Review: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake
Published: September 10, 2013
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 336 (Hardcover)
Series: The Goddess War #1
Source: Publisher
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

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.

Antigoddess is perfect for fans of Greek mythology. A bit of knowledge about the Gods and Goddesses is ideal, but not necessary. Kendare Blake does a fantastic job of explaining who the Gods were without info dumping.

The mythology part of the book was definitely the best part. The way that Athena and the other Gods acted seemed spot on. I especially loved how each God was dying in a different way unique to who they were. The personalities of the Gods and how they die shows that the author truly understood Greek mythology. 

There were two main characters and it flipped between their point of views. Athena was definitely my favorite of the two, mainly because she could stand up for herself. Cassandra wasn't entirely helpless though. She was a prophetess originally from Troy who was reincarnated. She's also the key to the Gods' deaths. I also really enjoyed reading about Odysseus and I have a feeling that he will be more important in the next book.

I would have liked more of an explanation for why the Gods are dying. Was it just because no one worshiped them anymore or something else? The fact that some of the Gods are taking sides doesn't seem very logical. If they all want the same thing, then why wouldn't they work together? It also wasn't very clear why Hera, Poseidon, and Aphrodite were eating other creatures. It didn't seem to help them because they were still dying and eventually they would have run out of things to eat.

Other than those questions I had, the plot was enjoyable. It had the perfect pacing and I was never bored. In fact, it was incredibly difficult to put the book down. I wanted to find out if Cassandra really could save the Gods and what kind of weapon she was. There was a bit of romance, but no love triangle or insta love. Apollo and Cassandra were already together when the book started and their relationship didn't seem forced. I did think Apollo was a bit overbearing at times. It was like he thought that Cassandra couldn't take care of herself and that bothered me because she isn't as helpless as he thought. I enjoyed the relationship between Odysseus and Athena more than Cassandra and Apollo's. There was a hint of forbidden love because Athena is supposed to be the virgin Goddess but that didn't bother me too much. It was clear that Athena and Odysseus cared for each other and I liked how they didn't need to kiss or anything like that to make that clear.

Overall Antigoddess was an enjoyable read, but it felt like it was missing the piece that would have made it something special.

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review