The Goddess Legacy (Goddess Test, #2.5) by Aimee Carter

The Goddess Test series, although a series I have yet to review, is one of my favorites. If you've read my reviews before, you know I have a weakness for books involving mythology or the Greek gods. This is no exception. 

In this collection of stories, Aimee Carter tells the untold tales of some of the main characters in the series: the Greek gods. During the first two Goddess Test novels, Kate Winters is groomed to take the place of Persephone, both as the queen of the Underworld, and as the wife of Hades (Henry).  In The Goddess Legacy, the stories of Aphrodite, Hermes, Persephone, Hera, and Hades are told by none other than the gods themselves.

I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this novel. A book about the Greek gods told by the Greek gods? There's nothing like it. Having already read the other novels in this series, it was also very interesting to see the gods further developed.

The writing was great, as always, but I think where this book wins is in it's creativity. It sticks, for the most part, to the myths that we've all studied in school, but it gives life to the gods themselves. They all have distinct personalities, voices, and weaknesses. 

For those of you who have read the first and second novels in Carter's series, you definitely won't be disappointed by this one. It gives a decent amount of background into the lives of the gods and goddesses and--spoiler--into the motives behind Calliope/Hera's actions. 

My advice to readers who are unsure about this series: read this book first. I know, I know, it's technically not the right order, but it's a great way to get into these novels. It's more of a prequel than anything else. If you're studying mythology at school this year, read this book. It doesn't get everything right, but maybe you won't be as bored in your English class. It's a fun, interesting take on stories that have been around for thousands of years. 

Grade: A+

To buy this book . . . 
Amazon.com 
Barnes & Noble 

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Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy, #2) by Jennifer Estep

Logan Quinn was try­ing to kill me. My Spar­tan class­mate relent­lessly pur­sued me, swing­ing his sword at me over and over again, the shin­ing sil­ver blade inch­ing closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged up his lips, and his ice-blue eyes prac­ti­cally glowed with the thrill of battle. . .

I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Acad­emy, and I have no idea how I’m going to sur­vive the rest of the semes­ter. One day, I’m get­ting schooled in sword­play by the guy who broke my heart—the drop-dead gor­geous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invis­i­ble archer in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties decides to use me for tar­get prac­tice. And now, I find out that some­one at the acad­emy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword—with Logan’s help—I just might die by the sword. . .

Review:

Princess Leia, Frances "Baby" Houseman, Sandy, Trinity, Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennett, Josephine March, and Buffy. They are our idols, our favorite characters of all time. Why? They are confident. Smart. Independent. Funny. Strong-willed. In some cases, kick-ass. They are our heroines. For many of them, their time is over. Done. Not because they failed, or were defeated, or were killed. Something worse happened to them: they were forgotten. The personalities of our original favorite heroines are now embodied by new ones. Now we have Jess Mastriani, Evie, Susannah Simon, Rhine Ellery, and Mia Thermopolis.

Now we have Gwen Frost, and she is fierce in our hearts. She is smart. Independent. Funny. Strong-willed. And very much kick-ass. Not always confident, but she tries.

Basically, Jennifer Estep is a genius. I really don't know how else to better sum up my thoughts of both this novel and it's predecessor. The overall concept of the book just rocks--Spartans and Amazons and Valkyries and more, all at Mythos Academy. My new dream school. Warriors.

And to go along with any true heroine, there must be a love interest. Johnny Castle. Rob Wilkins. Mr. Rochester. Jesse de Silva. Angel. Gwen and Logan are complicated. Troubled. In love. That's just how it goes, how they work--or try to work. The suspense of their romance is just as troubling to the reader as it is to Gwen herself; we love them for it.

The writing is, not surprisingly, fantastic, because how can you possibly have such incredible ideas and such incredible stories and not be a stunning writer? You can't. It's perfectly paced, perfectly told, and drawn together without a flaw. Estep does not try and prove us wrong.

Thank God for that.


Expect to see Kiss of Frost in December from Kensington Publishing Corp. Don't worry. Only 67 days until Christmas, so it's not that far off.

Grade: A+


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Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy, #1) by Jennifer Estep

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Acad­emy — a school of myths, magic and war­rior whiz kids, where even the lowli­est geek knows how to chop off somebody’s head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spar­tan guy in school, also hap­pens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jas­mine Ash­ton was mur­dered in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties. Then, some­one stole the Bowl of Tears, a mag­i­cal arti­fact that can be used to bring about the sec­ond Chaos War. You know, death, destruc­tion and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I’m deter­mined to find out who killed Jas­mine and why – espe­cially since I should have been the one who died . . .

Review:

Touch of Frost is another one of those great books to look out for this summer! It's an intriguing cross between Hex Hall, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and every great YA paranormal fiction novel out there. It has literally everything: mystery, romance, mythology, boarding schools . . . What could be better?


Nothing!


I had absolutely no trouble getting sucked into this novel; the moment I picked it up, I couldn't set it down. It's very suspenseful, and there's enough action to keep even the most reluctant reader interested.

I especially loved the characters. Gwen herself was a really awesome character, and I took an immediate liking to her; the emotions she goes through about the loss of her mother, and the difficulty of feeling like you don't fit in are very relateable to many teens' lives everywhere today. Everyone goes through a period of time where they don't really know who they are, or where they belong.

The love interest--because, yes, there is ALWAYS a love interest--is definitely one to talk about, and is--just in case you were having doubts--an important part of the novel. Gwen and Logan have a complicated relationship, but it just adds to the suspsense of the novel.

Touch of Frost is an outstanding start to a very promising series. Look for it in July, (possibly on the 26th) from Kensington Publishing Corp!

Grade: A+

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Abandon by Meg Cabot

Seventeen-year-old Pierce knows what happens to us when we die.

That's how she met John Hayden, the mysterious stranger who's made returning to normal life—or at least life as Pierce knew it before the accident—next to impossible.

Though she thought she escaped him—starting a new school in a whole new place—it turns out she was wrong. He finds her.

What does John want from her? Pierce thinks she knows... just like she knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven. But she can't stay away from him, either, especially since he's always there when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she might find herself back in the place she fears the most.

And when Pierce discovers the shocking truth, that’s exactly where John sweeps her:

The Underworld.

Expected Publication: April 26th, 2011 by Scholastic Inc.

Review:

The first thing that you need to know is that I absolutely love Meg Cabot. She's definitely one of my favorite authors (if not my all time favorite) and I have never before read a book written by her that I didn't like. Abandon is no exception.

It was very different, coming from Meg Cabot, although she has written other series involving death or paranormal-like themes (the Mediator and the 1- 800- WHERE- R- YOU series) and I didn't quite know what to expect.

The aspect of mythology was very intriguing to me, being a major fan of Rick Riordan's novels, and gave the book a darker feel than Meg's other novels; even in The Mediator series, which deals with death constantly (the main character sees and talks to ghosts), I always felt that it had a more concentrated focus on humor, which isn't as apparent in Abandon.

My favorite part of Abandon would have to be the strength of the voice of the main character. While it doesn't have many funny events or occurrences, Pierce's way of explaining things was constantly making me smile, as well has just the general feel of her. I found her to be a very thorough and complicated character, which always makes a book feel stronger and more memorable.

Abandon is also definitely not lacking suspense, or the shock factor. My jaw dropped--literally--more than once, and I swear some of my teachers gave me the stink eye for a) reading in class, b) bursting into laughter, and c) well . . . reading in class. But I just couldn't put it down. I finished it in two days. And I cried when I finished--not literally, but almost. Plus, there are quite a few moments were I was caught completely off guard, which isn't something that happens often.

I really would have liked further development in the relationship between Pierce and John, and maybe some more development on John himself. Because of the narrative distance in the novel (it takes place two years after Pierce "died"), it was somewhat hard to get a clear sense of John and their relationship, and I'm hoping that's something that will come through a bit more in the upcoming novels in this new series.

In spite of this, I'd definitely recommend Abandon to other long-time Meg Cabot lovers, fans of Greek Mythology, and pretty much everyone else. I love Meg Cabot, and I love this book. It's something new for the YA genre of Paranormal, and I get the feeling that Meg will soon be acquiring many new fans.

I just have one question for Meg: Will you please write my life?

Grade: A+

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