tiredDescription from bookdepository.co.uk:
A love-struck and vengeful marble statue of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love, becomes the third party in a love triangle in hot and sultry Savannah, GA in the 1970s. Michael Andrews, a gorgeous but troubled young Greek man, is on the run, fleeing Las Vegas pursued by a violent mobster. He seeks refuge with his godfather, Pinkie Masters - modeled on a real-life almost legendary Savannah figure. From there, Michael's southern sojourn includes an encounter with a powerful politician, who has unusual marriage plans for his beautiful daughter, Stephanie, and a mysterious sexual experience with a dangerous sculpture in the senator's garden. Maggie, the senator's housekeeper and granddaughter of a Gullah medicine woman, believes the statue is evil and becomes Michael's unlikely ally. Michael searches for history of the statue he admires and fears, and is led to an old Gullah settlement in the South Carolina low country, and to St. Augustine, FL, for a possible connection to a little known group of European settlers near New Smyrna established in 1767. Can he find a way to destroy the statue before he loses Stephanie's love and the surprisingly happy life he has discovered in Savannah?
Thoughts:
While in Savannah, Georgia in late 2015, I stumbled across a very neat little store. I liked this store for a number of reasons. For starters, the woman working there was also named Tara, though she pronounced her’s the American way – Ta-ra, as opposed to the traditional Tar-ra. The store was also one of those neat places that basically houses lots of little stores within it – neat opportunities for small business owners and hobbyists to sell their wares. I really like these types of stores, mostly because I have a real thing about collecting unusual items, particularly earrings (of which I did purchase a pair at said store – made out of beer cans!). Finally, while I was there, I came across a number of books for sale, written by local authors and autographed. I ended up picking up this one out of the options available, mostly because it made reference to the Goddess Aphrodite (I’m a big Greek mythology fan). Overall, the story is not exactly fabulously written (the characters are pretty one-dimensional) and the story isn’t compelling, but its no less worthy of publication than something like Twilight. I also really enjoyed reading about the beautiful town of Savannah (it really is beautiful, I would definitely like to go back one day), and some of the local history and folklore. The author’s love for her town is evident, actually quite seamlessly threaded into the story. It’s not a work of literature by any means, but it’s an enjoyable enough story, a quick read, and provides lovely insight into the American South.
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