Book Review: Fading (Fallen Idols #2) by Cecilia Gray

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: December 13, 2011
Publisher: Self-Published through The Alpha Division, LLP

Ever had an itch you just can’t scratch?

Mhaya hasn’t. As a goddess, she doesn’t itch, or hunger, or thirst. In fact, she’s pretty much above petty human annoyances, from humiliation to heartbreak.

Until now.

Because ever since her better-known twin brother Eros gave her the boot from Mount Olympus, Mhaya has been fading from human memory. The only way to prevent her godly demise is to temporarily trade her immortality for the drudgery of pitiful, pointless humanity. Which is not exactly Mhaya’s style.

Her only ally in her quest to stay alive is the stunningly sexy, utterly unobtainable Marcus, a man who has his own reasons to see Mhaya fail. And yet, he’s somehow unable to turn his back on her… and the more she struggles to survive her brush with mortality, the more interested he becomes in showing her the very best part of being human: passionate, pulse-racing love.

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Review:

Book two in the Fallen Idols series is all about Mhaya and Marcus. I'll admit that I wasn't sure that I would like this one because of my intense hatred of Mhaya after the last book. Of course, she was written to be the bad guy in the last book, but Cecilia Gray intends to redeem her in this book.

I'm a sucker for romance. In fact, I very rarely read a book that doesn't have some form of romance in it. Cecilia really has a knack for making you feel as you read. I can say this because before reading Fading, I loathed Mhaya. While I read, I started to sympathize with her and eventually cheer her on. I was shocked that my feelings toward the goddess changed because she is the same person as in the first book. It's because you see her perspective of everything that has happened to her and it causes you to understand. Eventually you want her to succeed and find happiness and love.

This book was an adventure, both literally and figuratively. In my opinion, it was different from the first. Probably because the plot line was such a contrast. There are some details within the plot that are the same, but in my opinion this one had more of an adventure.

I really enjoyed Mhaya's point-of-view. That's honestly how I would picture a goddess of her stature to act. My first thought as I read through her story was that she was like a trust fund baby who was forced to live without her parents money (i.e. Paris Hilton). But the way it was written really worked for the story.

I really liked that the love in this story was not insta-love. That was a pet-peeve of mine in the first book, but in this one it's very gradual. AND SO SWEET AT THE END. My only complaint for this novella is that we didn't get to see Alexis or Jason at all. I missed them. A lot. But we get a bit of Laurie and she was as spunky as ever! We are also introduced to Harry and Beth. Beth is so sweet. I really enjoyed the tidbits of her point-of-view that we were given and would love to see more of her in the future. We didn't get to see much of Harry, but I know his role will grow as the series progresses.

This is another series that I'm going to keep up with! I'm so, so, so excited to read the next chapter in the Fallen Idols series. I'm sure they will live up to my expectations seeing as how much as I enjoyed the first two books.

Book Review: Falling (Fallen Idols #1) by Cecilia Gray

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: July 22, 2011
Publisher: Self-Published through The Alpha Division, LLP

The trouble with falling in love is the long drop down…

Alexis isn’t afraid of much. She’s never met a cliff she didn’t want to climb or a waterfall she wouldn’t plunge over. Yet when her fiancé leaves and takes her daring edge with him, she swears off love….

Until one wild night out at San Francisco’s latest hard-to-find, impossible-to-get-into new club where she discovers more than just a stiff drink awaits her inside, because the owner of this club is the sexiest man she’s ever met—and the most dangerous.

A few hundred years ago, Jason made a very bad bargain with a very vengeful goddess. Now it’s time for him to pay up, either with his soul… or his heart. And when one long look at Alexis makes him understand just how hellish a life of unrequited love could be, suddenly the alternative doesn’t sound so bad.

Only it turns out, the alternative isn’t just hellish—it is hell… and Alexis is the only one who can spring him loose. If, that is, she’s brave enough to try…

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Review:

She can do it all, ladies and gents! Again, I'll state how much I love Cecilia Gray's writing. She's flexible with her writing style and genres. Falling is a paranormal romance, and the fifth work that I've read of Cecilia's. She has also written historical romance and a classic retelling as a young adult contemporary. And I've loved them all!

This book was definitely not what I was expecting. Not. At. All. And not in a bad way. I really enjoyed reading this story. It was a captivating storyline with great characters and a beautiful writing style. Cecilia warned me ahead of time, saying that not many people enjoyed all of her stories because each series is different from the next, but personally, I've more than enjoyed them all!

Immediately, I loved the setting and characters of this story. Especially Jason… Mmm, Jason. Laurie was another favorite. She's such a strong character and loves her sister so much. Her loyalty is to Alexis first and foremost. The relationship between Alexis and Laurie is so sweet. I wanted to punch Mhaya in the face repeatedly. I'm six-hundred percent sure that I could take that woman in a fist fight. (Okay, okay, I'd totally lose, but the point is that I hate her.)

I don't know a lot about history or mythology. I enjoy reading stories with both of those concepts, but the accuracy is lost on me. I've read a few reviews that say the timeline needs to be checked, so I don't know what to believe with that, but I sure as heck liked it. My only issue was the insta-love. Ugh, insta-love. It works well in a novella because novella's are short, but for some reason, it didn't work for me in this story. I loved the two main characters and their attraction to each other, but I didn't like that love occurred so quickly. Besides that, I want more. I wish it had been pulled into a full novel because I was so intrigued by everything that happened in the story!

Cecilia's descriptions are phenomenal. I couldn't put my kindle down because I. Just. Had. To. Keep. Reading.

I'm definitely going to continue with this series as well. I can't wait to see what happens next and how much of the other characters will be included in novella two.