Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Date Finished: 16 November 2013

Rating: 5*

Series: The Goddess War, #1

View on Goodreads.

I made a pledge not to read anything exciting during exams, and to refrain from doing anything I actually enjoyed, so that I could concentrate on the Physics textbook that has been slowly draining me of all hope for humanity. (Sorry, I also banned myself from blogging, which hopefully explains why I’ve been MIA – yet again – for the past two weeks.) And I was doing so well. I made it through two whole days of exams before letting my family drag me to Exclusive Books – and then all hell broke loose.

I have too many feelings right now. I can’t deal with this. It’s too much.

Let me just start by saying: Kendare Blake, you are pure genius. I actually physically have so much respect for you now that you are right up there on that list of favourite authors, somewhere between Meg Cabot and Suzanne Collins. I knew from the moment I saw “Author of Anna Dressed in Blood” on the top of Antigoddess that I was going to be in deep trouble.

The Greek Gods of old are dying. Desperately seeking answers to the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes begin a search for the only person who could help them escape their fate: Cassandra, a reincarnated prophetess from the Trojan war. But Cassandra is blissfully unaware of her past - or the existence of gods - and her boyfriend Aiden, will do anything to keep her safe from the dangers tracking her. Even if it means war against his immortal family.

Antigoddess is filled with everything that makes a YA book not only worth reading, but enthralling. It's packed full of suspense, romance, tragedy and action, not to mention the fact that ninety percent of the boys are super-hot Greek gods.

I love Greek mythology, and I love it even more when authors decide to put their own spin on it and put it into a modern context. I think my obsession with these types of novels started with Abandon by Meg Cabot, but to be honest most of the Greek-mythology-based books I’ve read center around the myth of Persephone, so I was getting a bit bored of them until I stumbled across this one in my Exclusive Books raid yesterday.

May I just point out now that if I fail the exams that I was supposed to be studying for today, I am going to be sending Kendare Blake an e-mail asking her to explain to my teachers WHY I was unable to study.

Back to the book: It was incredible. Just… Wow. Everything was perfect. The characters were beautifully realistic, and I feel like I bonded personally with each and every one of them. The storyline was amazing. I was enthralled from the very first page. How do you even come up with an idea like this? And then have the talent and perseverance to write a story that made me wish it could carry on forever? As I said before, I’m extremely impressed by Blake’s genius and writing style.

Oh, but before I get all lost in my admiration for the book… I’m not forgetting that you pulled a J. K. Rowling on us and made us bond with a character for the entire book, fall in love with them, and then brutally kill them off, Kendare Blake. So, thanks for making me really confused as to whether I love or hate you right now. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer when I’m put in an asylum because of the extreme mixture of depression and happiness – among other emotions your book has caused me – that I’m currently experiencing.

And also: 2014? No, I think that’s a bit too long to wait for Aristeia. Just consider maybe releasing it a bit earlier on behalf of me and all the other people I’m going to force to read this book. Just like… Tomorrow. For the sake of our mental health. Please.