From the Stacks: Harbinger

I am a huge fan of books that are mythological in nature, whether they are action-adventure fantasy, or romance, whatever. I don't necessarily have a preference to a specific pantheon either. I have read Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse, Egyptian, Native American, Asian, basically whatever I can get my hands on. On this bonus From the Stacks post, I found myself pulled into Greek mythology in Australia with Peta Crake's Harbinger.

Harbinger by Peta Crake
ISBN: 9781742536484

Summary

"As an Olympic messenger, suburban Aussie girl Ophelia Lind is used to being at the beck and call of the gods. But when gorgeous demigod Aden moves into her neighbourhood and starts taking advantage of her services, Ophelia believes life could not get any worse. She's about to be proven very wrong.

Ophelia tries to enjoy a normal, everyday life while running messages for the Greek gods – but without warning an odious creature - evil incarnate - begins to stalk her. As a messenger dealing with the all-powerful and sometimes frightening gods, Ophelia is accustomed to adventures and scrapes. But this is different. Even Aden, who is madly and deeply in love with Ophelia, finds it difficult to protect her. Suddenly Ophelia is in a battle for survival and begins to question everything – her upbringing, her identity, and her true feelings for the alluring and entirely frustrating Aden."

My Thoughts

I liked this book, but I didn't quite love it, not in the OMG I have to share this with everyone manner of a number of the books I read. Ophelia is a messenger for the gods, so it makes sense that at some point in the book we the readers would have to accompany Ophelia as she receives and then delivers messages. But, and the point does happen quite early on in the story, it seemed to jump far too much for me. It was basically just "She went to see God A, who sent her to Goddess B, who sent her to God C, who sent her to God D, and then Goddess E." For some reason that bugged me. I wanted more information.

Learning about Ophelia, and more about her background and her mom was quite interesting, and I really did enjoy Aden, though I also felt and understood Ophelia's frustration with him. For the most part I thought the romance did seem to grow genuinely, but the attempt at a love triangle (unless she was purposefully making it so it wouldn't be another love triangle story) ended really suddenly with the revelation of who Ophelia's other suitor was. 

The book was a quick read and I did enjoy it, and I would most certainly read a sequel if Peta Crake does write one. All in all, I think I give it a 4/5. Also, I know I usually post links to both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but there is not a NOOK version of this book. You can buy the ePub from Kobo and then by using Adobe Digital Editions, transfer the file onto your NOOK device. 

Harbinger on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Harbinger-ebook/dp/B008XG3Q90/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_t_1

Harbinger on Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Harbinger/book-l2x8OvA-PUyedzYRLOtoQg/page1.html?s=ft6m_Z5NfUKLNqNbuI39pA&r=5

Other Readings

I have five more bonus posts ready for use this month, and I am still reading on some of my Vaginal Fantasy and Sword & Laser book club picks for reviews as well as some other books I've purchased in either paperback or downloaded on my NOOK. There will most likely be ten or so From the Stacks posts for all of you in December. I hope you enjoy.