Review: Pan's Conquest by Aubrie Dionne

Pan's Conquest by Aubrie Dionne

Release Date: February 24th 2014

Genre: Adult PNR

Source: Bought

Format: Ebook

Goodreads Summary:

Syrinx pulled a fast one on Pan to escape his raging lust. The God of Chastity wasn't about to break her vows and succumb to his temptations. Transported to the twenty-first century, she runs a florist shop—fulfilling her fake, mortal life. Until the breathtaking Parker Thomas hires her to decorate his grand estate for a gala. Five hundred roses? Easy enough. Except Parker makes her feel things she can't ignore...

As the God of Fertility, Pan is used to maidens flocking in droves to his pastures. So when Syrinx denies him, he's determined to win the one that got away. He poses as a mortal to get close to her, but he doesn't count on falling hard for his conquest—hard enough to make a life and stay.

But Syrinx is falling in love with a man that doesn't exist. Can Pan hide his identity forever, or will the truth tear them apart?

My Review: 

For those of you who don't know. I was a classical humanities major in college. A huge part of my curriculum involved the studies of ancient philosophy and myth. I love mythology. So, with that type of a background, you can imagine that I'm always on the lookout for stories that involve myth in any way and my particular favorites are those who have Gods who disguise themselves as humans in the mortal realm or as Harry Potter fans would say, in the muggle world.

I have been looking for an Adult Paranormal Romance novel with mythology that would really win me over for quite some time now. I have read several but they usually end up in disappointment because as the Adult books that they are, they get drowned too  much in the physical aspect of a romantic relationship and forget about characterization. And really, isn't it a crime to ignore characterization when you have a story where an immortal God has to learn how to be human, and all of the complexities that come with being mortal and imperfect, as compared to Gods who are immortal and perfect. When you have a story that has someone learning to be human you can explore so much about identity, emotions, feelings and this is what Pan's Conquest does. It gives us a look into the minds of two Gods who are learning that identity is so much more than what you are assigned with a birth. Identity boils down to feelings and actions and learning to break down misconceptions that are imposed on us by strangers and the particular society we live in.

The characterization in this novel is everything. Pan is the God of Fertility and he is set on trying to add Syrinx, the God of Chastity, to his last of many conquests. But as their titles suggest, these two Gods kinda represent the opposite of each other. Pan is a sort of playboy/ player, while Syrinx is the serious girl who has morals and boundaries amongst the Gods. So, what happens? Syrinx goes to the mortal world to escape Pan under a human identity, while Pan follows and also takes up a human identity to see if he can win her over. What I love about Pan and Syrinx is that their human selves allow them to discover who they are as people because once they hit the human realm, they have to shed their God identities and all that these entail, and have to learn just how to BE. To just be a person, living in the world, learning and living. Pan becomes Parker, a wealthy young bachelor, while Syrinx becomes Sylvia, a florist.

What ensues amongst Pan and Syrinx as humans is a really sweet, and well developed romance. Both characters are hell bent on hiding their true identities as Gods. They are also reluctant on love because they are too hung up on their God roles. Luckily, the secondary characters come in and help them challenge their own views in the form of Kaye, the friend and assistant of Syrinx at her floral shop and Rutherford, the older butler and advisor of Pan in his estate. Kaye really helps Syrinx break out of her shell and to open to love and Rutherford helps Pan see that love is so much more about lust and the physical, that love helps you to see the beauty in life and to cherish and consider others.

I could go on some more about the characters and the lessons learned in this book but I don't want to give the story away. All I can say is that Pan's Conquest was a really lovely story of two souls that kinda had a certain loneliness to them, but who become whole through each other. The characters were witty and fun, and getting to see two Gods fumble as humans while doing ordinary things

was really great too. Makes you think about how the little things in life aren't little at all, and could lead to extraordinary discoveries. I loved this book. It was easy to get into and the writing just flowed.

My rating: 4/5