Harbinger Peta Crake Penguin Books Australia Destiny Romance The publishers call this a romance, but really it’s an urban fantasy. The book cover, designed to fit with Penguin’s Destiny Romance series, makes it look like a contemporary romance, not the hard hitting example of urban fantasy that it is. The cover and the romance label are misleading. It’s not that there isn’t romance, there is, but like any urban fantasy there is much more to the story than the relationship between two people. Harbinger is a gritty tale about a girl who works as a messenger for the fickle Athenian gods. Crake’s gods are as devious and arrogant as their ancient stories make them out to be, and her characterisation of said gods living modern lives is  the most outstanding aspect of this book. She manages to combine modern sensibilities with the occasional display of godly powers that make you sit up and remember that these flawed beings are still gods. The writing can’t be faulted and the plot is … [Read more...]