The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

" 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."-GoodReads.

Paperback, 304 pages

Published April 19th 2011 by Harlequin Teen
Source: Harlequin Teen via NetGalley




The Goddess Test seemed to be at the top of everyones to-read list, including mine. When it became available on NetGalley, to say I was ecstatic would be an understatement. I wasn't able to get to it right away though since I had other books I needed to get to first. Then, finally, The Goddess Test was the next book I got to start.


In the beginning we meet Kate as she is moving her mom back to her old town because that is where she wants to be when she dies. The only thing is is that her mother could die any day. So Kate has just moved to a new town and new school where she has no friends just to watch her mother pass away. 
Lucky for her (though she doesn't really think so), on her first day of school she meets James...or rather, James makes her meet him. He kind of just decides they are supposed to be friends and nothing she says will change his mind. So maybe things won't be so bad after all.


She then meets Henry, "Lord of the Underworld". He promises her that if she accepts his offer, he will keep her mother alive. All she has to do is pass seven tests, the only catch is that no one else has been able to pass these seven tests. But Kate is willing to do pretty much whatever she has to to keep her mother alive.


Sounds exciting right? Sound like it would be action packed? Yeah, I thought so too. But after the first few chapters when Kate goes to Henry's house things come to a screeching halt. Not a lot seems to happen after this. Mostly it is just Kate trying to avoid wearing dresses, drinking hot chocolate, and trying to decide if she really likes Henry or not. By the time we are told what the seven tests are it is when Kate is finding out if she passed or not....wait, what?! How could that be? They were made out to be such a big deal and we don't get to know what they are or even when they are happening?! Which is too bad because what the tests ended up being was really neat. Way too simple to get immortality from passing them, but a really cool idea.


Now I don't know about you, but I LOVE Greek Mythology. That was a huge reason why I was wanting this book, but there is so very little actual mythology in it. Of course, since it is kind of a "re-telling" it is not supposed to be exact. But the one thing that I think should have been closer to the actual thing was Henry. Hades, Lord of the Dead my foot! He is quiet, brooding, kind of cold (because he had his heart broken by Persephone and he doesn't want to love again)...he just was not Hades. Henry, you are an Olympian God...so ACT LIKE IT! 
Usually I end up liking the main guy, but for this story, I would have loved to see Kate run away with James. He was such a doll. 


The Goddess Test is a really quick and easy read and I did enjoy Aimee Carter's writing style. And it was nice having the heroine be normal, you know, without all of sudden finding out she has magical abilities and all. Though I wasn't really impressed by this one I will more than likely pick up the next one. Mostly because I am hoping there will be a lot more of James in it after what happened in the end of this one.
So if you are a fan of fantasy and romance, and you are not as big of a stickler about Greek Mythology as I am, you should check out The Goddess Test.