The Goddess Test- 26/09/14 **
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...
I didn't hate it the way I do some books, but I did not like it either.
I downloaded this as a free ebook and thought the story sounded really good. So I downloaded it but didn't think of it again, then recently, it was included in a book pool I am participating in so I thought I would have a go. Not something I would recommend.
The plot line is interesting, but I wouldn't say good, it's not very researched and spends too much time trying to put Christian values in Greek Gods. I will tell you now, the Greek Gods were not created the way christianity was, they are not an excuse for humanity to act like judgemental hypocrites, they do not care about sins, about lust, or greed, or any of that, because they are all guilty of it. Have you not heard the myths, they succumb to every desire not caring about the consequences, much like humanity does, but are honest about it.
The main character is really quite strange. I did not like her, but she wasn't infuriating, so I can't figure it out.
The romance is slow and boring, they have no chemistry, no real connection, it feels very much like a middle-age arranged marriage with the couple trying to convince themselves they give a damn about each other. They don't. And what kind of name is 'Henry', he's meant to be the God of the fricken underworld, but every time I read his name I think of the guy who plays the love interest in the "Bridget Jones" movie, awkward and undesirable. Who the council is is so obvious its not funny. The entire 'cast' just a set of strange, without personality and so unlike gods it is ridiculous. The writing wasn't terrible, besides the stiff unbelievable interactions, I mean seriously, "Stay away form my boyfriend" then jumping headfirst into a rock? Who does that? I would have let her die out of stupidity. I'm only giving it 2 stars because I could finish it. But the more I think about it, the more I hate it. Maybe that is because I have read books on the matter that are actually good, but this just didn't do it for me.