Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Title: The Goddess Test
Author: Aimee Carter
Release Date: April 19, 2011
Paperback: 304 pages
Reading Level: YA
My Copy: Net Galley
My rating: 4 out of 5 wicked stars

Blurb (from Amazon.com):

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess. 

 My quick wicked thoughts...An interestingly unique look at mythology and an unlikely love story.

Why I was tempted to read this...I love mythology, although I don't really remember much about the exact stories...so I am not one to comment on how the story goes with the actual myth...but I think the author twisted this one in just the right way to make it interesting.

Cover thoughts...It is eye-catching

Romance meter...Not so much at first....but it ramps up later.  I couldn't tell if Henry was going to be the love interest or not, considering he is Hades and is perceived in the first part of the book as being much older than her.  I couldn't tell if it was going to give me the creepy-old-guy factor the rest of the book, but it actually wasn't too bad.

Characters and plot...I liked Kate, she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders and she actually accepting things quite well for someone that thought she was quite average to begin with.  Like I already said about Henry...there was a beginning creep-factor with him, but as the story went along and you got to know him...it wasn't too bad.   This book was easy to get into and interesting enough to keep my attention and want to get to the end. 

The ending...It pretty much ques you up for the next book, which I will definitely be reading.  Goddess Interrupted is book two due out February 2012.

Review: Waterfall (River of Time Series #1) by Lisa T. Bergren

Title:  Waterfall (River of Time Series #1)
Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Release Date: February 1, 2011
Paperback: 384 pages
Reading Level: YA
My Copy: Amazon Vine
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 wicked hearts

Blurb (from Amazon.com):

Gabriella has never spent a summer in Italy like this one.

Remaining means giving up all she’s known and loved…

and leaving means forfeiting what she’s come to know…and love itself.

          Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Bentarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives with their parents, famed Etruscan scholars, among the romantic hills. Stuck among the rubble of medieval castles in rural Tuscany on yet another hot, dusty archeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds… until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

            And thus does she come to be rescued by the knight-prince Marcello Falassi, who takes her back to his father’s castle—a castle Gabi has seen in ruins in another life. Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting. But what do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

 

 

My Wicked Thoughts....

I have to say that this book was surprisingly fun to read.  It combines two of my faves...paranormal (in the way of time travel) and historical fiction!  Gabriella is a likable character with determined will to things as she sees fit..and you know that always gets people into trouble!  The book starts off in present day when Gabi and her sister wander into a forbidden archeological dig site and find hand prints in the wall...when both sisters press their hands there...the world changes..big-time - to the degree of 700 years.  When Gabi comes to her senses she is in the same site, alone...and in the middle of battle!  She is saved by Marcello, the 2nd son of the Lord of Castello Forelli.

Their attraction in undeniable but doesn't come at the best time, since he has been betrothed since birth to Lady Rossi, who of course is a jealous shrew.  So they deny it for as long as they can...all the while constantly in search of Gabi's sister...who didn't come thru the portal when she did.  Marcello is in the dark as far as the time travel situation, he just believes she has been separated from her sister and mother and is determined to help her find them.

I gave this book 4.5 stars because it was a little too convenient that Gabi knew how to do so many things out the norm...like how to use a sword, speaking Italian and some Latin and some of the plot was fairly predictable.  That aside, I enjoyed the book and finished it fairly quickly.  It is YA and honestly a little "cleaner" than average, but that doesn't take away from the story and the drama.  The characters are well developed and engaging, you really want to know how things work out in the end.  The ending is a bit open with lots of loose ends.  I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Cascade, due out in June 2011.