What a Goddess Wants [Paperback]

Tessa, the Etruscan goddess of Dawn, has pretty much exceeded her shelf life. Most of her powers became dormant after the Roman gods horned in and ousted the Etruscans. Bored and wrestless after a lifetime of excess, she now spends her time using her remaining powers as a midwife for the Etruscan people bringing their babies safely into the world. But a god of the underworld who has been locked away in hell believes he has found the key that will release him from his prison. He seeks to steal Tessa's powers from her. He finds her in her dreams and has sent demons in search of her. After seeking the counsel of a friend, Salvatorus, (from the Lucani Lovers series) Tessa goes in search of an ancient warrior for protection.

Caligo (Cal) is a Cimmerian warrior. He's a tough guy and has no love for or use for a goddess. After nearly losing his life for trying to help one and then being betrayed by her he learned his lesson and isn't interested in helping out another. But when Tessa barges into his life, she appeals to him on a level no woman or goddess ever has. He's really not interested in becoming her body guard but he has a weakness for a damsel in distress, as well as a fondness for their mutual friend Salvatorus, and just can't seem to say no. When he realizes the seriousness of the danger Tessa is in he becomes determined to keep her alive.

This is a very sexy romance, but I had a bit of trouble right from the beginning in how Tessa and Cal got together. Cal returns home to find Tessa passed out on his couch so he strips her down (she is wet from the rain) and ties her to his bed. He doesn't know who she is and is suspicious of her because no one should be able to get through his wards, yet she did. So she sleeps through the stripping and tying and wakes to find the hot hunky Cimmerian warrior standing over her. Pow! She's wet, he's hard and they do it! Now, sometimes spontaneous stranger sex works but in this case I really missed the sexual tension and build up. The sex actually fit the characters as both are very sexual beings but the tied up, banging hot sex right out of the gate didn't really work for me. As the story progressed this couple did develop a nice chemistry and as a result their sex scenes were smoking hot. I just wished there would have been a better build up to their physical relationship.

The story actually moves quite fast I really enjoyed the way the action kept pace with romance and many sex scenes. Did I mention the sex was really hot? Because of the rough start, I thought perhaps I might be disappointed in the depth of the characters and their relationship, however among the action each character developed nicely and we get a good idea of who they are what they are made of.

As I mentioned I really like the Etruscan world of gods that Stephanie Julian has created. I love the incorporation of magic and mysticism. The goddesses seem more human than godlike but perhaps that is because they are the "Forgotten Goddesses" and no longer worshiped as they were in their hay day. The world is steep in magic and mystical creatures but I didn't really get the "godlike" vibe from Tessa, instead she came off as more earthy.

We get a brief introduction to the other "Forgotten Goddesses" and as you might expect after infinite years of life most are bored, and a little misbehaved. We get a nice idea of the direction this series could take as it focuses on the Forgotten Goddesses.

Despite a couple of complaints I enjoyed this first book in Stephanie Julian's new Etruscan series. If you are a fan of her Lucani Lovers series then you'll want to take a whirl into the equally dangerous world of the gods and goddess of the Etruscan people.

I found this book while surfing Goodreads one day and was immediately drawn in by the mythology. I had never heard of the Etruscan gods and goddess, but knew I wanted to learn more. I was lucky enough to get an ARC from the publisher (thank you) and dove right into the book.

We are thrust into Tessa, the Etruscan Goddess of the Dawn, world when she is on the run. The god of the Underworld is determined to catch her and take her powers for his own. Naturally, Tessa doesn't want this to happen, but cannot seem to outrun him. She needs help and turns to Caligo, a Cimmerian warrior, for protection.

Caligo, aka Cal, has been burned by Goddesses quite a few times, so he has his reservations about helping Tessa. He was just recently nearly beaten to death by a God because of a Goddess he was trying to help and all of the betrayal has turned his heart to stone. Cimmerians are known for their amazing fighting skills and their lack of emotions and physical sensations like warmth and cold. So Cal is taken completely by surprise when he touches Tessa and feels warmth. He quickly becomes addicted to the sensation and begins to realize that his heart is starting to warm to Tessa as well.

The chemistry between these two was scorching hot and I soaked in every second of it. While they do get together rather quickly, it never seemed forced or awkward. Stephanie balances the perfect amount of romance and action so the moments between Cal and Tessa feel genuine. Cal is an alpha male with a weakness for damsels in distress and while Tessa is in distress, she is not a typical damsel. She is not just going to roll over and take the punches coming to her, she is going to fight back, but she still needs help since hand to hand combat is not really her forte. She is however a Goddess, a point that becomes very clear when Cal finds himself in trouble and watching her tower over other Gods and Goddesses to come to his aid was very entertaining.

There were a couple of small subplots mentioned through the book that felt cut short. For example Cal's past and the reasons he left his home was brought up, but the details surrounding the events and his feelings about them now were not explored as much as I would have liked. There were other plot points that I wished we got to see more of, but they were not essential so it did not detract from the overall story.

Some fun secondary characters came into play that I would like to see come back in the future. Cal's brother, X, would be one of those people. He was soft where Cal was rough and added some needed humor to bleak situations. I enjoyed the small glimpses we get into his life and hope that we will get to see more from him in a future story.

Overall, I am glad I have found a new mythology and set of deities to learn more about in this genre. There was fast paced action, hot romance, fascinating mythology and fantastic secondary characters that all make What a Goddess Want a must read. I am looking forward to the next book, How to Worship a Goddess , which comes out this December.

Tessa is the Estruscan Goddess of the Dawn, once highly worshipped, but in present day pretty much forgotten about. She may not help the sun rise everyday anymore, but she still performs her duty as midwife, when someone calls her name. But she has bigger problems than being worshipped. Charun, the Lord of the Underworld (called Aitas in this book) is after her. He is tied to Aitas and can't come after her physically, but he can haunt her in her dreams and send out demons to try to grab her. He wants to consume her power,

Tessa turns to her friend Salvatorus for help (a four foot man with goat legs who I adored) and he sends her to Caligus. Cal is half Cimmeran - an ancient breed of mighty warriors but in present day all feelings (physical pain, sensation of touch etc) have been bred out of them. They only use sex for procreation. But Sal knows that Cal can not let a damsel in distress pass him by. And once he meets Tessa, every nerve ending not only awakens, but he makes it his mission to take down Charun.

What a Goddess Wants is the first book in a new series by Stephanie Julian. What really stands out in this book are the characters. Fun, humorous, and sarcastic, with lots and lots of sex (maybe too much sex, but we will get to that in a minute). This is a lighter paranormal romance, with emphasis on the lovin' rather than the violence or the darker side of the world. Cal is all alpha, although a little bitter with his station in life. Since he is only half-Cimmerian, he has had to be extra tough his whole life to prove himself to others. Tessa is a little bummed that her worshippers don't need her for the sun anymore, and when she meets Cal she is just exhausted. She can't sleep, fearing Charun will find her location in her dreams, so she just charges forward. But - she is never too tired for sex!

They have sex in this book the very first time they meet, before they really know who the other person is. Cal finds her in his house, sound asleep, so he ties her to his bed, naked, because he is not sure he can trust her. When Tessa wakes up, "She ached. For him." So by page 20 we start the sex and it doesn't let up the entire book. I personally like a little more tension between the hero and heroine in my romances. Or if they have that immediate "we must have sex" vibe, than later have some conflict they must work through. But they never have that conflict. From the start, they are together, Now, Stephanie Julian does write hot sex scenes - I have no complaints there. But there were too many and I wanted a little bit more of a struggle to get to the happily ever after.

The emphasis on this book is "light." The evil dude might be really evil, but we don't really see a lot of that. There is humor, lots of sex, and a story that kept me entertained. Cute enough that I will definitely read the next in the series.