Author: Lisa Beth Daring
Published by: Moon Mistress Publishing
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Book Blog For: GMTA
Series #2
Rating: 5

Review:

"Child of War - A God is Born (Of War #2)" by Lisa Beth Darling was a second in a series that was creatively written. This story was of Ares and Alena who are now on Olympus who were awaiting the birth of their son Raven. This was definitely one of those stories that once you start you will not want to stop until you are finished with it being so a fast paced where you will find 'jealousy, hatred, love, lust, wrongfulness and lots of conniving deceptions.' All you need to do is pick up this good read to see where this all will lead you. All of the characters are simply well developed and captivating ....from Ares, Alena, Raven,...along with Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Eros, Poseidon, Hades to Athena all giving you a well written novel. Be ready for there will be explicit erotic scenes, along with 'exposure of rape, bondage, menage, sex toys and orgies.' So be aware this is a Adult Read.

"What do you do when the people you love betray you, and the people you want to protect are the ones out for your blood? Who will survive the War of the Gods?" Get ready for these questions to be answered in your read.

The story will end with a 'cliff hanger' so be ready for the next series of a mythology journey that only this author can give us. Would I recommend "Child of War - A God is Born?" YES! ( )

The captivating second book in the Of War Series presents Ares and Alena as they are trying to settle down and start a family. The story shifts from the focus on their personal relationship to dealing with the rest of the Gods. There is enough to keep this book a page-turner with treachery and murder and especially the half God, quarter fey, and quarter human Raven rampaging around. There are plots against Ares and Alena’s family with Zeus wanting them destroyed and testing their love at every turn.

It is a great build up for the third book.

I was provided a copy of the book by BTS eMag for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review – all conclusions are my own responsibility. ( )

Child of War: A God is Born, OF WAR series Book #2
Author: Lisa Beth Darling

Synopsis: Do you know 'Damien'? Raven makes that kid look like an angel.

The "Of War"-series picks up in part I of this II-part sequel when Ares and Alena try to settle down on Olympus and await the birth of their son, Raven.

Haunted by prophetic visions along with a body and mind that are starting to betray her, Alena struggles to enjoy what should be a happy and blessed occasion. The relentless hostility from the other Olympians make her yearn to be back on their cozy island home, far away from all the bickering and backstabbing that makes up Life on mighty Mount Olympus.

Knowing of Zeus' unabashed hatred for Alena and the Celts, Ares becomes convinced Zeus is causing these visions and the breakdown of Alena's mind. To appease his Father, the God of Gods, Ares enters into a wicked blood pact ensuring the safety of his wife and unborn son. A pact that could cost the God of War everything he holds dear.

However, once the boy arrives, it quickly becomes clear Raven may be the most powerful and cunning Olympian ever born. Outwardly despised by Zeus for his Fey blood and his filthy Celtic mother the seeds of rage and doubt are planted in the Raven's mind by a very willing Apollo.

As Zeus, Apollo, and Aphrodite plot against the new family, bit by bit the true pasts of the Olympians and Celts comes to light, the battle begins for Raven’s mind and soul and for the ultimate control of Olympus

Our Review [by Michelle L. Olson – LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha]:
Lisa Beth Darling’s 2nd book in the Of War series was everything I expected it to be – dark, sexy, vicious, and absolutely gripping.

Child of War picks up where Heart of War left off, with Alena pregnant and she and Ares living on Mt. Olympus as a happily married couple (well as happy as a married couple on Olympus can be anyway). The pregnancy is tough on her though and she’s experiencing a lot of things that are downright scary - all of which are compounded by Ares’s completely dysfunctional Olympian family and their inability to accept her heritage.

Once Raven enters the world things get even more, um… interesting…

Alena and Ares’s love, one that has dumfounded the rest of the Olympians because of its strength and purity, is tested to its limits by the stressors of parenthood, life on Olympus, the interference of Ares’s family and by their child himself.

Raven is something else. As the synopsis states, he is definitely no angel, and he is Ares’s son (as Ares was before Alena) through and through with an added dose of wicked thrown in. Highly advanced, even for an Olympian, this child is a force of nature and then some and had me gasping and shaking my head more than once.

There were so many moments in this book where I was mumbling profanities at one character or the other or being aghast at something that happened, that had anyone been around to witness it, I probably would be institutionalized! It was simply that moving.

I will say again, however, that Lisa’s books are not for the faint of heart. If you want a fluffy paranormal romance this is not the place to look. If you want a dark erotic romance with enough thriller to be captivating and intriguing, then this series is definitely for you. Anyone who has read any actual history books on the Gods and Goddesses knows that times were not like they are now and that things were different, they were more brutal. Lisa brings back that dark reality in her Of War series and it simply wouldn’t be the same without it.

An amazing second installment to a wonderful series, this one ends on one heck of a cliff-hanger and had me very upset that the 3rd book was not available yet because I didn’t want the thrill ride to end.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Child of War: A God is Born 4 ½ Skulls and would recommend it for anyone who loves mythology and is looking for an edgy, gritty, erotic paranormal romance. We highly recommend reading Heart of War before settling in with Child of War though, there’s just too much history and story that you’d be missing and you’ll enjoy Child of War so much more if you’ve read Heart of War first.

I cannot wait to see what Lisa has in store for us with Child of War: Rising Son. The way things progressed and her writing evolved just from book #1 to book #2, I can only imagine that great things are in store. ( )