The Goddess Test Review

Title: The Goddess Test

Author: Aimee Carter

Date of Publication: April 19, 2011

Formats Available: Paperback, E-Book

Buy This Book: Amazon

Synopsis: Kate's mom is dying and her last wish is to go back to her tiny home town of Eden, Michigan. Kate must start over at a new school, make new friends, and worry about her moms approaching death. One night while Kate is being tricked by her classmate Ava, Kate watches in horror as Ava dives into a river and dies. When Kate calls for help a mysterious man appears and asks her what she would do to save Ava, Kate replies, "anything". Little does Kate know she has agreed to live with this man, Hades (also known as Henry), 6 months out of the year following the Greek myth of Persephone. She must undergo 7 tests to take Persephone's place, and if she fails it means certain death.

My Review:

Within the first 70 pages of The Goddess Test I was sure I would hate this book. It was cheesy, it was predictable, and it was completely unrealistic. To my compete shock I soon found myself loving this book; I read it in one day, unable to put it down. If you're looking for a book with a lot of depth and character development don't bother, but if you're looking for a fun read with an adorable romance search no further.

One of the major flaws with this novel, and the main reason I initially hated it, is the lack of logic. Ava lures Kate across a river by stepping on rocks and then proceeds to dive into the river in an attempt to leave Kate stranded and ends up killing herself. What I really don't understand is why Ava thought Kate would even be stranded, they just walked across rocks to get there... can't Kate just walk back across the rocks? This kind of logic made me want to throw this book against a wall.

Despite this major fault The Goddess Test had a lot of redeeming qualities. First of all the romance between Kate and Henry is adorable, it was different without being too strange and by the end I was rooting for them every step of the way. Second, I loved the mystery aspect of this novel. I've always been a sucker for mysteries and while this was not exactly a heart pounding mystery I did enjoy the climatic and unexpected turn of events when the perpetrator was unveiled.

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel, I initially hated it and loved it by the end. Part fantasy, part romance, and part mystery The Goddess Test is a fun read as long as the lack of common logic doesn't bother you. I would undoubtedly recommend this novel to someone looking for a light summer read.

4/5