Title:  Hephaestus Lays Down the Law
Author:  Tilly Greene
Publisher:  Tease Publishing
ISBN:  978-1-60767-024-7
Genre:  Paranormal/Horror, Erotica, Short Story
Reviewed By: Nefertari

Rating: 3

Hephaestus, God of the Forge and Master of Fire, has finally had enough of his wife, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty and Love, making a fool of him by having affairs with gods, immortals, and humans alike.  He decides to through down the proverbial gauntlet and demand his wife admit her feelings for him or they are going their separate ways!  He knows he cannot just confront her with words, so he decides to get the declaration of love he wants in other ways:  all of them sexual...

Being a huge fan of Greek mythology, I started this book with high hopes.  I looked forward to reading the story about the ancient Greek gods and goddesses with a modern twist.  In some ways I was not disappointed.  In the beginning of the story the use of modern slang and dialogue made the conversation between Hephaestus and Hermes, the messenger god, humorous.  In this short scene the author was able to convey Hephaestus’ calm nature and yet, gave a hint of the fire (excuse the pun) that lay beneath.  I also liked how the author tried to stay true to the nature of the Greek gods and other deities as they are depicted in Greek mythology.  However, if the reader is not familiar with Greek mythology, he or she may be confused about the background story for several characters.  The author made references to several of the characters’ histories but did not get into specifics.  The upside is this may drive several readers to do some research into Greek mythology!

What left me dissatisfied was the need for more chemistry between Hephaestus and Aphrodite.  Aphrodite comes across as selfish, spoiled, and immature.  And while this portrayal is accurate, in order to make her a likeable heroine these may have been some attributes the author should have toned down.  And while Hephaestus was more likeable, I wanted him to really stick it to Aphrodite (Eeew! Another bad pun!) and I was left wondering why he even wanted to stay married to her!  In an attempt to make his wife jealous Hephaestus made out with a maenad (basically, a horny nymph) and I found myself rooting for them to be together at the end because I felt the nymph wanted Hephaestus more than his wife did!  The sex scenes were a little dry for me, which was really disappointing because there was a foursome going on in one scene and I was mentally begging for some specifics!!!  I was waiting for the author to bring on the spice!!! But this veritable orgy that was taking place wasn’t really addressed! Even though it was a happy ending, I would have been happier if he had ended up with somebody other than his wife!  In all, this short story was written well but I just needed some more fire to my Master of Fire!