Book 4, 2026

[chez_jae]

Rise Like a Goddess by April Canavan

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


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It was Thursday night (I think!) when I finished reading Rise Like a Goddess, which is the prequel to author April Canavan’s “Surprise Goddess” series of paranormal lite (I guess). The main character is Evangeline Lewis.

After getting fired on her 25th birthday, Eva is at loose ends. That is, until she gets a mysterious delivery consisting of a deed and a key to a house in Surprise, AZ. With few options available, Eva packs up and moves to Surprise. It seems the fates don’t want her there; she gets three flat tires on the way. When Evangeline finally arrives, she goes to the business that sent her the key, where she meets three honest-to-goodness gods. They tell her that she is also a goddess, and that she may be the key to finding out why so many gods and goddesses have been disappearing of late.

I would have enjoyed this more if there was a point to it other than setting up the rest of the series. There was a romantic interest introduced. Characterizations fell flat, but to be fair, this was a short novella. Not much in the way of a plot.

Favorite lines: Her phone was pre-dialed to 911 just in case she was stuck in an episode of Supernatural and he was a demon in a meat suit.

Lackluster, not even deserving of three stars. Two-star rating