TSK, TSK, What to Read?: BLOG TOUR: Deer in the Headlights by Staci Hart

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

BLOG TOUR: Deer in the Headlights by Staci Hart

What do the Greek gods do when they're bored? Because they're always bored, so humans are the perfect players in their games.

Aphrodite owns love; she hasn't lost a competition on her turf in over three millennia. Apollo is on a mission to win. He's counting on it to finally get the one woman he's never been able to have. The two gods will choose their human players, and if Aphrodite can't get them together before the clock runs out, Apollo will get his way. And Aphrodite couldn't have that.

Lex and Dean are perfect for each other, they just don't know it yet. Dean is a perpetual bachelor, and a brooding, beautiful rock star. Lex is always with a man, but she'll never fully give herself up. Aphrodite has her work cut out for her, but if she can't make it work, no one can.

The gods have their own drama. Apollo killed Aphrodite's mortal love - they've got beef that's been dragging on for thousands of years. Ares, the douchebag, is forever trying to pick a fight, and trying to get Aphrodite into bed. And Persephone, Aphrodite's best friend, is the one person who Aphrodite shares everything with.

Follow the gods as they fight, laugh, cry, lose, love, gain power, and make a mess with humans.

Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life -- a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can't forget that. She's also been a mom; she has three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She's been a wife; even though she's certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She's also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she's been drinking whiskey. Her favorite word starts with f, ends with k, and there a uc in there. Just saying. From roots in Houston, to a seven year stint in Southern California, Staci and her family ended up settling somewhere in between and equally north, in Denver. They are new enough that snow is still magical. When she's not writing, she's sleeping, cleaning, or designing graphics. But let's be honest, she's mostly writing.

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What a fun, sexy and wildly entertaining read. Staci has combined Greek mythology and current pop culture to create a genuinely unique look at finding true love in a complicated modern world. I absolutely loved the twists on the mythology. Weaving so much of what we believe to be true and expanding on the histories of the twelve Olympians and their assumed loves and losses. Tragic, intense and soooo fascinating.

I was so intrigued by the premise of this story. Fun and games with the original Olympians? I jumped right in and was hooked from the get-go. This novella packs a punch and amazingly crams a complete tale in only 166 pages. Is that really possible? Oh, hell yes!

This is not your momma's mythology. It's so much more. The world building is great. The characters are full bodied, fresh and exciting. From following the gods and goddesses through the past, often in flashbacks or daydreams, to their crazy cool, eccentric lives in our world secretly among our heartbroken, shattered, confused and unsatisfied human would-be lovebirds.

I laughed out loud and ate up their crazy manner and extravagance... how they have assimilated their centuries and eons old customs and battles so easily and charmingly with all things hip. I especially enjoyed Dita (Aphrodite) and her penchant for breaking out in dance. Busting a move when excited or taunting her rivals. She was by far the "star of the show", though I completely absorbed all of their memories.

So what about our (unaware)human participants? Lex was sweet and kind. A talented artist and poet. A great friend to her best friend Kara and boyfriend Travis. Who was adorable and talented in his own right. But as much as Lex cares for Travis she knows she's not in love him. And he's not in love with her. With her issues as a child, she wants nothing more than to find that you be true, passionate love but she's too afraid to really put her heart there, so she settles into the comfortable relationship she has with Travis.

And then there's Dean. Good gawd y'all, Dean!!! He was the epitome of the fractured and beautiful rockstar. A serial one nightstander so broken he doesn't let anyone in but writes the most haunting and moving songs. And once he sees Lex he only wants to sing to her.

Lex and Dean seem to have an instant, undeniable connection. Trust me guys, this connection is not gratuitous. It's very evident. And strong. But is it fate? As if they don't have enough troubles on their own, the god's influences create a tug of war with their hearts and wreaks havoc on their minds.

While the god's plot their next moves in their elaborate game, we see after all these centuries they still have have troubles and sorrows of their own. Each of their stories go beyond fun and games and ancient rivalries. Stories so gut wrenching and heartbreaking, it's no wonder they resort to their challenges in order to seek revenge and redemption.

Throw in Lex's friend and Dean's band and the romances gets that much more complicated and entangled.

Can anyone find love and happiness in this crazy mixed world? Pick up Deer In the Headlights and find out for yourself. It will be an afternoon or evening well spent.