Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Title: The Goddess Test
Author: Aimee Carter
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publish Date: April 19, 2011
Genre: YA, mythology
Pages: 293
Source: Received
Series: The Goddess Test #1
1. The Goddess Test
2. Goddess Interrupted (March 27, 2012)
3. Goddess Inheritance (expected pub Apr 2013)

Synopsis:
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 suceeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess.

IF SHE FAILS...

From Goodreads

I’ve always been a big fan of Greek mythology, so I love these myth retellings in YA lately. The myth of Persephone seems to be a popular one to retell, but this is the first I’ve read.

Kate is a really strong character. She’s selfless: she only cares about saving her mother and she even saves a girl who has been terrible to her in the beginning. And later on, she’s not focused on what she wants, but on helping Henry. I liked how she was strong and independent, and seemed to be a more adult character right from the beginning. It didn’t seem farfetched. At the age of 18, and after all that she’d been through, Kate really was a young woman who was coming into herself and learning who she wanted to be.

The story caught me by surprise. I knew Kate had to pass seven tests, but for some reason I had more epic tests in mind. Like some physical tests and more adventure. However, the fact that these weren’t the types of tests in the book didn’t deter me from the story at all. I loved how Kate didn’t always know if she was being tested or not. It really showed you that she was being tested more as a person than on anything superhuman.

I liked Henry, but it was always weird thinking of him as this young-looking guy when he spoke so formally and properly. I think the formal talk made him seem a bit stiff to me. But I always believed the words he said and the feelings he expressed. The secondary characters, like Ava, James, and Kate’s mom, were fun to get to know. They each had their part to play in Kate’s journey, and I think they were well developed. I hope to see more of the same secondary characters in the next book.

The love story was really sweet. It was a truer love, where Kate didn’t know she was falling until she realized that she was worried Henry didn’t care for her. It was gradual. It was surprising. And I find that these are two things that make me believe the characters are really in love. Not the pining or the lust. But the growing of a relationship over time. And I can’t wait to see that relationship grow and be tested in the next book, Goddess Interrupted!