Book 2 of the Olympus Bound series. Continued story of Artemis (Selene DiSilva) fighting to protect and avenge for the innocent souls. With the help of Dr. Theodore Schultz, they uncover another sect led by another God who's acquiring more power by killing off other gods. ( )

This book is 500 pages of the men in her life telling Artemis what to do with her body (primarily but not exclusively her virginity). If this appeals to you, or if you want to read a series that in just two books has crammed a (virginal) (previously eternally single) (clearly gay) goddess into 3 love triangles and a very weird Shakespearean love rectangle, this is the book for you! Gay people as window dressing to seem more diverse? Check! Casual misogyny, voiced by a gay woman of color to make it seem acceptable? You know it! No female friendships because the protagonist feels that men are just simpler than those “complex” (read: dramatic) women? Who needs female friendships when you have men gaslighting you into making decisions about your body! (yes this actually happens). When Artemis finally pops her cherry, it’s cause she thinks her dead twin would want her to. Guys, having sex with a woman just hours after best friend/beloved brother has died and she’s senseless with grief makes you a scumbag. If you didn’t already know this, you’re in the same boat as Jordanna Brodsky, so don't feel too bad. (Absolutely feel too bad)

I’m not totally opposed to a guilty pleasure, but that would require this book actually being good. Brodsky more or less lifts the entire plot from The Immortals (the prequel), but instead of random mortals being killed, it’s fellow gods. It's up to Artemis and her whiny mortal boyfriend who seems to think he's owed access to her body for some reason to find these cultists (because of course they're cultists you can't really think Brodsky would really come up with new types of bad guys for every book) before they target her. Which of course they will. It wouldn't be a Jordanna Brodsky book if Artemis wasn't getting kidnapped by cultists and being forced to participate in their nefarious schemes. Besides ratcheting up the tension to 11, Brodsky doesn’t do anything new with this book which, combined with the pacing issues, makes the book very boring. I only finished it to write this scathing review, not because I cared even remotely about how the plot would be resolved.

Just read The Immortals. It's much more interesting and marginally less sexist.

(Final Note: I refer to the protagonist as Artemis even though she goes by Selene DiSilva because that's just confusing)
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With the success of the live action Wonder Woman movie this book is a good follow up to a character that comes form that kind of world. I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one. The previous entry was good as a standalone book. You can just read that and not have to come back to these characters if you didn't like the book. I liked the first book. This one was difficult to get through in the middle portions. There were a few things that came out of left field to fill in gaps that I don't think needed filling. The end of the book leads you want the next book. It almost made the first book a prologue while this is the real first book. I learn a lot about ancient Greek culture and now Roman culture from this writer. She's good but I hope in the next one that we can keep a steady pace like there was with the first book. A little bit too much time was focused on making the protagonist vulnerable to antagonist that she should crush easily. She eventually does but thats towards the end of the book. Those parts felt normal for the character, the earlier stuff didn't fit in my opinion. Other than that I'm looking forward to book three. I think with the release and success of the Wonder Woman these characters fit well for people who want to read a series with a similar kind of lead character.

I read this book via NetGalley. I thank them for this book. But I must note that I received it after it was released. Hence why the very late review. I get busy too you know. #NetGalley ( )

This is another good, solid, entertaining, exciting read. I liked the twists and turns of it, was mostly surprised by where things went, enjoyed the expanded world-building. There were maybe one or two things that felt a bit too pat and easy, which is why the slight drop in rating from The Immortals, but on pretty much every point I can think of, the two books are equal—characters, prose, action, mystery, thrills, chills, humour.

I found myself a little frustrated by the romantic stuff, as a reader, but as a writer, I get why things happened as they did. (I’m expecting a big moment or two in the next one, which I will definitely be reading when it comes out.)

Warnings: Gore, torture, misogyny, cult mentality, mention of sexual assault.

7.8/10 ( )

It was a little darker than I was in the mood for, but the ending was really great. Can't wait to read the next book. ( )