Review: Open House – Krystal Shannan

Intrinsically woven into the fabric of human existence, Aphrodite, Titan Goddess of Love and Passion, dedicates herself to matching soul mates.

Rebecca Carol and Robert Corvin missed their original chance to bond when Ares, God of War, took control of Robert’s career ten years ago. Their souls have naturally pulled them back together for a second chance at love, but…How far will the gods go to get their own way?

Will divine influence create another perfect match or will it tear them apart forever?

Series: Pool of Souls #1
Release Date: October 19, 2012
Publisher:
Source: BTS Emag
Reviewer: Iris
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

The old adage “all’s fair in love and war” has nothing on Aphrodite an Ares. In this story within a story, humans Rebecca and Robert missed their chance once before because of Ares’ intervention. Now that they have a second chance, Aphrodite is not about to let her old flame interfere again. You see, every soul has its true match and it searches the world over until it finds it. Once found, they will continue to find each other through their lifetimes. Aphrodite not only ensures these matching souls find each other, she guards them with her life. Ares however has different plans for one of Aphrodite’s souls. And watching these two is nothing if not entertaining.

I’m not normally a fan of novellas. I find that authors start with the best of intentions but they try to pack so much story into such a compact number of pages that something always suffers. Whether it’s the storyline coming across rushed, the romance seeming forced or the characters not having enough time to fully develop, something has to give and no author who writes novellas is immune to this.

I can happily say though that after reading Open House my feelings may have changed. Ladies and gentlemen… this is how a novella is written. Shannon took the time to fully develop each character to the point where you feel you know them and are invested in their stories (which I hope will continue). We are given a hint of a back story for Ares and Aphrodite which explains their feelings towards each other without veering off the romance developing between Rebecca and Robert.

Fantastic world building rounded off a phenomenal book. Fast paced but far from rushed; Shannan’s style shows that a good story can be told with minimal words. Although it was a quick read, I found ample character development and enough excitement to catch my attention and keep me coming back for more. This is one novella that I can say was exactly as it was meant to be and I wouldn’t change a thing.