Author: Aimee Carter
Publisher: Harlequin
Release Date: April 19, 2011
Pages: 293 pages
Age: YA
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Synopsis:
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 that 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.
If she fails...
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.
If she fails...
My Thoughts:
Personally, I enjoyed this book. The plot was something new that I haven't encountered yet. It was a fresh take on the Greek Gods and the story of Persephone. Kate was an interesting character, I really felt for her with her emotional background, dying mother, no real friends and moving to a new town. Especially a town where you know nobody but everybody knows you & your business.
Kate quickly became the enemy of the head cheerleader, Ava, by being attractive to her boyfriend, but in an interesting turn of events, with the help of Henry, they become friends. Kate is officially not alone in town anymore. She now has two friends, Ava and James.... until Henry. Although Ava is present throughout much of the book, James is not (you'll have to read to find out why).
Kate is so worried about her mother's health that she agrees to live with Henry, who is the god of the underworld, for months in his mansion. She is told that she has to be herself & pass seven tests & if she does she'll become Henry's wife... and a goddess. But the problem is that no girl has ever survived to make it through all seven.
I loved the journey of Kate & Henry becoming closer and them finding out why all the other girls never lived. We also see her make it through the tests and go on to the judgement. It was amazing to find out who the rest of the gods were and how they essentially tricked Kate into the whole thing.
Overall, I liked the book and plan on reading the next one.
