Hello everyone!
Oh yes, BookSirens, remember them?
That fancy-schmancy online nexus where authors upload their ARCs for readers to then peruse at their leisure and leave free reviews in return?
Yes, that BookSirens.
Honestly, if you haven't checked it out yet, you totally should. If you're a voracious reader like I am, this is SO going to make your life easier, I can guarantee it.
But back to tonight's story, which is all about, er ... Greek Gods.
In space.
Buckle up, Buttercups, because Abducting Artemis boldly goes where no one has gone before.
I have nothing to compare this to, so, a solo stand for the book at the moment! But we may be looking into the following in the series so, you just keep an eye out.
Abducting Artemis is, for lack of a better word, a little bit trippy.
I mean, try to imagine it: have you seen any Stark Trek or Stargate episodes, or movies? You know how they have shuttles to carry them to and from planets, out into orbit, and onto space stations?
Yeah, well, this is where the Greek Gods ended up, after removing from Earth and leaving it in the hands of a capable steward.
Said steward was married to Artemis, favoured daughter of the mighty Zeus ... and then her life turned to hell because her husband is the biggest abusive asshole in the universe.
Naturally, as abusers go, he separates and isolates her from her family, and for four years nobody knows a thing.
Until, that is, a slave named Regan kidnaps her, wanting to ransom her for his two teenage kids that her douche of a husband has under his control, and then realizing she's just as much a victim as everyone else in this whole melange.
Listen, she has to constantly wear the most gruesome option of a chastity belt I have ever seen, and while on the, um, quest to remove it, Regan and Artemis discover they're fated mates, and the Fates (the scary ladies who tend to snip the yarn for anyone annoying them) dissolve her union to her husband so she can claim Regan instead.
Except, she then has this crazy plan to RETURN to husbastard, so that she can have a shot at getting both Regan's and her OWN daughter out of the House of Women that said husbastard has in his control (and how he managed to control Artemis for so long - through her daughter).
Thankfully, Regan's daughter Cassandra is clairvoyant, so she can see how things'll turn out, and Regan has a nifty thing he can get his hands on, which is an invisibility helm, so they escape together, crash-landing on the ship of none other than good ole Uncle Hades.
Once there, there's a tiny little confrontation between husbastart, Artemis, and Hades - and wouldn't you know it, but Hades takes one whiff at all the lies the idiot is spouting and is all, nah son, that's not flying under MY tin can roof!
Unfortunately, the husbastard then nabs the kids, because of course he does, and Artemis calls for a council of the gods, during which she explains what happened, what she's been enduring (and none of them really even wanted to investigate why she withdrew, but anyway), and receives gifts of strength from her family to go fight the good fight.
Which, she and Regan do - until the point when Achilles (supposed friend of our Regan) pops up with that invisibility helm, grabs Regan's kids, and disappears with them, but at least the couple have Artemis' daughter, right?
Plus the promise of MORE children in the future, not to mention Cassandra said before they'd be seeing one another again.
So now, free of her demonic husband, Artemis is all set to right the wrongs of Earth with all the demon-spawn that lurk there and make life unbearable for humans, among other things.
And I hope we get to see some of that in future books, honestly!
HOKAY SO.
If you know me, you know I love me some Greek Gods. And I'll admit, I wasn't entirely sold on the premise of the story right off the bat, mostly because Artemis - as we all know - is fabled for being a MAIDEN goddess, aka, she never wed or took any lovers or anything of the sort (that we know of, at least). That's kind of the prevalent image of her in history books.
Ms West throws all of that out the window, and I'm pretty sure science fiction/fantasy is a cover up for some really naughty smut stories but, you didn't hear that from me!
Overall, here's what I think of this:
The MCs: I like Artemis and Regan together, as well as their journey that uncovers their backstories without really settling too heavily for too long. The stories are important for the forward progression of the plot, but don't stall it, and we're hurrying along as fast as we can. Also, just seeing Artemis OWN HERSELF again is worth the read. Regan is a treat.
The SCs: I'd LOVE to learn more of the gods and their new glittery pads, er, spaceships. How do they function? How does it all work?? And also, how come Poseidon isn't accorded the same level of power and respect as his brothers Zeus and Hades? Most importantly though, we can sense a deep family connection that I'm willing to bet we get to explore later.
The romance: listen, this is meant to turn your brain off from RL stuff and not start philosophical discussions. It gets steamy FAST and it stays steamy, but if you're not expecting a dragged-out, Bollywood style will-they-won't-they, then you'll be golden.
The plot: has potential. There's lots of it buried there, because I'm not entirely sure how Artemis got from 'my husband is an abusive bastard' to 'he created the demons to challenge my all-powerful father', and I don't think I'd have missed a fact like THAT hidden in the text. Equally, other than for plot purposes furthering the story of Regan's daughter, I don't know WHY it was necessary for Achilles (lots of namedropping, I promise you get it if you read it!) had to take off with Regan's kids. This is why I feel like we NEED more from the universe, to understand this starting point better!
The godly powers: will probably come more into play as we move along in the series, as right now all we get is Artemis can run fast and has a pack of ghostly wolves/hounds that eat people.
The world: DEFINITELY needs more building, and how the heck we got to gods in spaceships, but it's an intriguing premise that I'm sure will entice a lot of people.
Overall: this is a good start, a solid foundation, but we need more! So I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and I think I might join the author's newsletter to see just WHAT is happening in the corner where characters wait to be put into their own books. Definitely recommend if you have a few hours to spare, some time to kill, and an imagination that wants to run as fast as Artemis does through the woods!
If you know me, you know I love me some Greek Gods. And I'll admit, I wasn't entirely sold on the premise of the story right off the bat, mostly because Artemis - as we all know - is fabled for being a MAIDEN goddess, aka, she never wed or took any lovers or anything of the sort (that we know of, at least). That's kind of the prevalent image of her in history books.
Ms West throws all of that out the window, and I'm pretty sure science fiction/fantasy is a cover up for some really naughty smut stories but, you didn't hear that from me!
Overall, here's what I think of this:
The MCs: I like Artemis and Regan together, as well as their journey that uncovers their backstories without really settling too heavily for too long. The stories are important for the forward progression of the plot, but don't stall it, and we're hurrying along as fast as we can. Also, just seeing Artemis OWN HERSELF again is worth the read. Regan is a treat.
The SCs: I'd LOVE to learn more of the gods and their new glittery pads, er, spaceships. How do they function? How does it all work?? And also, how come Poseidon isn't accorded the same level of power and respect as his brothers Zeus and Hades? Most importantly though, we can sense a deep family connection that I'm willing to bet we get to explore later.
The romance: listen, this is meant to turn your brain off from RL stuff and not start philosophical discussions. It gets steamy FAST and it stays steamy, but if you're not expecting a dragged-out, Bollywood style will-they-won't-they, then you'll be golden.
The plot: has potential. There's lots of it buried there, because I'm not entirely sure how Artemis got from 'my husband is an abusive bastard' to 'he created the demons to challenge my all-powerful father', and I don't think I'd have missed a fact like THAT hidden in the text. Equally, other than for plot purposes furthering the story of Regan's daughter, I don't know WHY it was necessary for Achilles (lots of namedropping, I promise you get it if you read it!) had to take off with Regan's kids. This is why I feel like we NEED more from the universe, to understand this starting point better!
The godly powers: will probably come more into play as we move along in the series, as right now all we get is Artemis can run fast and has a pack of ghostly wolves/hounds that eat people.
The world: DEFINITELY needs more building, and how the heck we got to gods in spaceships, but it's an intriguing premise that I'm sure will entice a lot of people.
Overall: this is a good start, a solid foundation, but we need more! So I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and I think I might join the author's newsletter to see just WHAT is happening in the corner where characters wait to be put into their own books. Definitely recommend if you have a few hours to spare, some time to kill, and an imagination that wants to run as fast as Artemis does through the woods!
xx
*image not mine
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