One Night With a Goddess by Judi McCoy
This book is the second in a trilogy about three muses, who are sisters, that have been sent down to earth to spread their gifts to the populace. They have a year to inspire mortals with their various gifts and then come back to Mt. Olympus to eternal splendor. That is, if they don’t fall in love.
Chloe is the Muse of Happiness and has been sent to Chicago to spread happiness around to those she encounters. She gets a job at Castleberry Hall as an event planner and takes over running the events and the Hall from the owner. She’s spreading ample amounts of happiness around to those she meets and she’s following through with her job and is sure when she finishes her year, Zeus will be pleased with her.
Chloe’s plans are foiled when the elderly owner’s grandson, Matthew Castleberry, returns from two years in the Congo with Doctors Without Borders a month early. Instead of easing her way out of Castleberry Hall, Chloe is now defending herself against Matt’s accusations of her being a gold digger and his smoldering looks.
Matt’s come back from his trip scarred in more ways than one. When he meets Chloe he thinks the worst of her. She’s blonde and buxom so he thinks she is after his grandmother’s money. He comes to realize that he was wrong about Chloe and he falls for her.
The whole idea of the gods of Mt. Olympus still being around and meddling in the lives of ordinary people could be cheesy, but McCoy makes it work. There is very little eye-rolling over the mention of Eros, Hermes, Hera and Zeus because they don’t dominate the story.
Matt’s grandmother, Miss Belle, is cute and sweet and has Chloe and Matt’s best interests at heart, but she also is stubborn and doesn’t want to admit that she’s getting older and needs to let go of some of her control. Chloe and Matt treat her with respect and caring, but don’t baby her like some people do their older relatives.
Could a pampered goddess and a doctor really find love? They have some pretty decent chemistry and seem like they can actually talk to each other.
But. . .(there’s always a but isn’t there?) Chloe takes so long to realize that she’s falling for him. She’s scared and blames her attraction on Eros coming in and shooting them with his little arrows. Matt has doubts about Chloe even though he’s falling for her. It works out for them in the end and it makes things alright. Not great or good, but alright.
Grade: C+
