[ARC Review] Antigoddess by Kendra Blake

Monday, September 09, 2013


Title: Antigoddess
Author: Kendare Blake
Genre: YA, Mythology
Format: Hardcover, 33 pages
Release Date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: Tor Teen
Source: ARC received from publisher for honest review

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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.



I am sucker for anything having to do with Gods, Mythology and anything ancient. So when I saw what this book was about, I knew that it was way up my ally and I needed to read it. What I didn't expect was the level of storytelling and writing that I encountered. Unlike most, I have not read the Anna series, and honestly I don't know why. Kendare's writing is phenomenal in this book, and I can only imagine what her other is like.

What I love most about this type of story is the way it can be manipulated and changed in so  many different ways. I mean retelling of Greek myths have been around for centuries, but I honestly don't think that I have encountered one quite like this. Kendare took the gods that we know well, and made them human. And she took out human world and made it fantastical. it was amazing to read, and honestly I could not put this book down because the tension was so intense that I needed to know what happened next.

What I think I loved most about this story was the mixture of ancient characters with human ones. And I thought it was very original the way the gods were integrated into the story. They were not exaggerated versions of the people we have read about, they seemed real and "human" at times, even though their egos could get in the way.

The love story in this book was heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. There was no sexual tension because the two characters were already together, but it is what happens to them that effects their relationship and I loved watching them try and figure out what their true feelings were, especially when the big reveal happens.

I am not one for cliffhanger endings or ending that are incredibly sad, and I will warn you that this one has some of both. I wanted to throw the book again ts a wall at certain point at the end, I had to convince myself that the author would not be that mean, but in fact she was. But I commend her for it, because the more I thought about the more I realized that it was what needed to be done for the story to continue. And I seriously cannot wait to see where this series goes. It was a breath of fresh air in a genre that has grown tired.

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