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Review: The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter

Friday, September 21, 2012 § 0 Comments

Title: The Goddess Test
Author: Aimée Carter
Series: The Goddess Test (Book #1)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology, Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release date: April 19, 2011
ISBN-10: 0373210264
ISBN-13: 978-0373210268
Format: Hardcopy
Source: Purchased
EVERY GIRL WHO HAS TAKEN THE TEST HAS DIED.

NOW IT'S KATE'S TURN.

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess.

IF SHE FAILS...



My Review:
When I read the blurb for this book, I got really excited for several reasons: 1) Greek mythology is possibly one of my favourite things to read about, and modern takes of them always pique my interest. 2) The myth of Hades and Persephone is one of my favorites in particular. 3) The whole "seven tests" idea is original and made for some serious potential.

I haven't seen many YA novels about Greek mythology, so this got instant points for it solely being the first one of its kind to catch my attention. I found Kate insufferable in the beginning, but she grew on me slightly by the end of it. I couldn't get into her as much as the minor characters, though. I liked James and Ava, and even Calliope had more likeability than the main characters even though she was a spiteful bitch and the reasonings behind her actions were kind of... ehh. The relationship between Kate and her mother was really sweet and I was rooting for Kate to pull through with the entire thing to save her.

There were some weak spots in the book. The accuracy in terms of mythology is kind of (I'm being nice, here) off, and the tests I felt were pretty underwhelming. Doing little tasks in exchange for immortality just isn't enough. It's immortality. I was expecting some Hercules-like stuff, which might have been a bit presumptuous of me because it's pretty obvious that this is a romance novel above all else. When it comes to YA, I usually find myself more in favour of the male lead, and the heroine is the one that gets on my nerves. But in this case, the character of Henry was someone that I just couldn't find appealing; did he love her? Did he not? Was he confused? Or just very angsty? He wasn't very likeable to me. The story was quite rushed, and Kate was swayed pretty easily when it came to forgiveness and believing that the gods existed.

The concept itself is fantastic. But when I was reading, I kept waiting for something. It just felt like something was missing under all that potential. I found myself looking forward to the reveals of who was who, and that's what motivated me to finish the book. I have to say, the pay-off was pretty awesome in therms of that. Plus, the cover is pretty. I really love the text, the whole ethereal and greenery feel, and the dress that the model is wearing is just gorgeous.

If you're looking for a quick, light read about fantasy mixed with romance, then consider this book. If you're looking for some complexity, hard-driven character development, mythological accuracy and a male lead who doesn't give you Edward Cullen vibes, then maybe skip out on it. You shouldn't go into this book expecting a lot of the original myth to be incorporated. For me personally, I liked it enough to buy the second book, Goddess Interrupted. But if I'm being honest, I haven't read it yet.

My rating:

Visit the author:
Official website | Twitter | Goodreads
Buy this book:
Harlequin.com | Amazon.com | Indigo.ca

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