Ungodly by Kendare Blake [Review]

3.5 out of 5 Robots!

Ungodly by Kendare Blake
Series: Goddess War
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release: September 22, 2015
Hardcover: 368 Pages
Publisher: Tor Teen
My Copy: Purchased
Reviewer: Shannon

Book Summary:

For the Goddess of Wisdom, what Athena didn’t know could fill a book. That’s what her opponents said.

So she was wrong about some things. So her carefully planned assault on Olympus left her team beaten and scattered and possibly dead. So they have to fight the Fates themselves, who, it turns out, are the source of the gods’ illness. And sure, Athena is stuck in the underworld, holding the body of the only hero she has ever loved.

But all is not lost. Hermes is still topside, trying to power up Andie and Henry before he runs out of time and submits to his death, or the Fates arrive to speed it along.

And Cassandra is up there somewhere, too, on a quest for death…with the god of death himself.

Just because things haven’t gone exactly according to plan, it doesn't mean they’ve lost. They’ve only mostly lost. And there’s a big difference.

(Courtesy of the Publisher)

Shannon's Thoughts:

This series is a bit of a conundrum for me.  I LOVE the premise.  It is one of the most interesting takes on Greek/Roman mythology retellings I've read. The gods are alive in our modern day age, but are affected by a disease that is slowing killing them.  Each god and goddess suffer in a unique way.  Athena's lung are filling with owl feathers.  Hermes is wasting away.  Demeter is being stretched out over miles and miles of land.  This book is dark and twisted in a way I like.  So, seriously, A+ on the premise.

But here is where it falls apart a little for me.  I cannot follow the plot.  I would love to explain it to you, but I can't.  Part of it is that I think having some background info on the Trojan Wars is necessary and I was too lazy to Wikipedia it.  The Trojan War plays a big part in the current plot and there are a lot of characters who are related to each other and it is hard to keep it up.  So, not only do you have to keep track of what part everyone played in the Trojan War, but what their current motivations are.  I just didn't follow it all that well.

I do think this was a good conclusion to the story though.  There was an exciting ending and there were some new and interesting characters.  Overall, I would recommend this series if you are a Greek/Roman mythology buff!

Books in the Series:
1. Antigoddess
2. Mortal Gods
3. Ungodly