Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Huge thanks to Becky at Mira for sending me a copy to review.


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. If she fails she’ll never see her mother again…

This is a book that I kept on meaning to read but never managed to get round to, but with the release of the second book in the series ‘Goddess Interrupted’ looming later this month, I thought it was about time to find out what everyone else has been shrieking about with this one.

And I completely agree with all the good comments! I really loved the fresh idea and narrative. It captivated me thoroughly and pulled me right in. Kate was a really great heroine, just the right amount of disbelief but coupled with a strong sense of self and will, and a desire to look after and protect the people she loves. I found it really easy to get be pulled into the story because I liked Kate so much, I sympathised with her situation and I was rooting for her right from the start.

Henry was a bit of a mixed bag for me. On the whole I liked him, but I would like to see more of his character and personality come through in the next book. I felt that he remained a bit aloof and distant – although in a way that was because of the tasks, but at the same time it left me feeling a bit stumped over the romance. It never seemed to really come to fruition, and we don’t see enough of Kate’s feelings over time to grow into it with her – although it didn’t hit the bounds of insta love. However I do want to see more of the relationship develop in the next book – in fact I’m quite excited and really looking forward to it.

There were a few points that weren’t entirely clear. A few instances where I felt that things happened for no real reason – they were out of place and a bit out of character, and I would have liked a little more explanation at the end of just how much had been set up for Kate and how much happened purely by coincidence. I know that Kate does ask at the end but I didn’t feel it was particularly clear.
The other thing that I would have liked a little more of was which people were which Gods. If you feel like cheating then there is a list at the back of the book to keep tabs on, but other than Henry and a couple of others (I won’t spoil here, but if you haven’t read the book yet why on earth not?!) it really isn’t clear who is who. Now maybe I’m just not as brushed up on my Greek myths as I thought I was, but I found it really hard to work out who was who, and some were just downright strange choice. I really hope that we get a little bit more of the other Gods characters come through in the next book, and we get to see a bit more of the actual Gods themselves.

In fact pretty much all of the secondary characters were a little underdeveloped.  I just wanted to see more of them and more of their arcs, instead of the entire focus being on Kate. As I’ve said there were some moments where motivations and actions seemed very confused and I wanted to see more of the development and process where the characters could grow into real people as Kate had done.

On the whole though I really enjoyed the book – yes I had some niggles but they were minor ones comparatively and it’s only because I was enjoying it so much that they seemed to stand out more. If you’re after a fresh take on the myths and legends of the Greeks, or just a fresh burst of supernatural in the werewolf and vampire infested young adult book shelves, then I highly recommend the Goddess Test. Nail biting, heart wrenching, romantic and very well written, it will keep you on your toes right to the end.

Review: The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan

American Title: Sea Hearts


With huge thanks to Random House Children's Books for sending me a copy to review


Rollrock island is a lonely rock of gulls and waves, blunt fishermen and their homely wives. Life is hard for the families who must wring a poor living from the stormy seas. But Rollrock is also a place of magic - the scary, salty-real sort of magic that changes lives forever. Down on the windswept beach, where the seals lie in herds, the outcast sea witch Misskaella casts her spells - and brings forth girls from the sea - girls with long, pale limbs and faces of haunting innocence and loveliness - the most enchantingly lovely girls the fishermen of Rollrock have ever seen.
But magic always has its price. A fisherman may have and hold a sea bride, and tell himself that he is her master. But from his first look into those wide, questioning, liquid eyes, he will be just as transformed as she is. He will be equally ensnared. And in the end the witch will always have her payment.

This book was such a gorgeously haunting story that it’s stayed with me long after I finished reading it.

The writing is haunting and vivid, and creates such an atmospheric piece, similar to the feeling I felt whilst reading ‘The Scorpio Races’ by Maggie Stiefvater. It takes its time, slowly drawing out the tales over the span of several generations, but focusing around the intentions of Misskaella.

It was incredibly well done, because Lanagan takes her time to develop Misskaella into a sympathetic character that you cannot help but feel for, then branch out and show how others have treated her affects her attitude to those around her. It’s a tragic tale of human nature and the ability each person has to hurt others – but in this case, the repercussions when the person on the receiving end has the last laugh.

And just when you start to forget that she was once human and hurt and torn apart by others cruel words towards her, Lanagan twists it back and packs another gut wrenching punch that reminds you just how human and fragile she was at heart.

It’s a mixture of tales all rolled into one, all coming back to focus on the Seal Wives, the tragedy of Rollrock Island and Miskaella’s handiwork at getting her own back. We see the story from several view points; different generations at different times as we are led down the path of destruction with the Rollrock men, the slow, creeping rot that sets into the island, and the exploration of the island as a world of its own, the isolation of the setting as they cut themselves off further from the world.

We see boys grow up and turn into husbands and fall into the same patterns as those before them. We see women treated as objects of desire and ownership rather than people, and the slow rebuilding of a civilisation brought to the brink of destruction by those enchanted by the seal women.

Despite being a quick reader this book took me quite a while to get into and finish – the writing was quite dense and weighty, and despite only being just over three hundred pages long felt like a novel twice the length. That isn’t a criticism or point against it at all, it was just interesting to note how long I spent immersed in the world, and how much I enjoyed it.

I will admit that towards the end I did just want to finish it, because it is such a haunting and melancholy story that I did feel quite morose after several days dipping into the world, and wanted to move onto something lighter. But as I said, it was such a beautiful book that it outweighed any of the negatives.

It was an utterly heart breaking and moving piece of work that completely surprised me. It wasn’t what I expected at all, and yet it turned into one of the best reads so far this year. Moving, atmospheric and poignant – a look at how the actions of one person can shape people’s lives for generations.

Review: Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen

Release Date: 14th February 2012


Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

I am a sucker when it comes to a good Robin Hood story, and when I saw Angie’s reviewof ‘Scarlet’ I was absolutely desperate to read it. But then there’s always a worry when it comes to reinterpretations of the Hood legend, that they’ve taken it too far in the wrong direction. Although after watching ‘Robin Hood Men in Tights’ I’m not so sure there is a wrong direction anymore… Anyway, I was a little bit wary going in, but I really shouldn’t have worried, this was one of the best re-tellings I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a long time.

The plot combines enough of the original legend to make it feel authentic, with just enough new twists and turns for the tale to be truly original as well. And there are a host of familiar faces that make it into a true Robin Hood tale.

I absolutely adore Scarlet. She’s got such a distinctive voice, a no-nonsense attitude and complete undying devotion to Rob and the boys. She’s tough and can take a punch as well as any man, but is softer and admits that just a touch from Robin can render her breathless and speechless. She was the perfect blend of soft and hard, a truly believable and fantastic heroine that I couldn’t help but fall in love with and admire.

You want her to win, to succeed, and root for her even when things seem completely hopeless. Her backstory was fantastic, and threw several shockers that had me gasping aloud throughout the book. She is a beautiful blend of characters from the original legends, but makes it entirely her own.

And the other boys – oh Rob, you are just as dreamy as I always imagined. And John turned out to be quite the charmer as well. It was a smaller band than I imagined, but all the characters were brought to life so vividly that it really didn’t matter. You get to know each of them, their backstories and their personalities in a way that secondary characters can often miss out on.

The writing was gorgeous, Scar’s voice was absolutely perfect, taking you through the tale along with her, and the research involved must have been enormous because it truly felt like I’d been picked up and dumped in the middle of the twelfth century in the middle of Sherwood Forest.

It was real, hard, sometimes impossibly heart breaking, and utterly fabulous. I don’t want to give any more away, because it’s a truly fantastic read.

After finishing I just wanted to go straight back into the world and read it all over again – which considering I was having the same feelings about the 1920s flappers book I read just before Scarlet, made for some pretty interesting dreams…

This book completely swept me away. Definitely a must read for fans of Robin Hood, but anyone who loves a kick ass heroine and a brilliant plot would love this. One of my favourite books of the year so far.