Friday, June 24, 2011

The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess by Leanna Renee Hieber

The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess (Strangely Beautiful)From Goodreads:
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.
 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. Those I recommend highly as I loved both books. In fact, the kindle version of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parkeris only $2.99. I believe it is a part of the summer sale.


I received this eARC from NetGalley and DP. No compensation was given.

15 comments:

  1. Too bad you did not like it as much :/ it happens. And it sucks.

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  2. I have read The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker - I had enjoyed the book but could not connect to the characters at all, especially the main protagonist whom I found annoying. I think I will face a similar problem with this book as well. I am sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy this book.

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  3. Not a book for me as I need to connect with my characters to really enjoy a novel.

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  4. Doesn't sounds like I would like it. Thanks for the review!

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  5. Well, the synopsis SOUNDS good... but I take your 2.5's very seriously. ;)

    All over the place= no good. I have to be able to keep up. Plus if it's #3 (or #.5) that's just ANOTHER series to add, and if it wasn't FAB... then meh.

    <3

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  6. You read the series in order and still managed to read it out of chronological order - only you Melissa! :-)

    Sucks when a series has a dud - big question if there is a book 4 would you read it??

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  7. Shoot. I so loved the first two books in this series and I was curious to see how this one would be with out focusing on Percy and Alexi. I think I'll hold off on this one for a while and just hold on to my fond memories of books one and two:)

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  8. @Blodeuedd... I know and I was so looking forward to this one!

    @Misha... I think I really connected with them in the second book. However, the first is needed to get what the second one was talking about! lol So go for the second.

    @...Petty... you might enjoy books 1 and 2, however!

    @Savannah... Probably not. :(

    @Bookish... don't have to be that serious! lol If you read it, stick with 1 and 2.

    @Mel...NOT MY FAULT! I swear! LOL I honestly think the series is done, but there are books coming out by this author I can't wait to read. :)

    @Jenny... I loved the first 2 as well! It doesn't ruin the other 2 but makes you appreciate it more. :)

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  9. Better bookish experience next time...although you didn't enjoy the book you still managed to write a good review. Reading out of order might be still a good thing - if you had read this one first and the better parts of the series later you would have got a better deal I suppose!

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  10. Oh bummer. I really liked the first one - one of my favorite historical fantasy books evah!

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  11. I had a bad experience with a retelling of Mythology and since I stay away from them lol thanks for the review :)

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  12. The synopsis doesn't sound like anything of what I remember of the 1st book, which I didn’t finish actually. I guess I needed to have read the whole thing and the second one. Hey, I just realized that you read in order...but not really since this book comes before the others chronologically.

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  13. So funny, I just went through the same kind of disappointment with the third in a series..lol I feel your plight ;/

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  14. You know I haven't started this series but would like too. Thanks for the review here on this one. :)

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  15. It's tough to enjoy when you can't connect with the characters. Oh, well.

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