Cycladic Girls: Celebrities, Deities, Love & Power: Gre… (2024)

A masterclass in storytelling...

Cycladic Girls by Patrick Garner is a wonderfully written and richly descriptive novel with brilliantly drawn characters and settings. The threads of storytelling are expertly woven in this seductive tale that will guarantee the attention of the reader. A skillfully constructed ‘ancient meets contemporary’, this book will have you turning the pages from beginning to end. In addition, the characters are drawn with great credibility and conviction.

I enjoyed the story, character development, and dialogue. There were plenty of plot twists that I didn’t see coming and that added to the book’s mystique. When I stopped reading to work, I found myself wondering what happened in the book, and replaying parts of the story in my head to see if I could figure more out. It has been a while since I enjoyed a book this much. It’s a well written tale of intrigue, discovery and sensuality with perfect pacing. Highly recommended.

Amazing and recommended!

I am strongly of the opinion that Greek mythology hasn’t been used nearly enough in modern film and literature, and a focus on the female divine is sorely lacking. Patrick Garner gives us a trilogy about Ancient Greek stories colliding with the modern world. The first installment, Winnowing, literally meaning blowing air, is about a wind of change and the return of Greek goddesses to Earth. This installment, Cycladic Girls, is focused on the Great Goddess Timessa. I appreciate Garner’s use of symbolism throughout the book—starting in the title (do you think we’re talking about women from the Cyclades or the Cycladic Age?)— and the complete throw away of the feminine mystique as we address the divide between modern humans and immortals in the plot.

Cycladic Girls is a book that puts a modern twist to the ancient approach of envisioning gods and goddesses. Timessa is shown to be on a self-awareness journey that leads to individualistic exploration. The readers join her on a journey of spiritual understanding and a closer look at old memories and powers. It is interesting how the author presents a clear dichotomy between the supermodel and ancient goddess. The use of descriptive yet powerful language draws the reader into each situation. The book carries enough action, suspense and thrill for readers to read it in one go. I think the disparity between old and new, ancient and modern is fascinating, especially when it involves a goddess.

Although I believe it is best to read the whole series in order, each book is a stand alone and can be enjoyed and understood on its own. This is a novel that has Gods and Goddesses inspired by real ones but the characters in general are not real ones. Cycladic Girls: Celebrities, Deities, Love & Power: Greek Gods in the Modern World is the second book in the series called The Naxos Quartet, written by the talented Patrick Garner. The author’s narrative is certainly captivating. I liked the writing style, how he created the dialogues and the voice he gave to the characters.
I think it is a very good read which is a bit lengthy but there are so many things happening in the plot that if it had been shorter, it wouldn’t have had the same impact.

What could go wrong when Greek mythology meets the 21st century? This second installment in the trilogy has raised the stakes even higher. It divulges further complexities in the story of the Greek goddess Timessa. As she joins in to be a supermodel, the twists awaiting will boggle your mind. The author has written the plot layer by layer, taking ample time to build up the story. The storytelling is at its best and I as a reader enjoyed every bit of it. This installment has raised my expectations of the third addition manifold. I will be on the edge until the next part is released. The Greek mythology unfolding in today’s world gives a refreshing reading experience. I can’t wait to read the last and next part of the trilogy.

Cycladic Girls: Celebrities, Deities, Love and Power - Greek Gods in the Modern World by Patrick Garner is the second installment of the Winnowing Trilogy. I haven't read the first book but I still enjoyed this one because it stands on its own. One the reasons why I loved this book is the fact that each chapter starts with an interesting quote about gods.

The premise and the genre of this book is exactly the kind that I enjoy a lot. I love deities and goddesses. Although very much different from what I expected, the book was still very well delivered and I love that the characters, despite their supernatural existence, live in a modern world. I could say it's a unique take on this genre.

Cycladic Girls is the second book in The Naxos Quartet series created by author Patrick Garner, although it can also be read as a stand-alone book. Patrick Garner has a podcast about Greek Mythology, and he has cleverly employed this topic to develop this series of books. In these stories, Greek gods walk among us getting involved in humans’ lives and through these relationships they are being influenced by them also. I’m very keen on mythology so when I read the description of this book I bought it. They are fascinating and very entertaining. The plot is very well developed which results in a compelling book. I strongly recommend it.

Cycladic Girls written by author Garner is a very good novel which is worth reading. I liked the creation of the characters and how the plot was developed. It is not a short read and I found some parts to be a bit long, which I would have preferred them to be shorter, in the middle of the book. But reaching the end, the pace was better and I enjoyed the story a lot. I liked that although it is a book which is part of a series, it can be perfectly read as a stand-alone. I totally recommend reading it and I am eager to keep on with others in the series.

Draws you in and draws you on

This story was both mysterious and enthralling. I read it intensely, wondering how it would evolve. It was uplifting and evocative of the deeply supernatural in all of our subconscious minds. Entirely satisfying read.

Book II of the trilogy. Segues nicely with "The Winnowing."