Thanks to his
philandering ways, the Greek God of Gems, Darius is cursed into losing his perfect
masculine body. For eons he exists as mere essence – banished from Mount Olympus,
invisible, thoroughly miserable, with only television and his brother Hermes for company.
In present day St.Louis, sculptor Alex de Marco works long and hard to create Darius in
marble for the Ladies’ Club charity auction which is to benefit an orphaned children’s
home, a cause dear to Alex’s own heart.
Unfortunately for Alex
and fortunately for Darius, she recreates him so perfectly that he merely steps into the
statue and it comes to majestic life just as the auction is about to begin. Darius’
joy is as unbound as is Alex’s surprise and rage at seeing her best work walk off,
literally. The playboy god’s natural inclination is to reward Alex with pilfered gems
and a roll in bed. Then he’s the one left stunned when she not only rejects him, but
also tries her level best to get him to become a statue again. Thus beings a highly
comical, greatly entertaining and completely delightful tale of love, misunderstandings
and some suspense.
Author Jenna McKnight’s latest book is a delightful mix of comedy and romance. The scenario of a Greek god in today's
world is not a
usual one and is one of the
highlights of this enjoyable book. While
the premise is interesting, the detailed and sensitive characterizations are a wonderful attraction too. Darius is totally amusing as a man
out of his time
and his efforts to adjust to modern-day world from what unusual knowledge he's picked up
from watching today's television, are simultaneously
comical as well as understandable. At the same time
he's an ex-Greek
god trying to regain his position and has plenty of enemies, and this
adds to the confusion. Alex, with her love of children and a traumatic past,
tugs at the readers’ heartstrings while her spirit and resilience under the most
trying circumstances wins over the readers’ appreciation. Together the two main
protagonists, assisted most ably by numerous very entertaining side characters, provide
plenty of charm, drama and side-splittingly funny situations. With a deft hand, the author
magically blends fantasy with reality, and the resultant book is one which is sure to lift
the readers’ spirits and leave them with a smile on their faces long after the last
page is turned.
Reviewed By Rashmi Srinivas
for The Road to Romance
December 6, 2003 |
