Goddess Interrupted (Goddess Test, #2)

by Aimée Carter

[Katie King]

Color me shocked: I liked Goddess Interrupted! This is because of one main reason:

I hated the first book. Absolutely hated it. Straight up 1 star. But this book?? WHAT A TURNAROUND. I mean, it’s not the best book ever but relative to how I felt before? Amazing. In order to highlight the differences, I’ll evaluate the points I discussed in my review of The Goddess Test.

Kate

Before: Kate is whiny, cries a lot, and does little else.

Now: Kate is a tough-ass bitch. But in a good way, like she doesn’t take crap from anyone. Someone won’t tell her what happened and she says “spill, bitch!” Someone tells her she’ll be safer if she stays behind and she says “f- that!” Those are exaggerations but it was along those lines (although not as aggressive ;)). She decides she’s gonna put herself in harm’s way in order to help someone else, which is obviously a huge step forward for her. She also doesn’t cry every other page. I really grew to respect her in this book. A 10,000% better character.

Henry/Hades

Before: Struggles with his love for Kate, also a sensitive virgin.

Now: Henry changed relatively little compared to Kate. He still struggled with his love for Kate, but we didn’t see from his POV very often (or at all, idk). As a result, he just seemed very distant and cold for much of the book. I’ll get into that later. I could see his love for his family and willingness to protect them, so it felt pretty realistic and not like he was a “love everybody or nobody” person. We also find out he wasn’t a virgin before Kate so we can all breathe a sigh of relief that stereotype wasn’t used after all.

Romance

Before: For 80%, Kate agrees to keep her mom alive. Then she decides she NEEDS Henry in order to live.

Now: Another COMPLETE turnaround! Kate struggles between feelings for her husband that rejects her, and a boy who loves her. I’m not going to lie, this emotional struggle was easily the best part of this entire book, forget the plot! Carter wrote these scenes with such depth that I very strongly connected with Kate. When she was worrying about Henry’s family, she was also juggling Henry ignoring her, James fighting for her, and trying to accept Henry’s obvious love for his first wife, Persephone. When Kate saw Henry and Persephone in her vision, my heart broke right along with her. The feels got to me!!

Plot (or lack thereof)

Before: Ooh, arbitrary matchmaking tests!

Now: The plot was still a little dumb. Calliope/Hera is in love with Henry/Hades but he only sees her as a sister, so in order to exact her revenge she tries to release the Titan Cronus. In order to keep Cronus captive, Kate must find Persephone, as she is the only one who knows how to lock/unlock the gate. Obviously this is awkward since they’re both romantically tangled with Henry. Kate sticks it out and manages to keep Cronus locked up, but for who knows how long.

Honestly, I enjoyed Goddess Interrupted so much that I don’t even care about any of it’s flaws. :)