Black Lion Tours: "Mything You" by Greta Buckle Book Review/Guest Post/Giveaway (ends 11/30) WW

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He wasn't looking for love. He only wanted to prove he was worthy of being a king's son.

Adventurer Theseus had dreamed of meeting his father, King Aegeus. As Theseus journeys to Athens, he meets his match in strength along the way. But is it the will of a beautiful young princess that puts this strong young man finally at his mercy? Or will he be able to conquer the princess’s heart?

She had settled for a life of unhappiness and believed a man who would love her for herself was only in her dreams.

Princess Ari has followed her father’s dictates all her life. On her way to meet her bridegroom, she is attacked. Saved by a handsome adventurer, Theseus, she tempts fate and follows him on his journey to Athens. Being with Theseus opens up a whole new world of opportunity for her. But will she allow her heart or loyal duty choose her life for her?

Book Information

Release Date: October 12, 2012

​Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Romance

Formats: Print and eBook​

Publisher: Self-Published/Edited by Written Dreams aka Brittiany Koran

Greta Buckle grew up in Irish Catholic Boston before moving to the Miami sun. She’s worked in engineering, then became a lawyer. After realizing she hates clients, she became a high school teacher. Teaching is fun, but writing is a passion. She wrote one hundred and one fan fiction stories online before deciding to transition into writing her own stories. Never ask her to republish her fan stories from age eleven- horribly written stories of princesses. Greta dreams of writing professionally, where her barista can make her coffee and a walk on the beach, can motivate her tales. Theseus story came to her when she was a freshman in high school as her English teacher, the nun, told her how life was hard and tragedy teaches lessons. Greta’s love of writing has kept her centered and focused. How is she crazy? The voices in her head are characters in novels and she’s not insane.

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Mything You by Greta Buckle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First of all, fantasy/mythology is not my normal genre, but I have now read several fantasy books, and I am starting to appreciate if not enjoy this genre.  When I review this genre, I apply many of the same techniques as I do when reviewing my favorite genres.  But understand that if you do not agree with my review, it may be that I am still learning to appreciate and enjoy this genre.

That being said, I found this to be an interesting fantasy.  I am somewhat familiar with Greek mythology, so it was nice to see names that I recognized from literature I had studied in high school.  When I read about the author's love for literature, I was certainly not surprised!  The unique way in which she wove together the various myths certainly kept me guessing.  Perhaps it was the mythology that caused me to enjoy this book more than the usual fantasy book.

Now to the story.  I was never once bored--that is truly saying something.  I often find passages in fantasy books that cause me to yawn, but not so with this book!  It was action-packed without including graphic violence.  I enjoyed Theseus and Ari from the beginning of the story--always nice to like the hero and heroine!  In fact, they were so good that there is no way they could have lived--so much the better for this kind of story!

The book in itself is quite tame and often rather sweet.  There is little to no profanity--I don't remember there being any, but there might have been a word here and there.  I could have done without the two bedroom scenes, but that is just a personal thing for me.  I prefer less detail in the bedroom.  On the other hand, it was nice to see a strong, independent woman in mythology who enjoyed the "act" of marriage!

If you like fantasy and romance, I would say this would be the book for you.  I found it quite enjoyable, and I would be open to reading more books by this author!

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

View all my reviews

Mything You Excerpt

Theseus’ entire body must have been made in the nectar of desire because she wished to bury herself in his arms. And he didn’t stop her from running to him. She jumped when a crash cracked through the air. Blinking, unsure of what happened, her body became rigid. Theseus pulled her into his arms and onto the ground seconds before the giant flew over the pair of them.

He took his hand off her head. He had protected her. Again.

Staring up at him stirred something unique inside her that she never believed could happen to her. She’d seen the plays and the tragedy that love caused, but never understood temptation. The fire in her belly burned into every part of her body from his smoldering eyes. He looked down at her as he cradled her in his arms. “That was Sinus. I don’t think he’ll kill anyone else ever again.”

“He won’t. How do you know his name?”

“He’s the reason I chose this path when I was fifteen. I had planned to prove my courage to my father, and take out the biggest villain on the road.”

“Check that off the list of goals then.” she said. “Good job.”

She continued to embrace Theseus, making her body tingle from crazy stirrings. What would he taste like? She’d die a happy death if he put his lips on hers. My, what was she thinking?

“I never believed you’d be here, or that my goal in that moment would turn to protecting you.” he said, pulling her closer.

She shook off her desires. She needed to let him go. She focused on logic instead of the male body in front of her. “I don’t know what to say. Today has been the craziest day.”

“It’s the middle of the night, little one.”

“You’re right. I don’t know what’s happening to me anymore. Theseus, this never happens to me.”

“What doesn’t happen to you?” he asked, smiling.

“I don’t know.”

He played with her hair, and straightened her clothes. “Your innocence and desire are a siren’s call to me, Ari, and you don’t have a clue, do you?”

“Who’s Ari?” She half expected to be disappointed with whatever he would say.

“You are. It fits you much better than Ariadne. Ari trembles for me.”

She licked her lips, wanting to kiss him. But she couldn’t. Theseus embodied a man out of her dreams.

She looked away thinking of what waited for her when her father’s men found her. “I don’t know my bridegroom. I’ve only ever known my duty.”

Theseus’ body tensed. “You’re betrothed?”

“I never agreed. The bride price, I’m told, paid for my father’s upgrade to the artillery. In the morning or someday soon, I’ll be found. But…can you do me one last favor?”

“What, little one?” His arms grew warm again, tightening around her. She dared for a different life, where she lived with a chance of walking next to him in life. Letting him go and going back to the life her father chose sounded cold and dreary. She couldn’t, not yet.

“Kiss me, Theseus, just once.”

Taking a step closer to him, she looked into his mesmerizing eyes. His strong hands framed her face, his fingers circled her mouth and his eyes darkened with tenderness. When he leaned into her, her eyelids fluttered shut. His light pressure sweetly opened her mouth.

Her secret wish had come true. The prison walls in Ariadne’s heart disappeared in her soul, and today Ari’s lips ached.

He bent his head close. Then, she felt his strong lips on hers, and she lost control.

 Ten Life Lessons I’ve learned from having Female Friends and how that inspires my writing. 

Friends, those who listen and care, rock the house. Generally speaking, I don’t need my female characters to be vehicles of me. I’m not that interesting. What I do tend to do is ensure the heroine is someone I’d be friends with. This way the girl can have negative traits, as well as positive. Friends are loyal, and true. They stick around and have your back.

1.               Remind you to not listen to the haters. Everyone cries and no one is perfect, and not everyone is going to like you. A friend will remind you what’s good about you. Preservation comes from looking at the bad and seeing the good.

2.               Laugh at everything, including yourself and it’s okay to be silly. One friend of mine just came back from fighting the war, and what I think about when I think of her is laughing our heads off. It’s what we do. Laugh like we’re ten years old. The bad stuff can be traumatic, but just finding something small and inconsequential can be the most hilarious thing ever.

3.               There are more good than bad, even though the bad makes you think it rules everything. A good friend can say ‘wow that’s a lot of bad.’ Then turn it around to remind me being grateful for what I have instead of focusing on all the negative.

4.               Do exactly what you say you will. A true friend makes no grandiose promises that cannot be the truth. Don’t get me wrong a tall tale can be funny if both parties know it’s a joke, but a lie is a lie. False promises=bad friend. And it’s up to me to do what I say and not forget. (My issue in life is forgetting, so I cannot do that.)

5.               Stay awake. Life has so many choices. While I get older, people start living life while sleepwalking through it, missing opportunities. A great friend reminds me to see the bigger picture.

6.               If I’m sad because my needs aren’t being met, I have to speak up because I matter. Don’t brush it aside and tell someone if I’m upset at them. This is more true with boyfriend troubles of mine and finding my voice in general. But ensuring others matter is an admirable trait, I won’t forget.

7.               Read a romance novel. Not going to lie. I was a science fiction fangirl who every Wednesday also bought Marvel comics. Reading an emotional story changed my life. Sci fi girl still comes out and I do have TV crushes on random science fiction guys, like the ancient alien guy with the hair. He’s cute on my television. LOL.

8.               If you are unhappy, you can change that. Change your hair, change your clothing style, change your job, go do something that makes you happy. All my heroines must have this ability to grab hold of life.

9.               You can open up and trust another guy again. Theseus is a great guy, and when you find one you like, go for it. I swear I missed a memo on being female growing up, but sometimes, friends can almost see the connection before me.

10.            Go on vacation. If I’m stressing and running on full thrusters, my friends always get me to calm down. I have two natural speeds, hyper and vegetative because I ran too hard and too fast. Stopping to sit, this is the best thing to do, as I don’t need to be in motion, all the time.

These are some of the things I think about when I think of a friend, so these characters come through for my heroine. Ari has traits of many of my friends in life. Her negative is wanting to please to the point of not sticking up for what she wants. But she possesses some of the good below too. Part of any good story is a character arch, at least for what I want to read and write. In Mything You, I wanted my characters to be realistic to follow. Hope you enjoyed the book.

(Guest Post by the author)

One copy of the book and a $5 Amazon Gift Card to one randomly drawn commenter at the end of the tour.  Be sure to comment here, and then follow the entire blog tour here.