Goddess of Everything by Paul DeBlassie III
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Goddess of Everything by Paul DeBlassie III tells the horrific tale of the length’s a mother will go through to keep her son’s love. Mother Juana de la Cruz is a devoutly religious woman and Superior of the Orphanage of the Holy Innocents located in the community of Atzlan del Norte. The Nunnery and Orphanage is a place of closely guarded secrets, one where evil and darkness lurk behind every door. Mother Juana de la Cruz’s son Gabriel de LaTierra is a psychiatric healer who has devoted his life to helping the children at the orphanage. When Gabriel starts uncovering secrets of supernatural happenings and missing children, he becomes suspicious of the true motives of the nuns running the Orphanage of the Holy Innocents. The one person he trusts within the orphanage and nunnery is his beloved Mother Juana de la Cruz, a woman who is a true saint in Gabriel’s eyes and could harm no one, especially a child. A woman who is also considered a saint by the devoutly religious community of Atzlan del Norte.

Gabriel’s wife Consuela, however, suspects otherwise and attempts to get Gabriel to see the true person his beloved Mother Juana de la Cruz is. Consuela has powers of her own as a seer and knows that true evil is smart, often hiding in plain sight. She tries to warn Gabriel that his beloved Mother Juana is pure evil. Gabriel finds such thoughts unimaginable because his Mother Juana is devoutly religious and he refuses to see how Mother Juana keeps him, her beloved son, brainwashed and under her spell. To shed light on what Mother Juana de la Cruz’s true intentions are, Gabriel is shown through visions from Consuela the blood sacrifices of children that take place in the desert late at night. A ritual that has been taking place for centuries and one that gives Mother Juana de la Cruz and her nuns immortality. Gabriel is horrified to think that his beloved Mother could be capable of such horrendous acts of pure evil and finds himself conflicted between the love he has for his wife and the love and devotion he has towards his mother. When his beloved wife Consuela is viciously attacked, and his young son is kidnapped, Gabriel is forced to act. Will Gabriel be able to find the strength and courage to save his wife and son? Will good triumph over evil?

The Goddess of Everything is a new twist on the age-old tale of good versus evil, and the darker side of religion. From the first page Paul deBlassie III pulled me into the story and held my interest with tales of the supernatural, magical powers, religious rituals and sacrifices, and the dark realms of true evil. This book was action packed throughout and delivered from start to finish. Great read that will give you goosebumps and will surely haunt your dreams!

View all my reviews @Tara Johnson Barnes