Book Review - The Goddess Test

The Goddess Test
by Aimee Carter

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

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 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.

Why I Picked this Book:  For one, the cover.  I love that cover.  Then I heard so much buzz about it in the blogosphere, I decided I had to read it.  Lastly, I am a sucker for a Greek mythology.  A huge sucker.

My Thoughts:

The Goddess Test was a personal let-down for me.  Seeing that it was a new twist on the tale of Persephone sure got me excited.  I could only imagine what was about to unfold in these pages.  What did unfold was far from what I expected.  And not in the good way.

I love the overall idea of this story.  Kate's mother is dying.  A girl at school pulls a prank to ditch Kate, only to accidently kill herself.  And Henry is there to bring the girl, Ava, back to life.  As long as Kate makes a deal.  The deal?  Become the next Persephone.  And he will not only bring Ava back, but keep her mother alive as well.  All she has to do is pass the tests thrown by the other Gods, then she is in.  Sounds cool huh?

I felt rushed this entire book.  Relationships changed so fast I wasn't sure if the next scene Kate and Ava were friends still or would become enemies.  Everything felt very one dimensional to me, and about halfway through the book I was reading just to see if I would end up liking it at all.

Without giving away too much, the ending was good.  ...Ish.  Alot of the twists I actually had already guessed, but a few caught me off guard.  Then... it rushed again.  I don't know.  I just wanted more, and the more was never there.

Aimee Carter is a talented writer.  I can feel it in her words.  There was just something about The Goddess Test that did not sit well with me.  I couldn't believe in the characters.  You know it is bad when you are telling a friend about a book, and can't remember the name of the MC.

I wanted to love this book.  I really really did.  But I am honest with these reviews, so I have to be honest here:  It failed my test.  Only the plot and Carter's writing saved it the smidge it did.  Am I being harsh? 

Still, I do plan to look out for more of Carter's works in the future.  I just am not sure if I will read book two following The Goddess Test.  I might.  Hm...  I guess we will find out together.

My Rating:

(2 out of 5 stars)