When I was about 3/4 of the way through the second book of the series, Goddess Interrupted, I realized that not all of the books of the series had been released yet. On the day I finished the second one the dark clouds closed around me. I was just really upset that I was going to have to wait for the end. And then suddenly, the clouds parted and the sun appeared for I remembered the wonder that is NetGalley! I quickly signed in and searched...and waited...and the choirs began to sing for there it was! I quickly requested it and a few loooong days later, I had it downloaded and ready to go. So, before anything else is said, THANK YOU NETGALLEY!
This book picks up just about nine months after the last one ended. Our heroine Kate is pregnant but has been kidnapped by Cronos and his daughter, Calliope, who is still the very definition of vengeful and so is hell bent on destroying all that Kate holds dear. For her entire pregnancy, Kate's family back in the Underworld knows nothing of either her captivity or the baby that is on its way. But now, her husband Henry (Hades) has found out and is on his way to save her. Sounds like everything is gonna be a-okay, right? Yeah, um, not so much so. Cronos is not just a Titan, he's the Titan, and he is still pretty mad about being captured and locked away eons ago. So he's not just going to let Henry come in and take his pretty new toy away. What follows will quite literally be the battle to end all battles. With everything at stake, her own life, the life of her family, the life of every single person alive, what will Kate do?
I did enjoy this final (?) piece of the trilogy, and read through it very quickly, but do still have a couple of issues with it. I was still not completely sold on the character of Kate. Just like in the second book, Kate was still so insecure about whether or not Henry really loved her, and just like in the second book, it got tiresome. I know that not liking the main character 100% should seem to be a complete hindrance to enjoying the book, but I really liked the characters around her and that made up for it.
My other issue was Cronos' destruction of a few major cities. This just seemed to be glossed over in the book. Yes, Athens was just destroyed which means millions of people just died, but hey, does Henry love me more than he ever loved Persephone? I just would have liked to have seen a little more reaction from the various gods to the fact that the earth is being destroyed.
Even with those two issues, I did enjoy this book and this series. I have a sneaking suspicion we haven't seen the end of these characters. Way too much room was left for either another sequel or a spin-off series.
I recommend this book and this series for girls age 13 and up.
I read this second book in the Goddess Test series thinking that the whole series was already out, but sadly I was very mistaken and now I have to wait until February for the next one! Arggghhh!
For those of you who haven't read the first book in this series, The Goddess Test, the series brings the Greek myths into the modern world. Hades (now called Henry) had to find a new wife since Persephone left him to become mortal. After 11 unsuccessful attempts, Henry finally triumphs when he meets Kate Winters. Of course, it wasn't as easy as just meeting and then marrying, but to figure all that out, I suggest you read it for yourself.
In this second book, their new love travels a very rocky road, filled with a goddess seeking revenge, a re-awakened Titan, lots of self-doubt and the return of a former love. I liked this book and I really like the character of Henry, but sometimes I am not all that crazy about Kate. I have to remind myself that she is a 19-year old girl and so is going to react in a way appropriate to that age which leads to lots of crying and moping and doubting and second-guessing. This was one of those reading experiences where I want to reach in and slap the main character and tell them to snap out of it! Especially when you also take into account the fact that Henry has existed for eons and eons. You would think Kate would cut him a little slack. I mean, when every single other character is telling you something, eventually you have to accept that it's true, right?
The language of this series is very evocative; almost the entirety of this second book takes place in the Underworld which could be so bleak and drab and boring, but Carter makes it sound quite lovely (well parts of it; the parts where people are hanging over burning lakes of lava aren't so great). It can sometimes be confusing keeping all the secondary characters straight, but it doesn't detract in any way from the story itself. My only other gripe with this one is that a crucial part of the book is when the gods and goddesses have to trap Cronus, the mac daddy of Greek myth, who is escaping his prison, but we never find out what that trap is and how it works. Maybe we will hear more about that in The Goddess Inheritance.
The end of this book threw a nice little wrench into the works and I am really excited to see what happens. Even with its few flaws, this is a great series and is a very quick read. I recommend this series for girls ages 13 and up.
