption being that the reader has read the Percy Parker books beforehand I think, so Leanna doesn't feel as great a need to elaborate on the Grand Work. Partially I think this is because the Cairo Guard are treated almost as placeholders for Alexi's Guard. We know this Guard doesn't last an extraordinary amount of time, we also know that what transpires is mainly set up for when Percy is born and the Grand Work is truly in play.
July 25, 2011
The The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess
Leanna Rennee Hieber
Kindle Edition: 580 KB
Print Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing (May 3, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: DP (May 2, 2011)
Uploaded by LRHieber on Jan 3, 2011
A prequel in the award winning Strangely Beautiful series of Gothic Victorian Fantasy novels by Leanna Renee Hieber, this novel takes the series back to an earlier Victorian time where The Guard and the enigmatic Goddess who begs their aid are forced to plant the seeds for a dangerous prophecy at a staggering sacrifice.
For those familiar with the series, this novel provides questions answered. For those joining the series, this is a perfect place to jump in.
Available May 2011 wherever books are sold, in Trade Paperback and digital.(Featured Music: Frederic Chopin, Funeral March, purchased from royaltyfreeclassicalmusic.co.uk) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPgybh...
Leanna has a unique voice in her work. Sometimes it is translucent and lovely much like her descriptions of the Lady, Persephone. Other times it can feel insulating. But, her work has a dramatic flair that is something special; a sort of temporal onomatopoeia that puts me into the period. As a unique style it is bound to feel a bit strange at times.
I was not rapidly absorbed by this prequel. At times it felt a bit of a struggle, but when I would put the book down I had read more pages than I thought I had. I felt, as did the Guard (the group selected by the Muses to protect mortals from evil specters), that Persephone was far too nebulous and confused. Even I expect mythological beings to have a bit more wherewithal than the Goddess.
I did like how spunky and ticked-off the Cairo "Guard" could be about the whole deal of the 'Great Work' they were to do as the specifically endowed soldiers against the dark.
This story does answer some of the mythology read about in the two sequels to this prequel. Namely about the characters in the Whisper-world, which like Persephone has had many names through the ages. The Whisper world we can take for Hades, but not exactly our idea of it. It is more Hades and purgatory.
Because of the highly original story and the unique style that makes it difficult to put Leanna's writing under one one umbrella, I can recommend the book to adult readers and young adult readers over 16. There are some intensely sensual scenes but despite the lust, desire and sensulity there is no actual sex. I think it is probably no less revealing than a TV show. I am interested in seeing how the Magic most Foul Series is voiced, and the nature of the story.
Leanna Rennee Hieber
Kindle Edition: 580 KB
Print Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing (May 3, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: DP (May 2, 2011)
The Goddess
In the beginning, there were lovers: a winged deity of power and light, and a queen of grace and beauty. Phoenix was murdered, his beloved stolen away to the Whisper-world. But their passion inspired the Muses. Through great sacrifice, it could live again.
The Guard
There are always six, mortal hosts for the divine. Battling spirits through the ages, they defy Darkness, Lord of the Dead. In 1867, a shadow rises. The tide turns against them, and all hope falls on a child of prophecy, an eerie, snow-white girl yet to be born. But her path must be cleared. A Great War is coming, and song, wind and stars whisper that the eighteen-year-old Beatrice Smith must give everything to prepare. http://www.leannareneehieber.com/
Uploaded by LRHieber on Jan 3, 2011
A prequel in the award winning Strangely Beautiful series of Gothic Victorian Fantasy novels by Leanna Renee Hieber, this novel takes the series back to an earlier Victorian time where The Guard and the enigmatic Goddess who begs their aid are forced to plant the seeds for a dangerous prophecy at a staggering sacrifice.
For those familiar with the series, this novel provides questions answered. For those joining the series, this is a perfect place to jump in.
Available May 2011 wherever books are sold, in Trade Paperback and digital.(Featured Music: Frederic Chopin, Funeral March, purchased from royaltyfreeclassicalmusic.co.uk) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPgybh...
Leanna has a unique voice in her work. Sometimes it is translucent and lovely much like her descriptions of the Lady, Persephone. Other times it can feel insulating. But, her work has a dramatic flair that is something special; a sort of temporal onomatopoeia that puts me into the period. As a unique style it is bound to feel a bit strange at times.
I was not rapidly absorbed by this prequel. At times it felt a bit of a struggle, but when I would put the book down I had read more pages than I thought I had. I felt, as did the Guard (the group selected by the Muses to protect mortals from evil specters), that Persephone was far too nebulous and confused. Even I expect mythological beings to have a bit more wherewithal than the Goddess.
I did like how spunky and ticked-off the Cairo "Guard" could be about the whole deal of the 'Great Work' they were to do as the specifically endowed soldiers against the dark.
This story does answer some of the mythology read about in the two sequels to this prequel. Namely about the characters in the Whisper-world, which like Persephone has had many names through the ages. The Whisper world we can take for Hades, but not exactly our idea of it. It is more Hades and purgatory.
Because of the highly original story and the unique style that makes it difficult to put Leanna's writing under one one umbrella, I can recommend the book to adult readers and young adult readers over 16. There are some intensely sensual scenes but despite the lust, desire and sensulity there is no actual sex. I think it is probably no less revealing than a TV show. I am interested in seeing how the Magic most Foul Series is voiced, and the nature of the story.
April 26, 2011
I received this e-ARC via NetGalley for review
Leanna Renee Hieber's The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess was a nice prequel to the series. It lets us get an inside glimpse to pretty much all the characters we've met in the past two books and see how everything came to be in the beginning. What led our heroes and heroines to their destinies. It was quite nice.
It took me longer than I thought to read this book, but it wasn't due to the writing or pacing or anything like that. It was a rather nice read. I liked how Hieber is able to jump from different p.o.v.'s in this series without it ever being terribly confusing. Sure it takes a moment to adjust from one character to another, but the transitions are still nice and smooth.
In this novel we learn about Beatrice and other beginnings. We learn about the first The Guard, for it wasn't always Alexi and his companions, it was a good story. What more can I say?
I liked seeing the beginnings in this novel, we see bits of the characters who weren't always front and center in the last two books and again, we learn a bit about them and some of the beginnings. Like the cafe that Josie comes to own.
Overall it was just a nice read. I like prequels as much as sequels. I like knowing the history and background to an already loved story. There was even a "sequel epilogue" you could say, at the end that is the true ending to the series--as far as I know! And it wrapped things up nicely.
Overall rating 4/5 stars
This title releases May 2, 2011
Leanna Renee Hieber's The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess was a nice prequel to the series. It lets us get an inside glimpse to pretty much all the characters we've met in the past two books and see how everything came to be in the beginning. What led our heroes and heroines to their destinies. It was quite nice.
It took me longer than I thought to read this book, but it wasn't due to the writing or pacing or anything like that. It was a rather nice read. I liked how Hieber is able to jump from different p.o.v.'s in this series without it ever being terribly confusing. Sure it takes a moment to adjust from one character to another, but the transitions are still nice and smooth.
In this novel we learn about Beatrice and other beginnings. We learn about the first The Guard, for it wasn't always Alexi and his companions, it was a good story. What more can I say?
I liked seeing the beginnings in this novel, we see bits of the characters who weren't always front and center in the last two books and again, we learn a bit about them and some of the beginnings. Like the cafe that Josie comes to own.
Overall it was just a nice read. I like prequels as much as sequels. I like knowing the history and background to an already loved story. There was even a "sequel epilogue" you could say, at the end that is the true ending to the series--as far as I know! And it wrapped things up nicely.
Overall rating 4/5 stars
This title releases May 2, 2011
June 24, 2011
Even though this is actually listed as #3 in the Strangely Beautiful tales, the story is a prequel to the first 2 books, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker (Strangely Beautiful). I reviewed both of them HERE. In a strange way, I do think it was appropriate to list it as #3 rather than .5 or such because the story makes more sense if you have read the first 2 books prior. Having said that, I must admit that I did not enjoy this book as I did the first two.
For me, the story was a bit all over the place and I had a hard time connecting to the characters. I didn't care for the goddess at all and found her to be flighty and selfish. I also did not connect to the Cairo guard, which is the guard prior to Alexi's group, until the very end.
The story felt uneven to me and my interest would pick up and wane as the story was told. It was as if too much wanted to be told in this book and it would have been better to concentrate on one story. Too much importance was equally placed on the goddess's relationship and the guard's relationships and nothing really stood out. The composition of how things were placed just didn't work for me. I would have enjoyed it more as a prequel to have concentrated on Persephone and the Phoenix's relationship and how darkness tried to ruin them. Perhaps even leading to her mortal birth, but still be the main focus to this book.
I give this book 2 1/2 stars. I just didn't love this book as I did the first 2.
For me, the story was a bit all over the place and I had a hard time connecting to the characters. I didn't care for the goddess at all and found her to be flighty and selfish. I also did not connect to the Cairo guard, which is the guard prior to Alexi's group, until the very end.
The story felt uneven to me and my interest would pick up and wane as the story was told. It was as if too much wanted to be told in this book and it would have been better to concentrate on one story. Too much importance was equally placed on the goddess's relationship and the guard's relationships and nothing really stood out. The composition of how things were placed just didn't work for me. I would have enjoyed it more as a prequel to have concentrated on Persephone and the Phoenix's relationship and how darkness tried to ruin them. Perhaps even leading to her mortal birth, but still be the main focus to this book.
I give this book 2 1/2 stars. I just didn't love this book as I did the first 2.
February 26, 2015
3.5
This was a pretty good prequel to the first two Strangely Beautiful stories, though I definitely recommend reading it as a prequel because I think it might be hard to follow if you're not already familiar with the world and, also, because it's rather spoilery if you read it in chronological order.
It does develop the story a bit more, and it was interesting to see Percy as the goddess and the steps she took to prepare for the war. It was also cool to see more of Beatrice and Ibrahim, and to get a better grasp on why Beatrice was always so short with Percy - but I also didn't feel like it really developed them all that much.
The better parts were with Percy, I felt - at least until the middle when the Percy parts felt repetitive and belabored, and the parts of the former Cairo Guard actually became more interesting.
I felt for them, and the weird circumstances of their charge.
A nice addition to the story, kinda sweet and interesting in parts, but not one I would say is a "must read".
This was a pretty good prequel to the first two Strangely Beautiful stories, though I definitely recommend reading it as a prequel because I think it might be hard to follow if you're not already familiar with the world and, also, because it's rather spoilery if you read it in chronological order.
It does develop the story a bit more, and it was interesting to see Percy as the goddess and the steps she took to prepare for the war. It was also cool to see more of Beatrice and Ibrahim, and to get a better grasp on why Beatrice was always so short with Percy - but I also didn't feel like it really developed them all that much.
The better parts were with Percy, I felt - at least until the middle when the Percy parts felt repetitive and belabored, and the parts of the former Cairo Guard actually became more interesting.
I felt for them, and the weird circumstances of their charge.
A nice addition to the story, kinda sweet and interesting in parts, but not one I would say is a "must read".
August 3, 2016
This was okay, but I think it would've been better served as a digital novella. There wasn't nearly as much 'story' as the first two books, & the new characters didn't interest me; they felt like washed-out versions of the Guard from Percy's era. The Cairo/school founding plot didn't feel fleshed out & the scenes with Persephone seemed repetitive -- they didn't show anything that hadn't already been indicated in the other books, & with a more effective sparsity therein.
...Then again, as I said in my updates, I shouldn't have waited so long to read this prequel. It was a struggle to mentally re-open a story cycle that I'd already closed.
...Then again, as I said in my updates, I shouldn't have waited so long to read this prequel. It was a struggle to mentally re-open a story cycle that I'd already closed.
May 18, 2011
The ending was a lot better than the beginning, but the book felt like it had no real purpose. And there were a lot of annoying characters.
March 12, 2021
The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker - 5 Stars
The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker - 3.5 Stars
I'm giving this a 2.5. I really wanted to like the book more and it pains me to give such a low rating considering how much I loved the first book of the series. I just didn't see the point. It does not bring anything fresh or important to the main story and I found it just. so. repetitive. Sooo much time and so many pages are spent describing the same thing over and over with the Goddess and the Whisper World, and hardly any attention is placed on the the new cast of characters. Honestly, I think this book should have been a novella. The only thing I was really interested in finding out more about was Beatrice and Ibrahim's relationship, and the background story with the Cairo Guard. But even then, the characters from Beatrice's Guard group were basically the same as the Guard from books 1 and 2 (Beatrice = Rebecca, Ibrahim = Alexi, George = Elijah, Belle = Josephine, Verena = Percy, Ahmed = Michael). Sure, the relationships are somewhat different, but the characters are just copied templates from the previous cast. Not to mention that Beatrice and Ibrahim's relationship just does not make any sense and has no logical progression. I also had quite some issues with the Goddess and 14/15 year old Alexi's relationship...
All this to say, I am disappointed. I'm missing some of the slow-burn style romance from the first novel, and I honestly just wanted something new to happen. I'm looking forward to the final book of the series but I am keeping my expectations lower now.
The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker - 3.5 Stars
I'm giving this a 2.5. I really wanted to like the book more and it pains me to give such a low rating considering how much I loved the first book of the series. I just didn't see the point. It does not bring anything fresh or important to the main story and I found it just. so. repetitive. Sooo much time and so many pages are spent describing the same thing over and over with the Goddess and the Whisper World, and hardly any attention is placed on the the new cast of characters. Honestly, I think this book should have been a novella. The only thing I was really interested in finding out more about was Beatrice and Ibrahim's relationship, and the background story with the Cairo Guard. But even then, the characters from Beatrice's Guard group were basically the same as the Guard from books 1 and 2 (Beatrice = Rebecca, Ibrahim = Alexi, George = Elijah, Belle = Josephine, Verena = Percy, Ahmed = Michael). Sure, the relationships are somewhat different, but the characters are just copied templates from the previous cast. Not to mention that Beatrice and Ibrahim's relationship just does not make any sense and has no logical progression. I also had quite some issues with the Goddess and 14/15 year old Alexi's relationship...
All this to say, I am disappointed. I'm missing some of the slow-burn style romance from the first novel, and I honestly just wanted something new to happen. I'm looking forward to the final book of the series but I am keeping my expectations lower now.
June 4, 2017
Perilous Prophecy is the prequel to Strangely Beautiful and takes place about twenty years before the events of the first book. The action is split between Cairo, London, and the Whisper-world as the Goddess and her Guard lay the foundations of her plan to strike back against Darkness. The central characters will be familiar if you have already read Strangely Beautiful. Beatrice is the fierce, but sometimes reluctant leader--torn between her desire to be independent and respected and her romantic feelings for her second-in-command, Ibrahim. Each other member of the Guard struggles with their own internal conflict as they are forced to choose between the home they love and the grand schemes of a mysterious goddess. Meanwhile, we also get a more personal look at the goddess Persephone, who exists only as a latent part of Percy in Strangely Beautiful. Persephone also has tough choices to make when the needs and desires of her current Guard conflict with her plans for a new Guard to support her mortal incarnation. When the story shifts to London, we see even more familiar faces. Alexi and Rebecca, as young teenagers, have just been chosen for the roles they are to fulfill in the Goddess's plans. The many disparate characters, settings, and plot lines of Perilous Prophecy are held together by the central theme of self-sacrifice and the larger story that begins to emerge over the course of the series.
Read my full review at TheGothicLibrary.com after June 19.
Read my full review at TheGothicLibrary.com after June 19.
June 4, 2017
Perilous Prophecy is the prequel to Strangely Beautiful and takes place about twenty years before the events of the first book. The action is split between Cairo, London, and the Whisper-world as the Goddess and her Guard lay the foundations of her plan to strike back against Darkness. The central characters will be familiar if you have already read Strangely Beautiful. Beatrice is the fierce, but sometimes reluctant leader--torn between her desire to be independent and respected and her romantic feelings for her second-in-command, Ibrahim. Each other member of the Guard struggles with their own internal conflict as they are forced to choose between the home they love and the grand schemes of a mysterious goddess. Meanwhile, we also get a more personal look at the goddess Persephone, who exists only as a latent part of Percy in Strangely Beautiful. Persephone also has tough choices to make when the needs and desires of her current Guard conflict with her plans for a new Guard to support her mortal incarnation. When the story shifts to London, we see even more familiar faces. Alexi and Rebecca, as young teenagers, have just been chosen for the roles they are to fulfill in the Goddess's plans. The many disparate characters, settings, and plot lines of Perilous Prophecy are held together by the central theme of self-sacrifice and the larger story that begins to emerge over the course of the series.
Read my full review at TheGothicLibrary.com after June 19
Read my full review at TheGothicLibrary.com after June 19
June 23, 2017
One of the things I loved the most about Perilous Prophecy was the way the reader got a fabulous mixture of fantastic fantasy and raw humanity. We get to feel what it's like to have your ordinary human life turned upside down by the fantastic, how these characters that are fused with ethereal Muses still doubt and fear and stumble in their journey. That feeling of wanting to do good but feeling overwhelmed by the whole picture of bad that exists is one we can all identify with. That makes a compelling enough storyline on their own, and I could have read a book that just Beatrice and The Guard. But we get Persephone too, who I fell in love with so swiftly because she was so bigger than life and yet relatable all at once. The author's got such a graceful and easy way with imagery, with bringing worlds to life on the page, and every time we got to a scene with Persephone in the whisper-world my senses were completely taken over. And UGH, DARKNESS. That is quite possibly the most eery and raw imagining of the King of the underworld that I've ever seen in my life, I am forever going to picture him as flashing between flesh and bone.
This book is so good, so rich with detail, an immerse experience for the reader. And if you've read Strangely Beautiful, then the points of overlap between this story and that one will make you squeal with recognition and emotion as pieces fall into place.
This book is so good, so rich with detail, an immerse experience for the reader. And if you've read Strangely Beautiful, then the points of overlap between this story and that one will make you squeal with recognition and emotion as pieces fall into place.
July 28, 2019
Set in 1830's Cairo and England, 'Perilous Prophecy' is a weird story that attempts to mix Egyptian and Greek mythology with romance. Needless to say, it does not do this particularly well.
Hieber has written an unsatisfying fantasy novel which started well but quickly became a chore to read. The writing style was pretentious and the story was both repetitive and long-winded. At times it did not make sense and I struggled to see where the story was going.
The underlying story simply did not work for me and the ending was disappointing. Needless to say, I did not enjoy this book at all . This is a pity as the original premise, a group of six morals bound together and involved in a 'Great Work' had potential that was not realised.
Hieber has written an unsatisfying fantasy novel which started well but quickly became a chore to read. The writing style was pretentious and the story was both repetitive and long-winded. At times it did not make sense and I struggled to see where the story was going.
The underlying story simply did not work for me and the ending was disappointing. Needless to say, I did not enjoy this book at all . This is a pity as the original premise, a group of six morals bound together and involved in a 'Great Work' had potential that was not realised.
November 23, 2018
**DNF** - This book has been on my currently reading shelf for years now. I don't see myself going back at this point.
February 5, 2021
I didn't like this one as much as the first one, but it did answer some questions from the first novel.
July 24, 2022
Was a 5 star read until about 65-70%, and the book made me very angry. Unhauling and probably will not continue…
September 12, 2022
This is the prequel to the Strangely Beautiful doulogy and in my opinion you should definitely read the doulogy before the prequel. You meet Beatrice(the main character of Perilous Prophecy)in book 2 of the Strangely Beautiful Doulogy were she plays a major part in the story. In this book you learn all about Beatrice and the Cairo Guard she lead and more about Persephone.
In this book unlike Strangely Beautiful when you only see the London guard young for a chapter and then grown up the next chapter we get to see the Cairo Guard learn how to use their new powers and work as a unit. This book has Persephone chapters which I wasn’t expecting. It really helped me understand her character and the decisions she made throughout her life. You get to see London Guard some which was nice surprise. This book gives you all you could want in a backstory. It answers almost all the questions I had after finishing the Strangely Beautiful doulogy. I have a feeling the rest will be answered in the last book of the series.
Rating 5 stars
In this book unlike Strangely Beautiful when you only see the London guard young for a chapter and then grown up the next chapter we get to see the Cairo Guard learn how to use their new powers and work as a unit. This book has Persephone chapters which I wasn’t expecting. It really helped me understand her character and the decisions she made throughout her life. You get to see London Guard some which was nice surprise. This book gives you all you could want in a backstory. It answers almost all the questions I had after finishing the Strangely Beautiful doulogy. I have a feeling the rest will be answered in the last book of the series.
Rating 5 stars
May 6, 2011
The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess is a prequel to the first two books in Leanna Renee Hieber’s adorable historical fantasy series. In this book, we are taken back to a time before The Guard that we have come to know. The Goddess and her beloved Phoenix start a new guard in Cairo. We are introduced to Beatrice, The Leader, Verena The Healer, Ahmed The Heart, Ibrahim who is Intuition and George The Artist all chosen to perform The Grand Work, keeping mortals safe from the spirits that haunt this earth. As this new team struggle with their new role in life, we also see a lot of the struggle the Goddess is going through in Whisper-World.
Persephone, The Goddess is trapped in Whisper-World with Darkness. Once in love with her beloved Phoenix, he has now perished and while his physical remains remain close to The Goddess, his fire is the one that alights the leaders of The Guard. The Goddess must play games with Darkness. While she can leave Whisper-World to help guide her Guard members, she can never be gone too long, else Darkness goes into a rage. A war is on the horizon and Darkness is torturing those Guard members that have passed on in spirit form. The Goddess has a vision of a man and a woman (that turns out to be Alexi and Persephone) and knows they are the hope to save everyone from Darkness. So Goddess and Phoenix move to London, where Alexi and crew are so very young, and the journey begins.
I had hard time getting into this one. First let me say I think you must read the first two books in this series to follow along with this one, even though it is a prequel. The new Guard we are introduced to in Cairo didn’t hold my interest like Alexi’s guard. Now, that could be just because I adore Alexi, Percy etc and didn’t want to meet new Guard members. But I found the first part of this book to be very slow. What did hold my interest are the scenes between The Goddess and Darkness. This series has such sweet, tender, almost innocent moments between the Guard members, but then Leanna Renee Hieber throws the Whisper-World scenes in and I think they are so well done. So dark, depressing and intriguing. Darkness has latched on to The Goddess, and there is this game she plays to try to keep everyone safe. Very eerie and evil and such a contrast to the sweet nature of her other characters.
Once the crew makes it over to London, things really pick up in this book. We learn how Alexi’s Guard comes to be. We watch the struggle of The Goddess to figure out how to predict The Darkness’s next move. And we watch the Cairo guard and the consequences of being done with their Grand Work early. They are kind of discarded but the Goddess has set a course, and they must realize they are a piece of a much bigger puzzle.
I’m glad we got a glimpse into the early days of Alexi and crew. Even though this book isn’t my favorite, If you haven’t read the first two books in this series, I highly recommend them.
Rating: C+
Persephone, The Goddess is trapped in Whisper-World with Darkness. Once in love with her beloved Phoenix, he has now perished and while his physical remains remain close to The Goddess, his fire is the one that alights the leaders of The Guard. The Goddess must play games with Darkness. While she can leave Whisper-World to help guide her Guard members, she can never be gone too long, else Darkness goes into a rage. A war is on the horizon and Darkness is torturing those Guard members that have passed on in spirit form. The Goddess has a vision of a man and a woman (that turns out to be Alexi and Persephone) and knows they are the hope to save everyone from Darkness. So Goddess and Phoenix move to London, where Alexi and crew are so very young, and the journey begins.
I had hard time getting into this one. First let me say I think you must read the first two books in this series to follow along with this one, even though it is a prequel. The new Guard we are introduced to in Cairo didn’t hold my interest like Alexi’s guard. Now, that could be just because I adore Alexi, Percy etc and didn’t want to meet new Guard members. But I found the first part of this book to be very slow. What did hold my interest are the scenes between The Goddess and Darkness. This series has such sweet, tender, almost innocent moments between the Guard members, but then Leanna Renee Hieber throws the Whisper-World scenes in and I think they are so well done. So dark, depressing and intriguing. Darkness has latched on to The Goddess, and there is this game she plays to try to keep everyone safe. Very eerie and evil and such a contrast to the sweet nature of her other characters.
Once the crew makes it over to London, things really pick up in this book. We learn how Alexi’s Guard comes to be. We watch the struggle of The Goddess to figure out how to predict The Darkness’s next move. And we watch the Cairo guard and the consequences of being done with their Grand Work early. They are kind of discarded but the Goddess has set a course, and they must realize they are a piece of a much bigger puzzle.
I’m glad we got a glimpse into the early days of Alexi and crew. Even though this book isn’t my favorite, If you haven’t read the first two books in this series, I highly recommend them.
Rating: C+
May 16, 2011
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars!
I have yet to come across an author who is similar in writing style to Leanna Renee Hieber. I feel repetitive when I say that her work is pure magic, but it’s true. Having read the previous books in the Strangely Beautiful series I have come to really love and enjoy the haunting beauty that she’s created. It’s so easy to become attached to each of the characters. Their fates are indeed perilous and their journeys provide a thrilling, emotional, and magical tale that continues to enthrall me.
This prequel is much bigger than just Percy’s origins, the story goes beyond Percy to the goddess she once was. Persephone, the name the goddess favors out of all given to her, and her beloved Phoenix have fought against Darkness for so long. Even the Muses fight with them and for eternal love they share. Decades before Alexi and his Guard’s time the Muses chose a group of young adults in Cairo to fight the Grand Work. Beatrice Smith (whom we meet in book two) is the Leader and this is her story as much as it is Persephone’s.
I absolutely adored getting to know the goddess more. She’s more of a myth or a past recollection in the previous books. This time around she is fully fleshed out along with the her heartbreaking separation from Phoenix, her battle with Darkness in the Whisper-world, her discovery of the young Alexi Rychman, and her ever-present love for her current and past Guard. I also mentioned that Beatrice is as much a main character as the goddess. Her fate is entwined with that of the London Guard and Percy but it was refreshing to get her back story. The love story between her and Ibrahim was filled with tension and frustration but the two are obviously made for each other. Prideful, headstrong, and impossibly stubborn I couldn’t help but want to shake the both of them!
I don’t want to spoil the story for those who have yet to read any of the books in the Strangely Beautiful saga. All of these books are to be savored and read without spoilers. It’s the discovery of the magic within Leanna’s writing that makes the books so wonderful to read. While many secrets are unveiled or further explained in The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess there is still much to be discovered as more mysteries pop up and the conclusion to the saga is started after the book is over. With the excerpt of the final book in place Percy and Alexi have an entire new battle to prepare for that involves a huge piece of their heart: their daughter!
You really must find the time to read these books if you haven’t had the chance yet. I feel the conclusion will be epic and you don’t definitely don’t want to miss out when it’s finally released.
I have yet to come across an author who is similar in writing style to Leanna Renee Hieber. I feel repetitive when I say that her work is pure magic, but it’s true. Having read the previous books in the Strangely Beautiful series I have come to really love and enjoy the haunting beauty that she’s created. It’s so easy to become attached to each of the characters. Their fates are indeed perilous and their journeys provide a thrilling, emotional, and magical tale that continues to enthrall me.
This prequel is much bigger than just Percy’s origins, the story goes beyond Percy to the goddess she once was. Persephone, the name the goddess favors out of all given to her, and her beloved Phoenix have fought against Darkness for so long. Even the Muses fight with them and for eternal love they share. Decades before Alexi and his Guard’s time the Muses chose a group of young adults in Cairo to fight the Grand Work. Beatrice Smith (whom we meet in book two) is the Leader and this is her story as much as it is Persephone’s.
I absolutely adored getting to know the goddess more. She’s more of a myth or a past recollection in the previous books. This time around she is fully fleshed out along with the her heartbreaking separation from Phoenix, her battle with Darkness in the Whisper-world, her discovery of the young Alexi Rychman, and her ever-present love for her current and past Guard. I also mentioned that Beatrice is as much a main character as the goddess. Her fate is entwined with that of the London Guard and Percy but it was refreshing to get her back story. The love story between her and Ibrahim was filled with tension and frustration but the two are obviously made for each other. Prideful, headstrong, and impossibly stubborn I couldn’t help but want to shake the both of them!
I don’t want to spoil the story for those who have yet to read any of the books in the Strangely Beautiful saga. All of these books are to be savored and read without spoilers. It’s the discovery of the magic within Leanna’s writing that makes the books so wonderful to read. While many secrets are unveiled or further explained in The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess there is still much to be discovered as more mysteries pop up and the conclusion to the saga is started after the book is over. With the excerpt of the final book in place Percy and Alexi have an entire new battle to prepare for that involves a huge piece of their heart: their daughter!
You really must find the time to read these books if you haven’t had the chance yet. I feel the conclusion will be epic and you don’t definitely don’t want to miss out when it’s finally released.
February 10, 2012
I must begin this review with you must read the other two books The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker & The Dark Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker in order to fully understand this one as this is the prequel and the third book to the series. With that being said the beginning was a little slow for my liking but eventually it picks up. Again this is another story with different POV’s and since I haven’t read any of the other books, I found this to be a little irritating and confusing. It was distracting how every one's story was kind of on the same level and no one or no relationship really stood out. That was very bland to me and I think that’s why I wasn’t feeling the story as much as I would have liked to. However, the world that Leanne has created is magnificent. I found it most intriguing, how the Cairo Guard were build and the multiple sacrifices they faced. Especially the tole it takes on them and how they are playing secret roles and can not tell anyone, not even their families. We see all the chaos and misunderstanding between the Guard but we also see it distinguish as they each realize their role in the Guard and in the world.
The story begins in Cairo and with Beatrice. She’s in Cairo with her father, a British archaeologist when she receives “the call”. Beatrice and five other people have been selected to be the next guard. Once she and the other five have settled, Persephone throws in a curve ball that will leave Beatrice and the rest second guessing their purpose not only in life but in the guard as well. Persephone's one goal is to be with her beloved Phoenix. Trapped in Whisper World with Darkness, she must find a way to help her guards without pissing off Darkness, to find the man and woman in her vision that she believes can save the world.
Although to fully understand this book you need to read the first two, it doesn’t take away from the amazing and creative world Leanne has created. I recommend you this book, after the first two of course.
review link: http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2012...
The story begins in Cairo and with Beatrice. She’s in Cairo with her father, a British archaeologist when she receives “the call”. Beatrice and five other people have been selected to be the next guard. Once she and the other five have settled, Persephone throws in a curve ball that will leave Beatrice and the rest second guessing their purpose not only in life but in the guard as well. Persephone's one goal is to be with her beloved Phoenix. Trapped in Whisper World with Darkness, she must find a way to help her guards without pissing off Darkness, to find the man and woman in her vision that she believes can save the world.
Although to fully understand this book you need to read the first two, it doesn’t take away from the amazing and creative world Leanne has created. I recommend you this book, after the first two of course.
review link: http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2012...
August 24, 2011
Started out slower then I hoped, but they had to set up the past Guard so we knew who they were. The beginning was also great to have because it went in detail how all guards were selected in the past before the final group that was part of prophecy. Most of the beginning was just greater detail of things that were shorlty explained in the other books. The book is a great prequel to the strangely beautiful series. It explains many things that were only touched on in the first couple books. I loved that Hieber switched viewpoints throughout the entire book, mainly between Beatrice, Ibrahim, Alexi, and Persephone as the goddess. Every now and then it would switch to one of the other guard members or Pheonix's spirit. Towards the end of the book it was fun to see the guard we are familiar with from the viewpoint of the past guard who were forced not to speak to them of who they were. A few of the things that were actually gone through in this book that I was glad to understand better from the past books, were of course the relationship between Beatrice and her second Ibrahim, Persephone and Pheonix's relationship and their experiences in more detail, how exactly Alexi's grandmother died and how she knew about Alexi and his powers, the London Guard's first job, and how the cafe came into Josie's hands. One thing I was disappointed about was that they didn't explain how Ahmed came into the whisper world. I will say when Persephone had to take her next form as baby Percy Parker I was crying. It was quite an emotional scene, the fall and rise of a goddess. It was wonderfully written. Another of the things that got me really excited was that it had a couple hints into what will happen in the fourth book Miss Violet and the Great War. I wasn't sure about the hint but after reading the excerpt of the 4th book in the back, it proved that it was an explanation of how something came to be in the 4th book. I was disappointed at first when I found out this was a prequel and not a continuation of the other guard, but I fell in love with the Cairo guard and thier story and it was a fun to read. Love this series and can't wait to keep reading.
July 25, 2016
I must begin this review with you must read the other two books The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker & The Dark Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker in order to fully understand this one as this is the prequel and the third book to the series. With that being said the beginning was a little slow for my liking but eventually it picks up. Again this is another story with different POV’s and since I haven’t read any of the other books, I found this to be a little irritating and confusing. It was distracting how every one's story was kind of on the same level and no one or no relationship really stood out. That was very bland to me and I think that’s why I wasn’t feeling the story as much as I would have liked to. However, the world that Leanne has created is magnificent. I found it most intriguing, how the Cairo Guard were build and the multiple sacrifices they faced. Especially the tole it takes on them and how they are playing secret roles and can not tell anyone, not even their families. We see all the chaos and misunderstanding between the Guard but we also see it distinguish as they each realize their role in the Guard and in the world.
The story begins in Cairo and with Beatrice. She’s in Cairo with her father, a British archaeologist when she receives “the call”. Beatrice and five other people have been selected to be the next guard. Once she and the other five have settled, Persephone throws in a curve ball that will leave Beatrice and the rest second guessing their purpose not only in life but in the guard as well. Persephone's one goal is to be with her beloved Phoenix. Trapped in Whisper World with Darkness, she must find a way to help her guards without pissing off Darkness, to find the man and woman in her vision that she believes can save the world.
Although to fully understand this book you need to read the first two, it doesn’t take away from the amazing and creative world Leanne has created. I recommend you this book, after the first two of course.
The story begins in Cairo and with Beatrice. She’s in Cairo with her father, a British archaeologist when she receives “the call”. Beatrice and five other people have been selected to be the next guard. Once she and the other five have settled, Persephone throws in a curve ball that will leave Beatrice and the rest second guessing their purpose not only in life but in the guard as well. Persephone's one goal is to be with her beloved Phoenix. Trapped in Whisper World with Darkness, she must find a way to help her guards without pissing off Darkness, to find the man and woman in her vision that she believes can save the world.
Although to fully understand this book you need to read the first two, it doesn’t take away from the amazing and creative world Leanne has created. I recommend you this book, after the first two of course.
June 29, 2011
I generally dislike prequels, but decided to give The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess a shot because I enjoyed both of Leanna Renee Hieber's previous Strangely Beautiful books. I'm very glad I gave Perilous Prophecy a chance.
Perilous Prophecy focuses on the everything leading up to the London guard's meeting Percy Parker. We get to experience the early days of Alexi's guard, see exactly how Persephone became Percy Parker, and get to know the Egypt guard that was only briefly touched upon in Darkly Luminous. These people and events are essential to the tale of Percy Parker and nothing frivolously unnecessary was included included. My dislike of prequels stems from the usual inclusion of random and unrelated tangents that do nothing to explain the world or the story in the books that come after. Perilous Prophecy stays on point and enriches the plot of the entire series in a way that makes it unthinkable to have not included this prequel to the story.
While I enjoyed Darkly Luminous, I wasn't a huge fan of all the time spent in the Whisper-World, nor the focus on Beatrice in that book. Perilous Prophecy shows the importance of each, providing the background information needed to appreciate and embrace both aspects of the story. After reading Perilous Prophecy, I find that I have a stronger understanding of what was going on in Darkly Luminous and now have a much larger appreciation of both previous books.
Hieber writing is beautiful as always. She has the ability to describe in a way that captivates, making the setting just as interesting as the action or dialogue. While I still maintain my aversion to prequels, I'm pleased to say that The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess is definitely the exception to the rule.
Perilous Prophecy focuses on the everything leading up to the London guard's meeting Percy Parker. We get to experience the early days of Alexi's guard, see exactly how Persephone became Percy Parker, and get to know the Egypt guard that was only briefly touched upon in Darkly Luminous. These people and events are essential to the tale of Percy Parker and nothing frivolously unnecessary was included included. My dislike of prequels stems from the usual inclusion of random and unrelated tangents that do nothing to explain the world or the story in the books that come after. Perilous Prophecy stays on point and enriches the plot of the entire series in a way that makes it unthinkable to have not included this prequel to the story.
While I enjoyed Darkly Luminous, I wasn't a huge fan of all the time spent in the Whisper-World, nor the focus on Beatrice in that book. Perilous Prophecy shows the importance of each, providing the background information needed to appreciate and embrace both aspects of the story. After reading Perilous Prophecy, I find that I have a stronger understanding of what was going on in Darkly Luminous and now have a much larger appreciation of both previous books.
Hieber writing is beautiful as always. She has the ability to describe in a way that captivates, making the setting just as interesting as the action or dialogue. While I still maintain my aversion to prequels, I'm pleased to say that The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess is definitely the exception to the rule.
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