Release Day Review: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Publisher:  Harlequin Teen

Publication Date:  March 27th, 2012

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 Goodreads)

Aimee Carter, you are a cruel, cruel woman!  That being true, I will keep coming back for more as long as you choose to keeping dishing it up!!  I really liked the first book in this series, The Goddess Test; it wasn't my favorite book ever, but I felt like it was a solid start to what I think will be an amazing series (as far as Greek Mythology retellings go, I liked it a lot better than Percy Jackson).  I took far too long to read it after it was released, and when I did, I fell in love with the characters, the world, and the interesting and unique take on the Hades/Persephone story.  I was hooked when I read the prologue, and I found myself unable to put it down until I had finished the book in one sitting.  I liked the way it ended, and I didn't feel like there was this horrible cliffhanger to stew on.  Yes, I very much wanted to read Goddess Interrupted, but I didn't feel mad that I had to wait for it.  Such was not the case at the end of book number two.  The cliffhanger at the end of Goddess Interrupted is mean, and I will probably think on it for weeks... Book three, The Goddess Inheritance will definitely be ones of those books that I will grovel and beg for an ARC of, because I can't possibly imagine waiting until October to find out what happens next!  In fact, although as a rule, I don't usually read the "half" eBooks that have become all the rage (in this case they would be, The Goddess Hunt, book 1.5 and The Goddess Legacy, book 2.5), because of general lack of time, I plan to for this series because after reading Goddess Interrupted, I really can't get enough...

If my lamentation over the wait for The Goddess Inheritance and my gushfest over the series in general weren't enough of a review in favor of Goddess Interrupted, I will go a bit further (but not by much because I don't want to give spoilers for The Goddess Test or Goddess Interrupted)...  Goddess Interrupted begins six months after The Goddess Test ends.  Kate's winter with Henry at Eden Manor is over (obviously, since there is a book number two, she has passed the tests and made a choice about whether or not to marry him), she has spent her spring and summer on surface, touring Greece with James, and has returned to the Underworld to be with Henry for the fall and winter... This is when all hell breaks loose in a very literal sense.  From the beginning this book is packed with action and adventure.  It is also packed with emotion, mystery, and several twists and turns that I didn't expect (there were some predictable parts as well, but they are forgiven because I feel smart when I figure things out).  The end, in particular, threw me for a loop because while it was a cliffhanger, it was one I never in a bazillion years saw coming! 

This book was great, but not perfect.  There were times when I was very frustrated; Kate was a bit stupid and oblivious and beyond hard-headed at times, and there were times when I wasn't clear what was going on.  The confusion turned out to be fine in the end, because everything was made clear, and since the story is told from Kate's POV, it makes sense that I would feel confused when she did.  Her sometimes stupidity annoyed me though.  I will say that as she grew stronger as a character, I became less annoyed, so perhaps that won't be a stumbling block to the 5 stars I so want to give this book next time around.

Overall, I thought this book was an improvement on its very well done predecessor, The Goddess Test.  I liked the first book, I loved this one, and I have very high expectations that the third book, The Goddess Inheritance, will be even better!  Stay tuned, and I will let you know what I think when it comes out in October!

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ 

Grade Level Recommendation:  This book is pretty clean.  There is some sex, but it is between a married couple.  There is talk about how some of the gods and goddesses have been known to sleep around, but that is pretty common knowledge, and was already covered in the MG series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.  That said, I would place this book in the 6th grade and up category (ages 11+), and would even allow 5th graders who have already had "the talk" to read it.