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| This post is part of the INTERIM GODDESS OF LOVE BLOG TOUR hosted by Book Junkie Blog Tours |
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| TITLE: Icon of the Indecisive (Interim Goddess of Love #3) AUTHOR: Mina V. Esguerra PUBLISHER: Bright Girl Books PUB DATE: Jun 1 2013 AMAZON | SMASHWORDS |
"College student Hannah Maquiling, also temporarily working as the Goddess of Love, has had enough of everyone asking for her help when it comes to relationships. It's her turn to find romance! She deserves it, after serving as matchmaker and confidant to everyone else in Ford River College for the past year. She's had a crush on handsome senior (and God of the Sun) Quin forever, but he's destined to fall in love with an extraordinary mortal woman, so she's figured her chances with him have pretty much dropped to zero.
It's not like she doesn't have any options for a classic college romance though. There's Diego, God of the Sea and Quin's best friend/enemy. And regular guy Robbie is stepping up, making sure she knows how he feels about her. How hard can it be for a goddess to find someone to love, and be loved in return?"
It's not like she doesn't have any options for a classic college romance though. There's Diego, God of the Sea and Quin's best friend/enemy. And regular guy Robbie is stepping up, making sure she knows how he feels about her. How hard can it be for a goddess to find someone to love, and be loved in return?"
Rating:
Click HERE to see my review of Interim Goddess of Love.
Click HERE to see my review of Queen of the Clueless.
Click HERE to see my review of Queen of the Clueless.
“He would take my hand. Remind me about his love letter. And depending on my response, kiss me or hurl himself into the pool.”
I swear I laughed so loud over that statement. Just imagining that going through someone’s head seems really cute and funny.
I’ve always found Mina’s books to have its fair share of wittiness, and Icon of the Indecisive is no exception. I have to tell you though that I have mixed feelings about this book. But let’s get to the good parts first...
It’s a little embarrassing for me to admit that my knowledge over Tagalog mythology is very limited – close to nothing to be exact. And the stories I knew about at childhood are now murky images and hard to recall, I have no idea why it didn’t occur to me to do a little research [as soon as I started Interim Goddess of Love] on the lore this trilogy was based on. To think someone who is so fascinated with such stories would go through lengths of research to know more, right? Well... better late than never... So thank you, Google. I just realized the kind of precision Mina has laid out about the gods and goddesses with this trilogy.
I’m frustrated with the characters here [but more on that later]. The only two characters I appreciated were Diego (without a doubt) and Robbie (he was okay when he was first introduced but I grew to like him in the end).
Some might argue that Diego is not such a good guy (whoever you are, I am hunting you down!), I have to admit that the God of the Sea is a rather meandering case. But at the end if this book, I came to fully understand the bitterness he feels towards Quin. And whether he’s being a great helper or a total ass, I love Diego all the same!
Although Robbie has been wearing his heart on his sleeve, having to know what he’s [literally] thinking thanks to Hannah’s powers as the Interim Goddess of Love makes his feelings way, way more vocal than intended. And I just really feel sorry for this guy.
Now allow me to divulge my frustrations. I really don’t like Quin. It’s just so weird that after being aloof over his relationship with Hannah sans the training part, he develops a sudden interest in spending time with her? I know he feels something for her even with all the detachments he’s been showing, but why now? What changed?
Let’s move on to Hannah... Oh, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah... where do I even begin? I have a bone to pick with you! Do you really think your actions make you a good judge of character? Okay, maybe the last part of the book at least gave your character some justice but that’s beside the point (okay, maybe it’s not... shut up!). It’s funny how those who are supposed to be experts on dealing with love problems can’t seem to make the coherent notion over their own. Like I said, I don’t like how she treated Robbie and still, nothing changed my mind about that.
So, how about that million dollar question? Who is the Original Goddess of Love? In my opinion, she is not the one I thought to be the original goddess. Still, I’m left with asking – why? I get why she chose Hannah, but of all the centuries of working as the goddess, why now? And that’s not the only “why” question I have, but the others would give too much away...
I hoped for a different ending, somewhere along the lines that would prove the kind of “True Love” bequeathed between our protagonists. Icon of the Indecisive may not have been the kind of ending I anticipated for, but I can’t deny that this had been a meaningful experience. I’ve said before that these kinds of stories are a rare treat to come from a Filipino author in the Young Adult community, so I am very appreciative of that.
*Review copy provided by Dia @ Book Junkie Joint
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Mina V. Esguerra writes contemporary romance, young adult, and new adult novellas. Her young adult/fantasy trilogy Interim Goddess of Love is a college love story featuring gods from Philippine mythology. Her contemporary romance novella Fairy Tale Fail won the 2012 Filipino Readers' Choice award for Chick Lit. Through her blog Publishing in Pajamas (minavesguerra.com), she documents her experiments in e-publishing.
When not writing romance, she is president of communications firm Bronze Age Media, development communication consultant, indie publisher, professional editor, wife, and mother. She created the workshop series "Author at Once" and #romanceclass for writers and publishers.
When not writing romance, she is president of communications firm Bronze Age Media, development communication consultant, indie publisher, professional editor, wife, and mother. She created the workshop series "Author at Once" and #romanceclass for writers and publishers.
