The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Every girl who had taken the test has died.

Now it's Kate's turn.

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 that 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...

When I first picked up this book and started reading, I hated it. I didn't like the characters, I found everything they did extremely hard to believe and I didn't want to continue reading. But then I decided to finish it for the Bout of Books readathon and I'm glad I gave it another chance because I ended up enjoying it.

So this book is about a girl called Kate who moves back to this place called Eden with her mother because her mother is dying of cancer and it's what she wanted. And then strange things start happening and Kate meets the mysterious Henry.

I did find this book to ridiculous at the start. Kate becomes friends right away with the most popular girl in school, and then the popular girl tricks her and then dies whilst trying to get away. Kate meets Henry, and Henry brings said girl back to life. And then the next day at school, Kate, Ava - said girl - and James start having a completely normal discussion about the fact the Henry is probably Hades and he wants Kate to come and live with him for 6 months of the year like Persephone. What I couldn't grasp is WHY THEY WERE SO GODDAMN CALM ABOUT IT!? If I'd saw someone being brought back to live (after they were clearly dead) or I was the one that was brought back to life, I wouldn't be sitting having a calm conversation about how Greek Gods are real! And how you met Hades and agreed to go and live with him! I'd be freaking out! Like, seriously freaking out like any NORMAL person would. That was what really annoyed me about the first 50 or so pages of this book and it was why I really didn't want to continue.

But I pushed through eventually and I started to see some normal reactions from Kate and I had hope for this book from then on.

Kate was an alright character. I didn't like her, but I didn't hate her. She was just... meh. There wasn't anything special that stuck out about her.

It was actually Henry that started to grow on me. At first, I was hesitant about him - well he is the ruler of the underworld - but he turned out to be such a kind character. Henry's gone through a lot and I really felt for him. He was such a loving character but was afraid to show it in case anything happened to Kate. I really enjoyed the twist on the Persephone story that they had in this book.

I enjoyed seeing Kate going through all her tests - even if I didn't know what half of the test were - and I was surprised when I found out what they were actually testing her on. They only thing I have to say about this is I was actually expecting the test to last longer than this book. In my head I actually can't think of what could possibly be in the next 3 books. I just felt like everything moved a little too fast for my liking.

Henry and Kate's relationship was another thing that went too fast. Yeah, sure they were getting to know each other over months. But because the test only lasted the first book and we knew that when the tests were over, Kate and Henry were going to be married I was expecting their relationship to be more developed before that time came. But unfortunately it wasn't. Everything just moved a little too fast in this book for me.

I loved Kate and her mother's relationship. I enjoyed seeing them spend time together and seeing Kate coming to terms with her mother's condition and getting ready to say goodbye. They were so close and I enjoyed reading about them.

I didn't expect the twist when it came to who was trying to kill Kate/killed the previous girls. That shocked me. I was completely taken aback when it was revealed.

I'd kind of already spoiled who all the Gods were because I looked at the back of the book where the list is, so that wasn't really a surprise. I found myself constantly flipping back and forth because I couldn't remember who everyone was.

Overall, I thought this book was enjoyable. I might continue on with the rest of the series, but I'm in no rush. It was an enjoyable read and I enjoyed this take on the Greek Gods.