Whew, it’s been a little while, but I finally finished my first book for the new year! Now, just because it took me a while to finish it does not mean Paradisa, by Michelle Iannantuono was at all bad. In fact, it was pretty awesome! I was just extremely busy in my personal life and had a tough time squeezing in moments to read this fantasy novel.
In regards to Michelle, I know her work in a much more different format. She’s the director of Detroit Evolution, which was certainly one of my most watched films of 2020. When she posted on her Twitter account that her book was on sale on Amazon, I jumped at the purchase. I love how she treated the Detroit Evolution storyline and just had a strong feeling that her book was going to be equally as awesome. And it was! Paradisa reminded me of a lot of the very good fanfiction I read online, except this was more of an original concept that got made into a book! I think all fanfiction writers should take note!
Anyways, the story is split into two perspectives, that of Connor and his much younger sister Clara. Connor’s been living a bit of a shell of a life since he was dishonorably discharged from the military when he was outed. Clara is living a somewhat similar life in that she’s playing it safe with her future in that she’ studying engineering. It’s not that she doesn’t love what she’s studying, but she feels like she should be making more of an impact in the world. Well, their lives are turned upside-down when Connor stumbles upon a very good-looking man at a hotel bar. He soon finds himself trapped in the middle of a fight between…angels and spirits? Oh yeah, and also gods. When Clara goes to check on Connor, she gets roped in as well.
The two could just leave this entire incident behind, that is, until Connor touches the icon belonging to the handsome angel, Raphael. This act unknowingly binds Connor to Raphael forever. They then very quickly learn that the goddess, Athena, is on the run from these murderous spectres, so the group heads to a very remote and very cold location to heal and prepare for what’s sure to be an epic battle. That location happens to be Aphrodite and Hephaestus’ humble abode. As if Connor being bound for life wasn’t stressful enough, then Clara goes and does the same thing with Hephaestus in order to protect them all from another attack!
From here, the group decide to head to Paradisa in order to figure out who is behind these attacks, and what’s prompting them. From here, the book takes a lot of very interesting turns and there are some pretty impressive character deaths. Even more impressive than the battles and the detailed descriptions of Paradisa itself, are the turns that happen within Connor and Clara’s heads. Connor initial tries his hardest to cut himself off emotionally from Raphael because there is a lot of pain there, and also attraction, but it’s hard to keep that contained considering how nice, honest, and pure Raphael is. Clara on the other hand connects with Hepphaestus more in that they both can’t see their own self worth until the other one points it out. The two then find they have a lot more in common.
Overall, Michelle delivers a fantastic and fantastical journey. I love how she mixes Greek mythology with the real world! Growing up, I really enjoyed learning about Greek mythology in school, so it was cool to see someone take some creative freedoms with that knowledge. The book also ends on a cliffhanger that could easily lead to a sequel, and I hope one day we all get that! If you’re looking for something fun, definitely add this to your read list!