Tag Archives: Jordanna Max Brodsky

Winter of the Gods

Book Review of Winter of the Gods (Olympus Bound #2), by Jordanna Max Brodsky

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I won a copy of Jordanna Max Brodsky‘s Winter of the Gods through Goodreads. I reviewed book one, The Immortals, last year (almost exactly a year ago, actually).

Description:
Manhattan has many secrets. Some are older than the city itself.

Winter in New York: snow falls, lights twinkle, and a very disgruntled Selene DiSilva prowls the streets looking for prey.

But when a dead body is discovered sprawled atop Wall Street’s iconic Charging Bull statue, it’s clear the NYPD can’t solve the murder without help. The murder isn’t just the work of another homicidal cult — this time, someone’s sacrificing the gods themselves.

While raising fundamental questions about the very existence of the gods, Selene must hunt down the perpetrators, tracking a conspiracy that will test the bonds of loyalty and love.

Review:
I liked this one better than the first one, though I still wouldn’t say I loved it. I liked Selene and her brothers, as well as Theo. But it grated on me that goddesses other that Artemis were always spoken of dismissively (as so and so’s wife or mother, etc) and none were in the book. Why do even books with heroines as the main characters still never have women in them?

As in the first book, I didn’t feel the romance fit. I couldn’t see what Theo was attracted to in a woman who was so consistently rude to him. Plus, I disliked how fast he always was to leap on her if she was at all acceptive to sex. I don’t mean to strip her of her agency and suggest he should refuse to have sex with her just because she’s been a virgin for 3,000 years. But this is something she’s maintained because it’s been important to her, so, I thought a little more gravitas and a little less jumping on a bitch in heat would have been nice Because of this, I actually really appreciated the ending, as sad as it was. I hope Brodsky doesn’t pull back on it in the next book.

The mystery is fairly obvious. I figured out who the villain was quite early, the first time they saw page time, as a matter of fact. But it’s still interesting to see how it all plays out. All in all, not bad, but not my bag either.

The Immortals

Book Review of The Immortals (Olympus Bound, #1), by Jordanna Max Brodsky

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I borrowed a copy of The Immortals, by Jordanna Max Brodsky, from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Manhattan.
The city sleeps. Selene DiSilva walks her dog along the banks of the Hudson. She is alone-just the way she likes it. She doesn’t believe in friends, and she doesn’t speak to her family. Most of them are simply too dangerous.

Murders.
In the predawn calm, Selene finds the body of a young woman washed ashore, gruesomely mutilated and wreathed in laurel. Her ancient rage returns. And so does the memory of a promise she made long ago. To protect the innocent-and to punish those who stand in her way.

Gods.
With the NYPD out of its depth, Selene vows to hunt the killer on her own. But when classics professor Theo Schultz decodes the ancient myth behind the crime, the solitary Huntress finds herself working with a man who’s her opposite in every way. Together, they face a long-forgotten cult that lies behind a string of murders, and they’ll need help from the one source Selene distrusts most of all: the city’s other Immortals.

Review:
I thought that this was basically OK, nothing wrong with it, but I didn’t love it. Liked it ok, but not love.

It will help to brush up on your Greek mythology before reading it though, since there’s a lot of it packed into this particular book. I liked the idea of the gods living among us mortals. Though the idea that they’re fading as they’re not worshipped anymore isn’t a new one.

I liked the mystery, though I figured it out pretty quickly. I liked that the main characters are second string gods/goddesses. We’re not talking Zeus here, but Artemis, Apollo, and such. I liked the strong female characters and the geeky, academic “beta male” hero. Though his treatment of his ex didn’t really endear him to me.

The issue I had, was with the romance. It never felt right to me, and not just because Artemis is supposed to be virginal goddess. It just felt abrupt and shoehorned in. I mean, she only interacts peaceably with one man and he just happens to be the one. And in the end, I couldn’t visualize how a relationship was meant to work.

All in all, not bad, but maybe not for me.