Aphrodite's Kiss

Zoe is a human/superhero halfling who works as an elementary school librarian, and she doesn’t have control of her powers. She’s applied to the Venerate Council, the governing superhero organization that protects humans, but doesn’t think she stands a good chance for admittance.
Taylor an ex-cop turned private investigator and meets Zoe while on a case. He thinks she’s perfect and normal, which he thinks he wants, but then he notices a few weird things about her.
Their romance is very sweet. They both flirt like crazy, but they’re painstakingly shy, so it takes a little while for heat to grow between them. When it does, the sex is both hot and heartfelt.
Deena and Hoop, their mutual friends, are fun additions and add a lot of show more snark to the story.
I didn’t really like Zoe’s brother and mother. Hale, her brother, is an arrogant superhero who thinks he’s better than mortals even though he’s pledged his life to protect them.
My favorite character is the villain, Mordi. He’s Zoe’s superhero cousin and has a good reason for doing the bad stuff he’s doing.
Though I enjoyed the overall plot, I sometimes had a hard time following what was going on. Several of the characters kept lying to one another and/or not understanding what another character was saying, so there was repetition. The beginning of the book was fun and cute; the pacing slowed in the middle; and the ending picked back up but needed more detail.
I didn’t notice any spelling or grammar typos, but there were content problems. For example: after the final battle, Zoe and Taylor are side by side talking with Hale, but then Zoe and Hale are walking toward Taylor. How? All three of them were already together.
One thing I found a little weird was that only Taylor and Hale seem to care that Zoe survived her battle with Mordi. Her mother and father are off talking while Deena and Hoop are snuggling in the grass—why aren’t they happy she lived?
Anyway, this is the first superhero-themed chick-lit book I’ve read. I liked the story and the characters for the most part, but some things just didn’t make sense to me.
3 Stars

Disclaimer – I downloaded this book from Amazon and volunteered to review it. I am not compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion. show less

I stumbled across this series recently for a penny a piece except for this first one, so I grabbed if up off here so I could start at the beginning. My expectations weren't great because although I adore Ms.Kenner's most recent works (Ghouls series and Demon's series), I found her earlier book 'Cat's Fancy' pretty sub-standard fare. I will say that this one far surpassed that one in both plot and writing style. Still Julie Kenner's writing style has continued to grow and flourish. The start of this story felt stilted, to the point where I almost considered this a lost cause. The plot seemed fabulous and original...a librarian who was really half SuperHero? Awesome! Zoe is the daugher of a superhero father and a human mother. She has show more until her 25th birthday, which is drawing near, to admit to her mother she has superhero powers and prove her superskills so that she can be accepted into the superhero elite, the Council. If she fails at either one, she can choose to be an Outcast of the council or a mortal. Zoe runs into all kinds of action and romance along the way. She falls for a mortal who may or may not be alright with her powers and duty to mankind. And she still has to fight for her place on the Council. After about the first 75 pages I couldn't stop reading. I found Zoe likeable and loved reading about the other quirky characters. Zoe's mother's story felt very real to me to along the way. After finishing the 1st in this Aphrodite series, I can say not only do I plan to read the next books, but I also think here we can see a nice glimpse of what is to come in the future from Julie Kenner. show less

I'm not sure what it was that had me debating between two and three stars but I think part of it was the names of the characters - Zoe Smith (Smith to indicate how ordinary or average she is) and George Bailey Taylor (to indicate what a great guy he is) which were so obvious that it wasn't as enjoyable for me. But the story telling was good and at a fast enough pace that could keep your interest which is why I ended up giving it a 3. This is one of those rainy day or lazy summer day reads.

I'm not sure what it was that had me debating between two and three stars but I think part of it was the names of the characters - Zoe Smith (Smith to indicate how ordinary or average she is) and George Bailey Taylor (to indicate what a great guy he is) which were so obvious that it wasn't as enjoyable for me. But the story telling was good and at a fast enough pace that could keep your interest which is why I ended up giving it a 3. This is one of those rainy day or lazy summer day reads.

I'm not sure what it was that had me debating between two and three stars but I think part of it was the names of the characters - Zoe Smith (Smith to indicate how ordinary or average she is) and George Bailey Taylor (to indicate what a great guy he is) which were so obvious that it wasn't as enjoyable for me. But the story telling was good and at a fast enough pace that could keep your interest which is why I ended up giving it a 3. This is one of those rainy day or lazy summer day reads.

First book in the Protector's series. There is a prequel called Cat's Fancy. The heroine is just getting her superpowers and can't control them well, when she is called on to save the world. Very cute, funny romance with a lot of superhero elements and winks to conventions of the genre.

It was a predictable, cheesy romance with likable characters. It read like a first novel, rough and not real deep.