Book Review: Goddess by Josephine Angelini.

Product details:
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books.
Paperback, 448 pages.
Release date: May 23rd 2013.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Ages: 13+
Series: Starcrossed  #3.
Other Books in Series: Starcrossed, Dreamless.
Overall Series Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Source: Received from publisher for review.

After accidentally unleashing the gods from their captivity on Olympus, Helen must find a way to re-imprison them without starting a devastating war. But the gods are angry, and their thirst for blood already has a body count.

To make matters worse, the Oracle reveals that a diabolical Tyrant is lurking among them, which drives a wedge between the once-solid group of friends. As the gods use the Scions against one another, Lucas’s life hangs in the balance. Still unsure whether she loves him or Orion, Helen is forced to make a terrifying decision, for war is coming to her shores.

In Josephine Angelini’s compelling conclusion to the masterfully woven Starcrossed trilogy, a goddess must rise above it all to change a destiny that’s been written in the stars. With worlds built just as fast as they crumble, love and war collide in an all-out battle that will leave no question unanswered and no heart untouched.

 Please note: This is a review of a next-in-a-series book. There may be spoilers for  previous books in the series in this review.

Helen Hamilton faces her toughest test yet as faces the wrath of the gods, in Goddess, the action-packed final installment in Josephine Angelini’s blockbuster Starcrossed series.

Goddess picks up in the immediate aftermath of events in Dreamless, and let me tell you this book will keep you on your toes. Now, it might be because I was battling a migraine when I started reading Goddess, but I had a hard time with remembering a lot of what had just happened in Helen’s world. With not a whole lot of recapping, there is a  whole lot of information (not to mention an abundance of characters) to remember here, so I suggest a little refresher before you start reading this one – if you don’t want to find yourself totally disoriented for the first couple chapters, like I did, that is.

Goddess opens in the aftermath of the battle that saw the gods unleashed from captivity on Olympus and out to wreak havoc on the world.  A series of attacks and natural disasters that are really not so natural at all confirms that the gods are angry, and hungry for war. But who can defeat the gods? A disorienting start to the book sees Helen out of action, her energy depleted from battle, as she drifts in and out of sleep and through premonitions and dreams of past lives.  Helen’s dreams show us what’s in her heart, and in every dream, there is Lucas, maybe in a different guise, but forever with Helen. Not in this life, though. Still cruelly separated from Lucas, Helen finds herself growing closer and closer to Orion.   Ah, Helen and Lucas. I just wanted them to kiss already, you know, but they are so into not breaking the rules. Argh! 

My favourite element of the Starcrossed series right from the start has been its characters. Angelini truly excels in characterization.  I love that this series features an large family and it’s a testament to Angelini’s writing skills that even though the Delos family is large, each personality has been crafted to perfection in this series from start to finish. And the boys. The boys in the series are HOT. Hector, Lucas, Orion – I’m talking about you. But romance is on the backburner for the majority of this book; there just so much going on and the plot is pretty action-focused for a time. The action is pretty crazy too, especially the battle to end all battles.  I mean, at one point an actual Kraken showed up! Those gods don’t mess around.

So, who’s the last one standing?  Well, since this is the final book in the trilogy, you know that some heads have got to roll, right?  I’m not going to say who, of course, but suffice to say that not everybody gets a happy ending here. And even those that do get their happy ever after, well, let’s just say that HEA may not be a long term thing. Oh yes. There are a couple surprises in this one.

While there is a lot to love about this trilogy, I have to say that Goddess, while it’s a pretty enjoyable conclusion, was not my favourite of the series. There is little recapping, a lot of flashbacking to Helen’s former lives, disorienting premonitions and a focus on a certain secondary character that flummoxed me, mainly because I couldn’t remember much of anything about him from previous books. This could be because I simply forgot, and shame on me, but I’m not sure if I was already supposed to know about that character’s importance to the overall plot. Also, while I’ve loved the characters in this series right from the start, I felt a little disconnected from them here from time to time.  I wanted more focus on character interactions. I wanted more romance. I wanted more Hector. And I wanted more for Orion. I can’t really discuss this any further without spoilers, but the conclusion to Orion’s story, I thought, left something to be desired. There was a hint of the Jacob Black about it is all I’ll say…

Still, despite my quibbles (and I almost always have quibbles!), Goddess was an overall enjoyable read, and I hear there may be a movie deal in the works for the series, which would be great. As a series Starcrossed is epic in scope and I think it’s one that would transfer well to the big screen. Also, imagine the cast. Total hotness!