Any Love But Mine by Debbie Davies

Title: Any Love But Mine
Author: Debbie Davies
Series: Book #1
Format: Epub
Published: March 3rd 2012
Publisher: Night Publishing
Pages: 159
Source: Author

Overview: 
Acacia was created for Eros, the god of love, but she was dismissed and sent to Earth to use people's auras to find the right match for them. She on the other hand is not allowed to love. Just because Eros doesn't want her doesn't mean he will give her up and stop owning her like he does the two others who came before her - Allana and Amora. Allana had the unfortunate luck to be created in love with Eros while the other two have not.

The goddesses were created for Eros because he couldn't have his one true love - Psyche. So he decided after Acacia was made if he couldn't love no one could. He's giving Zeus a year to right what was done wrong to him, if not there will be chaos on Earth. Acacia meanwhile is stuck in high school trying to find the right matches for teenagers when she is hit full force by a guy. When she looks up into his eyes she feels no pain. In a world and time where Acacia is not allowed to love she finds her one and true match.

My Review:
I wanted to shake Acacia a lot throughout the book because she seemed way too needy and her love with this guy Josh was definitely Instalove. It actually makes sense because as a goddess of love, love should be more powerful for her right? But it was all too much and I couldn't connect with her character. Josh accused her a lot of not liking him which I could never understand because they just met each other! They were both wary of the relationship and Acacia needed to be more sure of herself. At least a little for me to like her.

Allana is the motherly type to her and tries to reassure her all the time. She also wants her to be happy so she kind of contradicts herself. She is constantly fighting with Amora. Amora is like the big sister of the dynamic. She's always up late and with guys. She turned foul when Eros rejected her and likes to taunt Acacia all the time. I've got to say, she's consistent.

The plot is what made me keep reading. I couldn't even imagine at the end where it was going or what was going to happen. It didn't make me like Acacia's character any more but I was too captured by the story and literally biting my finger nails in anticipation. I would say this series has great potential as long as Acacia becomes stronger but I don't know about that in the next book... it just gets very interesting and I'll try to leave it at that.

I love when authors are able to give their own spin on any type of mythology but especially Greek mythology. Percy made me fall in love with Greek mythology so the book instantly got my attention. Davies was able to craft a different spin on Greek mythology and it grabbed me. Although I really didn't like Acacia I still would want to see where she takes the story.

Author Interview

Question: What drew you to write about Greek Mythology?
Answer: Greek Mythology is fascinating to me! It is full of mystery, deceit, and adventures all in the most opulent and grand of settings. I was enthralled by the myths I read and wanted to create my own part of that world.

Question: Who's your favorite god or goddess?
Answer: Athena I think or Persephone.

Question: Who was your favorite character to write about?
Answer: I think the baddies are always the most fun to create so I enjoyed writing about Amora and Hades. I lied writing about characters with strong emotions such as Allana's heartbreak or Persephone's despair.

Question: Do any of your characters resemble you?
Answer: Some of the readers who know me and my friends have said they can pick parts of me and my best friends out in all the characters. I think every character will have a part of me in them especially their tastes.

Question: How did you come up with the three goddesses names?
Answer: I drove past a spa called 'Acacia' which is how I got that name and then I always knew I wanted to use Amore and just changed the e to an a. After that I wanted to have all the names beginning with A and the same rhythm so I found Allana.

Question: What is your typical day as a writer?
Answer: I have a two year old so my typical day involves running around after him until he either naps then I can write or when his dad comes back from work I can do some writing! I'm forever finding inspiration and end up taking notes throughout the day from things I see while we are out or lyrics I hear in music and then I try to make sense of them at night!

Question: What can we expect in the next book? Any more surprises?
Answer: The next book is probably much darker than the first as Acacia is a lot stronger and is now involved in her own set of lies rather than those of the ones around her. There is also a major characters death which shakes things up a bit!

Question: What were some of your favorite books growing up?
Answer: I'm still read loads now and quite often start a book and finish it that day, which is why I end up so distracted from writing! My favourite books to read are The Demon Trappers Series, The Covenant Series and some stand alone books like Memoirs of a geisha or The Book Thief.

Question: What book influenced you to write?
Answer: Parts of all books I read influence me either in things to avoid doing or things to try.

Question: Would you like to say anything to your present and future readers?
Answer: Thank you to all present readers who have given my book a chance and to any future readers I hope if you do delve into Acacia's world that you enjoy it.

Extra thanks for the author letting me read her book AND for answering my questions. I personally think that Artemis (shout out!) is the best goddess out there. I am actually excited to see Acacia become stronger! As well as a main character perishing. That sounds cruel but what I love about books the most are cliffhangers or in this case something that will keep me guessing.