Review: Immortally Yours by Angie Fox

Title: Immortally Yours
Author: Angie Fox
Series: Monster M*A*S*H #1
Pages: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date Published: August 28, 2012
Format: ebook
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Source: Provided by Author

Synopsis:
In the war between gods, no one patches up the incoming wounded like Dr. Petra Robichaud. Recruited by the gods for her uncanny medical skills, she’s the best M*A*S*H surgeon in the army. Along with a nosy guard sphinx,vegetarian werewolf, and other paranormal paramedics, she bandages soldiers who are built like Greek gods (literally). But when one sexy immortal ends up on her operating table—half dead and totally to-die-for—Petra’s afraid she’ll lose her patient and her heart…
Commander Galen of Delphi is one gorgeous but stubborn demi-god. When his spirit tries to slip out of his fatally wounded body, Dr. Petra has to slip it back in—unwittingly revealing her ability to see ghosts. Now that Galen knows her secret, he’s convinced she’s part of an ancient prophecy. If the oracles are right, Petra could lead Galen’s army to peace. And if he seduces her on the way to hell and back? Heaven knows—all’s fair in love and war…

My Review:
I'm pretty sure you, me, and everyone in the world is getting a little tired of the same-old-same-old when it comes to Paranormal Romance. Today, it's almost more likely that you will win the lottery and get struck by lightning than having one of the big six publishing companies accept new authors who write paranormal romance. You've got to really have something different in order to break away from the pack. One of the ones I heard recently is Amish Vampires. Well...as different as that sounds I'm not sure I'd want to read that...lol...but if you want something new and different when it comes to vamps and werewolves, look no farther than Immortally Yours!

Zero in on page one. Meet Petra Robichaud. She's been slaving her ass off in Limbo for the last ten years patching up immortal warriors as they do battle with the older gods. Slave being the key word here. In the war between gods, mortals are literally at their beck and call. They get recruited from the everyday world and get snatched away to Limbo where they must work until the end of the wars, which is pretty much a death sentence since when gods battle, they do it for a millennium. She's been hiding out among the ranks of the medical field because she's got a secret that could kill her. Petra can see the dead. This wouldn't be so bad if a woman who sees the dead wasn't prophesied to end the war. So both sides want her, but she's done a pretty good job of keeping hidden. Until the day that Galen of Delphi appears near death on her operating table. She can't just let him die, so she grabs his soul as it leaves his body and starts a chain of events that no one saw coming.

We learn very little about the world the medics leave behind to serve their eternal tour of duty in Limbo. You know that paranormal things exist. Hence werewolves, shape changing dragons, and part fey doctors are drafted to support the bigger and badder demi-god and full god troops. You know that Rodger, Petra's roommate has a clan, and you know that Petra herself specialized in supernatural medicine when she was topside. All these thing lead you to believe that supernaturals must be "out" in the real world, and I would have loved to know more about that. I understand that it didn't really have much to do with the story, but I could have definitely used a few pages to even a chapter of "background" so that I could better understand Petra and the other characters. Limbo itself lacked a true definition as well. Where was it exactly? Why did the battles fought in Limbo affect the weather patterns of Earth (causing volcanoes, tsunamis, etc) There is a huge conglomerate of paranormal creatures that don't exist anywhere else like giant scorpions, sphinxes, imps. And nothing has a history. It's like they only existed once I picked up the book to read. You don't know where they come from, what causes them to attack, why the gods are even really fighting. It makes it so that even though I really enjoyed the plot and what action was going on during the scenes, I had a vague sense of confusion because I didn't understand the mechanics of the world yet.

To be perfectly honest, I think this book really tried too hard. In the beginning, there was this constant barrage of jokes and funnies that weren't all that chuckle-worthy. It was more like your awkward uncle telling a story that everyone politely smiles and fake-laughs at than a case of meeting some friends out at the bar and laughing your ass off at something dirty/funny/hilarious. I found myself rolling my eyes more than laughing and it started to frustrate me the longer it went on. Then in the second half of the book we lose ALL of the funny and it's replaced with an angst so strong you expect it to come off of some horny, twisted teenagers instead of from a full grown, mature main character. I swear I was this close to slapping Petra silly for her ridiculous thoughts and unreasonable reactions.

I really enjoyed the book, but at times actions and the reasons behind them were over dramatic and cheesy.  It's like I said about Petra and Galen's relationship, it just seems too contrived and over emphasized. Kind of like all of those spoof movies. Not Another Teen Movie, Scary Movies 1-4, etc. They have real actors telling an actual plot, but the acting is so campy and overdone that its funny. There were times, while reading, that I wanted to interject stage directions like " angsty swoon here", and "morose, longing, sigh, there". Even though I liked the plot and where the storyline was headed, the way that we got there bordered on the ridiculous at times. and nothing, I mean NOTHING, was as ridiculous as the way Petra acted about hooking up with Galen..."Oh, I never expected this would happen, GASP!" "Who could have known such a brave, gallant, warrior would want little-ole-me?" *swooons* It's like...lady...this dude's been trying to get in your pants for a week. In fact, YOU have been talking about seeing him naked...all.day.long. If you still don't know who it happened then maybe you need a refresher course in sex ed so that you can keep your medical license.

I give Immortally Yours 3 out of 5 Keys. It was a good read for those of you who like paranormal and I absolutley loved the originality of the setting. Unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me. Like I said before, it was like a lot of the novel was forced and that the author was trying a bit too hard to make things funny. Stuff that was supposed to make me laugh out loud only made me smile at best, roll my eyes at worst. Everything felt a bit too much and could have used a bit of shaping and editing, but it was still an enjoyable book. Good for a bit of light reading, especially great if you get it from the library so you don't have to pay for it!

Book #2 comes out Feb 26, 2013!!!

Even during a truce, Dr. Petra Robichaud has her hands full as the M*A*S*H surgeon to an army of warring gods—especially when Medusa herself turns up pregnant. Petra has no idea what to expect when a gorgon’s expecting, but she won’t let it turn her to stone. As the healer-hero of an ancient prophesy, it’s Petra’s job to keep the peace. But as the lover to a warrior demi-god, she knows how impossible some jobs can be…
Commander Galen is sexy, strong, and sworn to lead his team to hell and back. But when he announces to Petra that he can no longer risk her life for his love, the doctor is on her own…Until a mysterious new entity—in the form of a hot-blooded male—enters the picture. Can he be trusted? Can he be resisted? Meanwhile, an oracle delivers another prophesy that places Petra back on the frontlines with the man she may be bound to for eternity—in love, or in war…