(4.5 Stars)

I want to thank NetGalley, World Tree Publishing, and Carly Spade for the opportunity to read this Arc of 'Of Love and Forge', in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to start of by saying I absolutely loved this book! I was hooked right from the beginning, and read it all in one sitting. I am a lover of all things mythology retellings, and this did not disappoint! The characters were interesting, great characters with great banter - genuinely made me laugh and smile throughout the book,

Overall, great book - I am excited to recommend this to others!

Thank you to NetGalley and World Tree Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Of Love and Forge is a loose retelling of the relationship between Aphrodite and Hephaistos but make it modern/cyberpunk and without all the incest of the original Greek myths. There is time travel, bounty hunting, fashion, and sexual tension out of this world.

I loved this book. It's got so much of what I love and one of my favorite things was that the author made Ro and Heph so real. That's such a big part of what the original Greek myths did: all of the gods were flawed because really the myths were telling stories about humans and humans are flawed. This book gives our main characters believable flaws that are straight out of the original myths but modernizes them for today's audience. If you like retellings, and especially of greek myths, do not pass on this!

This is going to the the first in a series and I cannot wait for book 2!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
🌶 🌶 🌶 🌶

Tropes: best-friends-to-lovers, who did this to you

CW: extremely graphic violence, mentions of non-consenting sex, forced sex work

#OLAF #NetGalley

This book was such a fun read! I have read the rest of the Contemporary Mythos series (including the novellas), so was really excited to see where the journey continues.

This book focuses on Aphrodite and Hephaestus and Heph is a time-traveling bounty hunter.

One of the things that Carly does so well with this is yes, she has the romantasy element, but she integrates cyberpunk so effortlessly that for someone like me who is unfamiliar with cyberpunk, doesn’t feel overwhelmed in this introduction of a new genre and is excited to discover more and not feel so intimidated.

Though I love a good mythology retelling, this was my first foray into cyberpunk, so I wasn't sure what to expect. This was so much fun! It was ridiculous in the best possible way while still being sweet and steamy. I also loved all the side characters! I will definitely be reading any future books in the series.

I'm legitimately mad that I'm giving this one such a low score because the premise is brilliant and I love the character of Heph (Hephaistos). But the writing is all over the place and the plot loses the thread a couple of times. I think I'm supposed to have read other books in the series that were released before to understand things that happen in this one, but all it does for a new reader is create moments and comments in the plot that come out of nowhere and make little sense. It also seems to jump between scenes where they don't make sense as a linear plot. I know it's partly a time travel story, but scenes feel out of order within the story. Maybe an error in my review copy?
Then there's the fact that Aphrodite is an iffy character. She can't decide what kind of personality she has and it shows in how she interacts with everyone. There are certain things about her that are fun and show why Heph is so in love with her, but I never managed to care about her individual story.
Heph truly is what saved this one for me and earned the entire two-star rating. He and his adorable little rabbit are little moments of sense in a plot that tried hard to be too much and didn't quite make it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Carly Spade, and World Tree Publishing, LLC for the early read.

4.5/5

WOW, this book was an amazing mixture of love, spice, adventure, laughter, and greek mythology!! I loved Carly Spade's Contemporary Mythos series so I had to read the beginning of her new series and it did not disappoint! The blend of cyberpunk world with greek mythology was something I would have never guessed that I would love so much. It was a great spin on the tale of Aphrodite and Hephaistos.

Aphrodite was more than the classic, spiteful, blonde that greek tales make her out to be - she was nerdy, fun, flirty, and strong. AND HEPH?! Oh my, I loved him too. He was a kick ass bounty hunter and a softie on the inside. Their relationship was so entertaining and the sexual tension was so well built up throughout the story.

The only thing I didn't understand was the time paradox issue - but that could just be me because I don't typically understand that stuff LOL. But all in all, I could not put this book down!

*** This review contains spoilers. ***

This review hurts me. Greek mythology retelling in a Cyberpunk setting?! How could I not absolutely love this??

I actually mostly did!! The first 80% was so super fun and well paced, even the time travel surprise pregnancy didn’t really bother me (partially because it was resolved pretty quickly with minimal belly touching scenes 🤢). I loved the characters and their many nicknames for each other (all the side characters having a bunch of nicknames did get confusing though), I loved the world building, the futuristic slang, the places it really deviated from the original myth but maybe referenced it instead, and the spice was spicy!

But the relationship felt resolved at around 80% and the chapter where they go to meet Eros felt like an epilogue chapter. If it had stopped there it would have been an easy 5 ⭐️ and I’d be telling all my internet friends about it but then it keeps going.. and going. Like I saw them banging it out in an alley, I don’t need to see them going on a fancy date.. Then there’s a whole chapter where Aphrodite makes a dress. A WHOLE CHAPTER?! And all that build up doesn’t really go anywhere. They establish that the villain has a boss but never introduce the ultimate big bad. There’s a few extra battles and then the book just ends. I was so annoyed by the end that I started skimming and I wasn’t even interested in the final sex scene which was disappointingly vanilla compared to previous scenes anyway.

So I guess 3.75 ⭐️ but I really can’t in my heart justify 4 ⭐️ and probably 3 🌶️ despite them saying Heph was kinky it didn’t go beyond handcuffs and a blindfold. I don’t think I’ll be reading more in this series.

Thanks to the author & Netgalley for the ARC - all opinions are my own.

I loved this book. It was so good. The characters, the vibes, the scenarios, literally everything. Aphrodite was so bad*ss, everyone thought she was one thing but she was so much more. She was splendid and showed that women can really be both. Heph was all gruffy but melted around her. His protectiveness toward was so HOT and I was all here for it. They were the definition of power couple, there wasn't a better pairing than them. They brought the best in each other and supported each other unconditionally, and that's how it's supposed to be

I wanted to love this book. Aphrodite and Hephaestus as a couple very rarely get to have their happily ever afters, so I was looking forward to reading one. However, from the beginning, connecting to the characters and caring about them felt extremely difficult. It started when the characters introduced themselves; the immersion of the story was immediately ruined as they talked directly to the reader about themselves. I wanted to learn about them as the book progressed, I didn't want to be given all of their key information immediately with almost nothing to look forward to uncovering.
From there, the suspension of disbelief was broken, and I found it hard to care and become interested in the plot itself. And don't get me wrong, the plot is really good! It just didn't sink in the way I know it was supposed to. Once Ro and Heph admitted their feelings, I started to enjoy their relationship (though the amount of smut that followed seemed maybe a tad unnecessary) and root for them, but then the space-time paradox was introduced. I'm sorry, but that's where, as a reader, I was lost. I feel like it was added to demonstrate a new sense of urgency to the couple needing to find Oz and get back to 'modern times', but that urgency kind of already existed and all the paradox did was confuse absolutely everyone.
Part of me also feels like the last 50 pages were unnecessary, or at least could've been shortened. The conflict was mostly over, but the story kept going and going, and I got insanely bored. In the end, I wanted to give this book 2 stars. Since I did finish it and didn't absolutely hate it, though, I decided to bump it up to 3.
It made me sad to see this beautiful couple in a book I didn't enjoy, but that's alright.

The writing style in this book was so hard to read for me. Hence, I didn't feel any connection and interest to the main characters. The worldbuilding was also lackluster for what it is advertised to be.

Aphrodite - goddess of love and passion has lost her zing and being kidnapped by a bounty hunter is the last thing she needs. But maybe being kidnapped by Heph isn't as bad as she thought it would be.

Hephaistos - god of the forge, maker of armour and weapons for the gods of Olympus. Heph is making a great living in the future as a bounty hunter and just had to take the bounty on his childhood 'biffy' Aphrodite. I mean, he's had a crush on Ro for years.

Who has put out the bounty on Aphroditie? What will Hephaistos do when he has to hand Aphrodite over? Will they ever come clean about their feelings? Will Aphrodite get her powers back? And what does Eros (cupid), son of Aphrodite have to do with this?

This was a fast paced trip to the future with a large cast of Greek gods. The dual POV was great to show you reactions from both sides without replaying events twice. I am new to the world of Greek gods and I found this a great way to learn about them all. I read this much quicker than I anticipated. I look forward to reading more from this world. Excellent spice!

This cover is gorgeous and was the first thing that drew me to this book. I am a bit of a Greek mythology nerd and to see this twist on the Aphrodite and Hephaestus tale was nice. There tale is riddled with betrayal and pain, it was nice to see a better side. I love that the author gave them softer side, like aphrodite being secretly nerdy and Hephaestus having a pet rabbit side kick. The action was amazing and the spice was perfect.

I loved this mythology retelling! This is the first book I have read from the author, and will definitely be looking into her others! Aphrodite and Hephaestus are really great characters-I enjoyed learning more about them and their relationships. The futuristic setting, banter between characters, and spice made this a fun read. Thank you NetGalley and Carly Spade for this arc!

I was caught in the rapture of these two right from the beginning! Sexual tension is high, relentless flirting, and both are too afraid to say something?! I loved this retelling of Aphrodite and Hephaestus. The God of Fire doesn’t think he stands a chance with his best friend. He’s uses his aloofness to hide his insecurities even though Aphrodite can’t wait to jump him! Also, they are both nerds and I love it! As this adventure unfolds they both realize that this chemistry they have is fated and one of them needs to speak up! So much more I want to say, just go read if. I’m about to download all the other books on this series now! 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

“I didn't doubt he'd end up catching me, especially with my powers dwin-dling, but I'd make him work for it.
And in some warped sense, I kinda liked him chasing me.”
"What the Tartarus kind of
Maverick Top Gun move was that,
Heph?"
"I'm all yours now, Aphrodite. Don't break me."
WOW !!!! I don’t know what to say, just … WOW !!!
I’ll start saying that alongside Hades and Persephone, Aphrodite and Hephaestus love story is the one I’ve always been kinda obsessed over !!!!
And this author DELIVERED in the best possible ways !!!
Action, magic, myths, love and lust all happening together in a very original dystopian cyber-like version of a romance between opposites, impossible if not for the fire they both shared.
Believe me, I am not a fan of friends to lovers but the amount of banter and flirting happening between these two made me melt multiple times over !!!
I was flustered and hot all throughout their conversations and the possessiveness they showed towards each other … MY HEART !!!!! It was so so good !!!
Having felt like this since forever but with a To and fro dynamic that feels safer, all of a sudden they’ll find themselves with forced proximity, a bit of a roommate situation and a fake relationship that will have them on the verge of bursting through their clothes and jumping each other’s bones !!!
I loved the nicknames they used to address each other and I believe that Hephaestus came up with the BEST of them !!!!
And don’t let me even start on the spicy scenes … CHEF KISS !!!!!
Add to that a scene with “who did this to you” and a bit of a “good girl” and I’m a loser !!!!
I’m so so so glad I had the chance to read an ARC of this book and I can’t freaking wait for it to be out !!!
“If we ever shattered--it'd be the end of times, and we'd wither away together."
"The Forge is inside you, Ro."
"I'm going to show you the things I've wanted to do for centuries to you every waking moment we were together. The reason I had to keep my distance.
Otherwise, I would've gone fucking mad.”

{ A cyberpunk fantasy Hephaestus x Aphrodite romance that defies myth but answers true love's call }

If this doesn't sell you then I truly don't know what else to say. This book was everything I wanted, needed, and expected from that description. Spade did a fantastic job on this make these myths into something cyber and amazing.

An Aphrodite and Hephaestus cyberpunk retellilng.... He can time travel with his machine... She's his childhood friend that he has a crush on...

It's fun and fresh story. Lots of action, romance, spice, I like both characters... It's an interesting world. Looking forward to reading more in this world.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I really enjoyed this book Heph reminds of the good ole boy and he would do anything for Aphrodite if she asked. The pacing was great it did take me about %15 to actually get into the book but overall the story was great. I loved the side characters. I can’t wait to read more from this series.


I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Carly Spade does not freaking miss!

The worldbuilding was SO cool, and I really liked the direction she took us in with the mythological aspect Mix that with cyberpunk. I really liked Aphrodite's POV but sometimes I disliked Heph's. I'm not quite sure why but being inside his head wasn't my favorite. As usual, the pacing was great and made this book be unputdownable. The spice was good. This is a book that you do not want to miss!

I go like Carly Spades series and this was a nice spin off of it! I love the side story of Hephasis and Aphrodite which is one of my favorite Greek romances.