Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake [Review]

4 out of 5 Robots!

  

Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake
Series: Goddess War #2
Genre: YA Fantasy/Mythology
Release: October 14, 2014
Hardcover:  341 Pages
Publisher: Tor Ten
My Copy: Purchased
Reviewer: Shannon

Book Summary:

Ares, God of War, is leading the other dying gods into battle. Which is just fine with Athena. She's ready to wage a war of her own, and she's never liked him anyway. If Athena is lucky, the winning gods will have their immortality restored. If not, at least she'll have killed the bloody lot of them, and she and Hermes can die in peace.

Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can't have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite.

The alliance between Cassandra and Athena is fragile. Cassandra suspects Athena lacks the will to truly kill her own family. And Athena fears that Cassandra's hate will get them ALL killed.

The war takes them across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and Achilles, the greatest warrior the world has ever seen. As the struggle escalates, Athena and Cassandra must find a way to work together. Because if they can't, fates far worse than death await.

(Courtesy of the Publisher)

Shannon's Thoughts:

Mortal Gods is the second book in the Goddess War series.  The basic premise is the immortal gods of Olympus are dying in our modern day world.  There are two sides and the gods are split between them.  War is raging between the two sides.  Things get ugly.

The Good:
- I love how inventive this series is.  I loved the concept of the gods dying, each from a disease that stems from their mythology.  Athena's lungs, for example, are slowly being drown in owl feathers.  Ares' old war wounds continually reopen and bleed.  It is gruesome and disturbing.  I like it.
- I love how the gods fit together in modern day.  I like the inclusion of other well known heroes and warriors such as Odysseus, Hector, Achilles, Cassandra, etc.
- I like that Blake does not hold back.  The series is harsh and dark.  But I think it really works.  I love that she doesn't wrap it in sunshine and rainbows, but keeps it disturbing and bloody.

The Meh:
- I sometimes find it confusing to keep everyone straight.  I have to look at Wikipedia constantly to figure how everyone is related to each other.  I also couldn't remember the plot very well from the first book and spent most of the second book confused.  I do not recommend reading these books far apart from each other.
- It is so angry!  It was exhausting to read in that sense.  I know Cassandra was grieving, but she is so mean and angry in this book and it was annoying sometimes.
- No one is nice.  They ALL have issues.  It doesn't make for a clear side to root for even though we're supposed to root for Athena's side.  But if they lost, I'm not sure I would care all that much.

Overall, I have no real complaints about this book, other than having a little trouble following it.  I like how dark it is, but sometimes I wish it would lighten up!  This second book, in particular, is very angry.  But the ending leaves everyone is great peril, so I will definitely be back for the final book to see how it plays out.

Books in this series:
1. Antigoddess
2. Mortal Gods
3. Ungodly (expected publication 2015)

Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter [Review]

2.5 out of 5 Robots!

 

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Series: Goddess Test #2
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Release: March 27, 2012

Hardcover: 304 Pages

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

My Copy: Purchased

Reviewer: Shannon

Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:
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 who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry's first wife, Persephone. (Courtesy of the Publisher)

 
Shannon's Thoughts:

Sigh. I wanted to like this series, I really did. I thought Aimee Carter offered an interesting and different take on the ubiquitous Persephone myth, even if I found a lot of it to be silly.  But, I was able to look past the silliness of the first book, The Goddess Test, and for the most part I enjoyed it.  But something happened with this sequel and I found myself beating my head against a wall in frustration. I think the biggest problem is I really didn't like the protagonist, Kate. I thought she was immature, insecure and self righteous. She definitely had those qualities in the first book, but in this book it got a little out of hand.  Her constant whining really got on my nerves and her constant need to be loved was borderline uncomfortable. 

The other problem I had was that most of the book centers on Henry/Hades and Persephone's past and Kate's insecurity/jealous that Henry/Hades doesn't love her as much as he loved Persephone. It was tiring and distracted from the more interesting parts of the book.  Especially since a large chuck of the first book dealt with the same issue.  I would have liked to see more fighting with the Titans and an a more in-depth look into the Underworld.  I also would have liked to see more development between Kate and Henry.  It seemed like their entire relationship consists of Henry sulking and Kate yelling.  (Kate, sweetie, you can't MAKE someone love you just because you love them and screaming at them is not going to help your cause.)  I know there are a ton of people who like this series and I can see why.  But too much of it rubbed me the wrong way. 

Books in the series in the order they should be read:
1.    The Goddess Test
1.5  The Goddess Hunt

2.    Goddess Interrupted
2.5  The Goddess Legacy
3     The Goddess Inheritance

Everneath by Brodi Ashton [Review]

4.5 out of 5 Robots!

   

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Series: Everneath #1
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Release: January 24, 2012

Hardcover: 370 Pages

Publisher: HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray

My Copy: Purchased

Reviewer: Shannon

Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:
Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.

"Everneath" is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton. (Courtesy of the Publisher)

 
Shannon's Thoughts:

Everneath is on the surface another take off the Persephone myth.  But it is much more than that too, drawing in other myths and mythological figures.  It makes for a book with a lot of depth and feeling.  Aston does an amazing job portraying her character’s feelings, especially the really complicated ones.  And believe me, there are a lot of Complicated Feelings flying around.  Everneath is atmospheric and melancholy.  The feeling of longing drips off the pages.  But (and this is very important for me) it never gets angsty.  I thought the relationships were extremely well done and realistic and I really felt for Nikki.  Poor girl. 

Also, can we talk about the cover for a minute.  I try not to comment on covers too much, but hey, I’m human and these things affect me.  A good cover adds to the overall effect a book has and this cover takes my breath away.   Where can I buy me a smoke dress?

I can’t wait to read Everbound, which will be published in January.  I think things are about to get even more complicated for Nikki...and I love it!  Bring on the Complicated Feelings!