Saturday, October 8, 2016

ARC Review: Tyranny by Gemma Brocato

Series:     Goddesses of Delphi #1
Pub. Date:Oct. 4, 2016
Publisher:Self-Pub
Length:189 pages
Source:Kindle Unlimited

This is my long overdue first read from Gemma Brocato, who I met at the RT Convention this year. Gemma is one of the Kickass Chicks, a super fun group of authors that let me tag along with them to dinner one night. So I'm happy I'm finally getting one of Gemma's books on the blog.


I love mythology-based stories and Gemma has created an interesting modern world interspersed with Greek Gods and their offspring. This series is based on the myth of Pierus and the Muses. The 9 Muses are Zeus' daughters with Gaia, and they inspire mankind in all kinds of areas like sacred song, written word, the Heavens, history, etc. Pierus was a jealous lower God, who also had 9 daughters known as the Pierides. Pierus and his daughters were always trying to subvert Zeus and, as a result, Zeus turned the Pierides into magpies. It is this story that Gemma has taken and given a unique modern twist. The Muses now have mortal life spans, to be reborn again throughout eternity with all their prior memories in tact. Olympus is being run by Zeus as if it were an international corporation, and all of this is taking place in modern day Delphi.

Pierus has issued a new challenge to the Muse sisters in an effort to parole his magpie daughters. The challenge requires each Muse to become embroiled romantically with a mortal man, convince him to reject a deep-seated belief, and save humankind. One romance to save the world, nine times. And if any one sister fails, they all fail, and will take the Pierides place as magpies.

The first Muse up in the challenge is Clio, Muse of History, who works as a university librarian. Clio must find the man to help her stop the encroachment of The Five Nations (Ukraine, Serbia, Romania, Turkey and Greece) from encroaching the borders of its weaker neighbors. The man to help her do this is Jax Callahan, a new history professor who previously worked for a political think tank focusing on the Five Nations coalition. Sparks fly rather quickly between Clio and Jax, particularly when she attempts to "nudge" him with her Muse gift. The pair did an admirable job of juggling intimate moments with world-saving ideas.

I enjoyed the interplay of Clio and her sisters,  but I think my favorite character of the story was Zeus. I enjoyed imagining the millenias-old god walking earth-bound in Hawaiian shirts and red chucks. These particular mythological characters make great subjects for for a story, and will provide plenty of fodder for the series to continue into the future. Gemma provided delicious chemistry for Clio and Jax, and I'm excited to see what (and who) the Muses will be doing next. If there was one thing that I felt lacking, it was character development. I would have loved more backstory for Jax and Clio, particularly Clio's role in historical events. However, this was a quick read so the detail provided was adequate for the length of the story.

This book was available via Kindle Unlimited as of October 6, 2016.


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