Title: Venus Envy
Series: N/A
Author: E.M. Lynley
Genre: Contemporary/Myth/Gods & Goddesses
Length: Novella (56 pages)
Publisher: Total E-Bound (July 19th, 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
Blurb: When Sancus, the Roman God of Loyalty, finally meets a mortal with whom he desires a real relationship, he can’t pursue Aurelio because he’s under a curse…or is he?
Sancus, Roman God of Loyalty and Honesty, snubs an advance from Venus. Furious, the Goddess of Love convinces Cupid to cast a curse on him, causing Sancus to be attracted to every hot guy he meets. In fact, he can’t say no.
During a week of almost non-stop arousal and sex Sancus meets Aurelio, a mortal that he desperately wants to see again, but until the curse is lifted he fears ruining any chance for a real relationship. The only way to end the curse is for Sancus to untangle
the finely-woven threads and discover it’s actually a love spell…
Reader Advisory: This book was previously released at another publisher. It has been revised and re-edited for release by Total-E-Bound.
Product Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=2202
Review: Well, being a Mediterranean girl born and bred I simply love the ancient Gods myths. Of course, I’m more used to their Greek names, but their Roman ones don’t annoy me the least. So it was surprising getting my hands on this beautiful mix of Contemporary and Myth. It was even more surprising reading the setting was in Rome and how the author maintained a somewhat ancient feeling in it even if the time this story happens is twenty-first century.
Sancus is the Roman God of Honesty and Loyalty. And immediately I was hooked from the choice of the author. Out of all Deities to choose Sancus was quite marvelous. Being the Loyal and Honest type Sancus finds himself with a curse when he dares decline an advance from Venus. Yeah, Venus has always been the vengeful type, damn Sancus should have known better, but that’s exactly what makes the “ancient God” character so much more credible. Somehow he was a bit inconsiderate in the way he declined the Goddess and arrogant when he didn’t expect immediate retaliation.
So Venus has Cupid (I know him as Eros) cast a curse and being the dutiful son he is, he did his Mommy’s bidding. But remember the fact that all Gods were tricky back then? Who said Cupid was any different? While he put a spell on Sancus and appeased his Mother for the time being, Cupid’s spell had one goal. Supreme love for it to end.
How very fascinating, the description of the Gods schemes was brilliant. Cruel in their lives they still managed to have purpose. Loved it really.
So this is how the real story begins. Sancus is cursed to have his hots for every hot guy, lose his girlfriend in the process, and be miserable because his entire purpose (Honesty and Loyalty remember?) is being mocked by this. Not to mention the misery of being horny non-stop and being able to deny a hot guy. Until he meets Aurelio.
After a night of beautiful passion and romance Sancus believes he’s cured when the morning after he’s not suffering from the curse while Aurelio cooks him breakfast. Little did he know that that’s the way of the spell. The moment Sancus really wants someone is the moment the spell takes opposite direction making him unable to perform for that special someone.
It was a fun and funny read actually. The old games Gods used to play with mortals are even more enticing here because they are turned upon one of their own. The knowledge behind the story is quite strong and makes for credible characters. I was only slightly frustrated at the beginning because the way Aurelio and Sancus met was kind of hazy. There was no talk except telling their names and during their entire intercourse; there was complete lack of dialogue. Only when it came his time to see things from his PoV did we get into Aurelio’s mind and started knowing “his voice” and it was weird waiting till then to meet the guy. He was mute before that. Other than that, the rest of the read was quite enjoyable and damn if the end was satisfactory. Venus darling, payback is a bitch. 😉
So yeah, if you love your ancient Gods and are into a new perspective and approach of a sexy read involving them this is the book for you. I liked it a lot.