Goddess of Spring

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Story That Will Take You Through The Emotions!
Review: I have just finished reading Goddess of Spring. It is a beautiful story that takes you through the emotions. Laughter, sadness, anger, and of course happiness. I am very much touched. Once I had picked it up I could not put it down. It is about a baker who is having a bit of bad luck. She owes the IRS money and she may lose her business because of it. She comes up with an idea of trying a new recipe to bring in more money and possibly go into the catering business. She finds an old cookbook that changes her life forever. Absolutely magnificent. This being the first book I have read by P.C. Cast I am looking forward to reading her other works.


Rating:
Summary: Cast's best Goddess book so far
Review: Maybe if I hadn't already read Cast's previous Goddess books I might have rated this higher. It definitely is the best of the three considering the quality of her writing, the plot, and the setting. The book doesn't get going until Lina changes places with Persephone, but at that point the simple story draws you in and moves quickly. Before that though, unfortunately, the writing is frequently awkward and tedious to slog through. It's as if Cast wasn't interested in that part of the story herself.

This story follows the same outline of events and includes basically the same characters as Cast's previous two Goddess books with only a change of settings and names. There's the ritual, the surprisingly easy changing of worlds and bodies with very little homesickness by the main character. There's the guy she instantly finds true love with, the woman she instantly makes best friends with and who is also her servant. There are the many scenes where she explores her new clothes, her new bathroom. She has fabulous sex. It's all the same as before - just done a little better. This may be partly partly why I seem less impressed by the book than other reviewers here. I hope Cast has worn the formula out by now and will try something new in the future. Also, please, stop with the endless bad puns. One thing new this time is a particularly creepy scene where Lina is bathing while Hades is off in the bushes watching and pleasuring himself. That's not romantic and it could have been left out.

I also can not understand why Cast made such a point of making Lina an Italian who owns an Italian bakery, uses Italian curses, and who finds an old Italian cookbook with the ritual that gets everything going. Why do this if the Gods and myths used for the story were all Greek? Why not just make Lina Greek? Why have an Italian cookbook with an invocation to Demeter instead of Ceres? Probably a lot of readers won't care about this but for me, it was incredibly distracting and sloppy. All these negatives do take a toll on an otherwise fun, quick read and leaving a slightly bad aftertaste, which is why I rate the book as I did.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the lot
Review: Quite the best of Cast's Goddess series -- all the same plot so only read this one. Rife flaws (parochial Italian-American heroine, unconvincing shallowness of the gods) are overcome by the strong romance, although the depiction of hell is mildly entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: The next fantastical Goddess story is here
Review: Review courtesy of LoveRomances.com

Ms. Cast continues her Goddess Summoning series with this story of love in the Underworld.

Lina Santoro loves nothing more than baking, so she is concerned when her trendy bakery ends up in dire straits. She needs something fast to bring in money to rescue it. Never did she imagine that finding an old Italian cookbook would summon aid from the great Goddess of the Harvest, Demeter.

When the Goddess makes a proposition, Lina listens. She is to exchange places with Persephone, the Goddess of Spring, for six months. Persephone will assume Lina's life for that time, in order to rescue the bakery, and Lina will go to the Underworld to bring hope and new "life" to the spirits.

Never did Lina dream that doing so would change her forever, when she meets... and falls in love with... the God Hades, Death personified.

What a fantastic, magical tale this is! Here is a delightful story full of life and love that brings the incredible world of Gods and Goddesses out of the realm of mythology and into the real world for readers to enjoy. Here, one will find a brilliant and unique story of soul mates united, love found, and the passions of the Immortal.

Lina is a middle-aged woman, beautiful inside and out, who has long since given dreams of love. Hades is a powerful, sexy, handsome Immortal who is one of a kind and never imagined someone could love him and his realm. These two need each other in order to be whole. There is a full cast of characters to round out the story. Readers will enjoy the second love story entwined here, of Eurydice and Iapis, spirit and daimon. Persephone, though a more minor role, adds youthful vitality, and her mother Demeter adds a touch of awe, to captivate readers.

The imagery is vivid and one will see the beauty of the Underworld... from the joy and light of Elysia, to the darkness and despair of Tartarus. Hades' palace is incredibly portrayed as well, even the "Dread Steeds of Hades."

Though Goddess of Spring was the first book by Ms. Cast this reviewer has read, it intrigued enough to insure it will most definitely not be the last. This is one new fan who eagerly awaits the next story in the series!

© Kelley A. Hartsell, August 2004. All rights reserved.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful magic!!
Review: The Goddess Demeter feels that Persephone is to immature to handle the problems in the realm of the Dead.

Carolina Santoro needs help with her bakery. She finds an old book of receipes dedicated to the Goddess Demeter. Following a receipe she invokes Demeter.

Demeter suggests that she change bodies with Persephone so the the Goddess of Spring can save her bakery and she who is more mature, can fix the problems in Hades realm.

This is a wonderful adventure full of magic, humor, and romance. The playful mix of myth and reality is stunning. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more.

Rating:
Summary: A Love Divine
Review: The story is so moving and the depth of feeling blew me from my seat. I could feel my heart goes up and down along with Carolina's. I always have this curiosity with Hades which made me pick this book and thankfully I did :)

I have a little problem though, It is the language used which makes the gods like modern supermen and superwomen put at ancient time. Even the twangs and jargons of Lina's didn't make Hades confused. That in someway diminish the divine value. But it is still one a very lovable story.

Rating:
Summary: I sooo want that receipe!
Review: This book was great. no really. I loved the characters, and the plot added a new twist to the old myths that I have always loved.
Now if only I could find that cookbook...

Rating:
Summary: Cast Has Done it Again!
Review: Upon first hearing of this new 'Goddess' novel, I was ecstatic. Having read-and adored-'Goddess by Mistake,' I couldn't wait to begin this new jaunt into Cast's world of mythology. While the setting differs greatly from that of 'Goddess by Mistake,' 'Goddess of the Spring' has a charm uniquely its own.

Lina Santoro, a middle aged baker from Tulsa, OK, needed a fix. Her beloved bakery was in trouble, and she would do anything it took to save it, even if that included paying tribute to the long-forgotten goddess Demeter. While believing the reward for her tribute would be a fabulous new menu item, she ended up getting much more. She landed in the realm of Demeter, inhabiting the body of the goddess' daughter, Persephone.

Demeter explained that the Underworld, the Realm of the Dead, needed a goddess queen to soothe its occupants. So, at the whim of Demeter, Lina and Persephone had traded places-Lina parading to the Underworld in Persephone's body, and Persephone managing the bakery while inhabiting Lina's body.

Upon reaching the Realm of the Dead Lina meets it's lord, the god Hades. There is instant attraction between the brooding, angsty god & the world-hardened baker in the body of a goddess. What's more, the dead and the creatures of the underworld accept Lina as their queen, and, more, they adore her warm spirit and kind heart.

But what will happen when Hades finds out that the goddess he loves is no goddess at all, but actually a mortal? The basis of the story is a love put to the test by mistaken identity, pride, and hurt, and Cast does a fantastic job. The book left me feeling happy and content, and also left me with a lesson: things do not always run smoothly, even for a goddess, but they will work out in the end.


Rating:
Summary: Another interesting book
Review: Wow, I really liked Hades, but barely cared about Persephone or the female lead character. I really enjoyed the descriptions of Hades and the interaction between the Greek pantheon, but the romance was tepid and uninteresting. A quick read but not a keeper.