Book Review: Antigoddess

Title: Antigoddess.
Author: Kendare Blake.
Series: Yes, Goddess War #1.
Pages: 333
Publisher: Tor Teen
Published Date: 9/10/13.
Links:
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The Goddess War begins in Antigoddess, the first installment of the new series by acclaimed author of Anna Dressed in Blood, Kendare Blake.

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. 

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out. 

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

There were multiple reasons why I was dying to get started on Antigoddess, those include the interesting cover, the amazing rumors I've heard about Kendare Blake's Anna Dressed in Blood, and that this book revolves around Greek Gods.

I don't know what it is, but I absolutely love Greek and Roman Gods, and they completely fascinate me. I think it all started when I took a mythology class back in junior high....and ever since then, I can't get enough!

I don't want to get into much detail about the story itself, because I would rather just point out a few things that I really enjoyed and some...not so much.

Overall, Antigoddess was a good book. The characters were interesting; the way these Gods have integrated into the modern world, and how this battle between them is still going on. There wasn't a single dull moment.

While there was a bit of romance towards the beginning, it wasn't too overbearing, which was absolutely perfect. I didn't read Antigoddess for the romance, I read it for the Gods, the mythology and the war...

But there was one or two things towards the end of the story, that did bother and throw me off a bit. And without giving to much away, I'm going to try and explain to you what I mean.

The entire book was a build up. There is so much going on in this story (not that it's a bad thing) and all that needed to be explained before we can got into the meat and potatoes. We were introduced to characters, and to what was going on between these Gods, and even got a small taste of the war.

But with all these built up, I NEED something explosive to happen, or a huge tease to let me know that something explosive will happen at the beginning of the next book.

Antigoddess spend 300 pages preparing its readers for the first battle in this war, and the war lasted about 20 pages. One of the enemies was killed within a few minutes in the most simple way. You're a group of Gods who have been alive for a thousand years, and THAT is how you have to kill one of the strongest Gods? You needed a human to figure that out?

Besides that I was also shocked by the response to when one of the group members died. It was almost like nothing happened; it seems emotionless and unrealistic. Again I felt like the death happened too quickly, then was overlooked, and the funeral flashed by like a breeze. As if this character wasn't important or meaningful...

I know I sound really negative, but I did enjoy the book. I got everything I wanted out of it, and I can't wait to get my hands on the second installment. But I do wish that the ending didn't happen so quickly, because it seemed very rushed. Especially after taking so much time with detail, to bring us to that point in the story.

Have you read Antigoddess yet? What about Anna Dressed in Blood?

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