Goddess of Legend

Romance is not my favorite genre, but this was fun. I enjoy retelling old legends or stories - and this was a retelling of King Arthur. The main characters were funny, and it made for a light and easy read. It's pure fluff with a laugh. If you need an easy read that is not deep, this just might do.

I have been waiting and waiting for this book to come out since the moment I heard about it from Ms. Cast's lips at her 'Tempted' signing here in Baltimore. I almost died because 1. I love P.C. Cast 2. I love the Goddess Summoning Series and 3. I LOVE KING ARTHUR! So this book was being held to pretty high standards from the very beginning. I am happy to report that I was not disappointed. This whole series is one of my absolute favorites and it is number two in the list of my comfort reads. I pimp this series like no other and have yet to hear a complaint, so if you haven't read it yet, please do, start with Goddess of the Sea and you will be entranced and awed.

Now I will get off my soap box and tell you why I adore this book. Ms. Cast show more has a way of writing strong female characters and tossing them into not-so-ideal situations. Luckily because the women are strong willed they come out the situations stronger, and usually happier (at least at the end of the story). In this book Isabel is a pretty strong character and she has to be to live up to the idolized character that is King Arthur. Speaking of King Arthur, he is incredibly written, and exactly as I would want him to be in this situation. I adored the love and relationship that grows between him and Isabel and I adore the fact that he is just as perfect as I, myself, could imagine him.

I also love the fact that Isabel sweeps into the sixth century, not knowing, or able to do anything ever remotely sixth century like and is able to whip the entirety of Camelot into a frenzy. She is magnificent, the kind of women people would want to follow, and the perfect counterpart to the King himself. She is, in essence, the female version of King Arthur, and I love it!

The plot was a bit spotty here and there, it slowed a tiny bit about half way in and there were a couple of times I wanted to throw a shoe at Gwen's head but other than that, this book is absolutely perfect. I wish the ending would have had a bit more oomph, because I know P.C. Cast can end a book with oomph, but it did not, and it was not an unsatisfying ending at all. I can not wait to read more books in this series, and I hope Ms. Cast continues to write many many more. show less

RATING: 1.5 stars (barely).

I've read most of the "Goddess Summoning" series and I always liked how light, funny and romantic they were. I loved the quirky and sometimes seriously corny humor, the strong yet sensible heroines, the though (yet sensible) heroes and the sappy love story. These books always made me laugh and feel good after reading them.
I also liked how the author incorporated (however liberally) Greek and Celtic mythology; how ordinary women were transformed into goddesses but remained very human. This was, for me (still is, for the most part), a very well written 'time-travel' romance series.

Goddess of Legend takes place in the mythical kingdom of Camelot, so I was immediately interested. Unfortunately it seems that the show more author wasn't up to the task of writing about the famous King Arthur. This book was not... very good.

The thing that most annoyed me about the book was... Isabel. She was suddenly thrown into the Middle Ages but she still acts as a 21st century woman? I imagine Cast wanted to show her character's fierce personality, but really I was stunned that Arthur wasn't shouting "off with her head" five minutes after meeting her. I mean, let's be honest, no matter how dreamy King Arthur is, he would still be a product of his time and would definitely not have permitted such liberties from Isabel. From the beginning their whole relationship was too liberal, too modern and that just didn't sit right with me. I get it, this is fiction and mostly fantasy; it doesn't mean you can totally ignore history if you're going to write about another time period.

Another thing that annoyed me was... Isabel (yes, again). She was too giggly, too juvenile for her age. I mean "girl time" and "painting toenails together"? I guess I'd have liked for her to be a bit more mature. So basically I didn't like the heroine very much, she was annoying and sometimes forceful.

I also didn't much care for the development (pacing-wise) of Isabel and Arthur's relationship. They were in lust at first sight and I honestly didn't think Arthur (the legendary king, let's remember that) was remarkable enough for that lust to almost immediately turn into love. I didn't buy it. Arthur was too... normal.

What is more, nothing much happened in this book besides Isabel walking all over and trying to force her way of life to everyone around her (who were Middle Ages people). So pretty weak in the story department as well.

On a positive note, it was still very easy to read this book as the writing style was, as always, engaging.

Overall this book had very little story, annoying and/or one-dimensional characters and an uninteresting romance. The weakest of the series so far; if you're a fan you may want to read it, but if you just like paranormal romance I'd avoid this one. show less

I found this one to be the slowest of all the Goddess Summoning books.
I'm not really sure what it was about this one ... maybe the lack of humor? Perhaps the lack of steamy sex? Maybe I just have no interest in King Arthur and Camelot? Either way ... I found this one was slow and dull.

Adrianne

Hotshot 40-something photographer drowns in a lake after a car accident. The Lady of the Lake brings her soul to her world and tells her she needs help. The Lady's precious Merlin is dying due to Arthur's unhappiness. Go back to Camelot, woo Lancelot away from the Queen and back to the King so that everyone will end up happy ever after. Why not right. Nothing better to do. Easier said that done when Arthur turns out to be a major hunk of man. Loved P.C. Cast's reworking of the old Arthurian love triangle.

Taking a new twist on King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot story, I really wanted to like this story, Isobella goes back to Camelot to find a way to make Arthur happy to revive Merlin. The use of slang and too many modern thoughts and ideas became a distraction and wouldn't allow me to stay within the story.

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I really enjoyed the story. But if you're a history buff, please ignore the inaccuracies (which I will not mention here) and comparing it to the original stories will be futile.
Now I love King Arthur and everything he and Camelot represented. Who doesn't want a majestic knight and a King for that matter? The story was funny and romantic although at times I want to wring Isabel's pretty little neck because she would take some situations too far that I'm not surprised she haven't been tried for treason. But I got over it as my attention was solely on the dreamy King Arthur and everything ended happily.

The story and ending is predictable and it's your typical romantic comedy story. As the weather gets colder and the show more skies turn gray, this is a perfect pick-me-up read. show less