The Goddess TestAuthor: Aimee CarterPublisher: Harlequin, 2011
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.
My Review:
Kate Winters moves to the town of Eden so that her mom can spend her last days living in her childhood home. Kate doesn’t particularly like this arrangement, but she would do anything for her mother, even agreeing to spend the autumn and winter time at Eden Manor with Henry. You see Henry is really Hades, god of the Underworld, and he has promised to keep her mother alive long enough for Kate to say goodbye. The bargain certainly has its perks, like every night she’ll get to spend time with her mom in some very vivid dreams. But not all is fun and games! As Kate will have to pass seven tests and if she passes she will become Henry’s bride and goddess of the Underworld. And all of this while someone is trying to kill her!
This was like Beauty and The Beast, with a heck of a lot more security, rules and strict servants. The secondary characters were seriously annoying, and I had a big laugh at the end because of it. You’ll see why once you read it. I hated that they bossed her around and she doesn’t resist any of it. At times it became irritating to read about it because it was like she had no backbone, but later you find out there was a reason for all of it. Still I wish Kate had been more of a fighter.
Anyways, I fell in love with the tortured soul that was Henry. Really! Being alone for so long after Persephone trampled all over his heart, then having to find his a new wife but finding them dead even before they could complete the tests. Horrible! I just wanted to give him a big hug and never let go.
There really wasn’t a dull moment in the story. When Kate is not worrying about who might kill her, she is trying very hard to keep Henry in the friendly zone (and failing miserably), and working really hard to pass these unknown tests. Henry also tries very hard not to hope too much in case Kate dies, but he can’t help falling for her! There are some very nice surprises at the end, and the ending left me very excited for the next book in the series. Seriously! Go read the blurb at Goddess Interrupted.
Favorite Quotes:
Seemingly out of nowhere she pulled a thick book and set it on the table, which groaned.
“I have to read that?” I said.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “It has pictures.”
Somehow that wasn’t very reassuring.
~
I gasped. Lying off to the side of my massive bed was Henry, dressed in a silk robe and pajama bottoms, a thick novel in his hand. Instead of saying hello or apologizing, he glanced at me like I’d interrupted a good part.
“What – this is my bed!” Since I was still wearing that corset, catching my breath was a problem. “What are you doing here?”
“Reading,” he said, sitting up. “Would you like help with that?”
It was then that I realized I was practically clawing at my dress in an attempt to free my lungs from their prison. He didn’t give me time to answer. By my side in an instant, his deft hands undid my laces faster than I’d have been able to.
~
Instead of fighting me on it, his face broke out into the first real smile I’d seen from him since I’d died. “Good, then the feeling is mutual.” He held up the deck of cards. “Shall we? I hear the sixth time is the charm.”
I rolled my eyes. “Maybe you’ll win when hell freezes over.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That could easily be arranged.”
