Welcome to the fantastical side of romance with magic and myth, ,
It's a right of passage for every new release to get their first 1 star review! I don't mean simply a first one star rating, but someone who is compelled enough to write about it.
To be honest, if I DNF a book, I simply put DNF and my comments without a rating, because most of the time what is not my cup o' tea, is awesome for someone else, so I don't like to bring a book down by 1-star-ing it unless it has more to do with the writing being unbearable to read.
I don't give many 1-stars. I think I've given out less 1-stars than I have fingers, because I'd rather just leave it blank and simply add my thoughts, a majority of the time my worst review is usually a 3 star if I finished the book. If I finished reading it, then it's decent enough to have an "average" rating.
That being said, I think 1-star reviews are a great marketing opportunity for writers. Take for instance all those fabulous 1-star reviews on famous, well-loved books like Sarah J. Maas, a legend in romantasy.
Did you know Sarah has OVER 45,000+ 1-star reviews on her ACOTAR book one?
I'd say, give me all 1-star reviews if it meant that 45,000+ people paid and read my book, because 1-star reviews are usually less than 10% of the readership of a book, in ACOTAR's case that's only 1% of her readership! Meaning there are millions of readers who decided to take the time to review, and many more readers who never review a book that already has such a huge following.
This was a 1-star review on ACOTAR
A bit extreme if you ask me. There are easier ways to stop reading or seeing a book again. Plus, what if she ends up being Deadpool, but without the super cool healing. She'd still be "seeing" the book, but now she'd be covered in burns.
I read ACOTAR in Nov 2023 for the first time and gave the book a 5-star. I enjoyed the book and it's written in an engaging manner that suspends your reality for a bit. But, to the one-star reviewer above, she'd rather burn her eyes out.
And I'm proud to announce my own 1-star review of Taking Medusa (I've removed the names on these, as I doubt they want fanship harassing them for being extreme in their review. I highly doubt my book is the worst written book they or anyone else has ever read, but to her, it was a DNF. As is her right.
I'm a firm believer in not torturing yourself with a book that isn't hitting the mark for you. I'm happy that they gave my book a try and discovered that this particular story wasn't for them. They are not who I'm writing for.
If I write for everyone then I write for no one.
The only thing I staunchly must protest against is the lack of description of King Triton beyond him being practically nakey.
Why? Because, I know I have had several Beta readers, and Arc readers and an editor go through Taking Medusa. Therefore, I am positive that the book is not as badly edited as they make it out to be. So, there is no need to defend that bit. There are plenty of other reviewers who state things like, "Well written and well paced" and "I rarely find a book that is this good anymore." and "Taking Medusa is addictive and plunges the reader into the story." Heck, recently I smiled from ear to ear when I read a review that said Taking Medusa was a "MASTERCLASS" on writing mythology romance. A great honor to be heralded as an expert novelist.
But my beautiful, tortured King Triton!! He must be defended!
I will start with description one of King Triton from Chapter 4 of Taking Medusa:
At the center, sitting on a golden stair that led up to the throne, with his fingers steepled to the crease between his brow, was a white-haired man wearing nothing but golden armored greaves and boots. His elbows on his thighs, he did not appear to be ready for an audience, either in deep thought or distressed by the loss of his daughter. I assumed this man was the king I was to be presented to.
You can see the passage they mention as the only description being that he's practically nakey in golden greaves and boots. But in the SAME chapter, there is further description.
Description two: (In the very same Chapter)
When he lifted his blue eyes to greet me, I was surprised to see features that would have made me think he wasn’t older than thirty. His white hair was cropped short, unlike what any mythical portraits of his likeness have shown, with long hair and a bushy beard. He did have a blue-tinted shadow of a goatee, but not what I would have expected when meeting the king.
Not once are his gorgeous, exposed abs discussed yet.
Further Description: (Same Chapter as above)
The bare chested, golden bottomed king rubbed his face like the decision exhausted him. He didn’t wear a crown, but he didn’t need to. Despite sitting on a stair instead of a throne, uncrowned, and sporting a white-blue goatee, he still exuded an otherworldly power that was palpable in the room. He sighed, resigned to continue talking since no one else dared to. Were they as scared as I was at what he would do?
Again, Aless has yet to comment on how sexy he is, despite his glorious chestage and golden armored chaps. To be fair to Aless, she was more concerned about being sentenced to death for being responsible for his daughter's death.
"I wasn’t going to fall for his beautiful blue eyes, and his charming, chiseled face with that dumb blue-white hair, and goatee looking like some sort of punk-rock star. Get a hold of yourself, Aless." - Aless (Taking Medusa, a different chapter later in the book)
I'm honestly more upset with myself for how King Triton is not ready for a healthy relationship yet, and still falls victim to the whims of controlling behaviors and manipulation of the gods. I love his character, and I feel like he deserves more page time. Perhaps, this 1-star review is the catalyst for more King Triton.
You can decide for yourself on whether you fall into the 1% of readers that is a 1-star of Taking Medusa or the 90% of readers that enjoyed my book and rated it 4 to 5 stars!
Meet King Triton, Dion the sexy Atlantis sentinel warrior, and Aless our long-lost Medusa kidnapped by merpeople and thrust into the whims of gods and prophecy.
Norah and Zadock must trust each other above all else and, once again, Norah must learn what she is willing to sacrifice to save her people.
A look-alike corpse.
A black ship.
An ocean of water to conquer.
Personal Author Updates:
I'm adapting Breaking Fate to Audiobook as we speak. I auditioned for a few narration gigs and got hired for a YA Dark Fantasy called Blood Song by Sarina Langer!
Support more books by yours truly by preordering Breaking Fate!
"Breaking Fate: A Greek Myth Monster Retelling" is a must-read for fans of mythological retellings, slow-burn fantasy romance, and stories of powerful women reclaiming their destinies. It's a thrilling adventure that will keep you flipping pages late into the night, immersed in Medusa's fight for freedom and the fate of the gods. If you enjoy tales where danger and suspense intertwine with romance and myth, this book is a perfect addition to your collection." 5-star review by Rebel See her full review here: Rebel (Bristow, OK)’s review of Breaking Fate | Goodreads
Breaking Fate excerpt
Pushing through the waterfall multiple times didn't change the result. Going back to Hades was an unappealing prospect, and yet my concern about souls wandering out of the Underworld was dismissed as I screamed out in frustration.
Whatever portal Zeus and Cerberus went through it was gone and I still came out of the same spot I entered from, staring out the cave entrance. This was getting me nowhere, and the longer I waited the farther they got away. My feet padded on the orange dirt and dust billowed up as my speed picked up. The River Styx was in the distance, but no matter how much I ran, it never came closer into view. This fucking place was a mind maze, and I couldn't trust anything I saw. Arms pumping, I tried to flex my shoulder blades to bring out my wings. If I could fly this would make traveling the Underworld a lot faster.
The power simmering inside of me was supposed to be stronger in the Underworld, yet no matter how hard I concentrated the monster inside remained locked up. No claws, no wings, and no snakes. I could hear the hiss of them in my mind, just under the surface, itching to be freed. But even they left me alone after Rucyr was taken.
The golden crab claws behind my ears were supposed to let me communicate with Poseidon, no matter where he was. But I wasn't sure that counted for wherever this was. Did they work in the Underworld? I didn't have to reach Hades to let someone know that Cerberus was taken if the crown let me speak with him, right? My legs still carried underneath me as I closed my eyes and concentrated. There was nothing around me for what seemed like miles, and I was beginning to feel like a hamster circling a desert wheel. My hand reached up to cup over one of the crab shells, and it warmed under my skin.
"Are you there?" I whispered, feeling foolish.
Nothing.
Of course, there was nothing; what was I thinking?
"Fucking Hades," I cursed the invisibility crown that was probably messing with whatever power the sea crown of Amphitrite had.
Then it felt like I was drowning in water, and my whole body grew hot. My ears were ringing, before a voice entered my mind, "You figured it out…" a deep male voice resonated around me.
"I didn't think I had to focus so much to get ahold of you," I replied with snark, recalling how the crown simply worked without knowing what I was doing before. Getting a hold of Poseidon when I was in the water felt like reliving a memory.
But here, in the Underworld's desert… it felt different. There was a warmth that unfurled within my gut and spread out to the tips of my fingers and toes as I heard his voice that echoed like he commanded my very soul.
"Some part of you didn't want to talk with me," he stated simply, a bit of curiosity in his lilt. Was he amused by this?
"What? No," I had to refocus, "There isn't time, I need to tell you—"
He cut me off, but his voice was not judgmental, but almost bored, as he explained, "There are times I wish to do things on my own. Rarely do I seek help from others, but when I do… it is extremely difficult to contact them."
Was he trying to make me feel better about not being able to do anything right?
Understanding dawned on me. Was that why I couldn't contact him before? I wanted to do this on my own and I was working against myself? Could it be that simple? Accepting that I needed the help was all it took? Whatever the reason, I didn't have time to waste thinking about it more. I had him with me now, even if he sounded different than when he was Dion, and I needed to tell him what happened.
"Cerberus was taken by Zeus," I rushed out, my breath coming out in heaves, still recouping from running through the dips of my feet sinking into unforgiving sand.
There was a pregnant pause before he asked, "And you saw this?"
"I wouldn't be telling you if I didn't," I snarked with frustration. The desert that I ran through seemed unending, and I could have sworn I saw a small village in the distance the last time I traveled along the river towards where the cave was. By now, I should have been close enough to see it somewhere, but no matter what direction I scanned, there was nothing but the river's smoke, umber-red hills of dirt, and the occasional barren tree that helped remind me I wasn't running in place.
"Did he see you?" he clipped in my head. A low rumble building up in his throat while he waited for my answer. I wasn't used to him talking to me so abruptly, but there was a recognition that Poseidon used to be passionate, and quick to temper in the back of my mind. Some subconscious memories from my past life told me I had loved him, and his growl wasn't meant for me, but for Zeus's secretive plans that involved taking Cerberus. I needed to redirect the conversation back to what was important; what were we going to do next?
"How will we get him back? Are you with Hades? Maybe he will help?" I asked, trying to reroute our conversation to what really mattered. Freeing Cerberus.
"Did. He. See. You?" he gritted through a clenched jaw in an otherworldly rumble, each word pointed and restrained.
My feet stopped running at the intensity of his tone, and I sputtered, "N-no," I paused and added, "I don't think so?" There was a time that I thought he might have, and then I offered myself to him in exchange for Cerberus, only for him to ignore me. Dion wasn't acting normal, I thought to myself. He was usually so controlled, even when he was sacrificing himself to save his son, he appeared so resolved and focused. Images of him gripping the trident and pulling himself farther onto the spikes to ensure he was the one who died in the arena… not once did he snap at Triton or me. Even when I saw him in the Underworld throne room, he was so composed, for the most part.
But then, when I asked for his help through the crab shells, he got upset with me for putting other people ahead of my own wellbeing. That must be what this was. He was worried about me again. When I reassured him I was safe, maybe he'd return to asking the right questions—like when we problem-solved before. He'd say something like, "It isn't about 'how', but with 'who'", or something like that. I smiled to myself, thinking about how he was calculating what I would do before I even thought of what I would do. He liked to prompt me to think for myself, and I liked that about him.
"I tried to offer myself in Cerberus's place, and he didn't even acknowledge me. He didn't see me, I swear," I assured him.
A low growl rumbled in my head, before I could even hear him breathe deeply as if calming himself.
"Listen to me closely," he said strained through a hiss between his teeth. "You are not to trade yourself for anything or anyone. Russ can take care of himself, and if I find you have attempted such a foolish act again, the blood of any who stand in my path to retrieve you will be on your soul. For I have none, Little Bird. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" The threat in his tone was frightening, and my throat bobbed as I swallowed back any defiance that I might have felt from being told I was foolish. My cheeks heated at the realization that he was right, and I stood no chance at defending against Zeus as I was. If Zeus had heard my plea to trade spots with Cerberus, or Russ, there was nothing stopping him from simply taking us both. What I had done was reckless, and impulsive.
I nodded my understanding, not having words for him, but then realizing that he couldn't see me, I forced myself to say with irritation more with myself than him,
"Perfectly."
I thought perhaps I'd lost the connection to him and searched for him in my mind, "Dion?"
Before I could call out his name again, he snapped, "I'm at the river. Meet me there."
"I've been heading towards the river since I left the cave," I complained with exasperation. The river was in the same spot ahead of me as it was when I left.
"If you don't know where you're going, then you go nowhere," he said with a huff. "That's how the Underworld works when you enter the Desert of the Dead, which basically pops up anywhere between places if you're not careful. Last time I was there was because I wanted to be left alone without being found. All you have to do is want to reach the river without fear of not being able to reach it. Just know you will reach it."
"Is that where you went when you disappeared for all those years?" I thought about what everyone said within Atlantis, about how he had simply disappeared, and no one could find him.
How Pegasus never met her father, while he wandered the endless plains of... I paused and really thought about when Zeus made it a point that he couldn't enter the Underworld without permission. He was either lying to me, or he had Hades's permission.
"You had permission to come here?" I finally realized that if Poseidon disappeared into the Underworld for all those years, then Hades gave him permission.
Even my hands lifted to perch defiantly on my hips in scolding him. If he did, then he never really disappeared at all, and someone knew where he was the whole time. Hades.
"I don't have to explain myself to you," he snarled. "No one asks to come to the Underworld because they are looking for a vacation. They want something. They have no choice, or they—"
Feeling the hurt in his voice under all that anger, I finished for him, "They've lost someone."
"It doesn't work the same when losing another god. When a mortal dies, they come here. When a god dies... they transform, losing their current form. It is the death of their current self, their humanity. Forever existing, forever there, but gone all the same. That fullness of spirit, their presence of thought and nearness, ripped from the realm."
My hip fell from its pronounced state of agitation, and I clutched at my chest where an ache pulsed in my ribcage.
What right did I have to judge him for taking his time to grieve? That right was only for Pegasus to tell him how much he missed by being gone, but she'd never say anything. Did that mean I should?
My voice quaked as I told him, "When you left, you ripped yourself from this realm, didn't you? Did you come back here to do it again?" I accused.
He took a stilted breath and said, "Do you want me to make it your business to know, Little Bird? I assure you; I do not play by the same rules as my brothers."
This was a snippet of Breaking Fate. Haven't read Taking Medusa yet? Start from the beginning.
Dive into a Fantasy Romance Adventure with a slow burn romance that defies prophecy and a new modern twist on Greek Mythology.
Amazon: Taking Medusa (available in Kindle Unlimited and Audible)
Amazon: Breaking Fate (launching Oct in KU and Audible)
Chat soon!
xoxo
Stevie
Read Taking Medusa today in Kindle Unlimited: https://books.steviemarie.com/takingmedusa
Taking Medusa is available in Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/150498806-taking-medusa
Support more books by S.M. McCoy by pre-ordering Breaking Fate: (launching Oct 2024) https://books.steviemarie.com/breakingfate
Add to your Goodreads shelf: Breaking Fate (Dark Gods Rising, #2) by S.M. McCoy | Goodreads
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Read the award winning Romantasy Taking Medusa and how we got to this point: https://books.steviemarie.com/takingmedusa
Also by me: Do you like Alien Romances?
Check out my Pen Name Sky Robert!
Check out the Romantasy Summer Ball!
It's romantasy awareness month, check out the bookfair!
Check out my Sky Robert's Alien Romances available in Kindle Unlimited. All are standalone complete romances where you can start from any book, but the more books you read, the more you unravel about the universe and how all of our couples fight together to save it! Sky Robert Books:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BNXSFHZ4/allbooks
Author Updates/Writing Progress!
Breaking Fate Progress! OFF to the ARC TEAM!
Book Stats: 4 reviews are in on Goodreads! all 5/5 stars! There are over 50+ ARC readers on the team, and we'll probably see most of their thoughts come trickling in during September for the October launch!
Breaking Fate currently has 27 preorders on Amazon, and 2 pre-order from my author store! The total cost of launching Breaking Fate is currently at $1400 (including 600 for editing costs) and around $58 in preorders, makes us at 4.1% of launch costs covered.
If you would like to help support future books, and this series, you can preorder Breaking Fate on Amazon here: https://books.steviemarie.com/breakingfate
Or grab the pre-order from my Author Store here: https://payhip.com/b/CDfku
Currently adapting Breaking Fate to Audiobook: Progress 2/28 chapters narrated. 7% completed.
NEXT: Reaping Olympus book three!! Progress: 2,652/90,000 goal 3% Completed.
If you haven't checked out book one, this is a series, these are not standalones, and I highly recommend reading Taking Medusa first, even though I do write my books to be easily read regardless of having read a previous book, there are plot reveals and spoilers if you start with book 2 instead of reading book 1 first.
Convincing you to read Taking Medusa:
Mermaids! Medusa is kidnapped to Atlantis for killing the last daughter of King Triton with her poisonous blood. To be fair.. she was trying to kill her first, and she has no idea how she survived it. She has no memory of being Medusa at all!
This is modern day and she believes that she's a normal mortal after her sister (a gorgon) stole her stone body from the watery depths and reunited her head after stealing it from Athena's shield, conveniently left in a museum instead of guarded by gods.
Enter DION! An Atlantis sentinel, who has some strange connection to her, and TRITON, who is apparently a glutton for falling for nymphs and collecting brides that don't survive long past their marriage vows.
There are mysteries, and romance, and adventure as Medusa (Aless) is lured back into the chaos and schemes of the gods. She's destined to protect them all, but fate has a funny way of trying to repeat itself. Can she keep her head this time around or will she sacrifice herself all over again?
This is a slow-burn romance fantasy adventure, so there is no clapping the cloisters, tickling the tentacles, or fishing for fins in book one, but this is a fated mates romance that will keep you turning the pages, and twisting your expectations of myth and legend. <3 Read Taking Medusa in KU!
https://books.steviemarie.com/takingmedusa
Already read Taking Medusa? Did you know Breaking Fate is available for preorder.... I'll just leave this here... (sparkles) https://books.steviemarie.com/breakingfate
Want to help me reach my next author goal of connecting with book heroes? Read my books for freesies and join my ARC TEAM! https://forms.gle/zcXKjfRiEhsUhh5z5
Chat soon!
xoxo
Stevie
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