Anytime you come to a trilogy on the third book, you expect a certain amount of confusion, but I found Goddess surprisingly easy to get into. Ana, the absolute favorite wife of the ruler of Percheron has been kidnapped. She's the prisoner of a creepy zealot named Arafnaz (who falls in love with Ana because, well, everyone does). Her husband Zar Boaz faces war with a neighboring kingdom but can think only of getting Ana and her unborn child back—for his own reasons. Her lover (well, once anyway) Lazar is deathly ill and in no shape to save anyone. And the palace is full of schemes and magic. Just my kind of place. I enjoyed seeing a fantasy novel with an Eastern edge and found several of the characters fascinating: the mother of the Zar, Herezah and her change throughout the novel—she's easily the most complex person I met in its pages. I liked the mythology of the book with its cycle of war with gods (even though the war ultimately proved to be a little...unwarrish.) and I appreciated the sheer unfairness of this battle. Their gods and clearly their interest in the people who love them is...well...more than a little based on usefulness rather than affection. I loved the desert people. From my taste of the third book, I would say this is a trilogy well worth reading—but be warned, it has moments that are not for the squeamish, and it doesn't pay to get too attached to any of the good guys. Really. You've been warned. But if you like your fantasy with a little extra intrigue, this one is fascinating.