Tagged: strafford
Prophecy of Solstice’s End by Diantha Jones
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Summer Solstice is here. Let the games begin.
Nothing but lies (some of them her own) and deceit have brought Chloe to Olympus for the Solstice Olympic Games. As the Oracle and the special guest of the King of Myth, Chloe becomes immersed in a life of unfathomable luxury, taunting history, and overwhelming excitement. Though scheming and untrustworthy, the gods remain on their best behavior as the tension and anticipation builds around the outcome of the Quest of the Twelve Labors, the deadliest competition of the Games. All seems well on the celestial front…until athletes start turning up dead and a philosopher missing for months returns with a most terrifying story…
But that’s not all.
As Strafford confronts his troubled past and more is learned about the Great Unknown Prophecy, Chloe grows close to another, setting off a chain of events that will bring her face-to-face with a truth that will rock both of her worlds to their core.
And it’ll all happen before Solstice’s end…
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy from Diantha Jones as part of her blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
With the first two books in the Oracle of Delphi series achieving high levels on the ‘awesome book’ scale I thought it would be hard for Prophecy of Solstice’s End to measure up. Yet Diantha Jones keeps surprising me over and over again. Once again, this book is better than the last one! And considering how much I loved Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise, that’s even more of an accomplishment.
I love how Chloe and Strafford’s relationship intensity is cranked up to 11 throughout the book. They’ve sort of settled into the whole being in a relationship idea and what results is whole new levels of commitment on both their parts as well as more drama later on. I can’t go into much more detail without giving anything away, but let’s just say that with the passion comes doubt and misunderstandings when Chloe joins Strafford in Myth.
One of my many favourite parts of Diantha Jones’ whole series is how she portrays the gods and goddesses from the Greek myths. Apollo is manipulative even with his own children, Hera hangs on every display of affection from her husband, Zeus is a scheming letch, etc. They’re portrayed as essentially the same people they were in the myths only now they’re in the modern day and are a huge threat to Chloe as the new Pythia. I also like how the children of the gods reflect their parents’ personalities, especially in the case of Aphrodite’s daughters. What was more interesting than how the gods were portrayed was the dynamic between them and their children. Some of the demigods fully accept their roles as heroes while others like Strafford are obviously questioning them. It certainly makes for lots more tension in Myth.
As with her last two books, Diantha Jones kept throwing twist after twist into the plot that blindsided me completely. The Regalis Stella problem from the last book? That’s not resolved yet either and in fact the problem is cranked up to 11 in Prophecy of Solstice’s End. In addition to that, Apollo’s war with Zeus is looming and it’s not as simplistic as it would seem. To be fair, nothing is simplistic in Prophecy of Solstice’s End and that’s one of the strengths of the Oracle of Delphi series: it keeps you guessing as to what’s going to happen next. And with that massive cliffhanger at the end of the book in the epilogue I’ll be left guessing about what will happen in Prophecy of the Betrayed Heir, the next book.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Solar, Defeated by Diantha Jones
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
From the moment Strafford Law saw Chloe Clever, he knew he was destined to love her forever. But a dishonorable past and a bleak future threaten to destroy him before he gets the chance.
Looking back, he recalls his life before it came crashing down around him…a time when the one he now loathes most of all was the one he adored more than anything.
SPOILER ALERT: Read as Oracle of Delphi #2.5! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy from Diantha Jones as part of her blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
Ooh, we finally get to learn more about our tortured, broody Sun Prince! I won’t call myself a fangirl, but the fact that Strafford has changed so much by being in love with Chloe makes him one of my favourite love interests ever. I mean, in pretty much every YA book out there the dark, tortured love interest is still a jerk by the end of the book/series. That’s definitely not the case and Solar, Defeated provides a lot more insight into how Strafford fell into disgrace amongst other demigods and became said tortured, broody Sun Prince.
A lot of novellas that connect to series are boring and don’t really provide much of an addition to the story, but Diantha Jones has stayed away from that trap. We learn things we otherwise probably wouldn’t in the series and seeing things strictly from Strafford’s point of view is great. His decisions make sense from his point of view and his emotions feel more…real. It’s much easier to connect with him after reading Solar, Defeated because we get to see more of his flaws. (His main one being hubris, something we all suffer from occasionally.)
If you’re enjoying the Oracle of Delphi series and just can’t get enough of the moody, protective and incredibly attractive Strafford Law, I’d highly recommend this tie-in. It’s definitely worth your time.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Spotlight: Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise by Diantha Jones
Spotlight is my weekly feature in which I highlight a book I’m really looking forward to or really enjoyed. This week it’s a book I really, really loved: Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise by Diantha Jones.
It’s official. Myth is doomed.
And it’s all Chloe Clever’s fault.
Still as whacked out as ever, Chloe is now faced with an even uglier truth: Not only is she the Pythia of the Great Unknown, but she is more powerful than she ever imagined and only the manifestations of her prophetic mind can save them all now.
With her Prince boyfriend, Strafford, and the Quad Fraternity always armed and ready to annihilate the opposition, she will embark on a mission to stop a great power that could consume every god in Myth…and everyone else she’s come to love.
But the worst is still to come.
[…]
This is just one of those books you zoom through then want to start again immediately after you’ve finished. It’s also one of the rare sequels that doesn’t get bogged down in the details necessary to set up the third book. Both of these things are rare on their own, but together they make Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise an incredible read.
Not only do we learn how Strafford came to be in disgrace, Chloe develops more and the Great Unknown Prophecy is beginning to fall into place. Here we have a fantasy book with the fast pacing of an action/thriller novel and Diantha Jones has also managed to weave in aspects of Greek mythology seamlessly with the modern era. There are believable explanations for why nobody knows about the Greek gods in the modern era, as well as a believable system of how the gods operate and how they’ve managed to stay immortal.
I’m not the biggest Strafford fan out there, but at least he isn’t your typical jerk Prince that you find in YA. No, he has a believable backstory as to why he was such a jerk in the beginning and he’s actually moved beyond that, another rarity. Say whatever you like about him, but at least he’s able to change, unlike a lot of bad boy types in literature and movies.
If you haven’t already read Prophecy of the Most Beautiful, you need to. Right now. And once you’ve read the first book, you’ll devour the second book and be desperate for the third, which comes out sometime this summer.
Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise by Diantha Jones
(Cover picture courtesy of YA Novelties.)
It’s official. Myth is doomed.
And it’s all Chloe Clever’s fault.
Still as whacked out as ever, Chloe is now faced with an even uglier truth: Not only is she the Pythia of the Great Unknown, but she is more powerful than she ever imagined and only the manifestations of her prophetic mind can save them all now.
With her Prince boyfriend, Strafford, and the Quad Fraternity always armed and ready to annihilate the opposition, she will embark on a mission to stop a great power that could consume every god in Myth…and everyone else she’s come to love.
But the worst is still to come.
Dark, painful secrets are revealed, threatening to tear Strafford from her arms, and just when she thinks the future could not look more grim, she is betrayed in the worst way.
With the heavens crumbling down around her, she must hurry to find a way to set things right. But will she be in time to save the one she loves most in the world from a fate that may be more dangerous than her own?
[Full disclosure: Diantha Jones sent me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.]
After reading and absolutely loving Prophecy of the Most Beautiful, I didn’t think it was possible for Diantha Jones’ writing to get any better.
I was wrong.
In Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise, not only are we seeing the characters themselves develop, but their relationships as well. There’s also more fighting, drama and conspiracy than ever before. In short, Diantha Jones absolutely did not succumb to Book 2 Syndrome. She improved not only her writing quality, but her characterization and even the way she chose to reveal her plot twists.
Both Chloe and Strafford are acquiring even more depth than before. Chloe is accepting her role as Pythia and really starting to show her backbone of steel as well as her intelligence. She’s no damsel in distress waiting around for Strafford to save her all of the time either! As for Strafford himself, he isn’t just the moody, tortured Sun Prince. We get to see a more tender side of him as he finally realizes just how much he loves Chloe and we finally learn why he’s in disgrace among other demigods.
As for the plot and pacing, I was absolutely glued to my computer screen. Not only was it fast-paced, there were so many unexpected plot twists that my head was spinning. Diantha Jones didn’t spend much time on re-hashing the plot points of the first book, but she added in tidbits of information that allowed me to follow everything despite reading the first and the second book so far apart. In Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise, you might as well just go with the flow because you’ll never uncover the conspiracy behind the conspiracy that involves Chloe’s little brother Benjy being kidnapped. Yes, it’s that unpredictable, but it makes total sense.
I may be a bit biased, but I absolutely love the Greek myths. I always have and probably always will. And let me just say that Diantha Jones most definitely knows her Greek myths, both famous and obscure! She takes many elements from these famous and obscure myths and blends them together to create a scenario in which such myths come alive in the modern era. Of course she adds her own twist onto a few things so you’re always on your toes. What else would you expect from such a talented writer?
I give this book 5/5 stars.
*Only available as a Kindle ebook.
Prophecy of the Most Beautiful by Diantha Jones
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
She has a destiny so great that even the gods fear her.
Constant hallucinations and the frequent conversations with the voices in her head, have earned eighteen-year-old Chloe Clever the not-so-coveted title of “Whack Job” in her home town of Adel, Georgia. With the onslaught of prescription medications and therapists threatening to push her over the edge, she wishes for a life far away from the one she has, a life where she is destined to be more than the butt of everyone’s jokes and mockery.
Be careful what you wish for has never rung more true.
After living through an attack from her worst nightmare, she awakens to find herself far from home, surrounded by glorious riches and servants and a few demigods who enjoy killing things. Upon learning that her favorite rockstar is an Olympian god, she is thrust into her new life as the Oracle of Delphi, the prophesier of the future, and the great Pythia that the gods have been anxiously awaiting to arrive for centuries. Setting out to fulfill the prophecy she has been given and to keep her family safe from a demigod Princess that wants her dead, Chloe learns of how great she is to become, all the while fighting mythical monsters, evading divine assassins and trying to outwit the ever-cunning Greek gods who harbor secrets of their own. In the hopes of discovering the Most Beautiful and the truth of her destiny, she strives to uncover the mysteries of the demigod Prince who has sworn to protect her with his life and threatens to win her heart in the process.
[Full disclosure: I found Prophecy of the Most Beautiful on The Masquerade Crew and was so interested in it that Mark Lee put me in contact with Diantha Jones so I could request the book. Yes, I actually requested the book myself.]
Prophecy of the Most Beautiful is what fantasy should be: fast-paced, unique, well thought-out and unpredictable. It’s a book you won’t be able to put down, not only because of the awesome characters, but because the plot takes so many twists and turns you won’t have a clue as to how things will end! I know I didn’t.
In the beginning Chloe seems like your typical YA heroine, but this is certainly not the case by the end of the book. The main difference between Chloe and other female leads is that she actually has a backbone and doesn’t faint away at the sight of blood or agonize about killing people. She does what she needs to do to survive as the first Oracle of Delphi in more than four decades and doesn’t look back. In fact, you won’t find much teenage angst in Prophecy of the Most Beautiful. Sure, Strafford is a little tortured and seems like your typical bad boy, but the hints Diantha Jones is dropping seem to say that we’re not finished with him yet, that there’s much more to be learned about the Sun Prince.
Now for the plot: holy crap. I was absolutely glued to my computer screen and didn’t stop reading for anything. Prophecy of the Most Beautiful is a whirlwind journey and, at the risk of being cliché, you will not be able to put it down. It’s 266 pages of pure excitement and the cliffhanger on the last page was downright cruel, but certainly achieved its goal: getting me to want the next book. The last series I was this excited about was Krystal Wade’s Darkness Falls trilogy, so you know I’ll be following this one closely.
The way Diantha Jones set up her world, mixing in Greek myths and a bit of her own flair, was brilliant. The ‘iceys’ (immortals celeste) created to worship the gods and preserve their immortality, the demi-gods and even the gods themselves are not cliché because she has put her own spin on them. Not all demi-gods are created equal, as we learn and the iceys may not have things all that great up in the realm of the gods. It will be interesting to see more of this hidden world in the next book, Prophecy of the Setting Sunrise. I can’t wait to read it!
I give this book 5/5 stars.