When four very different women respond to an advert for a course at the church hall promising women a ‘garden of earthly delights,’ not all of them know exactly what they’ve signed up for. And when they discover that a giant reproduction from the Kama Sutra has replaced the usual portrait of the Queen, more than one of them contemplates doing a runner before it’s too late. But then Jade Gate, their mysterious and charismatic workshop leader, arrives and sweeps them along with her extravagant enthusiasm.
Before they know it, Reenie, Kate, Estelle and Janet are being encouraged to speak to their inner sex goddesses and to support each other in their mutual quest to become fully functioning sensual beings. It’s just a pity that personal conflicts and life events seem determined to thwart their common goal...
We first meet the ladies when Janet and friend Gwen walk into the church hall in their sleepy Norfolk town. The first thing they are greeted by is not the Queen's portrait, but a full scale picture from the Kama Sutra. Gwen is horrified as she thought she was attending a class to help her primulas. She demands Janet leave with her at once, but Janet thinks it actually might be some fun.
Whilst introducing themselves, Kate and Renee realise they have something, or someone in common and there is automatically bad blood within the small group which it takes Jade some very diplomatic skills to diffuse.
As the story goes along you begin to learn the women's backgrounds. They are all very different, Janet is a housewife who is beginning to reach middle age. Her marriage to her husband is just plodding along, but she thought that was normal as he is her first real relationship and they have been together nearly half her life.
Kate is the outspoken one of the group, and often saying things they would rather not hear. She is inflammatory, rude and very dismissive. She is also suffering her own personal sadness of a failed marriage. She was cheated on in the worst way, and is taking an awfully long time to recover.
Renee is the eldest of the group. Nearing her sixties, she is happily married and has a brood of girls. There is a huge sadness in Renee's life and she is grieving terribly. This threatens to shake her marriage and there is much work to do for the couple to make things work. This loss also impacts on their other children and life for Renee is difficult.
Finally there is Estelle. Hard faced and snooty, looking down her nose at all the others and wondering why on earth she is mixing with them. She is single and a successful business woman and has immense trouble breaking down her barriers. She is seeing a married man but underneath it all is not happy at all and is harbouring secrets and troubles of her childhood.
They attend the group each Friday on a quest to find their 'Inner Goddess' and find themselves doing stranger and more out of character things with each session.
Along with this they find close friendships being formed, even when things come along that shake their foundations to the core.
I enjoyed The Goddess Workshop, the subject matter was inspired and definitely like nothing I had read before! I loved to watch the ladies begin to explore themselves (in terms of mind as well as body!) and their characters begin to take on whole new personas.
They all underwent huge transformations with the help of the group and came out of it with a whole new take on life. I enjoyed watching Janet discover a whole new meaning, she literally turned her life around and came away empowered!
I would recommend The Goddess Workshop. It really does have a great storyline and is well written. I would exercise caution though as the subject could offend and it does contain some bad language, although it is tasteful and not unnecessary.
I would like to thank the author for providing me with an ecopy of The Goddess Workshop in exchange for an honest review.