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131st out of 248 books
—
399 voters
The Hidden Goddess (Veneficas Americana #2)
by
M.K. Hobson (Goodreads Author)
In a brilliant mix of magic, history, and romance, M. K. Hobson moves her feisty young Witch, Emily Edwards, from the Old West of 1876 to turn-of-the-nineteenth-century New York City, whose polished surfaces conceal as much danger as anything west of the Rockies.
Like it or not, Emily has fallen in love with Dreadnought Stanton, a New York Warlock as irresistible as he is...more
Like it or not, Emily has fallen in love with Dreadnought Stanton, a New York Warlock as irresistible as he is...more
Paperback, 374 pages
Published
April 26th 2011
by Spectra
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Second verse, same as the first!
Just kidding.
Sort of.
I liked the first of this series, The Native Star, almost despite myself. The opening is rough, like a chainsaw working out the bite into the flesh of the log. But it finds its bite partway through the book in a way that treats American history with respect, even though I wish a little more of that history made it into the book. Or, you know, in a way that mattered.
Second verse, same as the first. By which I mean, this epilogue starts with...more
Just kidding.
Sort of.
I liked the first of this series, The Native Star, almost despite myself. The opening is rough, like a chainsaw working out the bite into the flesh of the log. But it finds its bite partway through the book in a way that treats American history with respect, even though I wish a little more of that history made it into the book. Or, you know, in a way that mattered.
Second verse, same as the first. By which I mean, this epilogue starts with...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I gave the first book in the series 5 stars, and I was debating whether to give this 3 or 4. 3.5. I don't remember much of the first book other than I really, really liked it, so I went back to read my review to see what was different from this second book. I adored the characters in the first one, but I really kinda didn't in this one.
This book just doesn't really hold up to the first in plot or character moments. It's a fairly unpleasant book, in that the characters are unhappy and things are...more
This book just doesn't really hold up to the first in plot or character moments. It's a fairly unpleasant book, in that the characters are unhappy and things are...more
This is a sequel to The Native Star, which I read earlier this year. The first book had a lot to enjoy with its alternative post-Civil War history and mash-up of magic and light steampunk elements, but in a way it felt like too much crammed together. The sequel proved to be a fast read but didn't feel even to me for several reasons.
Summary from Amazon:
Like it or not, Emily has fallen in love with Dreadnought Stanton, a New York Warlock as irresistible as he is insufferable. Newly engaged, she no...more
Summary from Amazon:
Like it or not, Emily has fallen in love with Dreadnought Stanton, a New York Warlock as irresistible as he is insufferable. Newly engaged, she no...more
WARNING: Spoils parts of the first book! READ @ YOUR OWN RISK!!!)
In the stunning sequel to M.K. Hobson's The Native Star, The Hidden Goddess is a rare occurrence in which the sequel trumps the first book. Our headstrong and simply delightful heroine, Emily Edwards, has agreed to marry the ever so (or maybe not so) charming Dreadnaught Stanton and is now living in New York. And suffering through every minute. Stanton's family is undeniably (and unnervingly) more insufferable than Stanton himself....more
In the stunning sequel to M.K. Hobson's The Native Star, The Hidden Goddess is a rare occurrence in which the sequel trumps the first book. Our headstrong and simply delightful heroine, Emily Edwards, has agreed to marry the ever so (or maybe not so) charming Dreadnaught Stanton and is now living in New York. And suffering through every minute. Stanton's family is undeniably (and unnervingly) more insufferable than Stanton himself....more
The Hidden Goddess, by M.K. Hobson, is one of those well-crafted sequels that’s enjoyable and intelligible even if you haven’t read the book that came before. The past is alluded to in passing, and there are details that will leap more vibrantly from the page if you’ve read The Native Star, but the change of setting to turn-of-the-century New York City, and the increasing sophistication of young witch Emily Edwards, is enough to separate the stories and make Hidden Goddess stand alone.
Emily is n...more
Emily is n...more
As you may have seen, my review of "Native Star", the first book in this series, was a big rave, and the world-building here continued to shine in this next book. Emily continues to be a wonderful heroine, and the story of her family and the secrets of her past were very engrossing and paid off very well. This is a great magical/steampunk/turn of the century world. I could definitely read lots of stories set in this alt-NYC. Very fun.
I guess I had a bit of a problem with the Big Bad of the plot...more
I guess I had a bit of a problem with the Big Bad of the plot...more
5 likes · like · see review
May 18, 2011
Steph
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those who like this series will also like Phoenix Rising
The Sequel to The Native Star, is unlike its predecessor. This is not a rehash of the same adventure by any stretch. And unlike the first, this one kept me peeled from start to finish, and flowed flawlessly. I also have to add, that this is not at all the type of book that I usually prefer reading, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
A month has passed since the adventures that brought Emily from Lost Pine to New York City, but navigating New York magical society is as taxing and treacherous as anythi...more
A month has passed since the adventures that brought Emily from Lost Pine to New York City, but navigating New York magical society is as taxing and treacherous as anythi...more
I really enjoyed this book. While I haven't quite come to grips with Steampunk, if this world and that of Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal are examples of its new cousin 'Bustlepunk', count me a fan.
The characters are three-dimensional and generally believable, though I think some of the villains could have been depicted a little more deeply. I hope that their backgrounds and motives are explored more fully in future volumes of this series.
The love story - that of a new love, two...more
The characters are three-dimensional and generally believable, though I think some of the villains could have been depicted a little more deeply. I hope that their backgrounds and motives are explored more fully in future volumes of this series.
The love story - that of a new love, two...more
Oh, this book.
I desperately wish I could give it five stars. Maybe after I have finished processing everything I will be able to but my current feelings won't let me...
After finishing The Native Star (which--by the way--left me dying for more) I ordered The Hidden Goddess immediately. And it didn't take me long to finish reading it.
Hobson's writing is so nice its like that extra special dessert after an amazing dinner. But while her prose is lovely I always felt like something was...missing fr...more
I desperately wish I could give it five stars. Maybe after I have finished processing everything I will be able to but my current feelings won't let me...
After finishing The Native Star (which--by the way--left me dying for more) I ordered The Hidden Goddess immediately. And it didn't take me long to finish reading it.
Hobson's writing is so nice its like that extra special dessert after an amazing dinner. But while her prose is lovely I always felt like something was...missing fr...more
M.K. Hobson, I want my twenty dollars back. Ten for the first book and ten for the second. Maybe even some extra for the time I lost reading these books.
Needless to say, I was very disappointed with this book. For 3/4 of it I readily accepted Stanton's absence, the slow plot, and a kind of "where the fuck is this going?" feel. Hobson's writing style kept me interested, even though some of her descriptions can get tiresome after a while, and I was eager to find out more about Emily's back story....more
Needless to say, I was very disappointed with this book. For 3/4 of it I readily accepted Stanton's absence, the slow plot, and a kind of "where the fuck is this going?" feel. Hobson's writing style kept me interested, even though some of her descriptions can get tiresome after a while, and I was eager to find out more about Emily's back story....more
2 likes · like · see review
When the plot of a novel centers around nothing less than then end of the world, things tent to take a turn for the melodramatic. Unfortunately, this one is no exception. Lacking the magic of its predecessor, which drew me in despite it's frequently-annoying protagonist, The Hidden Goddess is instead mired in politics, social structure and secret organizations. Adventure is traded for scheming, no one is telling anything close to the full story and, in the end, the narrative collapses under its...more
This was my review of the first book in this series:
Someone somewhere called this book "magicpunk," which I think is a very apt descriptor for this heavily magic-flavored steampunk novel set in an AU post-civil war America. I have to say that I appreciated the departure from typical British setting.
It's also got strong feminist thematics (which come out even more in the next book in the series), which are skillfully rendered in a non-pedantic way. I also find the functioning of "credomancy" to...more
Someone somewhere called this book "magicpunk," which I think is a very apt descriptor for this heavily magic-flavored steampunk novel set in an AU post-civil war America. I have to say that I appreciated the departure from typical British setting.
It's also got strong feminist thematics (which come out even more in the next book in the series), which are skillfully rendered in a non-pedantic way. I also find the functioning of "credomancy" to...more
After enjoying the first book so much, I looked forward to this second one. And while I liked this one too, I have to give Hobson credit for not trying to stretch her story out into a trilogy. "The Hidden Goddess" picks up the story of Emily and Dreadnaught and gives it a very satisfying ending.
In the last book, both characters were dragging around luggage from a mysterious past. While they ended up engaged, things start going badly because they find themselves in new positions, and neither quit...more
In the last book, both characters were dragging around luggage from a mysterious past. While they ended up engaged, things start going badly because they find themselves in new positions, and neither quit...more
On the whole I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as "The Native Star", and at the end I was left feeling rather melancholy because the series seems wrapped up now. It's got a "happily ever after" feel to it, which for some reason I found oddly dissatisfying (even though I'd been rooting for Emily and Stanton to finally get to be together through the whole book). I liked this universe and was looking forward to getting to explore it over the course of 3 or 4 books, but instead it all wraps up in...more
17 April
Okay, I'm not finished with the book yet, but this doesn't fit in the status update, so here it shall have to go:
In page 34, M.K. Hobson talks about how Emily feels bad for young men, because they always have to give up their seats for ladies, help people carry stuff, and people judge them for leaving a place of unrest (even though as most young men are non-magic folk, they won't be very useful anyway), comparing those 'deserters' as
Okay, I'm not finished with the book yet, but this doesn't fit in the status update, so here it shall have to go:
In page 34, M.K. Hobson talks about how Emily feels bad for young men, because they always have to give up their seats for ladies, help people carry stuff, and people judge them for leaving a place of unrest (even though as most young men are non-magic folk, they won't be very useful anyway), comparing those 'deserters' as
little more than a lily livered coward, a weakling, a...more
Emily Edwards and Dreadnought Stanton have come a long way from the backwoods of Wild West California and their start in the first book of the series, Native Star.
Now they are the toast of New York, with Stanton's coming investiture of the head of the credomancy institute, and Emily cast as his virginal fiancee.
The problem is, Emily not only isn't quite what the institute, and her minder, Ms. Jeszenka would like to make her into, her long-lost memories of her biological father and mother hold a...more
Now they are the toast of New York, with Stanton's coming investiture of the head of the credomancy institute, and Emily cast as his virginal fiancee.
The problem is, Emily not only isn't quite what the institute, and her minder, Ms. Jeszenka would like to make her into, her long-lost memories of her biological father and mother hold a...more
More like 4 1/2 stars - really enjoyed this almost as much as the first book in the series. Although the two main characters from the first book are here, Emily and Dreadnought, it is (almost) entirely set in New York. We don't see the cross country travel adventures from the first book, but more of a character study. Emily is learning about her past, which is very fascinating, and Dreadnought is learning how to run an Institute. Emily is trying to navigate New York and magical society, even tho...more
This book was very frustrating. Or, rather, the people within the book were often frustrating and I was annoyed with them.
So, anyway, picking up pretty much directly where the first book lets off, we find Emily trying to make nice with Stanton's family and learn to pass in society. And, ya know, this part was kind of fun and I was enjoying it - not to mention expecting it, since it's mentioned on the book cover - but it doesn't really last that long until the adventure kicks and the story shifts...more
So, anyway, picking up pretty much directly where the first book lets off, we find Emily trying to make nice with Stanton's family and learn to pass in society. And, ya know, this part was kind of fun and I was enjoying it - not to mention expecting it, since it's mentioned on the book cover - but it doesn't really last that long until the adventure kicks and the story shifts...more
After such an entertaining ride in The Native Star I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed with The Hidden Goddess
The first half of the book was rather infuriating in a way that in concentrates solely on impending marriage and Emily's discomfort with the high society of New York. I found myself frustrated with the turn the relationship between Emily and Dreadnought had taken. Their miscommunication and idealistic attitude had me rolling my eyes on numerous occasions. It occured to me that...more
The first half of the book was rather infuriating in a way that in concentrates solely on impending marriage and Emily's discomfort with the high society of New York. I found myself frustrated with the turn the relationship between Emily and Dreadnought had taken. Their miscommunication and idealistic attitude had me rolling my eyes on numerous occasions. It occured to me that...more
This suffers from "sequel syndrome" where it's not as good as the original story. There is not as much of what made the previous book enjoyable - magic, for example - and too much of other things that don't set the story apart, such as spending time in New York society of the late 1800's. And I think I have definitely had enough of the angsty main character "I'm grumpy that things aren't working out for me as well as I want and I'm going to spend pages and pages obsessing about it until somethin...more
Full review featured on TheRekindledReader.com
So, as I was sitting in my bath thinking about what I thought about The Hidden Goddess and not finding the exact words, I realized the best way to describe it was like lukewarm bathwater. It had its hot moments, but it was so diluted with bland characters and unnecessary diversions that it came out being irritatingly tepid. I felt like a book I might’ve very well enjoyed had been wasted.
All of the plots had potential. If they were introduced graduall...more
So, as I was sitting in my bath thinking about what I thought about The Hidden Goddess and not finding the exact words, I realized the best way to describe it was like lukewarm bathwater. It had its hot moments, but it was so diluted with bland characters and unnecessary diversions that it came out being irritatingly tepid. I felt like a book I might’ve very well enjoyed had been wasted.
All of the plots had potential. If they were introduced graduall...more
I really, really wanted to like this book. I liked the first in the series -- The Native Star -- so much. But this one dragged a bit, and then it started jumping the shark, over and over and over again. I got about 70% through it in a few days, and then I had trouble picking it back up, because with every page turn, I found myself muttering, "Seriously? She did what?" or "Wait, wait, wait, what just happened? Is she for real?"
The last couple chapters redeemed it a bit, and I finished the book s...more
The last couple chapters redeemed it a bit, and I finished the book s...more
This is a very different book from its predecessor; darker and more violent, with a lot of heartbreak for both Emily and Stanton. Their relationship is put through a trial by fire, which makes it emerge all the stronger in the end - but wow, the book hurt to read in certain places. I guess that's a testament to how much I love our protagonists. Stanton is stripped of any gloss he still had in The Native Star. As Emily finds out more about his past and her own, she is put through hell and forced...more
This review has spoilers from the first book.
The Native Star was on my favorites list for 2010. I absolutely adored everything about that book. So could The Hidden Goddess live up to it? Well, no. I still like The Native Star better. BUT I still loved The Hidden Goddess. It was different, it was certainly a different story and it was much darker. But I still loved the characters the same and watched them both grow a bit.
Emily and Stanton's relationship is so sweet. In the first book they fought...more
The Native Star was on my favorites list for 2010. I absolutely adored everything about that book. So could The Hidden Goddess live up to it? Well, no. I still like The Native Star better. BUT I still loved The Hidden Goddess. It was different, it was certainly a different story and it was much darker. But I still loved the characters the same and watched them both grow a bit.
Emily and Stanton's relationship is so sweet. In the first book they fought...more
Okay, this WOULD be a five-star book if it weren't so sappy and lovey-dovey and if Stanton hadn't become less of a prick. (I'm not a big fan of sappy romantic stuff; GOOD romance, in my opinion, is the type where it always looks like somebody's going to die and then they just barely manage to scrape together their happily-ever-after.) Stanton is an amazing character BECAUSE he's such an annoying know-it-all, and I just didn't like the way he didn't get to be such an annoying pain in the you-know...more
Emily Edwards and Dreadnought Stanton are preparing both for marriage and the Investment ceremony that will formally make Mr. Stanton the Sophos of the Institute. A quick trip to visit her adopted father in Lost Pine results in Pap's confession that he performed magic on her as a child that removed her memories. He gives her a bottle containing her memories before the age of five, both the good and bad. Throughout the book Emily uncovers not only dark secrets about her fiancée, but also about Em...more
While the first book in this series, 'Native Star' was a definite page-turner, it was not without its flaws. The sequel, 'The Hidden Goddess' seems to have remedied most of the things that annoyed me about the first one, while retaining the fun, fast pace of the story.
I did wish protagonist Emily got to use her magical powers a bit more in this installment, but I appreciated that both the earth magic and the romance felt less stereotypical here than previously. The evil Aztec cult was still a bi...more
I did wish protagonist Emily got to use her magical powers a bit more in this installment, but I appreciated that both the earth magic and the romance felt less stereotypical here than previously. The evil Aztec cult was still a bi...more
I like that this book gave closure, unfortunately it wasn't as good as 'The Native Star'. M.K.Hobson is an excellent writer and I had no problems with the actual prose. My problem is an overall feel that this story lacked real tension and seriously lacked a 'villan'. Even the characters seemed a tad flat, probably due to the fact that they were no longer forced to act only to react to the few things that happened. I didn't dislike the book, but I feel a bit cheated. I expected the same caliber o...more
This sequel to the "bustlepunk" Native Star is enchanting from start to finish. Our plucky and unconventional heroine, Emily Edwards, battles with the twin evils of a power hungry evil goddess and her dastardly minions, as well as her intended's mother-in-law and the stifling conventions of society. The cast of supporting characters is as fully-fleshed as Emily herself, each one is portrayed in such fascinating detail that they almost leap alive out of the pages. The pace is furious as events ru...more
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M.K. Hobson is one of the co-hosts of the short fantasy fiction podcast Podcastle and lives in Oregon City, Oregon with her husband and daughter. Born in California, she was raised in Portland, Oregon. She attended the University of Oregon, where she ran Catalyst Films (the campus film society), helped launch The Student Insurgent (a radical progressive 'zine that's still being published) and drov...more
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“Credomancy may seek to exploit the human desire for a tidy narrative where an unblemished romantic hero vanquishes all obstacles, but such ideals have very little to with reality. Reality requites pragmatism and compromise. Men fail. Women fail. There are no heroes, only human beings who somehow find the strength to behave heroically, no matter how many times they have been unable to do so in the past. If you understand that, Miss Edwards - if you truly and deeply understand that, then you will understand the most powerful thing anyone with a heart can understand.”
“And what’s that?” Emily said softly.
“That love is not enough. But it’s a start.”
—
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More quotes…
“And what’s that?” Emily said softly.
“That love is not enough. But it’s a start.”
Jun 26, 2012 05:15pm
Jun 26, 2012 05:25pm