Such a well-written romp, featuring an extremely feisty and pragmatic 12-year old heroine and her equally feisty sidekick goose! If you're an adult, don't be put off by the idea that this is a "kids book"; like all the best kids books, it has something for every age. The wordplay (NOT PUNS, just a sheer joy in language) is exceptional, and the story cracks along at a highly readable pace.

For a more detailed review, including some glorious quotes, check out Carol's thoughts here.

World-building: 5 stars
Characters you care about: 4 stars
Plot and pace: 2.5 stars
Time it took me to make my way through: several months.

Therefore the overall rating is just my 3 stars, "this is a good read, but didn't amaze me". I wanted it to -- I liked the main characters, the problems each one faces and is trying to resolve, the world-building within the city is fantastic (I wasn't so engaged by anything outside the city, and felt the gods' war was oddly underwhelming.) It just wasn't a page turner for me, though if you see it in the library / on a friend's shelf, pick it up and give it a try anyway.

Might have been a fluffy bit of fun reading 20 years ago, but for "love slave" read "extensive non-con", and it's not "entertaining back history" no matter what gender it's happening to.

Also stars a sex therapist who seems to know nothing about sex, emotions, client privacy or professional safety. So Much Nope, and I essentially DNFed halfway through.

Two stars given, only because she's a Goodreads Author and put a lot of time and effort into this book. Still can't honestly recommend it.

I enjoyed the premise and the initial POV changes, which drove the story on at a good pace. It faltered for me about halfway through, when I hit characters I didn't engage with and writing this review a month later, there's not much that's stuck with me.

Worth a go if you enjoy speculative fiction or are looking for a random read.

13/20, YA, not sticking in my memory for anything other than taking over a year to finish.

16/20 - made me laugh, somewhat despite myself. Recommended if you're in a bit of a book slump and wouldn't normally read this kind of thing but fancy a bit of fluff, or else if the other great reviews do it for you. :)