The Goddess Test



TITLE: The Goddess Test

AUTHOR: Aimee Carter

SERIES: Goddess Test #1

PUBLISHER: Harlequin

PAGES: 293 (Paperback)

         SYNOPSIS

 

I know it’s taken me a while to catch up with everyone else and read this, but I finally got my hands on a copy and, well…it wasn’t what I’d hoped. After reading the synopsis late last year, I was so anticipating this book. The premise sounded full of WIN: a strong heroine, seven challenging and inventive tests, and a hot romance with one of the most famous gods in the classical world. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite fit in with my imaginings.

Whilst Kate was good enough; pretty, smart, friendly, any number of other mild adjectives etc. She was just so…plain. The only thing that really caught my interest was her relationship with her mother, which seemed to relate exactly to some of my own experiences. Kate’s calmness and composition in that situation was something worth respecting, and it was adorable reading a proper mother-daughter relationship for once. Unfortunately, as Kate began to immerse herself in Henry’s world and the mansion, it was put in the background and only came up as a tool used in the plot.

I could have forgiven that though, except Ms. Carter just went and effed up the ending majorly, which ruined the whole thing *le sigh*.

                                                                                                      

Despite the many Hades/Persephone myth-based books coming out this year, I had high hopes for Hades, aka Henry. I thought he’d be a complete bad-ass, with a confident personality and cocky/laugh out loud humour. Instead, he was a bit of a wuss, I would even go so far as dull. I can see that Ms. Carter was trying to make him sweet and lovable, but I think she drew him back too much, making him more of a two-dimensional cut out than a main character. It was so bad, Kate was forced to do the wooing, and god, is she an awkward woo-er. If the author wants to redeem herself in this aspect, I would suggest she work on him, a lot.

Speaking of characters, this was one of the major letdowns in TGT. None of them felt like a real person to me. Some of the friendships in this novel were just too easy, and the events surrounding them were just plain ridiculous. The characters couldn’t have been any more different than the gods they were supposed to be, since when did any god give a crap about anyone? And making the tests on the seven deadly sins; isn’t that a CHRISTIAN thing?

What really ruined it for me was the ending. That stupid, traitorous, completely anti-climaxal ending. I felt so betrayed by those characters, that they could have lied and pretended to be her friend and actually CARE, and then Kate just accepts it even though no true friend or love would EVER do that to you. If I was her, I would have walked away and screw the lot of them, because that was the stick that broke the camel’s back for me.

To be honest, I’m really not sure how I managed to get through this book, all I know is that 1. I never want to read it again, and 2. Unbelievably I actually wouldn’t mind reading the second one. I know my review has been mainly negative, but there were some good points, so please don’t hate me! The mystery, for instance, was well done, I didn’t get it until about two pages before it was revealed.  Also, Ms. Carter’s writing is good for a debut author, capturing the voice of a mature teenager with a responsible moral compass.

As far as recommending it, would I? Yes and No. For those who don’t look too much into a book, and enjoy an entertaining – if slightly fluffy – mythical read, go for it if you like the plot idea. If you’re an experienced reviewer, who actually analyses these things and has actual standards: STAY AWAY. You will rip this book to shreds before reaching page 50.

But, to be honest, I would decide for yourself. Only you can know what you like reading, and only you know if it’s worth it.