Review: "Goddess Interrupted" by Aimée Carter

Goddess Interrupted by Aimée Carter
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: 27 March 2012
Source: NetGalley/Purchased
ISBN: 9780373210459
Buy the book: Physical Copy/Kindle

Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she'll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn't supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she's as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he's becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate's coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person whom she would really rather not meet.

Henry's first wife, Persephone. (Goodreads)

Review: "The Goddess Test" by Aimée Carter

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
Reading Level: Young Adult
eBook ARC: 297 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Teen, 19 April 2011
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. (quoted from Goodreads)

As far back as I can remember, I have been in love with mythology. When I heard The Goddess Test was a new take on Hades (but without Persephone), I was immediately intrigued. I love when authors are able to successfully take a myth (or fable, fairy-tale, what have you), turn it on its head, and create something magnificent. Aimee Carter is one such author and she did a fantastic job giving the Hades-Persephone tale a new and refreshing spin.

Aimee sure knows how to populate a novel with wonderful characters! Kate, as our heroine, was no less than amazing. She was caring, strong, smart and resourceful. Though her struggles were many - and her situation unusual - she remained true to herself and tried to see the best in everyone and everything around her. And when Kate wants to know the truth of something, she goes searching for answers instead of waiting for them to come to her. Fantastic. Her relationship with her Mum was sweet and touching; Kate was so willing to do anything to make her as happy and comfortable as she could be under the circumstances. I also liked her relationship with Henry and how the pacing of it was fluid and realistic. Though she was promised to marry him (if she passed the tests), Kate still took the time to get to know Henry, making it possible for her to truly care for him.

Speaking of Henry... another aspect of The Goddess Test that I really enjoyed was how Aimee depicted the well-known character of Hades. Quite frequently Hades is seen as this villainous Lord of the Underworld who takes pleasure in playing with and torturing the souls of mankind. As a god who kidnaps a beautiful young woman (Persephone), forces her to marry him and keeps her trapped for half the year against her will. I, on the other hand, have maintained the belief that Hades is just lonely and terribly misunderstood. With that said, Henry was pretty much how I always imagined his character to be. He can be powerful and firm when need be, but is ultimately a tender guy who is quite lonely and vulnerable. I loved every single moment Henry was in the picture. I found myself hoping like mad he would be able to find true happiness by the end.

The other supporting characters were also a wonderful compliment to the story and Kate herself. All of them were well fleshed out and interesting. Ava was a difficult character for me to like at times, but I think she had her charms. James was fantastic and I found myself wishing I had a friend like him; any time Kate needed him, he was right there. Kate's friends, teachers and even servants brought such lively humor, serious drama and touching moments, that I found myself completely engrossed in this enchanting novel.

The Goddess Test was an amazing ride! Though I was able to predict some things, I was still pleasantly surprised by others. I kept an eye out for Kate's tests, but I got a bit confused and gave up looking for them, which was a little frustrating. I mean, wasn't that one of the reasons why she was in Chateau Henry to begin with? Thankfully, everything was cleared up and resolved most satisfactorily by the end. So many amazing twists and turns, mysteries and wonders, relationships and emotions! The Goddess Test is a fantastic, well-written debut novel full of wonderful characters and an engaging plot. I highly recommend it to any and all ready to get lost in myth, mystery and romance.

Now I just need to wait (im)patiently for the sequel, Goddess Interrupted. I'm so excited to see where Aimee takes us next!

A favorite quote: "Whatever obstacles you face, remember you can get through anything if you want to badly enough."

Review: "Bumped" by Megan McCafferty

Reading Level: Young Adult
eBook ARC: 244 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins), 26 April 2011
Source: Netgalley

When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common. (quoted from Goodreads)

So what to say about Bumped? Hmm. Well, I wanted to like this more than I did. I wish that weren't true, but there you have it. I read the first thirty pages or so and simply couldn't get into it, so I set it down for a bit. It took me another week or so to pick it back up and finally plow through it. Am I glad I picked it up again? I'm not quite sure.

The biggest problem I had with this novel was that the future-speak was definitely difficult to get used to. The crude language was also too much and it made it difficult for me to fully appreciate the message behind the story. The lingo saturated every page so much that I quickly tired of it and started skipping sections. Thankfully, it seemed as though the author took pity on the reader and refrained from using too much lingo once the second part started. I was aware this novel was a satire/dystopia going into it, but I'm not so sure it really worked for me. Apparently our twin narrators were born in 2020 - which is not that far away - and I had a real hard time believing our world could turn into theirs in such a short period of time. Maybe if the author had set the story in an unidentified time in the future, it would have worked better for me. At the beginning of the book, there is a letter from the author explaining her inspiration and that this particular novel is expressed by using extreme viewpoints. As I read, I had to keep reminding myself that the philosophies and characters were supposed to be extreme; the content was that shocking.

In my opinion, the characters were not very likeable. Well, at least not at first. The adults were terrible and quite creepy and horrifying at times. All the teenagers in this world seemed shallow & ridiculously air-headed - none of them seemed to have have an individual thought or substance to them. I must admit that I found Zen to be more real than any character in the entire story. I thought he was funny and I found myself wishing he was in the book more. I did end up liking the "pro-bump" Otherside twin, Melody, much more than the super-religious Goodside twin, Harmony. I started the book liking Harmony more because she was sweet and seemed to have a good heart. However, she quickly grew annoying and none of her actions made any sense to me once she met Jondoe. I really began to gain some respect for Melody as the book went on because she started to stand up for herself and realize that she is not okay with the life of "pregging for profit." She was strong, intelligent and I quite liked her by the end.

Near the end, Bumped seemed to finally capture my attention. I had the lingo down finally and things were getting interesting... and then the book just stopped. That's really the best way I can think of describing it; it seemed as though the story ended mid-thought just when it was finally getting started. Apparently there is going to be a sequel, but that still doesn't explain why the story finished so abruptly. Will I read the sequel? If it somehow falls into my hands, why not? I'm not going to be adding this book to my own collection, but I can see how there are those who may enjoy it. It was entertaining and funny in a this-is-so-bizarre-but-I-can't-stop kind of way. It's also an easy read with a thoughtful message: think for yourself, make your own trends and don't let anyone dictate your future for you. But what would happen if only our teenagers were able to procreate? What would we do? Would it be right to ask our teen girls to become surrogates? Would we look for another option? Though it wasn't my cup of tea, Bumped did leave me thinking about it for hours afterward - the whole idea was interesting, sickening and absolutely scared me to death.

A Favorite Quote: "Faith is accepting what makes no sense, what we cannot prove, but know down deep in our souls is real."