This is the second book in the Persephone Campbell series. Average Customer Review 4. The blurb sounded interesting and, at worst, I thought I'd just move on to the next if I didn't like it. This novel is unbelievably well written and a "can't put down" sort of story. The character descriptions are so excellent that I could envision them easily in my mind as I read through each chapter.
Kudos to author Garth for her wonderful ways of creating the inhabitants of her story. It is indeed a gripping tale that sucks you in from the very first chapter, feeding you just enough at each juncture to keep you begging for more. I'm going into Garth withdrawal already! Cape Cod This review is from: Losing Beauty Paperback Losing Beauty, by Johanna Garth, brings these four souls together in a book that blurs the line between mythology and modern day times effortlessly and seductively.
Good and evil battle for victory in a familiar setting with completely unique weapons and fleshed out characters. Utterly captivating, spellbinding, Losing Beauty is so fresh and different, offering such a new spin on an old story, that the reader can't help but be consumed by the emotions and desires of each character. Garth unveils human nature in all it's true colors exquisitely.
Alternately and simultaneously sensuous, erotic, sexy, dark, demented and brilliant, the first in what is to be the Persephone Series, delivers a one-two punch that will leave mythology and love story fans alike, hungry for more. I really liked the twists and turns and stayed engaged all the way through. I really enjoyed reading this book. I am ready for more from Johanna Garth! When will the next chapter be ready? The pacing was steady--it never let up.
The character development was good, and the story was engaging. I would put this book beside Stephen King's books on my bookshelf Read more Read less. Kindle Cloud Reader Read instantly in your browser. Customers who viewed this item also viewed. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Product details File Size: December 3, Sold by: Share your thoughts with other customers.
Write a customer review. Showing of 4 reviews. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Like Watching a Chess Tournament. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. A few years ago, I read "Losing Beauty" the first book in this series and which is a must read before reading this one and remember being struck by the strength of the writing and the original spin to the Persephone story. It is not as faithful to the Greek mythology details as say the "Seeds" books by M.
Kin and which I highly recommend , but as a modern version of the tale it is engrossing and hard to put down. The romance is tertiary in this book. What is more compelling are the characters in the story, their individual desires and how they go about accomplishing them and how they intersect into the fate of Persephone hence my reference to a watching chess game. The jury is still out on Persephone's final destiny, but what is important is the journey that Garth takes the reader on.
You know that minor characters will later come to play at the end and I believe ultimately help the heroine. There are more minor immortals introduced in this series and again, although license is taken with mythology, it is still nice to see them depicted in a modern setting. Garth really is a keen observer of humans and her description of what motivates people is spot on. The geeks, lawyers, financiers, and real estate agents all are people I've come across in real life and she depicts them quite accurately. The depicted strengths and weaknesses of humans really made this world come alive.
I totally believed how easy it was for Haden to manipulate others. Why this is a 4 star rather than a 5 star for me: If it was so easy for them, then why do they even enter into agreements with each other? I can understand if it takes a book of this calibre, a couple of years to write, but at least aim for a year - say something, don't just leave your loyal reader hanging. So, until the final book of the series is out, I wouldn't recommend this series. After reading the first book, "Losing Beauty", I was on pins and needles waiting for the second to appear.
A good book always starts a war between my head and heart: I want to rush from page to page, anxious to discover what happens next, but Garth's word craft lets me pause, savoring the journey. I'm totally hooked and can't wait for the third and final installment in this modern-day version of an ancient tale with plenty of updated twists! One person found this helpful. I read the first book, Losing Beauty a few years ago. These books revolve around the ancient Greek myth of Persephone and Hades. In this second installment we have more plot twists and turns as Persephone Campbell finds out a secret about her family that has rocks her to her core.
Losing Beauty
She is living with her love, Daniel, but Persephone decides to take off and go to her childhood home to find closure. Persephone has a special power where people have to tell her their secrets when they look into her eyes. Hers is a sad fate as she's always known peoples deepest, darkest secrets. She also knows when and how people will die. There are some new characters in installment as we see Persephone's journey continue. A long time friend of Persephone's, Rudy, has a long held secret crush on her and he has been waiting for the right moment to confess himself.
I have to know what happens next! Jul 10, Alison DeLuca rated it it was amazing. I've wanted to read this book for over a year now. Losing Beauty was on my Summer Reading List along with some other books, and I finally found time to get to it. And it was certainly worth the wait! Persey is a girl who inspires confidences. This attracts several boys, primarily Aaron, who wants to put aside his high-school jock image and protect her. Persey and Aaron get married and move t I've wanted to read this book for over a year now. Persey and Aaron get married and move to the city. There she meets Daniel Hartnett, who has a talent of his own.
He knows the truth about people before they say a word to him, to the point that he can make any woman fall in love with him. Of course, when Daniel meets Persey he finds that she is a complete surprise. He, also, falls in love with her. This plot in the hands of a lesser writer could fall apart. What makes the book stand is the characters. Persey is beautiful, but she is also real. She is honest and lacks confidence, and this makes her story all the more compelling. And it is the same with the men she meets. Aaron is not a cardboard cutout high school athlete; Garth breathes life into him as well so he becomes a living, breathing person that I cared about.
It is the same with Daniel. As handsome and attractive as he is, he is also human. The relationship between him and the married Persey is handled very delicately. But the biggest tour de force is Haden, who is actually the lord of the underworld. He is ruthless and evil, and he inhabits several different human bodies - and yet I even cared about what happened to him. Again, this tie-in with mythology could be hokey or forced with a lesser writer, but Garth handles it really well. The thing is, Garth has discovered the secret of compelling writing.
As I read Losing Beauty, I wanted to find out what what would happen next. I kept at the book one night until two AM, and I like my sleep. I highly recommend this book for a great beach read. May 30, Cheryal rated it liked it Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Well, I didn't think the language was necesary, no one was a cop. I don't think the sexual talk was necessary, the story didn't need the detail. The story line was good, It is a good versus evil thing.
Left a cliff hanger with evil still succeeding so you know I am not happy with that. I must say it is a clever story line, even though the some of the situations are disturbing. May 26, Jo Schaffer rated it really liked it. Johanna Garth brings Greek Mythology into a modern setting in a creative and intriguing way. Her characters are well developed and interesting. The plot kept me turning those pages! Persey has an unfortunate gift--people are compelled to tell her all of their darkest secrets.
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They have to confess to her. Disturbed and troubled by this she withdraws into herself. Persey grows tired of feeling used, all she wants is to be loved and listened to herself for once. But she can't prevent the way she att Johanna Garth brings Greek Mythology into a modern setting in a creative and intriguing way. But she can't prevent the way she attracts people and how they need her-- telling her things she doesn't want to know. Aaron is a good man who desires most to protect Persey from the moment he meets her in high school.
Daniel has a gift of his own-- to know what people really mean no matter what they say-- and he can't seem to stay away from her even though she remains unreadable to him. Haden, a mysterious immortal, feels he must have her for his own. He recognizes her gift and it just so happens that he needs the information Persey has access to--about people's darkest desires and hidden secrets--to manipulate the souls that he collects. Losing Beauty explores several different faces of love and the destiny of souls after death. It is an exciting story that mixes romance, suspense, magic and myth. Apr 16, Scarlett rated it liked it.
Welcome to Persey Campbell's world! Life will never be the same for her and those she loves, once she's fallen under the spell of Hades, himself. I was immediately drawn into the life of young Persephone, overwhelmed and withdrawn with her gift, until the King of the Underworld sets eyes on her. For the first time in her young life, someone not only understands her but provides a distraction from her worries. Now all grown up, Persey discovers true love. But she soon finds this one won't be all t Welcome to Persey Campbell's world!
But she soon finds this one won't be all that easy to come by. Hades wants her soul for himself. And he won't take no for an answer. Johanna Garth has created a unique and compelling story, frank and true to her characters. I highly recommend Losing Beauty, the first in the series, to anyone searching for well-written, complex characters, and a fresh twist on Greek Mythology! Jun 24, Bookworm rated it really liked it. When Haden Sarantos arrives in the small town of Iowa claiming he is the new librarian, something is very different about him.
He knows when people will die and I wondered if he was the grim reaper. The beautiful Persephone Campbell is well known in her small home town. She was raised by a single mom, her father having died in a car crash before she was born. After meeting Persey, the one thing Haden notices right away is that as the ruler of death, he cannot 'see' how she will die. Haden knows every 'humans end', how and when they will die, yet Persey is a mystery to him. Persey herself is not like others, people are compelled to confide their deepest secrets to her, secrets she sometimes wishes she didn't know.
The darker the secret, the stronger the urge for people to unburden it on her. As the years pass, Persey goes on bewitching everyone she meets. Aaron Strait, a high school football player, falls in love with her. The two eventually marry and Persey goes to work at a law firm in NYC. Aaron goes on to become a Wall Street investment banker. All the while, Haden is in her life in some form or another, waiting to make her his own. He has been obsessed with Persey since he first laid eyes on her.
A lawyer named Daniel Hartnett works with Persey and is hopelessly in love with her as well, even though she is married. Soon enough Daniel realizes there is something different about Persey, and he figures out her special talent of inspiring people to confess themselves to her. Little does she know, Haden has plans to make Persey his own and will stop at nothing to claim her. He wants to make her his immortal queen. I have to say I didn't know what Losing Beauty was about when I first began reading it. I have been pleasantly surprised! It reminded me a bit of the film Meet Joe Black as far as Haden's character was concered.
Author Johanna Garth does an excellent job at weaving a unique and interesting story here. In the beginning I couldn't figure out whether Haden was a villain or not. And when I did see that he wasn't one of the good guys, I still liked him. He's one of those bad boys you love to hate. Haden became my favorite character in the story. I now have a new literary crush. The interactions between Haden and Persey gave me the chills.
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I liked Persey's character. I wondered who she was, where she got this special power from. Imagine people having to reveal their deepest, darkest secrets to you? I think that's a sad fate. I liked that Persey married Aaron, and yet, I liked Daniel too and could see her being happy with him as well. Daniel himself was a sweet guy with a good heart. I rooted for him throughout the story and I enjoyed the interactions between Persey and him. The paranormal and romance elements in this book were right up my alley and I enjoyed reading Losing Beauty very much.
I liked the mythology of the story as well.
Best in Fantasy : Losing Beauty, Johanna Garth
The book took some unexpected twists and turns and I never really knew what would happen next, my interest was held throughout. I also like how the events in the story were wrapped up together towards the end, to create an exciting conclusion. In my opinion, the ending leaves the story wide open for a sequel.
Special thanks to author Johanna Garth for providing me a copy of her debut novel for review! I recommend Losing Beauty to fans of romance and paranormals, or for anyone looking for a good story to get caught up in. On a final note, I'll also mention, I'm old-fashioned and still have yet to purchase an e-reader. I don't tend to read full length books online, mainly because I just prefer to be holding a paperback. I did make the exception for Johanna's book and am glad I did.
Nov 30, Connie Jasperson rated it it was amazing. Losing Beauty by Johanna Garth is an urban fantasy in the broadest sense, being a modern take on the Hades - Persephone tale. I am a sucker for mythology of any sort, and Greek mythology offers a lot opportunity for new retellings, as Rick Riordan has shown us in his Percy Jackson Series. I met Johanna in the course of business since we are both published by Fantasy Island Book Publishing. I was intrigued by the cover of her book, and when I bought the Kindle book I found myself completely absorb Losing Beauty by Johanna Garth is an urban fantasy in the broadest sense, being a modern take on the Hades - Persephone tale.
I was intrigued by the cover of her book, and when I bought the Kindle book I found myself completely absorbed in her tale. The story begins with Persephone Campbell, a girl with a problem. Persey is a beautiful girl, and everyone loves her. Even as a child, people find themselves telling her their problems: Even so, people can't resist telling her their deepest and darkest secrets; a thing which continues into her adulthood.
Her ability to draw the deepest secrets from people is strange, and it emerges that she was adopted as a baby and her father was listed as 'unknown'. I admit that I was afraid that Persey would be too perfect, too wonderful - but she is not. Persey is not always honest with herself and allows her sense of obligation to rule her life, for reasons that make sense to her at the time. Three men love her to the point of obsession. After high school, Persey marries her high-school sweetheart, Aaron Strait out of a sense of duty, more than anything else.
She loves her husband, but she realizes that her love for him is not the sort of love that a wife should feel for her husband. Still, she does love him and remains a loyal wife. Persey goes to work for the same company as Daniel Hartnet, a man with an uncanny ability to read people, that he calls his crap-o-meter. This ability to read motives is every bit as uncanny as is Persey's ability to draw out secrets. He discovers that he can't read Persey, and that really intrigues him.
He soon becomes obsessed with her, but like the moderately decent man he is, he respects her commitment to her marriage. Johanna Garth draws her characters well. Haden is a bad man, selfish and focused only on his own desires but quite seductive and very compelling.
Daniel Hartnet is not lily-pure in his motives, but he is a basically good man and also quite seductive. Aaron is a simple, high-school jock-made-good; a man who is solely driven by his desire to protect and provide for her; and she is completely aware of that. Aaron becomes very successful, and on the surface everything looks perfect. What she does not realize is that she is the one true love of Haden, also known as Hades, God of the Underworld.
He has followed her progress since her earliest childhood, grooming her to be his wife in various different guises.
He has even posed as the coach in her highschool. There is no length that he won't go to to have her. When she marries Aaron, Hayden puts a terrible plan into action, using all of his resources as Lord of the Underworld; and soon she finds herself tied to the last person she wants to be tied to. That is where the adventure really begins. Persey is a nice girl, but her secret ability is hard for her to bear; and she feels that she is responsible for a tragic event that is the sole responsibility of Haden.
He, of course, uses her insecurity to bind her to him even more tightly. Johanna Garth has written an urban fantasy that is sophisticated, and romantic. It is a wonderful adventure that takes Persey from rural america to New York to Asia, and has many twists and turns that are quite unexpected. The ending was quite unexpected! I freely admit that I had a great time reading this story and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good romantic urban fantasy. I am now a fan! I will definitely be reading anything Johanna Garth writes!
I received this book from the author for review Johanna Garth's Losing Beauty was quite the interesting tale.
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As you may know I love Greek mythology so when offered to review this one I took it! And it was pretty good too. The story starts at the very beginning, Persey is a child and basically we go through her life, there's big time jumps, but the point was to see Persey as a small child and see her powers in the beginning. Haden is also there, he takes on different forms by possessing bodies of I received this book from the author for review Johanna Garth's Losing Beauty was quite the interesting tale.
Haden is also there, he takes on different forms by possessing bodies of people who made deals with him. There's a structure to Haden's ruling of the Underworld and it's pretty simple really, he needs souls.
He also can see how a person will die just by looking at them. Except for Persey which is why he suddenly becomes drawn to her.
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It was a little odd at first, he's in a grown man's body and Persey is a child, but nothing happens. It just seemed odd. He was never lewd or anything like that. But still when a god feels drawn to a child like that, it's just odd. But again, it wasn't disgusting or inappropriate. Throughout Persey's life Haden is there every few years in another body, she never knows that he's really there or who he is.
He just becomes someone she confines in at times. When she reaches an appropriate age, Haden wants her to be his queen in the Underworld more than ever, but Persey has been living her own life. There is some romance, firstly Persey is with someone else for a good portion of her "adult time" in the story.
Daniel becomes one of the lawyers that hires her at the firm. He has his own special "powers" as we know, but it doesn't seem to work on Persey. Persey is special and everybody wants her. Then Persey's life takes a turn for the worse and Haden is the cause. Overall the story wasn't too bad. The pacing was a little slow, I was expecting to start seeing the heroine at such a young age and then proceed through high school and what not.
What also irked me just a bit was when Haden would see when so-and-so would die. We basically learn whether a character makes it to the end or not. I mean I understand it was his power, but it's like being told the ending of a movie and that someone dies. I was sooo mad at him! I liked the novel and the storyline.
The characters were all good. It was told in multiple third person p. My only problems were when Haden tells you certain characters are going to die and the pacing by a tad. But then again, I see where needing to know Persey's backstory was important. I just felt like maybe it could've been done shorter or in a different way. The cover description made me think the story was going to be about Persey as an adult and not her nearly whole life story. It was a nice spin to the tale of Persephone and Hades!
And there was quite a surprising ending too! Aug 03, Pen-rye-n rated it really liked it Shelves: