Marie Phillips (1) (1976–)

In this -- what, urban fantasy? (I suppose it could qualify as that -- supernatural beings roaming among us, doing supernatural things) members of the Greek pantheon live in a decrepit townhouse in London and while away the years as eternity drags on. They do humany things (host television shows, act as sex workers) and goddy things (create wars, escort souls to the underworld), and sometimes those things get a bit tangled up, such as when Aphrodite gets pissed off at Apollo and asks Eros to make him fall in love with a random mortal. Alice, the hapless girl, ends up being the catalyst for both the end of the world and the resurgence of the gods. This is a clever narrative, using a modern plotline and setting to tell a fairly classic Greek epic story, and having fun doing it, while also reminding us that all stories are pretty much drawn from the same set of tropes after all, aren't they.… (more)

I was anticipating great fun with this book, and it did not disappoint. I'll admit all the parts with Aphrodite were almost too raunchy for me at the beginning, but I'm glad I kept reading.

What an entertaining premise! The Greek gods of Olympus are all living together in a rundown, cramped, poorly maintained flat in London, and they are none too happy about it. Although they are still immortal, their powers have weakened considerably, and they find themselves caught up in petty squabbles. When Aphrodite and Apollo have an argument that escalates, it catches two mortals in the middle of it: Alice, a sweet but mousy cleaner, and her would-be boyfriend Neil, a sweet but mousy engineer.

When Alice and Neil find themselves in a position to help save humankind, they discover that power and influence have nothing to do with being immortal and everything to do with being flawed humans.… (more)