Book Review: The Goddess Test by Aimée Carter.

Product details:
Publisher: Harlequin Teen.
Release date: April 19th 2011.
Paperback, 304 pages.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Ages: YA.
Source: Netgalley.

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.

The Goddess Test by Amy Carter has been a much buzzed about book around the blogosphere, and as soon as I saw its beautiful cover and read that this was a modern retelling of the Hades/Persephone myth, I was really excited to read it. What I expected was a dark and dangerous tale, with a deadly but sexy hero and a lot of hot romance. Maybe I set my expectations too high, but for a number of reasons, The Goddess Test was not a hugely enjoyable read for me.

The Goddess Test takes place in Eden, a small middle of nowhere town, where Kate Winters has relocated to with her terminally ill mother so that she can live out her final days in the place where she grew up. The relationship between Kate and her mother is beautifully written, and is truly heartfelt and touching. From the start, the reader feels a connection with Kate. We can sympathise with the pain she feels over the impending loss of her mother, and appreciate how tough her life must be. She has no friends to speak of and not much of a social life either. That’s until Ava, the resident mean girl at her new school decides to take Kate under her wing, leading to tragedy, a meeting with the mysterious Henry and a chain of events that will change Kate’s life forever…

What follows on from Kate’s first meeting with Henry should be full on exciting and action packed, but instead I found that things moved really slowly from here on in. Sometimes I don’t mind slow moving books, but only if I can become completely invested in the characters, and I’m sorry to report that did not happen here. Unfortunately, if I had to pick one word to sum up Henry, it’s dull. Henry, you see, is meant to be Hades, lord of the dead and ruler of the underworld. I’m thinking he should be all dark and dangerous, but instead Henry is drab. He’s a sensitive sort who is prone to sulking, and since Persephone isn’t around anymore, he needs to find a new wife. Enter Kate. Kate doesn’t love Henry and it doesn’t seem that Henry much loves Kate, and because of this the relationship between the two seems very forced and contrived. While I liked Kate at the start of the book this soon changed because of her actions as the story progressed. It seemed to me that Kate developed feelings for Henry just because he's available. I didn’t sense any spark or attraction between the two. Similarly, her friendship with Ava occurs just because there is nobody else around for her to be friends with. I mean, Ava is downright nasty to Kate. Why be friends with her?!

The title of The Goddess Test itself is mysterious and appealing, but as I read further and further into the book I was wondering if these tests were ever going to happen. Most of the book involves Kate trying on pretty dresses, eating delicious food and drinking hot chocolate, and I was really left wondering if and when these mysterious tests were going to occur. We hear of Kate taking one written test, and then nothing…

While the tests themselves, along with Kate’s fate are revealed towards the end of the book, it was all too little too late for me. Honestly when I found out what the tests were, I was really disappointed. You’re offering this girl immortality and goddess status, and that should come at a price. I never really felt that Kate was truly tested, although since I’ve read lots of glowing reviews, it’s safe to say I’m in the minority with my thoughts on this one. With its unexpected ending and emergence of a possible rival for Kate’s affections in the final pages of the book, fans of The Goddess Test will surely be left wanting more. However, my journey ends here.