Book Review: The Goddess Legacy (Goddess Test #2.5) by Aimée Carter

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
395 Pages

For millennia we've caught only glimpses of the lives and loves of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. Now Aime e Carter pulls back the curtain on how they became the powerful, petty, loving and dangerous immortals that Kate Winters knows.

Calliope/Hera represented constancy and yet had a husband who never matched her faithfulness....

Ava/Aphrodite was the goddess of love and yet commitment was a totally different deal....

Persephone was urged to marry one man, yet longed for another....

James/Hermes loved to make trouble for others-but never knew true loss before....

Henry/Hades's solitary existence had grown too wearisome to continue. But meeting Kate Winters gave him a new hope....

Five original novellas of love, loss and longing and the will to survive throughout the ages.

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Review:

The Goddess Legacy was a good distraction as I wait not-so-patiently for The Goddess Inheritance book three in Aimée Carter's Goddess Test series. I love Greek mythology and have since I was a kid. I've never seriously studied up on it, but I've always loved stories, movies and books based off the legends. The Goddess Test series has been a great, fun, sometimes angst-y, modern "spin-off" on the lives of the Greek gods.

I really enjoyed reading book two… That's a bit of an understatement really. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much I loved Goddess Interrupted. So, when I saw that this title was available on Netgalley. I requested it immediately! I'm glad I did and that Harlequin Teen deemed me worthy.

This is just as angsty as the first two novels in the series, but gives you a lot more background information about the Gods and Goddesses. This story gives us the past of the characters we have come to know and love. And YES! I think I've got all the new names memorized now! I'm very proud of myself, because that was one of the biggest struggles for me with the previous books.

Here's the list - in case you need it:

Zeus - Walter

Hera - Calliope

Poseidon - Phillip

Demeter - Diana

Hades - Henry

Hestia - Sofia

Ares - Dylan

Aphrodite - Ava

Hermes - James

Athena - Irene

Apollo - Theo

Artemis - Ella

Hephaestus - Nicholas

Dionysus - Xander

This was a fast read for me, mostly because I could not put the book down. Say what you will, but Aimée's writing sucks you in and holds on to you even past the end. She's a magnificent storyteller! And her play on Greek mythology continues to intrigue me. I can't wait to see what she's going to do next.

This book is made up of parts from Calliope/Hera's, Ava/Aphrodite's, Persephone's, Hermes/James's, Hades/Henry's points of view. That is the order of how they are read and they play off of each other very smoothly, though in my copy, the transition was wonky. That's my only real complaint about this book, so it can't really be a complaint, since I don't have a final copy and I'm not sure if that issue is fixed or not. Just understand how much I love this series and how much I enjoyed this book!

I developed feelings towards some characters that I never thought I would feel. Calliope/Hera's story almost made me cry. She went through so much and her pain is obvious. You understand (but still don't approve of) her actions after reading The Goddess Legacy. Ava/Aphrodite's story was my favorite. It made me ache for Nicholas/Hephaestus and now I'm pretty much in love with him. Still don't like Ares/Dylan, though. It is interesting to see these Olympian deities as humans, but also see their backgrounds and read their stories from their creation. I think, though this didn't move the plot forward, that this was a great edition to the series.

There is a "sex scene" in the story. It's really just a small passage about the one time Persephone and Hades consummate their marriage. Nothing graphic. Persephone's story helped me not hate her as much, but I still hate her a little bit. Though, I only hate her because she broke Hades' heart. Since she didn't hurt him on purpose (most of the time), I can't really fault her for it.

The Goddess Legacy just helps to tie in some loose knots about the past so you can fully understand what's happening in the series that Ms. Carter writes. It's very helpful and enjoyable! So go out and buy a copy as soon as it's released! If you loved the first two books, you'll love this one, too!

I received and e-copy of this novel from the publisher through Netgalley for my honest opinion and review.