Book Review: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

My sophomore reading challenge is doing well this year – Goddess Interrupted was one of my much-anticipated sequels for 2012. The Goddess Test even made my best books of 2011 list!

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Title & Author: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Genre: YA – Fantasy (Greek Mythology)

Release Date: March 27, 2012

Series: 2nd book in a series- Goddess Test #2

Publisher: HarlequinTeen

How I Got the Book: ARC via NetGalley

Description:

“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.”

Taking the Good with the Bad

After reading The Goddess Test last year, I was impressed. I loved the mythology, the sort of continuation of Persephone and Hades’ story and the unconventional romance, where the girl is trying to win the guy.

All the things I loved about the frist book were still present in Goddess Interrupted, but Carter shifted the focus from the action (fighting off the King of the Titans) to the relationships (Kate & Henry, Henry & Persephone). I’m not saying there wasn’t plenty of action in this book, but it definitely took a back seat to the swirling emotions that punctuate every chapter.

For me, Kate and Henry lost some of their luster. In the first book, Henry is shy and distant, but Kate slowly wins him over. In Goddess Interrupted, it’s like none of that ever happened and they’re starting from square one. Plus, Kate has to confront Henry’s former wife (who left him for Adonis), Persephone.

One of the biggest hurdles for me in reading this book was that through about 80 percent of the book, Henry is again distant and formal with Kate, while still telling her he loves her yet acting hung up on Persephone. THEN, at the very end of the book (we’re talking maybe 50 pages from the end), Henry changes back into a loving companion.

All I’m saying is that it was too easy. I didn’t believe it as the reader. Ok, I’ll stop ranting now.

I did enjoy this book, despite some reservations. Here are some things I liked:

Introduction of more gods/titans
More of Ava (she’s one sassy character)
Seeing more of the Underworld
Serious cliffhanger (I normally don’t like these, but this one really worked for me)

Thoughts on the Sophomore Slump

Maybe it’s because I just read Fever last week, but I’m starting to wonder if my new fave authors have fallen into the sophomore slump. It’s not that their sequels are bad, it’s just that they’re not as good as the first book.

For me, Goddess Interrupted fell into this category. I just wanted more.

What books have you read lately that have suffered from the S.S.?

OVERALL:

Goddess Interrupted brought back all my fave characters and added new twists and turns to Kate and Henry’s story, but for me, it fell a bit short of The Goddess Test. It was a solid book that I enjoyed reading, but it didn’t quite match the awesomeness of the first book in this series. I am still anxiously waiting the conclusion to the Goddess Interrupted series.

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TAGS: aimee carter, goddess interrupted, Mythology, Young Adult fiction

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http://ems-reviews-books.blogspot.com/ Ems

I felt the exact same way. Wanted to smack them silly for almost the entire book. I hated whiny Kate and distant Henry. Thank goodness for Captain Plot stepping in and saving the day, or this may have ended up a DNF. My review posts tomorrow!
http://twitter.com/sillylittle Linda P

Thanks for your honest review. This is one is still on my tbr list. Looking forward to picking it up one day.
Bookishlilly

I felt the same way! All the relationship progress that Kate and Henry made at the end of TGT was thrown out the window and it felt like we were starting over. I intend to do a blog post about the issues with sequels cause right now I’m kind of tired it. Excellent review, as always!
NC
Truly Bookish
http://twitter.com/MelLHay Melissa

I do want to read this series. I like the sounds of the mythology here. Sorry to hear it sounds like it’s fallen into a slump though.
http://www.books.4ish.net/2012/03/31/goddess-interrupted-aimee-carter/ Goddess Interrupted- Aimee Carter |

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