Love Conquers All • The Goddess Test

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
Series: Goddess Test #1
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: April 19, 2011
Source/Format: Bought || Paperback

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. 

I was highly intrigued by the premise of The Goddess Test, as it hints at one of my favorite Greek myths, the story of Hades & Persephone. Actually, to be frank, I enjoy mythology in general, so any book that utilises it pretty much gets an instant glance from me.

Even though it was a spring from no feelings at all to suddenly developing feelings and strong ones too, I enjoyed the love story in The Goddess Test. I'm a diehard romantic, so all the drama they went through was something that I not-so-secretly enjoyed. Plus, Henry is a brooding, mysterious leading man, which I liked too.

I feel quite ambivalent about The Goddess Test as a whole. Unlike some other books with similar attempts to weave mythology and a modern-day tale, I feel like this one didn't do it quite as carefully or meticulously. While the whole premise of a girl having to survive seven tests in order to become Queen of the Underworld sounds intriguing in theory, the execution fell a bit flat for me. Although it's explained quite neatly in the end, I sort of wished it hadn't required an explanation, that the tests had been clearer from the beginning. I do sort of like the twist that it has when the tests are revealed, but I must confess that I thought the interrelation between them and the gods of Greek mythology was a little fragile. Despite my ambivalence, I did enjoy reading it. I'm still going to pick up the second book, as I'm hoping that the series will pick up.