A terrifying twist on modern fiction by Sheila Yasmin Marikar
By: Abigail Dawn
Released on October 1, 2022, Sheila Yasmin Marikar’s novel, ‘The Goddess Effect’ is a relatable read, with a twist so spellbinding readers won’t want to put the book down. Published by Little A, an Amazon Publishing imprint, this novel is a great escape, with some great reflections.
Book Summary
The story starts with Anita, a millennial woman looking for a fresh start. She leaves her family, friends, and apartment in New York, and moves to Los Angeles to find a fresh career, and ultimately a new way of life.
As she explores the city, she discovers a fitness class called ‘the Goddess Effect’ run by a wellness guru, Venus. Finding friendships, partnerships, and potentially a new job, Anita is sure she has found her community.
Things begin to take a turn when Anita is invited to the first Goddess Effect Retreat, where the organizers push certain wellness techniques without explanation. She begins to reflect on whether she has found her people or her new nightmare.
Book Review
Marikar’s character development and plot carried the story from beginning to end. The relatable characters gave the story the realism that many millennials look for in novels. Although reading can be foreseen as “the great escape,” readers will look for connections and life lessons and this novel provided them. Additionally, Marikar provides moments when readers can reflect on their allyship to the BIPOC community, and what being an ally means.
Marikar created an enriching, unique, and somewhat terrifying plot. The additional details enhanced the plot and made it that much more interesting. Marikar’s story is current, with up-to-date references, and thoroughly researched details that gave the story realism … which potentially made it even more horrifying.
Unfortunately, in the epilogue Marikar explained the moral of the story, the lesson that the main character learned. A good book should never explain its purpose, its moral, or its lessons, it should be threaded within the words, the metaphors, and throughout the book. Marikar’s message came through, and the novel didn’t need the moral of the story in the epilogue. It almost ruined the hold the rest of the book had. Additionally, although Marikar’s book was well researched, for readers who don’t understand particular fields of science, the references had certain gaps, and they could have been explained more for the readers. Certain research elements were assumed as general knowledge, but a brief explanation wouldn’t have broken the storyline, and it would have made it clearer for certain readers.
Overall Recommendation
I recommend this novel for a reader who expects to read the book in one or two sittings. The first half of the novel is a slow start, the chapter breaks can also be reading breaks, but the last half … readers won’t want it to put it down. It’s the perfect book for a cozy night indoors as the weather gets colder.
8.5/10