Book Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
Release Date: April 26, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 297
Received: ARC from Net Galley
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars 
Goodreads Page

Summary

From Goodreads: 

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now 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 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...

Review

I read this book quickly for two reasons. The first is Aimee Carter’s easy writing style. I like the way she writes and I felt transported into the world she created. The whole book had a dreamy, fairy-tale feel to it that was especially reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast.

The second reason is because I kept hoping something exciting would happen on the next page, but it didn’t really. Everything moved along at a very even keel for me. I never felt tension, excitement, or anything like that. Even the climax didn’t deviate from this steady level.

You will be tested

The point of the book is that the main character will experience a series of tests and I was looking forward to seeing how these tests would play out. As in all good tests of this nature, the main character never knows when she is being tested and what she is being tested on. The only problem in this case is neither does the reader (or at least this reader!). 

I kept waiting for the tests to come but then…nothing. There were a few instances where I suspected something might have been a test, but they lacked impact for me. I don’t want to be beaten over the head with the obvious stick, so I do appreciate the author taking a more subtle approach. Still, I think things were taken beyond “subtle” and into “barely there.” Or maybe I’m just dense. It’s been known to happen. 

The nature of the tests, once finally revealed, also didn’t seem to fit very well with the Greek myth aspects. I don’t really see why those tests in particular would be valued by the Greek gods (who weren’t exactly known for their principles) or how they relate to Kate’s eventual job as Hades’ bride.

This is Greek mythology?

One of the reasons I wanted to read this book so badly was because I’m a huge sucker for retellings. I love seeing how an author will twist a classic story while still retaining elements of the original. Part of the fun for me is catching all of the references to the original. 

I am not an expert in Greek mythology, but I do have a passing familiarity with most of the major myths. Even with that, I had a very difficult time identifying many references. There were a few, but there weren’t nearly as many as I would have liked. 

A bunch of the major gods and goddesses go “undercover” for the majority of the story. I liked this idea, but it is again done so subtly that there is very little connection between the characters and their mythological counterparts. I even peeked at the back to see which characters were supposed to represent each god, and I still had a  hard time seeing the connections. I also don’t really think the characters’ personalities matched the personalities of the Greek gods and goddesses very well. Some did, sort of, but very loosely.

Cry me a river

Aside from the tests and the myth references, I wanted to read this book because of Hades. I love the bad boy, and for that can you get any better than Hades, god of the underworld? I think not. And yet, this Hades didn’t even have a shred of bad boy in him. 

Instead of Bad Boy we get Sensitive Boy. Readers who like a male lead who is sad, sensitive, and meek and needs to be taken care of by the female lead will probably like Henry (Hades). If you like Sam from Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver then you’ll probably like Henry. I don’t like that kind of character, much preferring the strong Alpha male, so Henry just bored and frustrated me. 

Both Henry and Kate struck me as bland. They were both so wrapped up in their own melancholy and for me that dragged down the story. I didn’t like either of them because they were both so depressing. The reasons for their melancholy do play an important part in the story, but it served more to distance me from the characters. Their apathy dragged on for far too long, especially Henry’s. 

Kate was better and definitely did develop more drive as the book progressed, but I still had a hard time connecting with her. Her motivation primarily stems from her love of Henry, but because I didn’t love him I had a hard time figuring out why Kate cared so much. It just seemed like she was shifting her dependence from her mother to Henry. Her total absorption into their plights allowed her to put her own life completely on hold to the point that she seemed like a shell of a person to me. She felt like a doormat, always living for everyone but herself. I’m sure this is supposed to make her seem kind and generous, but to me it just made it difficult to respect her.

Where do we go from here?

Extremely mild spoiler:

The ending bothered me. I don’t like how things were resolved between Kate and her mother. I also don’t like the possible love triangle the very last chapter seems to be setting up. To me, that undermines the already unbelievable romance the entire book revolved around.

This is the first book in a projected trilogy, but it ends pretty well on its own.  I think this would have been much better as a standalone book than trying to stretch it into a trilogy. The story feels complete here, though I don’t think it’s fair of me to make any final judgments on this until I’ve read the other books. 

At this point I may read the rest of the trilogy, or I may not. This wasn’t a bad book, but I don’t really feel a burning desire to read more. I feel disappointed because of my expectations, but otherwise I just feel neutral. There is a good foundation here though, and I did like her writing style. While I’m not sure about continuing on with this series, I would probably read another non-Goddess Test book by Aimee Carter.

FYI note: Various characters have sex, though it is never graphic.

 Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

Read another review for The Goddess Test at 

 A Girl, Books and Other Things!

This book satisfies the following challenges: 

• 2011 Debut Author Challenge
• Most Awaited YA Releases Challenge

Looking for more mythological books? You might like: 

The Everworld series by K. A. Applegate

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