Beauty and the Reader

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked the way the new world was set up, I liked the characters, I liked the way it was written, and I liked the plot. And yet, I didn't give it 5/5 stars. There were some reasons for this. In this review, I will discuss both positive and negative aspects of the book. I will do my best to not spoil, but maybe I will give some examples (without giving names) that might be a small spoiler.

First and foremost, the writing style. I loved the writing style of Aimee Carter. Every time I started reading this book, I couldn't stop myself. There are some books in which I have this as well, but, considering the fact I'm in a kind of reading slump right now, this doesn't count for all the books I read. It usually takes me some time and pages to really get into the story. For this novel, it all seemed so easy. However, as the story continued, I started losing this feeling. Yes, I still loved the writing style, but there were some other things that turned me down a little. Because of this, it took me longer to finish the book than I had wanted to.

Secondly, the plot. I liked the plot of this novel. It kind of reminded me of Teardrop, which I as well really enjoyed, but than better written (by this I mean it was written in a way that made me feel more involved in the story, whilst it took me quite some time to feel involved in the novel Teardrop). Moreover, it contained Greek mythology, and who doesn't love Greek mythology? However, after this great start of the novel it didn't get much better. I had oped it would, but unfortunately, I only found things getting weird. I believe I was halfway through the book when I experienced this feeling first. Suddenly there was romance, and, even though it was written in first person view point, we hadn't noticed this romance before AT ALL. It is usually true that the main character suddenly realises she likes a certain boy, but as a reader, we could see that one coming from the very very first start. For the Goddess Test, all I could do was guess, but I honestly did not know how it would exactly turn out to be. A love triangle? No love interest? The person who somehow seemed most obvious, but with whom we didn't see any romantic developments? Apart from this, I did like the plot. There were lots of twists that I didn't see coming at all. Actually, I believed the only real turn down of the plot was the romance, which I absolutely didn't like.

Then the characters. I liked Kate. However, sometimes she seemed so weak, whilst at the same time, she was described as brave. I did understand why they called her brave, but they couldn't see/hear/read what she thought. If they did, I think she would have seemed weaker in their eyes too. Next to this small thing, I really liked Kate. She was selfless, and some of her characteristics and choices were relatable to me. Still, I think my favourite characters were Ava and Calliope. I hope that in the sequel, we will learn more about them. Also, I didn't really understand Henry, and get a clear image of him and his characteristics in my head. I hope this will happen in the second novel as well.

In my opinion, this book as just a fun read. It isn't one of my favourites, but I do believe it deserves 3.5 stars. I really hope the second novel will explain the characters and some major plot points better. If that is the case, I am sure I will rate it higher than I rated this novel. And for I forget, I do think people who love Greek mythology should read this book!

P.S. Am I the only one who thinks the cover could've been much prettier?