Review: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Antigoddess

Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Goddess War #1
Publisher: Tor Teen
Genre: YA Mythology
Format: Hardcover, 333 pages
Release Date: September 10, 2013
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries
Rating: 4.5 Stars
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Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

My Review:

When I was in high school I took a Greek Mythology class and loved it. So when I read the synopsis for this book I knew I had to get my hands on it. Holy gods. I loved this book so much!! I tore through the pages, unable to put it down.

This book surprised me in the best way possible. It wasn’t at all what I expected. It was brutal, gruesome, gory. I expected the gods to be all up on Mount Olympus using the humans as their pawns as per usual, but no. These gods were tearing each other apart. Literally. If you don’t like gore be cautious with this one. There are some very graphic fight scenes.

So there’s this girl Cassandra, who can see into the future. What she doesn’t know is that she’s actually an ancient, reincarnated prophetess. The gods are dying and for some reason, they think that Cassandra is the key to saving them. So this poor girl gets her entire life turned upside down. I felt really bad for her. She’s just your average teenager going through life and then all of a sudden, she finds out that nothing is as it seems. She’s been lied to her whole life. Oh yeah, and all the gods are after her so they can use her for their own purposes. Good thing Cassandra has amazing friends. Her brother and her best friend are seriously awesome. They stick by her side the whole time even though the things she’s telling them are pretty unbelievable and would send most people running. Cassandra is tough and compassionate. I loved that when she found out the truth she didn’t immediately forgive. She didn’t just shrug it off like it was nothing. She respects herself enough to make sure the person knows it’s unacceptable. I loved this about her.

But as much as I loved Cassandra, the character that truly stole the show for me was Athena. Is she brutal and completely unfeeling at times? Yes. Does she have a horrible temper and does she make rash decisions? Yes. But does she mean to be that way? No. And she realizes that it’s something she needs to work on. But when it’s been like that for centuries it’s hard to just turn a switch on it. Athena was a badass. Strong, a solid leader, someone that you definitely do not want to mess with. Athena’s relationship with Odysseus gave me all the feels. She’s the virgin goddess and she knows that she shouldn’t have any feelings for him, but it was so fun to see her uncertainty and her humanity in this aspect of the book. I just wanted them to make out the whole book. But of course they had other things to worry about.

Like stopping crazy Hera. Oh my Zeus, was Hera crazy. And scary. Terrifying really. You think Athena is unfeeling? Hera is like a dead fish. She couldn’t care less about the mortals of the world. Hera was a villain that made my heart beat faster in fear. Whenever she was in a scene I was terrified that something was going to happen to my beloved characters.

The supporting characters were also fantastic. Cassandra’s brother and best friend are great. Hermes was probably my favorite supporting character. He’s spoiled and scared, but still brave and resilient. His character had me smiling the whole book. And Aidan was another character that I loved. He truly just wanted to protect Cassandra even if his methods were flawed.

The characters were great. The action was insane. The plot moved quickly. I loved everything about this book. I do have one complaint though. We don’t really find out why the gods are dying. I know this is the first book in a series, but we get nothing. No clues. No kernels of knowledge. It just kind of rubs me the wrong way when we get zero information in the first book. We also don’t know what the deal is with Cassandra and why she’s so important. But honestly, the book was so good that I’m going to let it slide and just impatiently tap my foot until the next one comes out. If you’re looking for a YA book with a completely different plot, then pick this one up. One of the most unique books I’ve read in a long time. Happy reading all!

Have you read this book? What did you think? Do you have any other Greek Mythology recommendations for me?