Deer in Headlights (Good Gods #1): Review 
Snake in the Grass (Good Gods #2): Review
What the Heart Wants (Good Gods #2.5): Review

Book three in the Good Gods series picks up the story of Aphrodite and her contests right where it left off in book two. Her competitor this time as Artemis - one of my favorites from mythology so I was excited to see her. Artemis was an amazing character. I loved watching her interact with her oceanids and seeing her struggle with her feelings for Orion. Her contestant, Josie, was like her in so many ways. They developed together throughout the story and it was great to see them tied together so nicely.

After the events in book two, Aphrodite is emotionally destroyed. Her solution is to bond with her best friend Perry and come up with some incredibly clever nick names for Ares to avoid dealing with her feelings. Aphrodite really grew and developed a lot - watching her with her husband Heff made me want to cry - he's such an amazing guy! Aphrodite's contestant, Jon, is just perfect. He's not literally pefect, but that is what made him so great - he was a real guy.

There is quite a bit of excitement in this story with Josie and Jon on the trail of a murderer. If Artemis and Aphrodite don't pay close attention something horrible could happen. There is a ton of build up around this part of the story and it was spread out very nicely to keep me NEEDING to know what happened without taking off and leaving me in the dust.

The other gods we have met play small parts and it's great to see the remain part of the ongoing storyline.

 

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

 

I fell in love with the sisters in Snake in the Grass and it seems many others did as well. So Staci decided to write a little of the history - where Aphrodite and Hera go head to head in a battle for love. This gives us a look not only into the mortal past, but gives us a glimpse of the rivalry that has existed for a millenium between the two goddesses. 

The story isn't as eventful as the others in the series, but it is written a lot shorter as well. That doesn't stop th characters from really shining though. Katsu seems to be such a hard-ass tough guy, but when he's around Kim he just melts into a gooey ball of lovingness. It's incredibly sweet how much he cares about her, and how caring about her completely changes his life. We don't seem to get a lot about Kim though. If there had been just a little more about getting into her head I think I would have given this another full 5 stars. 

Deer in Headlights by Staci Hart is a light, fun, and cute read that has the gods and goddesses of Olympus doing what they do best, pulling the strings of us humans down on Earth. The gods have become bored and decide to have host competitions to gain favours and boasting rights for the millennia. It is Dita's (aka Aphrodite) turn to host her competitions of love and first up is Apollo. They each choose a player and while Dita tries to get them together, Apollo tries to keep them apart.

 

There are some things I really liked about this book: it came with its own playlist (Smashing Pumpkins, Fleetwood Mac, and The Smiths to name a few), the Earth couple of Dean and Lex, all the mythology, and the plot/premise is a lot of fun. There were also some things I did not like. Other than Dean and Lex, I did not care about the other characters at all. They were very superficial and not as developed as I would have liked. Perhaps the development comes though the series since this is just book one. I would definitely read the others to see how it goes. I also felt like some of the sex scenes were added in because this is a romance and not because they actually took the story anywhere. If you are looking for a fun beach read, this is it, but if you are looking for a super interesting and earth-shattering book about life on Olympus, this is not.

Edith Hamilton’s Greek gods are back, and they’ve brought all their glorious tomfoolery with them. Forget the toga-wearing residents of mount Olympus you think you know, they’ve kept up with the times and are living communally in a Manhattan high-rise. No more antiquated names for them either, now they sport hipster-ish new nicknames like Dita, Heff and Perry. Some things never change though; the Gods still screw with human lives for amusement. Dear in Headlights takes the archetypal girl afraid of love and the bad-boy musician and throws in an interesting dash of ambrosia. To stave off boredom, Aphrodite and Apollo enter in to a competition. Aphrodite has to get Lex and Dean to fall in love while Apollo tries to keep them apart. This book is really two stories in one: the story of the Gods and the story of Lex and Dean with the occasional God-like observation thrown in. What makes a romance novel great is the conflict and tension arising from the relationship of the main characters. When the story depends on two characters falling in love, the reasons given need to be believable. Unfortunately, the falling in love phase of this book was weak. In the real world song lyrics and common interests may draw us to another person, but they don’t equal love (I hope not anyway). Normally, an unbelievable relationship would kill a romance novel for me, but this book offers such a fresh twist on the genre that I almost didn’t notice. With an automaton puppy named Bisoux, vinyl records, rock stars, tons of pop culture references and really old-fashioned vendettas, this book was a witty frolic from the first page to the last.

Staci Hart has a magnificent way of showing love in all of its forms. She also has a unique way of bringing difficult issues, such as abuse, to light. Snake in the Grass is a rollercoaster of emotions.

Kat is a tough character. She’s never felt the need to be coddled. This could be because she’s an older child, but she has always shown a level of leadership. Kat is rough around the edges, and finds it hard to let others in. I liked seeing her grow throughout the book. She accepts that she has faults and wants to improve herself. Dillon is another hardcore character. He’s a fighter, and thinks that is the only way he can deal with his anger issues. He fears becoming a monster, and doesn’t think he is worthy of a relationship. Ares and Aphrodite also have a lot to learn about themselves. Dita knows that Ares is bad for her, but she can’t resist him. Through the events of the competition she learns a lot about the past. Dita just wants answers to questions that have plagued her for eons.

I love how the scenes go back and forth between multiple perspectives. We are able to see what’s going on with each character. There are moments that you are clenching your teeth because you just can’t believe what the characters are doing to each other, and themselves. Then we have the times where we are trying to hold our tears in because of the injustices done. Dita’s quest for the truth is the most heartbreaking. She knows deep down that something isn’t right, but doesn’t really want to believe it.

Snake in the Grass is a book that will have you going through all the feels. Make sure to have tissues handy because the ending is brutal. I could not stop crying!