The Goddess's Choice

Reviewer: Kristen
Author: Jamie Marchant
Pages: 374
Format: eBook
My Rating: 7½ out of 10

Summary (thanks, Goodreads): Samantha's ability enables her to discern a person's character through their multi-colored aura, and Robrek's makes him the strongest healer the kingdom has seen in centuries. But their gifts also endanger their lives. Royals scheme to usurp the throne by marrying or killing Samantha, and priests plot to burn Robrek at the stake. Robrek escapes the priests only to be captured by Samantha's arch-enemy, Duke Argblutal; Argblutal intends to force the princess to marry him by exploiting Robrek's powers. To save their own lives and stop the realm from sinking into civil war, Robrek and Samantha must consolidate their powers and unite the people behind them.

My Thoughts: I'm always very hesitant to pick up books that are re-tellings of classic tales.  More often than not, I don't appreciate them nearly as much as I should (for example, Beastly by Alex Finn). This was most definitely not the case with The Goddess's Choice. At some points, I even forgot that it was in fact based off of a fairytale. I appreciated the whole fairytale part of it - the whole magical world, kings and queens type of deal - because it didn't feel like it was being forced on me. I could picture everything as it happened, and just how the author described it. Once I started this book, I couldn't stop. Trust me, the door bell rang more than once, and I ignored it. I felt like there was action on every page, and I just couldn't wait to get to the end to find out what happened. It's written well, extremely well. I fell in love with most all the characters, and I appreciated how developed they were. Another thing I really hate is when one main character is the obviously dominate part of the duo. Again, not the case. Samantha and Robrek are both equal, in almost every way. For that, I thank the author. Anyways, I hate it when the only thing keeping you from falling in love with a character is the fact that the author didn't have them live up to "the in my head potential". Not the case here, I fell in love with characters instantly. Can I also take a moment to appreciate how little things about characters came to fruition in this novel!? Seriously genius on Jamie Marchant's part. This book isn't to be taken lightly, and there are some definite blush inducing parts. However, they are done tastefully and only add to the novel. I definitely, without a doubt recommend this one! It was extremely well written, and the integrity of the story remained throughout!

Final Thoughts: I really encourage everyone to go pick this up! Good read, you won't want to put it down!