Being Guardian of the Goblet of Eternal Youth has to be the
worst job ever. Sworn to protect the Goblet for all
eternity, the guardian must also forsake anything that
could distract her from her duty to the goblet, including
boyfriends and sex. Salary and benefits are non-existent,
and did I mention you can't just quit? The only way to
escape this job is to die.
Justine Bennett has been the Guardian for the last 200
years, and it's been a pretty boring couple of centuries.
Being required to keep the goblet in her physical presence
at all times, she's basically housebound. Her only company
is her mother, Iris, who pops in now and then from
Purgatory, and her roommate, Theresa, a sex-starved,
extremely cranky dragon. Justine longs for some kind of
excitement -- a date, dinner, sex, anything, and is about to
get her wish. First, her mom shows up to inform her that
Satan has been trying to woo her into becoming his bride
for many years. Although he's rumored to be the Afterlife's
greatest lover, Iris has resisted him thus far. Tired of
waiting, Satan has bribed an Afterlife Official into
expelling Iris from Purgatory and sending her to Hell. It
seems that Iris only escaped Hell in the first place
because Justine was such a great kid. The Powers That Be in
the Afterlife have arranged a test of Justine's guardian
abilities, and Iris' fate depends on whether Justine passes
or fails. Next, someone with a gun turns up at Justine's
door to steal the goblet and kill her. And then there's
Derek. Handsome, sexy, and he smells so good. For someone
like Derek, a girl could be tempted to forget her oath to
forsake sex.
Derek La Valle has to contend with his own set of problems.
The men in his family are cursed. Every male in his family
for the past two centuries has died at the same age, right
down to the second. Derek is determined that he and his
twin brother will not meet the same fate as those before
them and has spent his life researching how to end the
curse. The answer: Drink from the Goblet of Eternal Youth
and behead its Guardian. A task Derek is all too willing to
do until he meets Justine. She's so gorgeous, so sexy, and
she doesn't think he's crazy for believing in curses. It
would be a shame to have to behead her. Derek and Justine
can't fight their attraction to each other, although it
places them and those around them in danger, and time is
running out for both of them.
I am one of the least easily offended people that I know,
and I like to think that I have a good sense of humor. That
being said, I really had a problem with Satan being
portrayed as a lovesick Lothario, even for laughs. This
made what should have been a funny, wild, sexy romp much
less enjoyable. I found the other characters quite likable,
especially Theresa. Her desire to either shag or incinerate
every male who crossed her path and her snarky commentary
supplied many laugh-out-loud moments. Sexy Satan aside,
this story as a whole is very entertaining.
Justine Bennett is cursing her life. She’s the Guardian of
the Goblet of Eternal Youth, she hasn’t left the house in
ages, and it’s been over 200 years since she’s had sex. Oh,
and the Goblet has shape-shifted into an espresso machine
named Mona. Not exactly the stuff grand destiny is made
of... Derek LaValle is worried. Due to a family curse, he’ll
be dead in the space of a week unless he finds the Guardian
of the Goblet of Eternal Youth and beheads her. Which
wouldn’t be a problem if she weren’t so sexy, smart... and
ready to behead him right back.