Inspire Review

Inspire by Cora Carmack
Series: The Muse #1
on December 15, 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 284
Format: eBook
Goodreads

Kalliope lives with one purpose.

To inspire.

As an immortal muse, she doesn’t have any other choice. It’s part of how she was made. Musicians, artists, actors—they use her to advance their art, and she uses them to survive. She moves from one artist to the next, never staying long enough to get attached. But all she wants is a different life— a normal one. She’s spent thousands of years living lie after lie, and now she’s ready for something real.

Sweet, sexy, and steady, Wilder Bell feels more real than anything else in her long existence. And most importantly… he’s not an artist. He doesn’t want her for her ability. But she can’t turn off the way she influences people, not even to save a man she might love. Because in small doses, she can help make something beautiful, but her ability has just as much capacity to destroy as it does to create. The longer she stays, the more obsessed Wilder will become. It’s happened before, and it never turns out well for the mortal.

Her presence may inspire genius.

But it breeds madness, too.

Lynn‘s Review:

 

Kalli is a Greek muse. She’s been alive for thousands of years inspiring artists. When she meets Wilder, she’s at a low point in her life. Her last “relationship” with an artist did not end well. Wilder is presented not as an artist, but as a regular man. And Kalli wants that. Normal life. Growing older. Having a family. Their first meeting sets the tone for most of the book. Kalli and Wilder run into each other in line at the grocery store. Wilder is in line with his much younger sister, Gwen. Kalli diffuses Gwen’s tantrum, impressing both Wilder and Gwen. But when Kalli feels the pull between Wilder and herself, she runs away. The fates pull Wilder and Kalli together, over and over. And Kalli runs away from Wilder, and her emotions, over and over.

Maybe it would be easier to empathize with Kalli had I also been living for thousands of years. But I found her emotionally distant. She holds herself back to keep from becoming too attached to the mortals around her. Wilder has given up the life he loves to help his family. He’s definitely the kind of stand-up guy a girl could fall for. And as a side note, I loved Wilder’s sister, Gwen. Gwen’s been through a lot in her young life, but still is a lot of fun to read about.

The romance between Kalli and Wilder develops quickly, despite Kalli’s reluctance. It is lust at first sight. But as the fates pull the two characters together, Kalli does admit her feelings for Wilder eventually. And bravo for Cora Carmack’s steamy bedroom scenes.

Inspire is listed as Paranormal NA. But for me, was more NA Contemporary Romance. The fact that Kalli is a muse, and thousands of years old, is the extent of the paranormal portion of the story until the very end. I would have liked more development of that aspect of the story. And I’m hoping for that in the next book in the series.

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