The Interim Goddess of Love series just keeps getting better and better! I enjoyed Queen of the Clueless and found myself sighing over a different character this time. This is the third day of the Interim Goddess of Love Blog Tour. If you're pretty psyched to read the Interim Goddess of Love books, Dia of Book Junkie Joint is hosting an international paperback giveaway of the three books. Be forewarned though: you might find yourself sighing over three different guys! *Copy provided for the blog tour by organizer*
Title: Queen of the Clueless [Interim Goddess of Love, book 2]
Author: Mina V. Esguerra
Rating: ★★★★ 1/2
I think I mentioned before that I am so not into bad boys, so I don't know what I was doing sighing over Diego, and wishing that he and Hannah would just end up together. But he has his own humongous baggage, and I think any girl crushing over a guy who hasn't gotten over someone for over a millennium should run away as fast as she could. But oops. I am getting ahead of myself.
If you've been feeling neglected by the Goddess of Love lately, don't worry -- Hannah Maquiling, college sophomore, is in training to take over. The Original Goddess is missing, but Hannah is Interim Goddess now, and she should figure out how to solve humanity's love problems soon. Quin (God of the Sun) is still her mentor, still really hot, but apparently isn't as honest about his other earthly relationships as she thought. It's frustrating, and enough to make her check out possibilities with Diego (God of the Sea) and Robbie (Cute Human).
In the meantime, she's decided to spend some of her precious training time helping to break up a relationship, instead of putting one together. Why? Because the girl in question happens to be her best friend Sol, whose boyfriend is stealing not just from her, but from other people on campus. Sol didn't exactly summon the Goddess, but this is what power over Love is for, right? Surely it's not just about matchmaking, but ending doomed relationships too. (Even when it's not what people want.)
In the meantime, she's decided to spend some of her precious training time helping to break up a relationship, instead of putting one together. Why? Because the girl in question happens to be her best friend Sol, whose boyfriend is stealing not just from her, but from other people on campus. Sol didn't exactly summon the Goddess, but this is what power over Love is for, right? Surely it's not just about matchmaking, but ending doomed relationships too. (Even when it's not what people want.)
Hannah is confused with the status of her maddening love life (or the lack, thereof) of it with Quin; her turning to Diego, who makes her feel safe for some reason; and Robbie's utter adoration of her. It's pretty sad to see Robbie so into her, while she's so into Quin who seems to be involved with someone else. At the same time, her best friend Sol seeks her help with her boyfriend, Neil, who seems to be a thief in school.
Hannah tries to talk to Neil, but she blacks out and wakes up utterly confused. It turns out that Neil has some sort of power that makes people give him the things he asks for with them giving him what he wants but without remembering it. According to Quin, Bathala said they are not to touch Neil. Which means Diego, no matter how much he wants to, cannot scare the living daylights out of Neil, and Vida cannot control him either. However, Neil is not a god, and if he was, then he should not be able to control Hannah. Whatever Neil is has not been clarified even until the end of the book.
In Queen of the Clueless, Quin spends less time with Hannah, and Diego seems to take center stage. In fact, Hannah shares several scorching kisses with him, which doesn't seem to matter - to Diego or even to Quin. Honestly, I feel like rooting for Diego, which is so unlike me! I don't like the bad guys, the complicated ones. I like the good guys, the ones who don't give you crap and just adore you. I like them both in books and in real life. But Diego seems to bring some sort of "stability" to Hannah when he's around, and he keeps saving her when Quin just seems to let her "discover" the solution. Plus, this is the second time that Diego has been really there for Hannah when she needed something for her work as the goddess of love. Additionally, by now, I'm losing hope for a Quin-Hannah relationship, especially if he is so blasted difficult! But no, I don't think that a Diego-Hannah relationship will really happen.
Though words were not explicitly stated unlike in the first book, the actions of the characters in Queen of the Clueless helped me to get to know the characters more. I feel like I'm becoming more involved with them, and they're now like friends. (Don't you just love it when book characters feel like they're your friends and you can't help but say "No, don't do that!" while reading?)
Mina injects humor into this sequel, and the hour seemed to run by so fast while I was reading. It's perfect for light reading, for something to curl up with while torrential rain knocks against your windows. Queen of the Clueless ends with a mighty cliffhanger that's currently making me itch for my Nook to get started on the last book, Icon of the Indecisive. Check back tomorrow for my review. :)
Want to get your own copy of Queen of the Clueless? No sweat!
- Paperback: Directly order from Ms. Mina Esguerra
- Ebook copies: Smashwords and Amazon.
- For all three books in the Interim Goddess of Love series: Book Depository.
About Mina V. Esguerra
Mina V. Esguerra writes contemporary romance, young adult, and new adult novellas. Her young adult/fantasy trilogy Interim Goddess of Love is a college love story featuring gods from Philippine mythology. Her contemporary romance novella Fairy Tale Fail won the 2012 Filipino Readers' Choice award for Chick Lit. Through her blog Publishing in Pajamas (minavesguerra.com), she documents her experiments in epublishing.
When not writing romance, she is president of communications firm Bronze Age Media, development communication consultant, indie publisher, professional editor, wife, and mother. She created the workshop series "Author at Once" and #romanceclass for writers and publishers.
