The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

This is my second read through of the Goddess Test series. I had been wanting to read it again for quite some time, but I always have a hard time justifying re-reading books because there are so many books out there that need to be read. But since I re-read Hunger Games, I decided why not do these too. In fact, I'm thinking about other books that I haven't read in quite some time that I should re-visit, but we'll see how I feel when I finish this series. I loved The Goddess Test once, lets see how it is this time!

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

Kate Winters is not excited about returning to her mothers hometown of Eden, Michigan. Not only will she be leaving the bustling city of New York during her senior year to move to a small, unknown city that doesn't even have a McDonald's, but because returning to Eden is her mothers dying wish, and Kate isn't ready to say goodbye to her mother. Kate's plan is to just keep her head low until her mother passes away, but when a prank goes wrong with her and local girl, Ava, Kate ends up agreeing to spend the winter months with the town recluse Henry in order to save Ava's life. But now Henry is telling her that he is actually Hades and he has to find someone to replace Persephone if he wants to continue being alive, and she is his last chance, if she can pass seven tests. Kate doesn't know what to make of any of this, but she is willing to believe anything if it will help her dying mother.

So I didn't love this as much as I did the first time, but I read some other people's reviews and they were brutal! The book isn't that bad. A little naïve, yeah. But in a young readers digest way. It's not explicit, it's very sweet. It's something that I would suggest to junior high/high schoolers looking to read something romantic that isn't the usual boy meets girl trope.

(Source: Giphy)

One thing people really harp on is that none of this is how Greek gods act, but that's one thing that I really love about the book. For one, the gods and goddesses are myths that were prayed to in ancient times and used to explain things they did not yet have the science to understand. So when you keep that in mind, how can they not act this way? They aren't real, so you can make them act any way you want. But if you want to keep on that path, one thing that is stated in the book (and in the Percy Jackson series) is that the gods have had to adapt to modern culture. If they continued to act the way they did in 2000 BCE, people would have stopped praying to them because the gods were being unrealistic. I enjoy the fact that the gods here act more like normal humans who have real feelings. It makes them relatable and likable. Again, you have to remember that this book is geared towards a younger audience who isn't going to want to read about a whole book of characters they can't relate to.

(Source: Giphy)

What I didn't like about the book was that it felt a little slow. There were a lot of scenes that I felt were just in there to add pages to the book, not to progress the plot. Mostly, before she goes to Eden, it is about how she isn't ready to say goodbye to her mom. Once she is in Eden, it's the guilt she feels about letting Ava die. All of these internal monologues are to show the reader that she is a caring and kind person who is deserving of being a goddess, but it's a bit overkill. She also flip flops quite quickly between thinking that Henry and the whole situation is crazy and not believing anything, to whole heartedly believing everything multiple times. But despite thinking he's crazy, she never does anything about it, like telling her mom or the police or another dependable adult, which is what most logical people would do if a crazy person said that he wanted you to live with him for six months of the year for the rest of your life.

I really do love the characters. They all have this intrigue about them. A lot of that is because you know they all know something that Kate doesn't, which means that the reader also doesn't know. You try to pick up on little clues here and there, but for the most part, you're in the dark as much as Kate. Even though I had previously read it, that was five years ago and there was a lot that I had forgotten and I couldn't remember how it all pieced together in the end. I couldn't even remember which one was supposed to be evil, so I was really dissecting each thing that every character said and did to try and figure it out.

(Source: Giphy)

While the book wasn't as good as I remembered, it was still a fun read and I'm excited to read the next novels in the series and see what happens next, because I really couldn't tell you anymore.

Rating: 6/10
Author: Aimee Carter
Series: Goddess Test (Book 1 of 3)
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology
Dates Read: April 14-15, 2020