Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Plot: 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. (Summary from goodreads.com).

Cover: Just beautiful. Love the colors, love the font. Simply love it!

First sentence: "How did it happen this time?"

My opinion: I had high expectations of this novel and I am glad to say they were met. As I've always been interested in fairy tales and myths and legenda, I naturally liked this modern version of an old Greek myth. For a first installment in a series, there was remarkably easy to get into the novel, what with the incredibly captivating prologue.Of course, Carter didn't need to build a new world per se since the Greek myths already exist.

Our heroine Kate is an enormously likable character, almost to the point where she is too perfect to be likable at all. She is loving, caring, smart and just plain selfless. And as far as Hades goes, Henry was far from what you'd expect the ruler of the Underworld to be (you know, cruel, old, ugly).Given previous reviews on this novel though, I expected more romance. There were no butterflies. Thus the mother-daughter relationship was the strongest and most interesting in the novel, as far as I'm concerned.

Aimee Carter delivers twist on twist, which makes The Goddess Test a real page-turner. As apposed to many first installments I've read lately, I very much enjoyed the fact that this one works as a stand-alone too. Although I could see a continuation of several subplots, I also feel satisfied with this open ending.