Blog Tour Review: Love and The Goddess

Posted 9th January 2014 by Emma in Blog Tours, Reviews / 4 Comments

Blog Tour Review: Love and The Goddess

I received this book for free for a Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Blog Tour Review: Love and The GoddessLove and The Goddess by Mary Elizabeth Coen
Published by GoddessMECA on 29th November 2013
Genres: Chicklit, Fantasy
Pages: 388
Format: eBook
Source: for a Blog Tour
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One woman, One myth, Three Goddesses

A woman’s voyage of self discovery begins on the internet leading all the way to Brazil and onto the Andean highlands of Peru.

Devastated from her relationship break- up, Kate Canavan is at a loss until she re-discovers a hidden painting of the triple Goddess from Greek mythology. Her interest in mythology and spirituality is re-ignited. A voyage of self discovery begins with internet dating using the names of each of the Goddesses in the triple myth.

When a health scare intervenes Kate and her friends go together to visit a famous healer in Brazil and a spiritual guru in Peru, where all three friends begin spiritual journeys of forgiveness, gratitude and learning to live in the now.

Read it to find out if Kate finds love along the way…

Firstly thank you to Fiction Addiction Book tours for letting me take part in this blog tour.

This book has many different parts so I’m going to try to break my review down that way.

Firstly we have the online dating part soon after Kate’s marriage breaks up. I found these funny, outrageous and some of them down right unbelievable! The things these men would say were insane! It made me appreciate not needing to date.

The next section was in Brazil when Kate goes to visit the healer. I don’t believe in a god or a higher being or anything like that. I haven’t done for a very long time. I think when bad things happen to people personally they go one way or the other. They believe more or they stop believing, for me I stopped. I just couldn’t fathom that there was someone up there watching that would let me be so hurt and upset. I do believe that when we die there is place where we all go and we can look in on our loved ones but a god nope definitely not. I can understand why Kate had reservations and why she was nervous when she arrived believing in unconventional things is difficult.

Then there was the trekking in Peru I thought all the sights sounded very pretty and there was  lots of spiritual places. I really enjoyed hearing about meditation techniques and different types of beliefs.

After this Kate returns to Ireland. I thought it was really good to see her standing up for herself when she returned. It showed that although she had a long way to go she had really changed and learnt a lot on her trips.

I was really glad to see that Kate made the right choices in the end. I was really rooting for the decisions that she finally made.

Lastly I would say that this is a book to dip in and out of rather than a fast paced can’t put it down book but it shows us that not everything in life needs to be so fast paced.

Excerpt

The final email was from “the diver”, another businessman. He didn’t have a photograph but his message captured my interest and aroused my curiosity.

Hi Persephone, Toot… toot! Hoot… hoot! What a foxy red head you are and you sound like a gal who knows what she wants out a life! Fair play, I’m all for a gal who knows her mind and seduces me with her brain as well as… oh you know! Why call yourself Persephone, when you’ve got the body and tresses of Botticelli’s Venus lol? With your Taekwondo, scuba diving and interest in Incan and Mayan civilizations, I can picture you as a female Indiana Jones. Better than tomb raider any day, I say! Definitely with that red hair, you’d put me in my place… quaking in my boots while hot under the collar lol! No seriously… you demand respect, even from a messer like me! If you want to get in touch send me your phone number and we can arrange to chat. Steve

I wrote back to Steve asking him had he a photograph. I was more interested in “Elmtree” aka Ray, yet decided not to invest too much hope in him after my previous two experiences. If everything worked out, I could meet him the coming Friday. Meanwhile I was in a mood for experimenting, so two days later I agreed to meet “the diver”, Steve. We had spoken on the phone and he told me he was a representative for a company fitting aluminium windows. I asked for a photograph, and he sent one right back. He was rugged looking with heavy facial furniture, a rather large nose, heavy jowls and a thin line for a mouth. Not exactly my type, but I was sure a lot of women would find him attractive. I found his humour hilarious, even if his hooting and tooting sounded more like a siren call for Jessica Rabbit. No matter, I needed a good laugh. Emails went to and fro and I agreed to a lunch date rather than risk another evening fiasco.

I was beginning to see this as Ella had suggested, “an exercise in dusting off my disused dating skills.” Smirking to myself, I decided to call her and fill her in on my progress.

“Same as you, lovey. I’m in need of a laugh and an ego boost so I’ve two dates arranged for today. First a lunch date and then meeting another guy for coffee at four.” We agreed to keep in touch throughout the day and meet up later to discuss the dates. I felt like a woman on a mission, preparing to take note of all the details to report back to HQ afterwards. It added to the excitement, that feeling of being an intrepid reporter working undercover.

In the Meyrick Hotel foyer, at a table to the right of the central table, which was adorned with a huge floral arrangement, Steve sat folding papers into a briefcase. I recognised him immediately. Hmm, not bad looking, although a little older than his photograph (I was beginning to think that was par for the course) and somewhat untidy, with shirt buttons straining over his mid-section.

He looked up. “Kate?” His eyes took me in. “Hey, you look great! Know something? I’m not very hungry. How about you?”

“I could eat the legs from under the table. I’ll get weak if I don’t eat something soon.” The aroma of garlic, tomatoes and peanut soy sauce wafted past him and my stomach grumbled.

“Yeah?” He looked disappointed. “I suppose you can get some bar food.” He ushered me towards the bar, where the barman came over and handed each of us a menu. I searched for the choice most resembling the aroma that had greeted me.

“Just a glass of wine, please,” Steve said to the barman.

“I’ll have the chicken satay and a bottle of still water, please.”

When the barman left, Steve turned to me asking: “Is there a problem with the drinking water in Galway at the moment?”

“No. Why do you ask?”

“I always drink tap water.” His face changed from concerned to animated as he launched into the conversation with: “Well, Kate, we’ve certainly had great chemistry with the banter in our emails! It’s been fun! You have to have a sense of humour otherwise life could really get you down!”

“Yes, you’re very humorous…”

“Now, I want to be open and honest with you from the start, so I need to tell you a few things. How are you with that?”

“Absolutely. I agree one hundred per cent. Honesty all the way.” I put on a chirpy voice to deflect from my sudden sinking feeling.

“First, I have to tell you a bit about me. My wife and I didn’t have sex for the last eight years of our marriage. Now I’m not going to crib about her because she’s a lovely woman, but that’s very hard for any man to put up with. And I remained faithful to her while some of my buddies were off having affairs. But I respect women and I didn’t do that to her, even though she often came to bed with her hair in rollers and would turn her back on me for fear I’d suggest anything.” Too much information and this from the person I’d expected to entertain me with his mad-cap humour. I was embarrassed and confused. Nothing seemed to add up.

“I can understand that was difficult for you.” Was that what I was supposed to say?

The waiter arrived with drinks and lunch. The chicken satay came on four skewers and was served with french fries. I was ravenous. “Would you like some?” I pushed my plate towards Steve. Without any hesitation he helped himself to a skewer of chicken, continuing to talk as he did so.

“Now, I was good to my wife in every way and in fact I still do more than my share of parenting, though the kids are fairly independent at eighteen, nineteen and twenty one years old.” He fiddled with the skewer, his eyes transfixed on the remaining two cubes of chicken as though he were forensically examining them. Why was he prattling on in such a defensive manner, unable to make eye contact?

“How long are you divorced?”

He launched back into chewing the chicken from the skewer. “Just separated six months.” His mouth was full as he spoke. “Now the point is, I’m very attracted to you but I could never enter into another relationship like the one with my wife. Do you understand?” He grabbed a handful of French fries and tossed them in his open mouth. What a barbarian! What had happened to his inimitable sense of humour? I was beginning to find him common and coarse. Was he unaware he was wolfing down my lunch? The lunch he didn’t want? I was annoyed that he presumed I would consider a relationship with him. His other hand sneaked towards a second skewer of chicken. I moved my plate away from him.

“It’s seems a bit early to be thinking about you and I starting a relationship – you live quite a distance away and we’ve only just met.”

“Yeah…” He stuffed down another handful of my French fries. “But I would need to know right from the beginning that the relationship would include sex. Do you understand?

“Yes, I understand – but it’s a bit early. We don’t know if we even like each other yet.” I signalled to the waiter. “Could you please bring me another portion of chicken satay?”

“Certainly, madam. Will there be anything else?”

“Not just now, thank you…”

“Do you eat this much all the time?” Steve asked. Before I could answer, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his shirt pocket and looked at the screen. “Excuse me. I need to answer this.” He got up to walk out of the bar.

While he was gone, I checked my phone. A message from Ella read:“Just met Mr Loves Himself.”

“Eejit here just ate my lunch,” I texted back.

“Make him pay. This guy runs 5 miles & cycles 8 miles a day!

I acknowledged the waiter as he delivered a second plate of satay, then resumed texting: “Forget him. No time for a woman!

“Yep. haf 2 go.”

Steve arrived back and slid in beside me, nonchalantly helping himself to another full skewer. “Kate. Of course we’d get on great,” he said, again with his mouth full. “I just have to have this issue out in the open before I get involved with you. I’m a very giving person and I wouldn’t like to be taken for a fool.”

I looked at him, stuck for words. Then cleared my throat. “To be honest, I find this line of conversation a bit over the top. You have no guarantees with any relationship that you will get every aspect right. I’m sure some women have similar complaints about men.”

“Exactly my point.” Glancing at his mobile phone, Steve assumed a harried expression: “I need to leave for a meeting. Phone me when you’ve thought all this through. Maybe next time we could meet in the evening?”

Stealing the final skewer of chicken, he vanished before I had a chance to comment. Flabbergasted, I sank back into my seat, feeling the wind had been knocked right out of me. Calling over the waiter I asked for the bill along with a stiff brandy. I felt I needed it.

Giveaway

This tour has a giveaway of 3 x signed paperback copies of Love & The Goddess.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  • NEWS FLASH*

If you buy a copy of Love & The Goddess while it’s touring and post a review to Amazon and Goodreads, email links of the reviews to fictionaddiction.booktours@gmail.com to be entered into a draw to win a Kindle Fire.  Closing date 28th February 2014.

 

About Mary Elizabeth Coen

Living in Ireland, Mary Elizabeth Coen is a former Home Economics teacher and lifestyle journalist.

Though she always dreamed of being a writer, Mary Elizabeth took a rather circuitous route getting there. You could say she has had several incarnations in this lifetime from Home Economics teacher to Fashion Editor of a magazine, along with being mother to three wonderful children, Mark, Janet and Emily. Due to demand from clients she opened her own PR consultancy firm specializing in fashion; – the dream job for a fashionista, availing of great discounts on wonderful shoes and vintage clothing.

Unfortunately the five inch stilettos had to go when Mary’s health deteriorated and she received a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Work too, had to take a back seat as Mary sought to maintain optimum health and became interested in holistic medicine and personal development. In the process, she developed a passion for mythology, philosophy and the study of ancient spiritual traditions. As a spiritual seeker, she travelled to Mayan sites in Mexico, visited a famous healer’s ashram in Brazil and undertook a shamanic journey through Peru. Mary’s book Love & the Goddess is based on her travels.
Mary is now in robust good health, working as a full-time author and stress management lecturer, while also running a website called Goddess MECA. The acronym is for Mary Elizabeth Coen Assists the Goddess in everywoman through sharing her love of cookery fashion and mythology. Mary brings her experience from teaching, using tools that are practical and easily integrated into every day busy lives. Her clients range from private individuals, to SMEs, to large organisations and bodies.

Emma

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:


4 responses to “Blog Tour Review: Love and The Goddess

  1. Thanks for hosting me Emma and reviewing Love & the Goddess.
    Though it is a work of fiction, most of the internet dating aspect is pretty much the way I experienced it, when I did the
    research for my book.
    Of course I met a variety of men (some nice and normal) but only the more outrageous make for good story telling, so the character in the excerpt above is pretty much as if I taped his conversation.
    Glad you found it amusing.
    Mary E. Coen

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