A Goddess Among Men

Julian Welch and Alan Reid meet in the Mexican jungle early in the last century. Hey are both seeking their fortunes but Englishman Julian is naive and trusting but American Alan Reid turns out to be a sociopath. Their friendship survives and eventually they make a shared fortune but Alan is very much in control of events. When Julian dies Alan sends his newly born daughter back to the Amazon and into the hands of a surviving Nazi doctor. From then on his daughter manages to survive bad times and is eventually meets the lawyer her father appointed before his death. Her fight for her fortune and the birth of their son completes the cast.
The story is violent and fast moving. I loved the whole adventure and it was the first time for a while I read a story far into the night. This is a brilliant and complex read and would make a great film.

Great writing and strong voice. Recommend if looking for a story that is as captivating as it is well-written.

If you read anything this summer make this one of your choices. It has secret government experiments, a real villain in Alan Reid, and real warrior princess in Christel Reid Welch. Given as an infant to a secret behavior program , Chris becomes proficient in every assignment she is given and in a twist of fate her father sought to secure a very wealthy woman. It has intrigue in the path Chris takes to secure her future. It features the early days of the Amazon and the rubber it provided. It see’s the evolution from agent to philanthropist and a lifetime of coming to terms with a past that keeps returning to intrude on the present. A great start to summer reading. Happy reading

I struggled to review this one a bit. While it was ostensibly a family saga covering three generations, there was so much else going on in this book. The story begins with a tenuous relationship between two men as they become business partners, then follows the next two generations of one of the partners with the other one as an ever-present entity.

In the beginning, there were two men who had each traveled to Brazil to find their fortunes. I found these parts enlightening. I do not know much about the rubber boon in Brazil and learned a little bit about this. Mostly, I learned about how underhanded and greedy people have been for a long time. Throughout this part, I did not understand why Julian continued to be involved with Reid.

Part two took a strange turn. Part of me wishes we went deeper into the seedy sides of this part. Julian asking Reid to take his daughter was dumb, and what Reid immediately did was insane. This part was certainly more episodic than part one. We got a hint of the terribleness that was happening, but there was a lot of insinuation. Not that I want to see anyone hurt or sexually abused in detail, but the idea that we need to believe the science experiments taking place are the worst ever, we may need to see more. Maybe it doesn't have to happen to Christel, but we can see some of the experimentation for the other children involved.

The third part felt the most episodic and rushed. This happened and then that happened and then this happened with some loose narration between scenes. In some ways this worked, but in many ways it made me feel there were more questions than answers. I never felt emotional connection with any of the characters, but I thought several of the things encountered could have been more deeply examined.

At the end of the day, I did enjoy this story. I can recommend it without too many reservations and hope that others will find the storylines original and thought-provoking, even if they are a bit brief.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free review copy. All thoughts presented here are my own.

I requested an eARC of A Goddess Among Men because of the beautiful cover. Going in blind, I was very impressed with the well written characters and atmospheric scenery.
This is a multi-generational story that begins with Alan and Julian who meet in the Amazon rainforest during the Brazilian Rubber industry and become partners in a business venture. Both men are very different from each other, while Julian is calm and passionate, Alan is cruel and ruthless. Never caring about what anyone thinks or wants.
The beginning part of this book was very hard to read and was about to DNF it but glad I pushed on.
There were several characters both bad and good but is focused more on Christel; Julian’s daughter who was orphaned as a baby and who dealt with a terrible childhood until her early 20s. She was a strong woman who didn’t let her circumstances pull her down and get the best of her. I enjoyed how this book wrapped up.
This is my first Daniel Davidsohn book and will be looking forward to his future works and will look into his backlist.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Goddess Among Men is my first introduction to the talents of Daniel Davidsohn. The first thing that attracted me to this book is the intriguing and gorgeous cover. I do have to admit that in the beginning of reading, I had a hard time getting through the first fifty pages. Once I was able to catch on as to what was going on, I was able to keep reading and not want to put it down. I thought it was a really good read.

In A Goddess Among Men, readers will find a variety of genres and subjects. I has a lot that I enjoy reading in a book, such as, history, adventure, action, mystery and drama. The setting was unique that I found to be fascinating and refreshing. The author details the surroundings so well, I felt like I was right there. The plot had some twists and turns that I would not have ever predicted would happen. My favorite character was by far Christel. She was such a strong woman for her time. I admired her bravery and courage throughout. I think many readers would be able to relate to her and what she had gone through. I know I felt that way. I enjoyed getting to know her and her family.

I am giving A Goddess Among Men four and a half stars. I would be interested in reading more books by Daniel Davidsohn in the future. I recommend this one for readers who enjoy historical fiction.

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

the cover drew me in to read this, and I'm glad I was able to read this. The characters were great and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.