Review: Fantasy Lover

I can't remember when I read this -- sometime last week, certainly. I didn't take any notes and I don't have all that much to say about it as a result. I had heard that this book isn't as good as her later ones, and I'm willing to believe that. It's not that it wasn't enjoyable, but it's been pretty much overshadowed by its proximity to Bitten and Dark Lover and even Flowers from the Storm. I would say it was only okay, for a few reasons which may be completely personal. First of all, the hero is a demi-god and I found the author's portrayal of Aphrodite, Athena, and Eros both corny and uncharacteristic. The heroine was boring (and plain!) and the hero wasn't nearly dark enough for a Spartan warrior who was trapped into being a love slave for two thousand years. The book also contains one of the cheesiest sentences I've ever read; the heroine's name is Grace and the phrase is "You're my saving Grace." It hurt just to rewrite it. If this book is a must-read to understand the other books in the series, I'm fine with that. I'm willing to try a few of the others, but if they're as sappy and cheesy and un-angsty as this one, I'm going to give up quickly.