The Games Gods Play
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The Games Gods Play
Narrated by:
Piper Goodeve
Buy Now for £5.99
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Narrated by:
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Piper Goodeve
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By:
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Abigail Owen
About this listen
THE GODS LOVE TO PLAY WITH US MERE MORTALS. AND EVERY HUNDRED YEARS, WE LET THEM …
I have never been favored by the gods. Far from it, thanks to Zeus.
Living as a cursed office clerk for the Order of Thieves, I just keep my head down and hope the capricious beings who rule from Olympus won’t notice me. Not an easy feat, given San Francisco is Zeus’ patron city, but I make do. I survive. Until the night I tangle with a different god.
The worst god. Hades.
For the first time ever, the ruthless, mercurial King of the Underworld has entered the Crucible—the deadly contest the gods hold to determine a new ruler to sit on the throne of Olympus. But instead of fighting their own battles, the gods name mortals to compete in their stead.
So why in the Underworld did Hades choose me—a sarcastic nobody with a curse on her shoulders—as his champion? And why does my heart trip every time he says I’m his?
I don’t know if I’m a pawn, bait, or something else entirely to this dangerously tempting god. How can I, when he has more secrets than stars in the sky?
Because Hades is playing by his own rules … and Death will win at any cost.
©2024 Abigail Owen (P)2024 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
I loved everything about it and omg I still can't get my thoughts together. It's great!
It's added to my favourite read of year! Thousand percent 5 stars for me.
The audiobook is narrated by Piper Goodeve and she brings it to life, she's fantastic.
I recommend picking this one up!
Fantastic
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I do love the books by this author and have read many series by her and I am always thrilled with what I have read. This book is no exception.
There is romance, intrigue, challenge, trials and a strong female who stands up for herself and for others, even if they are not nice to her.
Hades is a complicated character and to be honest we do not get to see enough of him as to know why he acts like he does even if we get some reasons.
I certainly had a few moments where the book had me crying, especially with Boon and really like how we got the background relationship between them and how he boosted her up.
I can't wait until the kindle version can come out and the paperback becomes more affordable. I shall certainly buy them when I can. Until then, I eagerly anticipate book two!
Captivating!
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TikTok hype was worth it
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I'm not one for annotating my books, but this is one where I might make an exception if I had a physical copy. Mainly because I think it'd help me keep track of the characters better. The author uses the first labour as a springboard to introduce the competitors (and our FMC Lira's rivals) properly, as you'd expect. But, unlike other trials books where some of the contestants are purely background characters, with a name and little else, in this case all 12 mortals have a role to play. And while the action does try to 'show, not tell' the reader who each of these people are, when you have so many it very quickly becomes a case of information overload. Add in the Gods and other secondary characters, and be prepared for your head to be spinning.
That being said, all of the characters have interesting quirks, strengths and weakness and backgrounds to make them the way they are, and so the all have a good amount of presence within the imagination, without overwhelming the main characters. It does help that the Gods maintain their 'traditional' roles, so you don't suddenly have to worry about Hades owning a nightclub or Aphrodite running a dating service, and can fall back on the standard myths and legends to help guide your imagination when it comes to them. I did enjoy the juxtaposition of these fairly faithful takes on the Gods with their existence and following in the modern world; I love the image of Zeus having a temple in modern San Francisco! Oh, and of course we have the now-mandatory element of Cerberus the Very Good Dog. Which I love every single time!
I also really enjoyed the relationship development not only between Lira and Hades, but all those she draws towards her. Each friendship has a different feel to it, and with Lira's underlying belief that she's unlovable, it really made her character speak to me. It strikes a nice balance of mixed-sex friendships without any expectations apart from genuine fondness, but with that little tiny germ of tension that it could turn into something more (even when we all know who's going to get the girl!). Likewise, the trials element adds an element of jeopardy to proceedings; will there be betrayal, heartbreak or unforeseen consequences? As for the romantic tension... yum.
There are a number of story threads that have been left dangling, but I'm not entirely convinced that we'll get resolutions to them all moving forward. For example, the seemingly random appearance of Lira's parents out of nowhere. This feels like it could be the start of an interesting sub-plot in the moment, but then nothing is really done with it and it doesn't necessarily feel like a deliberate choice. It is certainly possible that this will be picked up again in subsequent books, but the spark of *something* that it ignited dies out by the end of book one so I'm not all that invested. The fact that there are several instances of this left me a little frustrated, because either they're introductions to future plots that could have been weaved into the story better, or they're just one off asides which serve no real purpose. At least, that's how it felt to me.
I can absolutely imagine the visuals of this being stunning if it was made into a TV show or film, and certainly the story was engaging and entertaining. But it has been perhaps just a tad overhyped for me. This Hades will of course join my personal pantheon of Kings of the Underworld, but he will be one of the crowd rather than the King of Kings.
Book boyfriend list: Hades, Hades, Hades, Hades...
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Addictive Story
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