#BookReview – “Aphrodite’s Kiss” by Julie Kenner

Blurb

Zoe Smith might look like your average, ordinary elementary school librarian, but she’s about as far from normal as a girl can get. Because Zoe is descended from a line of superheroes … and as her twenty-fifth birthday approaches, she has to decide if she’s going to embrace her heritage (including all the wackiness that comes with X-ray vision and her extraordinary senses) or submit herself for mortalization and be that average, ordinary girl. Considering how lousy she’s done so far on all the Council-imposed tests, chucking the whole superhero thing might be very best thing … especially when she realizes that sexy, private investigator George Bailey Taylor is more than a little interested in her—and he’s more than a little convinced that Zoe is one-hundred percent “the girl next-door”.

An ex-cop turned PI, George Bailey Taylor’s had one hell of a life being bounced around from foster home to foster home. All he wants now is a normal life with a normal wife in a normal neighborhood. The typical American dream—and when he meets Zoe Smith, he’s certain she’s the typical American girl. Except she does have an overprotective brother who seems able to appear and disappear at will. And a creepy cousin who’s always lurking about. And why does everyone in her family pretend to actually talk to the pet ferret?

With her super powers, Zoe can do just about anything … except make Taylor fall in love with her.

For that, they’re both going to need a different kind of magic …

Review

Zoe is a human/superhero halfling who works as an elementary school librarian, and she doesn’t have control of her powers. She’s applied to the Venerate Council, the governing superhero organization that protects humans, but doesn’t think she stands a good chance for admittance.

Taylor an ex-cop turned private investigator and meets Zoe while on a case. He thinks she’s perfect and normal, which he thinks he wants, but then he notices a few weird things about her.

Their romance is very sweet. They both flirt like crazy, but they’re painstakingly shy, so it takes a little while for heat to grow between them. When it does, the sex is both hot and heartfelt.

Deena and Hoop, their mutual friends, are fun additions and add a lot of snark to the story.

I didn’t really like Zoe’s brother and mother. Hale, her brother, is an arrogant superhero who thinks he’s better than mortals even though he’s pledged his life to protect them.

My favorite character is the villain, Mordi. He’s Zoe’s superhero cousin and has a good reason for doing the bad stuff he’s doing.

Though I enjoyed the overall plot, I sometimes had a hard time following what was going on. Several of the characters kept lying to one another and/or not understanding what another character was saying, so there was repetition. The beginning of the book was fun and cute; the pacing slowed in the middle; and the ending picked back up but needed more detail.

I didn’t notice any spelling or grammar typos, but there were content problems. For example: after the final battle, Zoe and Taylor are side by side talking with Hale, but then Zoe and Hale are walking toward Taylor. How? All three of them were already together.

One thing I found a little weird was that only Taylor and Hale seem to care that Zoe survived her battle with Mordi. Her mother and father are off talking while Deena and Hoop are snuggling in the grass—why aren’t they happy she lived?

Anyway, this is the first superhero-themed chick-lit book I’ve read. I liked the story and the characters for the most part, but some things just didn’t make sense to me.

3 Stars

Disclaimer – I downloaded this book from Amazon and volunteered to review it. I am not compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.