Alicia Fields is a gifted writer, but book 2 in the Goddesses series didn't measure up to the first one. This novel focuses on Aphrodite, the goddess of love. As the purpose of Field's books are to portray ancient greek and roman goddesses as human beings, this Aphrodite is a carefree, beautiful siren. She spends her life seducing men and boys, starting as young as age 7. She dallies with dozens of men, all the while oddly attached to her adopted brother Ares, who jealously and sometimes violently declares she is "his". When she gets herself pregnant at age 15, her adoptive parents Zeus and Hera take her baby away and force her to marry her crippled half brother, Hephaestus. From there, it all goes downhill. Most of the novel is fluff based on Aphrodite's "romantic" escapades. Once she is married, she treats poor, kind Hephaestus like dirt, even though he is wonderful. Ares leaves and then reenters the picture and then leaves again, with no real role. Aphrodite is pathetic and self centered, unintentionally helping start the trojan war by introducing her pal Helen to Paris. The book lapses from ridiculous romantic antics to Aphrodite as an older woman, acting like a harpy and annoying the heck out of her poor son Eros, whose father is a mystery. Although mildly interesting, I would not recommend this book to a die hard mythology fan.
