Book Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
“I didn’t agree to any tests.” I paused. “What happens if I pass?”“Us? Dead, you mean?
“No, that is not what I mean. Think – you know the myth, do you not? Who was Persephone? What was she?”
Feeling dizzy, I stood as quickly as I could while still in those damned heels. “Listen, Henry, this all sounds great and everything, but what you’re telling me is from a myth that people made up thousands of years ago. Persephone never existed, and even if she did, she wasn’t a god, because there’s no such thing-“
“I thought I already had.” The fire in his eyes didn’t fade. “There may be things I will not – cannot – tell you, but I am not a liar, and I will never mislead you.”
“But it is happening, so maybe it is time for you to reevaluate what is possible and what is not.”
I thought about kicking off my heels, heading down the path to the front gate, and leaving, but the thought of my dream with my mother stopped me. As the part of me that wanted to stay for her overruled my skepticism, the temperature dipped twenty degrees, and I shivered.
The Review: Kate and her mom have always been together, and when her mom’s dying wish is to return to the town of Eden, Kate makes it happen, leaving behind her friends and the life that she knew. And she’s not eager to make new ones- especially when it’s a choice between being social and spending the last moments with her mom. When Henry offers Kate a chance to extend her mother’s life, Kate grasps at the chance- and finds out that the Greek pantheon isn’t found just in the history books after all. Henry is the Ruler of the Underworld, and Kate enters into a twisted bargain: move to his estate, attempt the tests of the council, and if she passes, become his bride and co-ruler of the Underworld. However, someone is working against Kate; can the traitor be found before it’s too late?
Aimee Carter’s The Goddess Test is an interesting updating of the Greek myths. Kate, created to be perhaps the last possible mate for Henry (who is the modern day Hades), learns that the bargain she strikes for delaying her mother’s death is a tricky one: she must live at the estate, and pass the seven tests of the council in order to become Henry’s bride and co-ruler of the Underworld, and then be in the underworld like Persephone was, six months out of the year. If she succeeds, she will have time to say goodbye to her mom, who has been dying of cancer; if she fails, she will be returned to the normal realm with no memory of her time at the estate. Yet, no one mentioned til after she agreed that there have been 11 other candidates, and all have died in one way or another, and that if Kate fails, Henry will fade to nothing and one of his brothers will take his place. Twists upon twists ensue, with enough romance to make readers’ hearts skip beats. Trying to figure out which character is what god in the pantheon without skipping to the key in the back is a fun twist as well. 3.5 out of 5 stars. Goodreads currently has The Goddess Test as 3.9 stars as of February 11, 2013.
Filed under: Aimee Carter, Book Reviews, Goddess Test, Harlequin Teen, Romance
About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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I have this in my TBR, but I’ll probably be more forgiving. It looks like a great light read for me, and I’m okay with that. 🙂 Greek myth isn’t something I really care for on a major scale. I also like the Persephone one but think it’s a little bit overdone. I prefer Arachne’s myth for some reason. Not as romantic, but it has some nice book potential.
Glad to see your thoughts on this. Should make for an interesting read.