Umdid I read a different book than many others? After reading rave reviews all over Goodreads and the Internet, I was expecting something swooningly romantic and highly inventive. Instead, THE GODDESS TEST read like a first draft of sorts, fully of character clichés and a meandering plot that takes the excitement out of, well, excitement.
I stopped reading about a quarter of the way into the book because, at that point, still nothing pertaining to the main plot had occurred. Its actually quite impressive how little plot this book got away with, considering its YA audience. The first quarter of the book consists of a really confusing series of exchanges that go something like this:
I can save her life if you agree to do [STATIC] for me.
Okay, um, but what is it you want me to do?
*ominous voice* You know what I mean.
Well, um, actually I dont, but, um, okay, whatever you say.
*days later*
Wait, WHAT did I promise I would do for you?!
You know what you promised.
Actually, I do not, but, um, sure, let me know what you want me to do.
It is too late. She dies.
*she dies*
Noooooo! Now I must go and save (again) the life of this girl who treats me like shit.
Or something like that.
Thats the other thing that completely boggled my mind about this book: the characters. They are tropes. Kate is a total Bella Swan, the new girl whom guys are falling over to accommodate for no real reason. Her friend, James, is like this awkwardly done combination between male-best-friend-whos-in-love-with-the-female-protagonist and male-best-friend-who-seems-to-be-hiding-a-secret-that-may-changing-the-female-protagonists-life. And Ava. Oh God, Ava. One minute she hates Kate, the next she seems to suffer amnesia and think theyre chummyno, really, theyre actually chummy, not just because Ava wants to seduce Kate into trusting her. So yeah, I quite clearly dont get James and Ava and what purpose they serve in the story except to maybe press Kate into the path of Henry. Whatever. So unnatural.
I hesitate to recommend this even to people who enjoy Greek mythological retellings or who dont have a problem with clichéd characters because its just so poorly structured, in my opinion. I requested this for review, but I think Im going to stop there, because, as far as I can tell from similar reviews, the rest of the book isnt going to get better.
I stopped reading about a quarter of the way into the book because, at that point, still nothing pertaining to the main plot had occurred. Its actually quite impressive how little plot this book got away with, considering its YA audience. The first quarter of the book consists of a really confusing series of exchanges that go something like this:
I can save her life if you agree to do [STATIC] for me.
Okay, um, but what is it you want me to do?
*ominous voice* You know what I mean.
Well, um, actually I dont, but, um, okay, whatever you say.
*days later*
Wait, WHAT did I promise I would do for you?!
You know what you promised.
Actually, I do not, but, um, sure, let me know what you want me to do.
It is too late. She dies.
*she dies*
Noooooo! Now I must go and save (again) the life of this girl who treats me like shit.
Or something like that.
Thats the other thing that completely boggled my mind about this book: the characters. They are tropes. Kate is a total Bella Swan, the new girl whom guys are falling over to accommodate for no real reason. Her friend, James, is like this awkwardly done combination between male-best-friend-whos-in-love-with-the-female-protagonist and male-best-friend-who-seems-to-be-hiding-a-secret-that-may-changing-the-female-protagonists-life. And Ava. Oh God, Ava. One minute she hates Kate, the next she seems to suffer amnesia and think theyre chummyno, really, theyre actually chummy, not just because Ava wants to seduce Kate into trusting her. So yeah, I quite clearly dont get James and Ava and what purpose they serve in the story except to maybe press Kate into the path of Henry. Whatever. So unnatural.
I hesitate to recommend this even to people who enjoy Greek mythological retellings or who dont have a problem with clichéd characters because its just so poorly structured, in my opinion. I requested this for review, but I think Im going to stop there, because, as far as I can tell from similar reviews, the rest of the book isnt going to get better.
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