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Julie (77 KP) rated The Goddess Test in Books

Sep 12, 2017  
The Goddess Test
The Goddess Test
Aimee Carter | 2011 | Young Adult (YA)
9
9.0 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Henry (1 more)
Not insta-love
"I’ve probably read The Goddess Test trilogy at least five times. I absolutely LOVE these books.

This spin on the Greek gods is amazing. It’s so different and refreshing. In this book, Kate has a big task ahead of her. Passing the seven tests are difficult, but what happens after winning is almost as difficult, if not more so. But let me just say, she has the ability to pass and do well after doing so, she just doesn’t quite believe it herself.

You get to read about a lot of different characters, each one is very different and has their own little quirks and faults. Some of them being Ava- Kates best friend who is a flirty, boy crazy young girl who has a hard time keeping her hands to herself; Calliope- a quiet, obedient servant who shows Kate support; Ella- Kate’s bossy attendant who loves to dress her up in awful dresses; and Diana- Kate’s loving mother who is dying but visits Kate through her dreams." Read the entire review here: https://thenerdybookwormsite.wordpress.com/2017/07/07/the-goddess-test-by-aimee-carter/
  
A very odd mix of stories that feature a harvest moon and only the first by Lackey fits the cover, of which makes me think of fairies and moonbeams.
Overall: <b>3.5 stars</b>

<i>A Tangled Web</i> by Mercedes Lackey (Light Fantasy)
A retelling of the Greek myth pertaining to Persephone and Hades, with some added Norse mythology. A cute story, if a little thin on actual plot. I'll probably forget it by next week.
<i>2.5 stars/5</i>

<i>Cast in Moonlight</i> by Michelle Sagara (Fantasy/Urban Fantasy hybrid)
Fascinating mythology and world-building, intriguing characters and races. If I hadn't already been interested in reading the Chronicles of Elantra series, this would have done it. Pretty much a perfect story that stands alone quite well.
<i>5 stars</i>

<i>Retribution</i> by Cameron Haley (Urban Fantasy)
A solid short story dealing with a sorcerer and enforcer for a mob boss. Has some interesting ideas and is a promising beginning to a new series. While it does have cursing, it feels authentic and fits the scenes and characters. This is definitely not a story for the faint of heart.
<i>3 stars</i>
  
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Janeeny (200 KP) rated The Iliad in Books

Jun 10, 2019  
The Iliad
The Iliad
Homer, E.V. Rieu, Peter Jones | 2014 | Essays
6
7.1 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Personally I think this should have also counted towards my classic read for the month aswell, but hey, I don’t make the rules . . oh, wait . .
For those of you not in the know The Iliad is Homers epic poem about the Trojan war, this version was translated by EV Rieu.
What can I say about this, without sounding like a complete philistine? It is essentially a Soap Opera based around testosterone fuelled macho men and a bunch of Gods having a hissy fit! I loved it!

Crivens, there’s a lot of people in it though!! It did take me a little while to get into it, and being a little rusty on my Greek mythology I kept forgetting who was on whose side, but I eventually found my stride, and if you can wade through all the different ways that different people were killed (Homer does really like describing how each person died, potentially the Tarantino of his day!) It is a really detailed account of a mythological war that inspired a whole wealth of literature, and I can see why it is a classic.
  
Trickery (Curse of the Gods, #1)
Trickery (Curse of the Gods, #1)
Jaymin Eve, Jane Washington | 2017 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Character development (2 more)
Good female protagonist
World development
Main character questionable decisions (0 more)
What a refreshing take on the reverse harem genre
Well this was a nice surprise. I’ve only recently started enjoying reading reverse harem novels and find they can be a bit on the cringe side of things. Either there’s too much mushy sentiments or it’s straight into the sex talk right off the bat. While there is some of this here, there’s actually some nice development of both Willa, the gods, sols and worlds.
The abcurses are well fleshed out as individuals even without having full knowledge about them straight away. You don’t grind your teeth or blush everytime they appear on the page, which is a plus.
I’d say if you liked hearing about the Greek gods when you were younger (or now even) and enjoy a kind of hunger games type world then this could be the book for you.
It’s a book I felt comfortable reading in public and I’d say to an extant older teens would be fine reading this as it’s not overtly sexual, at least in this first book ?
  
Norse Mythology
Norse Mythology
Neil Gaiman | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
8.4 (38 Ratings)
Book Rating
Gives you an overview of Norse mythology (0 more)
It is a little boring, a struggle to read (0 more)
A little informative and interesting
Contains spoilers, click to show
I love Neil Gaiman. I was so excited to read this book as I really enjoyed American Gods and jabe a love of Viking history. Right before reading this I read Stephen Fry's Mythology, unlucky for Neil and me. I can't help but compare the two and Gaiman's Norse Mythology comes up short. Whilst we do have access to more information of Greek myth than Norse myth, I don't think that's the entire reason that Norse Mythology is a hard read. The telling of the Norse stories doesn't have the flow I have come to expect from Gaiman, there is a strangled growth to it that makes for a choppy reading that is just hard work and not that enjoyable. Gaiman's style and what I enjoy about him is too constrained in this retelling of Norse myths, this may be due to a lack of evidence of Norse myth and history. I think it would have worked well online, as blog posts etc. As a book it is something easily put down, forgotten about and never finished.