Naia is a no one, a nothing, a minor goddess in a kingdom full of high gods and goddesses. Oh and did I mention her mother hates her. Desperate to escape her awful family, Naia strikes a deal with the High God of Death and Curses. He'll help her escape but in return she must submit to s future curse, so she agrees. Suddenly she's thrust into the mortal world at the feet of Ronin Kahale, a handsome stranger with secrets of his own. Can Naia escape her fate once and for all and live a life she truly wants?

*Deep breath* I didn't hate this book, but I struggled hard with it. First of all, I have said a million times that AUDIOBOOKS NEED CONTENT WARNINGS! Why don't publishers listen? I was immediately (thankfully metaphorically) slapped in the face with some of the most horrific abuse and torture I've ever read about in my life. I'm not lying here. Some of it is grotesquely graphic and had my stomach turning. Naia suffers all this abuse at the hands of her mother, who hates Naia's guts. While her father loves her unconditionally, he can only do so much. Her siblings are just as bad as Mother, sometimes worse. Her only saving grace is her father and her beloved brother, Finny. The abuse was really hard to read, and I had to put down this book so many times because of it, and because the story is told in the past and present day, it pretty much happens throughout this whole book. Honestly, if I'd heard that in the content warnings I think I would have put this book down. It's honestly something I never want to read about. Speaking of things I never want to read about this book has a surprise pregnancy in it. I really hate this trope. It's my least favorite trope ever. Had I known about it, I would not have read this book. Coupled with the abuse, it's a double no from me. However, Randi Garner is a great writer, but her story is a character story, which made it kind of difficult to immerse myself in the world. There's nothing wrong with character stories. I prefer them actually. However, a little more world building would have helped me visualize the world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. I didn't love Abigail Reno (no notes on Benjamin Crow as he just narrates the epilogue). Look, I get it. The West has an undying fascination with the East, and Garner decided to throw a Japanese family in her book, complete with Japanese words (more than American faves like kimono and sushi). So what's the problem? Reno couldn't pronounce a handful of these words correctly (some of which are used more than once). It was actually painful to hear (especially for someone who lived in Japan for 10 years). So nah, I didn't like Reno as the narrator.

I can’t believe this book came out last year and I haven’t seen it yet! The perfect romantasy with all the feels. A great mix of a mythology story with a modern setting. I can’t wait to get this in the hands of my readers!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape for an ALC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I listened to this as an audiobook, the narrators did an excellent job bringing the story to life. Both Abigal Reno and Benjamin Crow had very easy voices to listen to. Reno’s dramatization of Naia really added to the gentle, softness of the character. I thought the audio was well produced and flowed between the chapters at a lovely pace.

I enjoyed this story and think I will listen to the second instalment when it is available. I thought there was good world building and liked the crafted mythology surrounding the Gods. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised about the contemporary magic realism element and the somewhat ‘gangland’, ‘pub mafia’ turf wars taking place. The story has some real, vivid and ordinary moments that Naia experiences for the first time and a lot of emphasis is placed on these. Then there are outlandish, escalating situations that we just have to go with as commonplace. She is a deity after all!

I found the pace of the book good, and I liked the flitting between timelines, getting to know Naia’s backstory. I feel like I was rooting for Naia to have a real empowering conclusion, but I guess the wrap up of this story was very in line with her characterisation. I think I will enjoy Finnian’s story – I’m loving morally grey characters this weather!

I ended up stopping this one around 65%. The story was good. The narration was good (if slow) and I was interested in the world and characters however there were a ton of grammar and syntax errors that kept pulling me out of the story.

This book was definitely a grower and not a show-er.

I was ready to give up on this a few times in the beginning but I'm glad I stuck with it. It is a slow, slow burn plot. There is a lot of story building that happens that feels dry at times, maybe a bit pointless, but it really all comes together in the last 20%. On paper, I should hate this book. I don't generally love urban fantasy, there are tropes I LOATHE but I am so ready for book #2.

If you're a reader that wants to take their time to get to the payoff, this is your book.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook copy. I attest that I am leaving my review honestly and voluntarily.

Title: The Goddess Of
Where I Read: Audiobook via NetGalley
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The RayView: ✨✨✨✨.5
The HeatRay: 💥
How It Be Spicin’?: 🌶️🌶️
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𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘙𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯.”  𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦.”
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CW: Please check trigger warnings before reading this novel. Includes things like: Shmurder, animal abuse leading to death, forced coupling, pregnancy discussions.
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Naia is the goddess of…well, nothing. Born without a distinguishable title, she is destined to suffer the whims of her mother, Mira, Goddess of the High Sea. Tragedy after tragedy befalls the young goddess and on the eve of her wedding to a god she doesn’t love, she seeks out the High God of Death and Curses. Agreeing to a curse she knows nothing about, she flees to the mortal land where she runs into Ronin, a human who keeps his secrets close to his belt just as Naia does. Until all hell breaks loose that is. Stuck with a tough decision, Naia and Ronin are certain of one thing- they’ll do it together.
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I’ll be honest, I heard God of Death and immediately hoped he and Naia ended up together. 😂 But as I listened, I fell in love with Ronin and his story. I’m a huge sucker for the “fated to be together” trope and this book did not disappoint. An absolutely amazing listen! The narrator made this story come to life and I enjoyed every second. I’m thrilled I was given the opportunity to ALC read The Goddess Of and look forward to the second book’s audio release.

This was a lovely book that I could not put down! I loved the narrator and enjoyed her different voices and smooth reading style. I have already purchased the next book.

3.5/4 ⭐️

I feel like I had way too high hopes for this book. It didn’t reach it unfortunately. Was it good yeah and I liked the idea of her being the non human and MMC a human. I love that even though he is a human that he can be there for her and be her safe space and protector. I just didn’t feel as connected to the book and it was as addictive as I would have liked

This cover is absolutely gorgeous first off and the title is very intriguing, I was instantly sucked in. This book was so well written and the narration did the book justice. I loved this story so much and will definitely be purchasing the physical book asap!

"The Goddess Of" is a spellbinding, emotionally constricting, and mental rollercoaster that leaves me at the edge of my seat. This is my first read of Garner's work, and I can safely say I'm running to the next book. Between Garner's worldbuilding and her love for each and every character, I dearly cherish her way of forming characters and their trials. This book is for those who aren't ready to be emotionally saved. There's twists and turns, trials around every corner, and romance galore that provides natural chemistry between two mature characters - I greatly appreciate this. The book left me with some unanswered questions, but not enough for me to not finish the story. Well done!

This is book!!! Oh my gosh I love it! At first it seamed like the little mermaid meats Greek mythology. But this is so much more!! Such a good unique story. Fast paced, awesome fighting scenes, graphic details and epic battles. I thought this was going to be a stand alone but I very much look forward to the next book in this story.

The Goddess Of is a cute, enchanting story. I give it a solid 4 stars, and a 2 for spice.
The world is rich, with gods, goddesses, mages/witches, blood magic, curses, undead, and more, all set against a cute island that I think is set near Japan. The character arc of Naia is great, she really comes into herself over the course of the book. Ronin is book boyfriend goals, caring, loving, protective, "touch her and die", accepting of every aspect. I love him. Its hard to get flirty, witty banter and interactions between characters right, but this book has done a great job with it. Its not over-done or forced, it feels very natural for the characters and scene. The pacing was right, the action was well spaced out and not over-forced. There are lots of little twists and turns, especially towards the end. Cassian is playing 3D chess while everyone else is playing checkers. Props to the author for the detailed plot in this book!

The narrator did an excellent job, the characters all had unique and identifiable voices. The voices fit the characters, and emotions were well portrayed. Overall, this was a very enjoyable book to listen to. It just lost out on that 5th star because I personally am not a fan of pregnancy tropes, though this gets a bit of a pass since it was an important plot device in this specific case. I just feel it was lacking a little something that would have pushed it into the 5 star range. Still, this book is absolutely worth a listen or read and I'm hoping the second book follows Finnian's story next as I don't see how Naia could have more to her story. It all seemed wrapped up in a nice HEA bow at the end.

This fantasy Audio was fabulous! I loved the story and the narration. The title intrigued me and it lived up to the hype! Read this for a book that will get you out of a reading slump s as bd stick with you for a long time!!!

I received this book free from Netgalley for an honest review.

I found the story to be a fun and captivating read! Naia’s journey, especially as she learns modern-day human customs and explores new foods, was one of my favorite aspects of the book. Her experiences were both entertaining and endearing, making it easy to connect with her character.

One thing I didn’t love was the timeline. While the story starts in the present, it frequently jumps back in time to explore Naia’s upbringing. While these flashbacks provided valuable context, they sometimes disrupted the flow of the story for me.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I’d recommend it to anyone who loves a unique take on mythology mixed with modern-day adventure!

Unique world building. Wonderfully written. This book has great pacing that keeps you engaged throughout.

This was a beautiful, and heart-wrenching at times, story. I appreciate how the author represented trauma, anxiety, and overall mental health. Naia’s mother is one of the most terrible villains I’ve read in a long time! Solaris was one of the most interesting characters to me because it was so easy to go back and forth between understanding him and disliking him. And Ronin is one of the most perfect book boyfriends! Naia has never been given a choice in her life, and he gives her that. Several of the plot reveals had me shocked, all the way to the ending! I would definitely recommend this book!

Update with audiobook review: The audiobook is about 17 hours and narrated by Abigail Reno & Benjamin Crow. The narrators do a wonderful job and I would highly recommend the audio version!

𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵.

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘙𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯.”  𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦.”

Thank you to the author and Book of Matches Media for providing me with a copy of this book, and to Dreamscape Media for the audiobook. This review is voluntary, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Wow. This right here is an audiobook that you need to listen to!

I am so grateful to Netgally, Randi Garner and Dreamscape Media for the ALC of The Goddess Of.

Abigail Reno and Benjamin Crow are the narrators for this fantastic story. I could not have asked for a better audiobook. The narrators brought such depth and feeling to these incredibly complex characters. I was absolutely captivated while listening to this story. Abigail was able to bring out all the hurt, fear and pure love from the FMC Naia that I felt that I was living this tale along side her.

The story itself was utterly perfect. We follow Naia who is a goddess who has lived her life powerless in a world full of powerful deities. She has a horrible traumatic past but continues to hold on to hope for a life of freedom. The chemistry between Naia and the MMC Ronin is perfect. And the ending? My gods it was action packed and had me on the edge of my seat!

Although this book concludes Naia’s story there is a book 2 which follows two other characters that I can’t wait to read.

I knew this story would have a chokehold on me but it surpassed what even I anticipated and I am obsessed with everything about this world. The Goddess Of has been a refreshing fantasy read, dual timelines, past and present. Sad, Emotional, Beautiful, I adored these characters. Naia, daughter of the High Sea Goddess, has no power or title and lives a dreary life waiting for the day she is intended to form a union with the son of another God to break a curse placed on her mother. Her story is tragic and sad and Randi wrote it so beautifully. Desperate to leave she escapes on her supposed wedding day and flees to the Mortal land where she meets Ronin. The only thing Naia wants is to find her brother Finnian to help hide her from her cruel mother. I love books with meddling Gods and found families. Naia's story is so sad but beautiful. I devoured this audio, Abigail and Stewart did a magnificent job of capturing all the emotions. A 16 hour audio I could not put down and will listen to again this month because I am so absorbed in this world, absolutely the best book I have read this year.

I look to forward to then next book in The Fragile Divine series that came out 3/5/25

P.S. How gorgeous is this cover!

Favorite Quote: "The city is just as much yours as it is mine. I am yours"

Thanks to NetGalley, Randi Garner and Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ALC in exchange for review.

The audiobook is amazing. I love how Randi Garner made this world come to life. The intertwining between the world of gods with the current world meshed really well. Her beautiful writing allowed for the world to take shape and allowed the reader/listener to fully be engulfed in the story. This is a story about a goddess named Naia who is looked down upon by her family. She goes on a journey to find her brother Finnian but ends up finding herself, her true power, her love and finds a new family. This story is full of romance, high stakes, god mythology, family drama, found family, arranged marriage, forced proximity and the journey to find ones self. Remember that all curses come with a price. You can never be prepared when the time calls.

This was a great audio! I loved the narrator for this. World building can sometimes be hard when listening to a book for the first time but this was super easy to follow along with. Especially letting the readers know when it was the past or present. This book gave me Cruel Prince x The Little Mermaid vibes and it was a super cool setting. I loved the glimpse of a HEA but the setup for book 2 and her brother finny. I definitely would love to read this physically too so I can annotate as I read.