Reviewed by Taylin

This is a Series Review of the Lovesick series (Books 1 – 2)

 

AUTHOR:  Amanda Meuwissen

PUBLISHER:  Self Published

SERIES REVIEW:

The Lovesick series contains two lengthy novels told in the third person from multiple viewpoints. Neither are standalone novels and are available to buy.

The main characters are Danny and Cho. Both are elementals but one solves crimes for a living, the other commits them. Danny’s power involves lightening, Cho’s – ice. They are surrounded by a cast of family, friends, and other elementals. They all get involved in a tale of good vs evil and some grey areas in between. There’s also a hefty dose of relationship issues throughout the series.

Book one, Lovesick Gods, deals with much of the world-building, introducing the characters and their backgrounds. Dramas, both physical and emotional, emphasize the workings, highs, and lows of a superhero’s world. They include depression, revenge, loving someone you shouldn’t, and an evil man, hellbent on fame. Family dynamics also come into play. Primarily though, the story deals with a superhero, Zeus and the events that positively and negatively affect his depression while trying to live up to the manacle of superhero.

Book two, Lovesick Titans is where all the arcs conclude and is so much more than this one sentence. The story starts where Lovesick Gods finishes. The world and its characters are is already set up, the big bad is getting more devious, and teams must come together if he is to be defeated. Of course, things must get worse before they can get better. But Lovesick Titans contains all the action, support, and emotion that I hoped to encounter.

Overall, I loved the series. It gave me everything I look for in a good story. I fell for the characters, hoped for them, cried with them, and my heart got a workout. My personal preference championed book two over one. Mainly because I knew the world, and I knew I’d witness the final outcomes. So, if you are looking for that involved read, then this series could be for you.

SERIES RATING: 

 

TITLE:  Lovesick Gods

LENGTH: 313 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  October 1, 2017

BLURB:

Heroes aren’t meant to act like their villains—or fall in love with them.

The elements touch everyone on Earth—Fire, Water, even Light—but every so often someone becomes more attuned to their elemental leaning and develops true power. When an evil Elemental known as Thanatos arrived in Olympus City, it saw the rise of its first hero—Zeus. But the death toll caused by defeating Thanatos changed Zeus, who by day is young detective Danny Grant.

It’s been six months since Thanatos terrorized the city at the start of Lovesick Gods. Danny should be used to his duty behind the mask, but the recent past haunts him. His girlfriend left him, he snaps at the barest provocation, his life feels empty—he needs an outlet, any outlet to pull him out of his depression.

Enter notorious thief Malcolm Cho, the Ice Elemental Prometheus. There was a time when Danny welcomed a fight with Cho, filled with colorful banter and casual flirtations that were a relief compared to Thanatos. Even as a criminal, Cho had recognized the threat Thanatos posed and promised to help Danny stop him, but the day Danny needed Cho, he never showed. Cho was the reason so many people died that day—including Danny’s mother.

Danny decides to teach the man a lesson and fan the fire of their attraction into something more. At worst, he’ll get some no-strings-attached sex out of the deal and finally blow off steam; at best, he’ll get Cho to fall in love with him and then break his heart to spite him.

Danny doesn’t expect to fall for Cho in the process, and he certainly can’t predict the much darker threat on the horizon.

REVIEW:

By day Detective Danny Grant fights crime, the traditional way. By night he is Zeus – elemental superhero and savior of the city. Unfortunately, people forget that superheroes have feelings and need a break. They become targets too. Danny has lost a lot, and although dedicated to his city, depression has set in. Darkness lurks, and he is hanging onto control by a thread. Needing to let off steam, he turns to Cho, a white-hat elemental of the criminal fraternity. A few months previous, Cho let Zeus down with devastating consequences, and Danny wants payback. However, what starts as sex with no ties, and a way to let off steam, soon becomes more – and the lines that encouraged Zeus to get involved with Cho are blurred.

Cho is no fool. He knows Zeus has ulterior motives, is happy to fulfil his fantasies and take what he can while he can. But, when he sees more of Danny in their encounters than Zeus, feelings complicate things. Enter into the frame Hades, an elemental bent on fame and the lines between right and wrong, good and evil become a box of scrambled matches in a tinder box.

The opening chapters introduce the reader to the majority of the characters and their histories. Due to the back and forth between situations, characters, and memories, viewpoints get blurred – especially given the number of AKA’s. For instance – Danny is known as, Detective Grant, Zeus, Danny, and Sparky. Malcolm Cho also goes by – Mal, Mickey, Cho, Ice Man, and Prometheus. When all the names are used in a short space of time, I found that reading got confusing.

The depth of this story is well thought out. Once past the initial onslaught of information, it is much easier to follow. When constructing two novels of such length, one cannot do it with two mains and a couple of extras. Nevertheless, the large cast took some getting used to, as they all have sub-arcs relating to either Danny or Cho. So, stick with it because as the story progresses, confusion morphs into a world where I came to care for the characters.

At 313 pages Lovesick Gods is a long novel with a lot going on. However, at its core is a man with potentially dangerous abilities, trying to overcome depression. At such times, a person’s perception can get screwed up – a factor which Hades takes full advantage. Danny has a good team around him, who cares. Cho understands more than most how Danny feels, but there again lies another problem. Enemies and superheroes are not supposed to be bed buddies or fall in love.

Once I recovered from the confusion of the opening chapters, I enjoyed the story. In some respects, as the loveable rogue, Cho is more likeable than Danny. But as the story progresses, I got to understand Danny more and the uphill battle he faces. This novel contains a bit of everything, crime, fights, love, lust, emotional upheaval… and more.

RATING: 

BUY LINK:

Amazon

 

TITLE:  Lovesick Titans

LENGTH: 366 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 14, 2018

BLURB:

Not even a Titan can always stand up to a God.

Malcom Cho is in over his head, wrapped up in a love affair with his superhero nemesis Zeus, who most people in Olympus City only know as Detective Danny Grant.

Lovesick Titans begins where Lovesick Gods left off, after a heist gone wrong that ended with a museum guard dead and Mal and Danny beaten and exhausted from their fight with the new threat in town, Cassidy Ludgate—Hades.

Unaware that Ludgate’s true motivation is revenge for the death of his father at Zeus’s hands, Mal wants only to keep Danny close, while Danny races to solve the cases surrounding Ludgate to stop him from whatever he has planned for them next.

What Mal doesn’t know is that Danny didn’t pursue him with the purest of intentions but sought to break his heart in retaliation for not being there when he needed him in the fight against Thanatos. Even though Danny no longer seeks that end, the lies between them loom like a shadow about to descend upon them both.

And Hades has only begun to toy with them…

REVIEW:

At the end of Lovesick Titans, Danny is not in an emotionally healthy place. Among other things, he is battling depression, falling in love with someone he shouldn’t, and trying to live up to the expectations of a superhero. As a lightning elemental, Danny’s dread is becoming a killer and a monster. Hades plays to Danny’s fears, intent on separating him from those who love him, and is relentless.

Cho has fallen for Danny, but the course of true love never runs smooth. Heartbreak clouds judgement, and unlikely alliances form to make Danny and Cho see the light. It is these coalitions fueled with wise words and some realizations, that  start Danny on the journey of healing.

Already familiar with the world and its characters, I was able to enjoy the story without trying to remember who was who. I also appreciated the setup in Lovesick Gods more than I did while reading. Because the background was already in place, the drama flowed without interruption, which made the scenes more intense.

In Lovesick Gods, Danny mentally sinks to some pretty dark places. In Lovesick Titans, we see him rise into the light. The events that trigger the healing process infuriates Hades who retaliates by widening his net of people to destroy. Before long, it becomes clear that it takes more than one superhero to bring down evil – it takes a team. And, good can come in the form of a criminal and his associates.

Lovesick Titans was more my cup of tea. It contained all the drama, action, support, and healing that brings the story to a satisfying finish. Characters must overcome conflicts of interest, emotional upheaval, uncomfortable associations and more while doing their best to thwart a supervillain who can see through any reflective surface.

In Lovesick Gods, I had the beginnings of a connection with the characters. In Lovesick Titans, I got to know them better, learned how they tick and fell in love with them. This resulted in me having my heart in my mouth during those scenes when everything is on the line.

RATING: 

BUY LINK: 

Amazon