Review: Antigoddess

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adult (there are f-bombs and making out)
Recommended for: those interested in Greek mythology, those who prefer fast pacing to character development and action over musing
Book Available: Book available September 10, 2013 in Hardcover and Kindle editions
Trigger Warnings: violence, murder, mutilation, torture

My Thoughts: This is the first book in the Goddess War series, written by the same author who wrote Anna Dressed in Blood (which I loved, review link here). I had high expectations.

This book has one of those tropes that are starting to drive a lot of people crazy, and that is an immortal creature that pretends to be a high-school student to date someone in the school. This one makes more sense than most, however, since the student being dated is the reincarnation of someone the immortal creature has loved for thousands of years. On the other hand you have Athena, the ever-chaste goddess who cannot understand the silly “love” thing. I actually laughed a lot at Athena's musing about falling in love and how she could easily fall in love with Odysseus, while at the same time it scared and annoyed her. Check this out:

“The urge to fall was utterly new and made her dizzy. He could catch her and hold her up. She knew he could.

“If this is how Aphrodite feels every day, it's no wonder she's such an idiot.”
I mean, yeah, really, this is so true. As Buffy says: “Love makes you do the wacky.”

The main problem I had with the book was that it didn't have much character development; the characters talk and do things, but don't develop much of a sense of individuality, other than extremely broad, almost cliché types: haughty, cruel, jock, mischievous, etc. I think more could have been done to differentiate the characters rather than just painting them with broad brushstrokes of a stereotype. I know this writer can do that, as I saw it in Anna Dressed in Blood. Maybe the development will come during the series, we can only wait and see. There was also a certain degree of head-hopping going on.

Overall, I liked the book well enough, but it didn't blow me away like Anna Dressed in Blood did. I will probably watch for future books in this series, but not as a priority. However, I think that a lot of people will like this book, especially those who prefer action to words, and plot pace to character development. Blake kept fairly true to the character traits of the gods she is using in this series, so it should also prove entertaining to those who like Greek mythology. If this describes you, then definitely check out this upcoming novel.

Disclosure: I received an ARC from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Old Gods never die…

Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god. 

These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning. 

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out. 

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.



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