Review: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake (Goddess War #1)

Antigoddess (The Goddess War #1)
Kendare Blake
Published: Sept. 10, 2013 (Macmillan)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: purchased

Reviewed by: Mary

Rating (out of 5): 3.5 stars

I had extremely high expectations for Antigoddess since Kendare Blake also wrote Anna Dressed in Blood, which has to be one of the most original books I have ever read. I will admit I was not blown away with Antigoddess like I was with Anna. I think that if I had not had such high expectations for this book, I could have enjoyed it much more. Please keep in mind, the book was still good, but I didn’t think it was great.

We can expect heroines in a series called The Goddess Wars. Athena is the main character in this book, or should I say the general in this battle. She is not sure who to trust and who the enemy is. All she knows is that she is slowly dying, along with the rest of the Olympians (all in different, rather creative, ways). Athena is slowly sprouting feathers inside her body. She is certain the ones in her lungs are going to be what kill her, but the ones burrowing out through her eyes are the most painful.

Athena and her only ally, Hermes, get some vague advice from Demeter and set off to find some help. Fate, or the Fates, must be pretty pissed. Not only are the gods suffering, losing their powers and dying, but the advice they get from their aunt is to find a mortal for help. That’s a kicker, but nothing says desperate quite like dying immortals.

While this series has a lot of potential, this book is the beginning to the series and so there was a lot of exposition. This really slowed down the pace and made some sections difficult to get through. That being said, Antigoddess still had some wonderful moments. The interaction between the immortals and mortals was so touching. Blake did a beautiful job of managing to write gods and goddesses, who are thousands of years old, in way that was so natural and effortless you didn’t doubt them for a second.

A lot of familiar names pop up in this one. At some points Antigoddess felt like Percy Jackson on speed, but the dark nature and high body count keep this from being a children’s story. I highly recommend this book, but read with caution. Expectations can make or break a book. Read with an open mind and enjoy the book for what it is.

Sexual content: Kissing, references to sex