I'm gonna admit that I had some trouble with this book. We get to follow a middle age woman after she finds out that hubby had an affair and they moved to Hawaii to try and fix things. Once they arrive she feels lonely and unsettled so she tries to make friends without getting stuck in a rut. She tries yoga and ends up making friends with the instructor or so she thinks. What starts as a slightly weird friendship quickly turns to something really crazy and I totally did not see the end coming. If you enjoy a really long finding your inner self type story that ends a little twisted then this may be the book for you. For me it seemed to drone on forever and I though it would never end. I was not really enjoying myself and I felt that I forced myself to get the end which I only managed because I skipped the whiny drawn out parts. I can only give this book 2/5 stars and even that is pushing it for me.

I really enjoyed parts of this - I was drawn in at the beginning, but eventually lost steam. To be perfectly honest, I had forgotten I had gotten this approved as an arc, and picked it up when I was processing bestsellers for work. The cover caught my eye, and the plot sounded interesting enough. I read through quite a bit of it - got quite distracted from my work, actually - but it didn't capture me enough to finish it.

I would definitely try something else from this author, though. I liked her writing quite a bit and while this particular plot didn't quite work for me, her writing pulls you in.

I really enjoyed this novel about the developing relationship between Nancy and Ana. The characters were believable and the development of that obsessiveness was done very well.

Beautifully written, a lovely read. I didn't want to put this down for one second. Completely addicting.

“The Goddesses” was exceptionally captivating and immersive. It’s one of those books that you continue to read “just one more chapter” until there is nothing left except the disappointment that comes with the book reaching its end.

This book was promoted as a Single White Female sort of book and while I agree to a degree, I think it fell short.

It should have gone all the way or taken another turn. While there were moments in the book I felt were extreme it didn't overall have the feel of intensity.

Fabulous story, reminded me a lot of Where’d You Go Bernadette? Only darker and more off the rails. Terrific book.

Deception lies in the heart of paradise! The twists and turns in this psychological thriller are too many to count. Swan Huntley has taken "if it looks too good to be true ..." to another level.

A novel about family, love, marriage and friendship that is set in beautiful Hawaii. It is a story of reinventing yourself in all ways possible for good or evil or sometimes both.. a story of seeing only what you want to see until it the truth makes it impoosible to look any longer. If you have ever been in a plce in your life where everyone and eveything seems much better than what you are living, read this book..
Thank you for the opportunity to read for a fair reveiw.

A few chapters in I had to decide if I would keep reading or stop. I am not a reader or fan of 'good feeling, romance, friendship' books and at this point this is what I thought it was. I am glad I kept reading as the plot twists eventually arrived and my interest was peaked. At times I wondered what made Nancy so needy that she at first let this woman into her life and then her home in a reasonably short time. I found myself in parts not believing that a character could be so naïve and to me at times Nancy was a bit unbelievable. Despite this I kept reading and was not disappointed.

This was a disappointing tale of a lonely woman being drawn into a manipulative friendship with a strong, vivacious character, which has been done many times before--and done much better than this very predictable and anticlimactic story whose characters are totally unlikable, needy and one dimensional.

This could be classified as an adult coming of age book in a way, and was quite strange.

I was expecting more magical realism, but this was far more psychological than anything else. I wanted it to be more of a thriller, and I think it could have succeeded more if it embraced this category over women's fiction.

The fascinating look at a sort of mid-life crisis going on was quite poignant, and the best part about this book was definitely seeing how Nancy's relationship with her husband evolved in relation to her own space in the world.

The end made the book worth it, and the sort of sad feeling, but the lack of regret (to be ambiguous without spoiling) added more of an honest note to the novel.

Overall, though, this book felt wondering, and I couldn't quite get absorbed into why I should care about what was going on.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Enjoyable read. I liked the different twists in it. Read it!!!

When Nancy moves to Hawaii with her husband and twin sons, she's looking for a fresh start. Her husband cheated on her in San Diego and her sons had been getting into trouble. When she meets Ana, the two become fast friends and Nancy finds the version of herself she's been looking for. I didn't find Nancy or Ana to be especially relateable or likable, which made the story hard to get through.

Nancy and her family move to Hawaii for a fresh start, after her husband has cheated on her and put a rift in the family dynamic. Nancy meets Ana and quickly begins to separate herself from her family to spend time with Ana. A bit atypical for the "wife-begrudged-by-husband" type of book. It wasn't awful.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

My thoughts: This is the first book I've read by Swan Huntley and I found it to be a very different book from what I was expecting. Was it based on the description or the tags used to classify it, I'm not sure, but in my mind I had pictured it a very different type of read than what it actually was.

This was one of those books that again is more of a people-watcher type of book than anything else. I found myself consumed with the friendship that develops between Nancy and Ana - did anyone else find this uber-creepy? I kept waiting for something to happen. After all, this friendship happens because Nancy feels she needs to become a new person - she's just uprooted her family to Hawaii after her husband has admitted to infidelity and realizes that after all the changes, she's still the same old person. Wanting to try out something new, she finds a yoga class and hits it off with the yoga teacher, but does she really?

The characterizations in this book are creepy! I have to say I didn't necessarily like all the characters, and yet I couldn't put the book down. There was just something pulling me back to it - I had to see just what would happen. Nancy becomes glued to Ana's hip - does she like her that much or is she just that desperate for a friend? And what about the marriage that she is supposed to be working on? Or her sons that she is supposed to be keeping on eye on so that they don't keep acting out? Are they suddenly shining stars?

Can you see how easy it is to get sucked into this book? This isn't your happy-go-lucky type of read, but rather one layered with dark undertones, that slowly builds up the tension until that shoe finally drops. It's a rather addictive read that with drive you crazy with some of the antics that take place, having you shake your head in frustration. But isn't that the fun in reading sometimes? To live vicariously through the lives of our characters so that we don't have to?

The Goddesses by Swan Huntley’s was a letdown for me, other than the book taking place in Hawaii there wasn’t much else I liked.

This is the story of a middle-aged woman acting like a teenager. Nan is trying to find where she fits into her own life after her husband's betrayal and her boys are almost grown men. Ana is the bad influence friend. Read more like a teen novel, neither Ana or Nancy act like adults.

Slow paced, I almost gave up a few times but persevered hoping for something, anything to happen.
Totally predictable plot, unlikeable characters and slow moving, the saving grace; the descriptions of living in Hawaii. Hawaii was the only likeable character in a novel that fell flat for me.

Goddesses hooked me from the start. The characters are likeable and believable. The story takes twists that the reader doesn't see coming, though the end is a little predictable once you pass a certain point in the book. I looked forward to my reading time each evening while I was reading Goddesses. The only thing I did not particularly like was when the narrater talked to herself in the second person.