Goddess by Josephine Angelini

Goddess by Josephine Angelini
Series: Starcrossed, #3
Source: Bought
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: May 28, 2013

After accidentally unleashing the gods from their captivity on Olympus, Helen must find a way to re-imprison them without starting a devastating war. But the gods are angry, and their thirst for blood already has a body count.

To make matters worse, the Oracle reveals that a diabolical Tyrant is lurking among them, which drives a wedge between the once-solid group of friends. As the gods use the Scions against one another, Lucas’s life hangs in the balance. Still unsure whether she loves him or Orion, Helen is forced to make a terrifying decision, for war is coming to her shores.

In Josephine Angelini’s compelling conclusion to the masterfully woven Starcrossed trilogy, a goddess must rise above it all to change a destiny that’s been written in the stars. With worlds built just as fast as they crumble, love and war collide in an all-out battle that will leave no question unanswered and no heart untouched.

When I started Goddess, I was really unsure. The books in this series have gotten progressively better with each installment, but I was afraid that this one wouldn't live up to my standards. It didn't help that I started it out blind-- I had to relearn several of the character names, because I didn't re-read the previous books before starting. This made the first few chapters a bit muddy, because I had to sort out all of the secondary characters in my mind.

I liked that we got a few glimpses into Daphne's mind with Goddess-- in earlier books, she's been a huge mystery, but I loved that she opened up a little in this one. (And she's not all bad.) But before I start in on the virtues of Daphne (few and rare), I want to talk about Helen. The main character, the balm that's supposed to hold this whole series together. Honestly, Helen isn't a great character to me. I do like her, but it's the secondary characters that really make it pop.

For instance, when I think about why I love this series...what comes to mind? Orion. Lucas. Hector. All of the interwoven stories from ancient mythology. Memories and Scions...did you notice that none of my reasons were Helen? I did. And honestly, it really doesn't bother me that I don't "love" Helen.

I did, however, like the introduction of Andy! A new character in a group you've come to love is always exciting, because you're not sure how they'll play with the other characters; but I loved Andy. She was so interesting-- a siren? Come on. That is awesome. I also liked the introduction of her as Hector's love interest. They were so adorable together!

And I just have to talk about Orion for a little bit, y'all. I love him! He's like my sad puppy dog, honestly. I'm always rooting for the guy who probably won't win. But I just can't help it! Orion was a really deep character, and I felt like I could feel his sadness. And it was sad-- I did love his ending, though. He deserves to be someone's first choice.

As I've mentioned before, I loved the Greek myths that were interwoven into the story-- the idea that each character was a representation of each of the myth characters was awesome! I completely fell in love with some of the characterizations, let me tell you. All the pieces and characters connect and snap perfectly together. Unfortunately, I did think that it was obvious from the beginning that Helen was the tyrant. It didn't ruin the plot or anything, because I was completely freaking out over it, but... (OMG OMG OMG)

There is so many other things that I want to tell you, but I just can't risk spoiling the book! Just know that my heart strings were tugged back and forth, and that the ending (while semi-happy) fell a bit flat. The rest of the book was so amazing, but the ending was slightly anti-climatic. There was a lot that I wanted to see resolved. Overall, this series is really worth a read. Don't let a "slightly" anti-climatic ending keep you away!

Furious by Jill Wolfson

Furious by Jill Wolfson
Series: N/A
Source: Won
Publisher: Henry Holt & CO.
Publication Date: April 16, 2013

Three high school girls become the avenging Furies of Greek legend.

We were only three angry girls, to begin with. Alix, the hot-tempered surfer chick; Stephanie, the tree-hugging activist; and me, Meg, the quiet foster kid, the one who never quite fit in. We hardly knew each other, but each of us nurtured a burning anger: at the jerks in our class, at our disappointing parents, at the whole flawed, unjust world.

We were only three angry girls, simmering uselessly in our ocean-side California town, until one day a mysterious, beautiful classmate named Ambrosia taught us what else we could be: Powerful. Deadly. Furious.

We are straight out of mythology, goddesses who avenge, retaliate, punish, haunt, hunt, and don't stand around being victims, but make things happen.

I was really expecting to love Furious. And while I liked it, this didn't add up to "love" for me; although I wish it could have. The first seemingly small thing that I couldn't get past was the fact that it's based in America. Normally, this isn't a big deal, as most YA books are based in America. But the fact still remains that this is a GREEK myth come to life. Why isn't it based in Greece?

I realize that this is a small thing... but come on! I never got an explanation for it. And I would have liked to have seen one. The other thing that bothered me was "The Plagues". I could possibly see how someone might come up with a set of nicknames like that, but I really doubt that it would be a group of teenage boys. It just doesn't ring true for me. I can't imagine boys going by nicknames such as "Gnat", "Bubonic" or "Pox". This is also a small thing. The rest of the book was fairly enjoyable!

I liked the character of Stephanie; I believe that she was my favorite. I could relate to her, because in her own way she was trying to change the world. I loved that about her. Even when she could have (or even should have) given up, she kept trying to stand up for what she believed in. As a result, I admired her. Alix and Meg, however, didn't really do it for me. Alix was too tough and hardcore (with no sense of mercy) and Meg was... how do I say this gently? I felt like Meg was way too power-hungry, which threw her sense of justice out of whack.

Meg definitely grew as a character throughout the book, though, which is a bit more than I can say for Alix. Stephanie figured it out too, eventually. I was proud of them for that. I felt bad for Meg's friend Raymond, though. He always seemed like such a happy light-- I wish that he had gotten a bit more character time, you know? I also wish that the romance between Meg & Brendon would have been given more time. They fell "in love" by the second date, which is a big no-no. Thankfully, the romance was such a small part of the book that I easily overlooked it.

My favorite part of this book was the myth of the Furies. I loved it when the girls took out their fury on people; it gave the story so much. It was so easy to see why they did, and I'm positive that the story would have been lacking if they hadn't thought that they were justice itself. As Furies, they were superbly power hungry and mildly insane.

All in all, I would definitely recommend Furious is you're in a mythology mood (like I was), and don't mind a few minor things.