Latest Read: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

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Antigoddess (#1) by Kendare Blake
Publication date: Sept. 10, 2013
Publisher: Tor Teen
Category: Young Adult - Greek Mythology
Source: Received ARC at BEA (Thanks!)

Summary: Old Gods never die or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health. Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra - an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god. These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning. The Goddess War is about to begin. (Adapted goodreads.com)

My thoughts…

I'm a big fan of Greek mythology but I haven't read many fictional books on the subject, so when I saw that Kendare Blake was coming out with a new book called Antigoddess - I was really excited. I loved Anna Dressed In Blood and I couldn't wait to see how she'd interpret the Greek gods and goddesses we've all learned about.

The book alternates between Athena, better known as the goddess of wisdom, and Cassandra, a seemingly normal teenager who happens to get visions of the future. Through Athena's chapters, we learn the gods are mysteriously dying. Owl feathers are growing inside Athena's body (reading these descriptions made me cringe!) and Hermes, the brother traveling by her side and the messenger of the gods, is slowly withering away to nothing. We also learn about Hera, Aphrodite, Apollo, Poseidon and Zeus and their relationships with each other. The fights and lifetime of hurt they've caused to everyone around them. Now they're all dying and taking sides. And what makes this interesting is that none of these gods have a perfectly clean slate. They've all been horrible at one point or another but I will say I did end up rooting for Athena's team (even when she got a little crazy).

On the other side is Cassandra. I kind of struggled with her character a bit. Throughout the book, I felt like I was learning about her without ever really getting to know her. She has this power which is both a blessing and a curse and the people in her life - her boyfriend Aidan, her brother Henry and her best friend Andie - all accept her abilities like it's completely normal. Even as more twists are revealed to them, I kept waiting for someone to run screaming in disbelief (this never happens). I just felt like I didn't have enough time with the characters to feel invested in what they were going through. And by the time I did, it was towards the end when the two parties finally cross paths (then it's non-stop action!).

Do I recommend?: Antigoddess very much felt like a introductory book in a series but I love the author's previous work so I will probably continue giving this series a try to see where she takes it. Despite what I said about Cassandra, the mythology aspect really, really intrigues me and Blake throws in some additional lore which I didn't expect (but loved). So if you're interested, I think this is worth checking out.

Happy reading!