Goddess of the Rose by P.C.Cast

Paperback, 368 pages

Published July 7th 2011 by Piatkus Books (first published February 4th 2006)

ISBN

0749953519 (ISBN13: 9780749953515)

original title

Goddess of the Rose (Goddess Summoning, Book 4)

series

Goddess Summoning #4

characters

Mikki, Hecate

 With the Goddess Summoning series, "mythology has never been so fun." Now return to this "mythic world of humor and verve" with a tale that mixes one part Beauty and the Beast with one part Sleeping Beauty--and ten parts steamy romance...
It's not a green thumb that's kept the Empousai family's roses blooming for centuries—it's the drops of blood that their women secretly sacrifice for their gardens. But Mikki, the youngest, would rather forget this family quirk and lead a normal life. Until the day she unwittingly performs a sacred ritual and ends up in the strange—but strangely familiar—Realm of the Rose. As its goddess Hecate reveals to her, Mikki has the blood of a high priestess running through her veins. And the Realm has been waiting for her...

In a flash of temper long ago, Hecate cursed her guardian beast, along with the rest of the Realm, with a permanent slumber that only a high priestess can undo. Now nothing's coming up roses—and Hecate is counting on Mikki to set things aright. Awoken, the beast at first terrifies Mikki—but soon compels her more than any ordinary man ever has. But the only way he, and the Realm, can be saved is for Mikki to sacrifice her life-giving blood—and herself...

My Review

No matter what, I will always be a fan of P.C.Cast. I find her books to just always be vivid with life, imagination, creativity and mystery. She writes always with this sense of romance within her pages, but not in a way that is cheesy or boring, but in a way that is both intriguing and refreshing. She always gives her characters this huge sense of life to them that makes them more interesting to read, because she makes them come to life in the readers mind so they are not just worded descriptions on pages, but actual figures. What I liked about this particular novel though was the fact that she made beauty and the beast into a mythological version. She shared the same moral in that it should not matter about the outter appearance, but the inner one instead.

In many ways, yes, they did fall in love far to quickly and soon, but at the same time, it was down with such a careful tone to it that it was not overwhelming or overly cliche. I suppose in many senses you did expect it to him happen, as I have yet to find one of P.C.Casts novel that does not contain a blooming romance of some sort. I loved the link between person and roses though, I just kind of wished that this had also been advanced on because I feel there was a lot more that could have been done to make it more interesting and engaging. Yet, what was provided was well done. 

Not only did the novel meet the tale of beauty and the beast but it also linked up with the story of the minnotor, which really gave it this huge sense of a greek feeling, which of course is where all the goddess stories came from. This therefore just seemed to make it appear more realistic because it was almost as if the author had purposely put in this sort of historical reference. It does make you wonder though, are there really goddesses up there or out there who actually have different emotions and realms that they are in charge off. A wonderful read, a wonderful series and a wonderful book. I will forever be a faithful fan to p.c.cast and would name her as one of my favorite authors.

My rating