Almost with Apollo

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

A secret regret. An impossible desire. A shape-shifting God.

Cora doesn't have good taste in men, and even worse in Gods. Caught in a fight between Apollo and Poseidon, she would have drowned if Apollo hadn't saved her. He takes her back to Olympus, but she is forbidden to enter by the Goddess Hera, who is prejudiced against mortals. Cora hides her mortality to live in Olympus as a servant and is caught up in the drama of the Gods.

Apollo can't forget Cora after their chance encounter. The God changes shape into other forms attempting to get close to Cora without revealing his true nature. Their connection is magical, and Cora will love him no matter what shape he takes. But will Apollo give up his war with the other Gods and lose his power to be with a mortal?

An exciting misadventure with mistaken identity, fantasy romance, and the trials of mythological love.The danger of angering the Gods is almost as great as loving them.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: Tom Bombadil - Writer

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Followers: 1
Views: 2,446

Chapters(12 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(3)

M_GormanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Almost with Apollo is a fantasy romance wrapped inside an interesting take on Greek mythology. The story follows a mortal, Cora, whose ship is caught in a battle between two Greek gods, Poseidon and Apollo. The latter rescues her after she is thrown overboard during the fracas.
The pair hit it off, and Apollo whisks her away to Mount Olympus where she learn of a hundred-year contest held to win the favor of their father, Zeus. Cora finds herself in the middle of the proceedings and must deal with the consequences of her actions, all the while reflecting on the similarities between mortal exes and potential immortal suitors.
The story is well-written and in third person. It leaves breadcrumbs along the way, some of them better appreciated on a re-read. As expected in the genre, the prose is florid with metaphor and analogy but is never heavy handed or inefficient. It regularly and deftly invokes all five senses in its descriptions.
The story relies on infatuation to quickly build the bond between Cora and Apollo, but the writer thus far has clearly outlined the major characters–Cora, Apollo, the nymph Oreads, Zeus and Hera.
Almost with Apollo is well-written, thoughtful and worth reading if you like fantasy romance grounded in a well-built mythology.
GrumpsterRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Almost with Apollo has an engaging story with great mythos involvement and themes, blending with romance and suspense. The style and writing is what sets this out from the rest of the stories, as it feels almost as if I was there, living in the shoes of Cora, seeing the captivating Mediterranean world around me flow out.
Some passages are a bit on the wordy side of things, but that's not a massive problem as it doesn't necessarily detract from the beautiful style used.
Xam_I_AmRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
Almost With Apollo is a story of a girl that finds herself caught between two gods's feud. It very much turns into a fish out of water story where she is subject to the denizens of Olympus' whims. While it does jump the gun a little bit on the L word, it does make some sense on how a mortal would fall quickly for a god. I feel like Cora is a little too arrogant/over confidant when dealing with apollo. It's also a little hard to nail down what she is feeling though the story so far. But I did enjoy the progression of her trying to fit in around the gods. Overall, it reads a lot like a poem more than a story, and much is left for the reader to decipher, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I personally prefer more emotionally charged romances, but by the end of what had been released, I found myself enjoying the read.
Pros:
Good world building and interesting transitions.
Everything is written quite well and very few grammatical errors.
The characters (Especially the nymphs) are very three dimensional and have lots of personality.
Cons:
There is a ton of dialog, and while that can be good, it feels like it takes away from the emotional depth of things. In a few spots, it's hard to tell who is speaking
There are several spots where the tense changes suddenly, and it's slightly jarring.
Using the L word so quickly is usually a big turnoff for me.
Overall:
Despite its ups and downs, I still enjoyed the read by the end. It has a lot of potential and just needs some time to shine. I recommend it if you enjoy a good power dynamic romance.