The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter

The Synopsis:
Love or life.
Henry or their child.
The end of her family or the end of the world.
Kate must choose.
During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can't stop her--until Cronus offers a deal.
In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he'll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.
With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.
Even if it costs her eternity.

*A review copy was provided for me to read, thanks to the Harlequin Teen and NetGalley*

Publication: February 26th from Harlequin Teen

My Thoughts:
Readers were left with quite the cliffhanger in Goddess Interrupted.   I'm not going to spoil things for the sake of those who haven't read this series, but I will say that it was a very intolerable one.  I remember reading it, and it was one of those moments where you are Bradley Cooper.

Yeah.  That pretty much sums it up.

The Goddess Inheritance begins pretty much where Interrupted left off and everything spirals from there.  Kate was put into one of the worst positions I've ever read of.  If she does one thing, she risks losing so and so, and if she goes the other, she'll lose other so and so.  I've never read a book where things just kept getting worse and worse and darker and darker for the characters.  Sure, I've read books where the stakes were pretty high and it involved sacrifice and such, but never--never--have I read it where it was this intense.  And I think that's the main reason why I couldn't stop reading this book.  I couldn't help but wonder if the impossible happy ending was even possible.

Kate necessarily hasn't bothered me at all in previous books.  She had a little bit of a martyr complex going on, but I understood where it came from and I admired her confidence, stubbornness, and courage.  However, I just found it to be a little to much.  Maybe this is because I haven't experienced undying love, but I sure have read about it in other books.  The girl or guy will risk everything to protect the ones they love, but I felt that Kate's protectiveness and martyrdom was overbearing and too much.  Like, I got the point on the first page.  You don't need to express it on every page now.

Besides that, I was flying through book.  The high stakes and action kept me interested and glued to the story.  It was hard for me to put down.  Just the mention of Cronus in this book made me want to become a goddess just so I could bash his head in or something.  He was such a bad guy and to have Calliope/Hera on his side, he was a force to be reckoned with.  But he wasn't just a bad guy set on destroying the world and everything in his path.  He had dimension.  What was great about him is that he just wasn't the villain that readers think him to be.  He actually was a person--well, Titan.

My only real complaint would be the lack of imagery.  And after three books, including The Goddess Legacy, I still didn't have a solid image as to what Kate or Henry or Ava or Olympus looked like.  What I conjured was something vague at most and sometime inaccurate to the story.  It was very frustrating at times and is what made the series a little less enjoyable for me.

The Goddess Inheritance was a great and hear-racing ending to a wonderful and entertaining series.  You immediately connect with the characters.  In fact, I cried not only in The Goddess Test, but also the The Goddess Legacy and The Goddess Inheritance.  It's hard not to be emotionally invested in characters that endure so much pain and betrayal, but get right back up in the most gloomiest times for them.  And for an author to actually manipulate my feelings--not once, but three times--is amazing.  Lovers of Greek mythology, a fast-paced plot, and relatable characters will enjoy this series.

The Goddess Legacy by Aimee Carter

The Synopsis:
For millennia we've caught only glimpses of the lives and loves of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. Now Aimée Carter pulls back the curtain on how they became the powerful, petty, loving and dangerous immortals that Kate Winters knows.Calliope/Hera represented constancy and yet had a husband who never matched her faithfulness….
Ava/Aphrodite was the goddess of love and yet commitment was a totally different deal….
Persephone was urged to marry one man, yet longed for another….
James/Hermes loved to make trouble for others;but never knew true loss before….
Henry/Hades's solitary existence had grown too wearisome to continue. But meeting Kate Winters gave him a new hope….






My Thoughts:
Okay, so once again I will tell you guys that my heart melts with barest thoughts of Greek mythologies.  There's just something about it that pulls me in with so much force and you won't see me for days.  And with Carter's works, The Goddess Test and Goddess Interrupted, I'm falling deeper in love with the mythology.  Instead of portraying Hades as a really bad dude, he's actually pretty decent, and I like this new twist on it.  And he's desperate for companionship, which he finds in Kate, and more. 

But the series isn't just about Henry and Kate.  There's James and Calliope and Ava and all of the other council members who have their own stories to tell.  Mind you, The Goddess Legacy isn't just about how all the characters got to be the way they are now; it's a book of heartbreak and all-consuming love.  There are it's sweet moments and there are those terrible, terrible ones.  Not everything the gods have to tell will have a happy ending.

The plotting of this book was absolutely spectacular.  Just not the way it's woven for the one book, but for the entire series (The Goddess Test and Interrupted).  It was pure genius.  You could tell there was room for some short little scenes between the characters outside of the book, but I didn't expect so much of it!  I'm not complaining here at all because I swallowed up every single page in the matter of two days.  The Goddess Legacy was insightful and I got to read even more about some of my favorite characters.

So here I thought that Calliope was pure Crazy with a side of Nuts, but she's more than that.  James?  My heart goes out to you, sweetheart!  Your story made me get all sniffly and pathetic!  Ava, I'm not sure what to think of you yet.  You certainly had two sides of you: sweet and loving and a complete bitchiness.  I never once doubted Persephone and the choices she made, but her personality was not exactly what I thought it to be.  And Henry, nothing has changed with you for me.  If anything, I think more highly of you!

I've grown even more attached to the characters.  Not only did I learn more about the characters mentioned about, but I learned more about the others on the council, including Walter (Zeus).  Especially Walter. 

I don't believe you have to read this one to read the last installment to the series, but I'd recommend it.  It was wonderfully spun tales for each of the characters, even if it didn't end all heart-melty gushy.  Because it was a retelling of Greek gods, I almost immediately loved it.  Almost.  So, if you love Greek mythology as much as I do, or even if you're on the fence, pick this one up!  I hope you all enjoy this one as much as I did.

Review: Goddess Interrupted

The second to the The Goddess Test Series.  I bought this book along with its first at the same time and read them as soon humanly possible.  I was extremely pleased with the first book and couldn't wait to read Goddess Interrupted.  It was too tempting for me to wait and read it.  So here I am, reviewing some awesome book.

Kate Winters has won immortality.
But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, 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.

First off, this book had me turning pages faster than a dog dives for fallen food.  Everything about it had me gripping the book for dear life, the intensity of it was exciting.  And when I read that Persephone would be in there, I was all like 'Whoa.  Didn't she die over a hundred years or so!?!?  How is that possible?!?!'  And then I remembered that they travel to the Underworld and then things just kinda clicked.
When I read this book, I felt as if I was on a mission.  I needed to know a whole bunch of stuff like why are Kate and Henry not happy?  They're meant to be!  Didn't Kate pass all of those tests for him?  Why is this happening?  Why can't they have their happy ending?  WHY?  And then there was a Titan with super long fog limbs that could attack and kill gods on the loose.  What IS this?  It was creepy and very scary.  As Owen Meany would put it, it gave me THE SHIVERS.  That Titan dude was one thing you do not want to mess with.
And the ending!  For all that is good in this life, save me!  Just as a little BIG warning here: Super duper evil cliffhanger that wants to make you cry.  Not that it's sad or anything.  It's just a terribly good cliffhanger that makes me want to throw the book.  But I'd never do that and instead reread the last few pages to make sure I was hallucinating words on the page and then reminded myself that I could wait until next year for the next installment because I am a patient bookworm.  At least that's what I try to convince myself.
Overall, the book was awesome.  I give it four out of five stars and I can't wait until the next book, The Goddess Inheritance, comes out.  There was a lot of excitement and adventure and, well, since I can't leave this out, there was some brief steamy awesomesauce times in there.  It was lovely!  Just a great book.

The Goddess Test

I've been wanting to read this book for a real long while and have only now just gotten to it.  The cover had me hooked immediately.  And besides my fascination for all things medieval or steampunk, I've always had a thing for Greek mythology.  I just love it for absolutely no reason at all.

Every girl who has taken the test has failed.     

Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now 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...
So, when I read a good book that brings out those vulnerable emotions that you try to keep hidden to the public to save yourself from the humility, it's extremely embarrassing and I usually never forgive the book for sparking those pesky and extremely inconvenient things that people call feelings.  This book happens to be one of those books, but for some really odd and strange reason I will never understand the meaning of, I forgave the book and read on.  (Seriously, this book had me crying at, like, page ten.)  I felt really bad for Kate, not that I could exactly relate to her, but I just felt really, really bad for her.  What teenager in their right mind would want to give up their lives freely to take care of their dying mother?  I could never dream of such a thing.  But for Kate, that's her reality and she takes it all in one full swing and doesn't even bat an eye.  What else could she do?
And then things just keep getting worse and then she finally meets the dark, mysterious, hot, dangerous, and crazy Henry--some guy that promises her that he can keep Kate's mom alive.  So, of course she says yes and moves into his house, as promised for her end of the deal.  Okay, things are alright then, right?  Things couldn't be any worse.  Somebody unknown wants her dead and things just keep on getting worse.  At least there's still Henry for her. . . sometimes.
I gave this book four stars.  It was beautifully written and had a great plot line.  Like I said, I love Greek mythology and I loved the spin Aimee Carter put on this.  I was all over this book, my thoughts loving  each and every word on the page.  I suggest you all read this, guys.  Simply great book.  I'm disappointed I haven't read it any sooner and I can't wait to see what happens next.  Well, what happens after Goddess Interrupted, which I read right after I read The Goddess Test.  That review will come soon, by the way.
Happy reading!

IMM (3)

I probably should have done this a few days ago, but oh well.  So, I have this serious problem of buying books on the spot.  BIG PROBLEM.  I can't go anywhere without buying a book or two.  Anyway, this meme was created by The Story Siren and bloggers are able to post about all the books they've received as of late.

From authors:

 <---- Got an email from E.M Tippetts herself!  She'd love for me to review it and I can't wait to read it; it sounds so cute!












<---- Won this one in a giveaway and it's signed!

Borrowed:

Bought:

 <--- Thought I might as well get with the program with this book.  Everybody raves about how good it was so I thought maybe it was time for me to read it.

I can't wait to read all of these lovelies on my shelf!  They all look so good.  What does everybody else have to read?  Leave a nice little comment telling me what's everybody got for their IMM.  Don't forget to leave a link to their blog so I can check out all of those glorious books you have!

P.S Don't forget to enter in the awesome giveaway I'm doing!  Who wouldn't want to win a Sweet Evil ARC by Wendy Higgins along with a signed bookmark?

In My Mailbox

Yes!  It's that time where I happen to do my first IMM!  This terrible week in school has been muted by the excitement from all the goodies I got in the mail.  That's just how good my mail has been to me.

Sorry for the bad quality.  Camera died.  iPod only option.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you.  Here, I'll start from left to right.  There is a Sweet Evil ARC with a signed book mark hanging out in the front of it.  In front of the book is Hunger Games nail polish I had ordered.  It's Smoke and Ashes :) I can't wait for my nail polish I have on now to chip off so I have an excuse to put S&A on.  Continuing the picture tour, there on top of the book are two Born Wicked stickers I had won in a giveaway.  In the center are a few signed Born Wicked book plates and a Hunger Games tee shirt sitting there.  There's also a Born Wicked magnet there.  And finally, on the right, I have one iron on patch for the Demon Trappers Series and a sticker, too.

Now, for email, I also got some gifts.  I'm talking NetGalley gifts.

Isn't it all so beautiful?  Oh, and since I'm new to this all, I'm going to be doing a giveaway soon!  Stay tuned!  Also, a review for Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe is soon to come!

On a side note, I don't know why I waited so long to get some Hunger Games stuff for myself.  Anyway, glad I did get them!

Now, I have to read and review!