The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Rating: 4.75/5.0
Release Date: April 19th, 2011
Age Level: Young Adult 14+
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 304

Recommend? Anyone who has any interest in Greek myths will love The Goddess Test!

Synopsis:

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.

My Thoughts:

The Goddess Test surprised me. Aimee Carter created a world where Greek myths come alive and no one is ever exactly who they say they are.

The beginning started off sad as we learned that Kate's mother, her only family, is dying. Kate's mother's wish is that they go to Eden, Michigan to live out her last days. The relationship between Kate and her mother seems really close-knit and was very touching at times. Kate didn't seem to mind much that she had to start over since she really didn't have too many friends left in New York due to her devotedness to her mother when her mother fell ill.

First off, I have to say I adore James (and his love for ketchup! It is something we share...) and I felt that out of a lot of the side characters, he was one that I warmed up to immediately. Ava, as well. She was not the typical snotty cheerleader like I took her as at first (every High School has one...) and despite how rude Ava always was to our main character Kate in the beginning, Kate looked past that and actually saw the 'person' behind the 'cheerleader'. I loved watching their friendship bloom and Ava is beyond cute once you get to know her.

And then there is Henry. I truly wish I could have gotten to know Henry a bit better. I felt that his characterization lacked a bit and he seems a little two-dimensional to me. I have a feeling there is a lot more going on with him, but we were not let in on it. To me, he always possessed this older, tortured feeling and that distanced him from everyone, including Kate. I felt that even by the end, there is still some distance there (but it might just be me).

There was always a mystery surrounding The Goddess Test. Like, what exactly are the seven tests? Who is giving them? Who killed the past girls? The Goddess Test keeps you guessing till the end-- you never know who to trust! At the end, there was a HUGE revelation that I didn't see coming. I cannot wait for Aimee Carter's next book, Goddess Interrupted, which is to be released late January 2012!

**Reviewed Copy was an ARC**

Details:

Cover: 5.0

Plot: 4.5

Characters: 5.0

Writing: 4.5

Source: Received from Publisher for Review.