REVIEW: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Where did you get book: Purchased
Release date: Out now

Every girl who has taken the test has failed.

Now it’s Kate’s turn.

It’s always been just Kate and her mom–and now 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.

If she fails…

*Blurb taken from author’s official website*

The Goddess Test is based around Greek Mythology, where our heroine, Kate, makes a deal with Henry (Hades) in return for saving her friend’s life, and to spend more time with her mother before she dies. Kate must past the seven tests of the council to becomes Henry’s wife, otherwise her memory will be wiped, and Henry will fade into nothing.

I enjoyed The Goddess Test, but I did have my problems with the world building, the romantic relationship, and some of Kate’s reactions, but otherwise I found it to be an enjoyable read where I stayed up until the early morning finishing it.

What I liked was the external plot surrounding the gods, because throughout the story, surprises were thrown in the way that I didn’t expect, and that’s always a good thing. It wasn’t predictable, and the reveal of the council took me completely by surprise. It was a great twist, but Kate’s reaction to it all was way too accepting. If I was her, I would be feeling pretty screwed up, but she seemed to accept it all easily — especially the revelation surrounding her mother. It’s very hard to explain without going into spoilers, but what I’ll say is that some things were left unexplained and without the world building rules.

This is called a YA, but I don’t believe Henry is a Young Adult. He’s a god, but has the body of a boy whose only a few years older than Kate. So even though he was the hero material, I found there to be a disconnect because he was acting like a late teen, but in reality, he was a big ass god who should have had a LOT more maturity than he did. Henry also didn’t have a lot of personality, and towards the beginning, I pretty much thought that James had a lot more going for him. Henry’s and Kate’s romance wasn’t an instant I love you, and that made for a nice change. I felt though that Kate fell too easily for Henry, and Henry’s moping around after Persephone, his first wife, got on my nerves.

I’ll definitely be picking up the second story in the series to see where it leads with Kate and Henry, and I hope the world building is much stronger.

I give The Goddess Test a B-

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