Review: The Goddess Test (Goddess Test #1) by Aimee Carter

in a sentence or so: Kate's mother is dying. they move to Eden so Kate can have a more relaxed senior year of high school, which doesn't exactly happen. Kate saves a girl from a prank-gone-wrong by promising herself to a guy named Henry, more commonly known as Hades. as if that weren't scary enough, she has to pass a series of tests before she can even get to the whole 'queen of the underworld' gig.

the seven tests Kate has to pass to become the wife of Henry (formerly known as Hades) are based around the seven deadly sins. allow my review to follow suit and use those sins as the framework for my thoughts.

Greed. for what it's worth, i could not put this book down. it was very Twilight-esque for me in that respect. i always wanted more!

Pride. i love greek mythology. it's fascinating to me, so when i heard about this book i was all about it. i was pretty proud of myself that i was able to figure out who certain gods/goddesses were, but was less proud that i figured out several of the big plot twists. there are a few red herrings along the way, so that was fun.

Wrath. okay it's not wrathful really, but i did find it frustrating how the book started. this girl, Ava, who Kate hardly even knows tries to strand Kate on the other side of a river (knowing she can't swim). then, after Ava cracks her skull open, Henry comes in and the deal is struck. but then later, Ava and Kate are like best friends. WHAT. she just tried to go Mean Girls on you Kate, she is not your friend! but apparently she became her friend. idk. i had to let that go.

Lust. Henry has a serious case of the Edward Cullen disease. he's mysterious, handsome, broody/angry, yet obviously attracted to Kate. with the case of Henry, however, he has a lot to lose if Kate fails the tests. he will fade and cease to exist in any capacity. that puts some serious pressure on Kate, obviously. slowly they grow to become friends, and more. the test becomes more important to Kate than anything else she's ever done. she wants to pass, and the idea of marrying Henry doesn't freak her out so much anymore. in fact, she's kinda excited about it...

Envy. something i really liked about this book, from a relationship point of view, was that Henry was damaged goods. he had his heart broken from Persephone, and was wary as all get out about falling in love again. i appreciated the realism behind that idea - that not all romances are first romances and heartbreak sticks with you for a really long time. Kate is envious of Henry's feelings for Persphone, but she cares for him anyway and learns to deal with that.

Sloth. honestly, i almost gave up on this book about 50 pages in. that's typically my cut-off, but i was curious as to what would happen anyway. i was annoyed that the beginning felt so fake and clunky and totally unbelievable, but i forged ahead (partially due to this post), and i'm glad i did. the reason for the clunkiness is explained later, but i still think the author could have done something to make it flow more naturally.

Gluttony. i ate up this blend of YA and greek mythology. while i do have some serious qualms about the plot and characters, the idea behind it is intriguing enough for me to devour the future installments.

fave quote: "'Is this a dream then? Or is it - is it real?'" She gave me a container of macaroni, along with a look that only my mother could pull off. 'Is there some rule I don't know about that means it can't be both?'" (Location 873 of 3129 on Kindle edition)

fix er up: the beginning could be smoother, but once you're into the part where Kate is in the Underworld and undergoing the testing, it finds it's rhythm and draws you in.

title: The Goddess Test (Goddess Test #1)
author: Aimee Carter
genre: Paranormal, Fantasy
publisher: Harlequin Teen
drop date: April 19th, 2011
buy this book on Amazon

[ftc notice: i downloaded a digital copy of this advance review from NetGalley. i was not compensated for this review in any way.]