Title: Nectar and Ambrosia
Author: E. M. Hamill
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: June 14, 2018
Genre: Fantasy
Callie, a Classics major, flees home to protect her family from a monster straight out of mythology. Visions lead her to Nectar and Ambrosia: the weirdest pub on Earth, where inter-dimensional travelers with attention seeking issues get drunk in between the A-list celebrity lives they create. They can’t pretend to be gods anymore—not since a treaty with the current Supreme Deity promising they won’t intervene in human affairs.
The Doorkeeper of this threshold, Florian, rides herd on the rowdy Amaranthine and offers her shelter and a job. Callie likes the lonely, mysterious bartender more than she should. For Florian, her presence is a ray of light in the gray monotony of his sentence behind the bar, but he keeps a cautious distance—the truth of how he became Doorkeeper could change Callie’s perception of him forever.
When angels show up for a war council over Zeus’s irrational mutters about a comeback, Callie has uncontrolled visions of an apocalypse. Ex-gods realize she’s the first Oracle Priestess in generations. All Callie wanted was keep her parents safe, and now it seems she must sacrifice her future to keep the rest of humanity safe, too. Ambrosia could be the key to harnessing her visions— or it could cost her life.
War is coming. The threshold between worlds has never been more fragile. Callie must discover who is pulling Zeus’s strings and avert the final battle—before the immortal vying to become the next Supreme Deity kills her first.
Why This Book
Nectar and Ambrosia was one of the early books I received through NetGalley, and was such a fun read full of Greek gods in the flesh. Set primarily at a hidden bar and hotel, the reader follows Callie as she escapes into it after being chased by a terrifying creature. There, she finds not just sanctuary and employment as a waitress, but also whole pantheons (not just the Greek one) and even some romance.
It’s been a while since I’ve read this one, but I remember it being a lot of fun and I adored the characterizations of the gods. One interesting thing about them all was that they all enjoyed alcohol. They did a fair amount of drinking throughout this book, so it was quite interesting to read about gods who drink.
Reviews
My review: “This book is a delicious balance of being character and plot driven. Neither suffers while the characters develop and the plot relentlessly presses forward. They feed off of each other, resulting in a book where everyone and everything felt incredibly natural“
On Top Down Under gave this 4 stars, saying “The best way I can describe Nectar and Ambrosia is intriguing. Quirky. It felt like a good sized, chewy prelude – tempting me with so much more”
Cats Luv Coffee said “While it’s mainly the Greek ex-gods making trouble, it was fun to see all of them portrayed as they stopped in for a drink. Witty dialogue and one-liners abound. Hamill did a fantastic job of converting them to modern day and making them more relatable”
Bookworm Blues gave this a 4, saying “This book was fun, fast, and completely unique. It’s an easy read, especially if you like quirky characters and gods that are somewhat less than divine. If the pacing is a little skewed, and some of the reveals underwhelmed me, the rest of the book made up for it”
J.P. Jackson rated this a 5, saying “What I will tell you, is that every pantheon of gods shows up throughout this book, and the dynamics of who they are, what they’ve been doing and why they haven’t been around are discussed and explained. Brilliant. Utter brilliance. I’ve read a few similar stories but Hamil has finally come up with a concept that works, is exceptionally told and kept me flipping the pages”
Purchase Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Apple Books | Scribd | Thrift Books | Alibris | Kobo | Ballast Books Company | !ndigo (Canada)
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