Review: The Goddess Test (Goddess Test #1)

The Goddess Test (Goddess Test #1) by Aimee Carter

Publisher: Harlequin Teen, 2011

298 pages, kindle edition

Source: Purchased through the Amazon

Genre: Young Adult, Greek Mythology, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Supernatural

Link: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Every girl who had 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:

The Greek gods are a fun subject. Aimee carter’s The Goddess Test series is another in a long line of highly enjoyable stories about these infamous mythological beings. Her spin on them however is what makes the series sparkle.

In spite of the story being about Kate Winter’s Tests and being the potential future co-ruler of the Underworld, The Goddess test keeps the god talk to a bare minimum, she accomplishes this in part through the modern nomenclature. It is easy to forget that Henry and Hades are one in the same because Henry is such an unassuming name. She also accomplishes this in the ordinariness of life at Eden Manor. Yeap there is magic and power but there is also boredom, school, card games, eating and sleeping, these activities take up a majority of kate’s experiences, thereby minimizing the fantasy.

Then there is Kate. She is everything one wants in a heroine – loyal, steadfast, compassionate, strong, resilient, and so much more. She has a backbone but understands how to pick her battles. She stands by her promises and is not easily distracted. She knows her own mind and is not afraid to stand on her own, even if that puts her in the minority among her peers. Watching her first learn about and then accept her potential new life, one envisions Kate as a fictional Grace Kelly struggling in her transition from actress to queen, for by the end of the story, she is every bit as poised and powerful as Grace was in Monaco. One knows at the very beginning that Kate is special, and it is a delight to watch her blossom into her potential.

My Rating: