Book three of The Goddess Test series, The Goddess Inheritance, by Aimée Carter contains a complex story line involving themes of love, friendship, and family. The story revolves around a new Greek goddess, Kate Winters, who has passed tests described in previous books to become a replacement for Hades’ previous wife, Persephone. However, because the book takes place in modern times, Hades has changed his name to Henry and many other gods have taken on less archaic names as well. At the beginning of the story, Kate is living in the captivity of Cronus (an evil titan set on destroying the world) and has just given birth to Henry’s son, Milo. She devises a plan to escape and finds her way back to Olympus, home of the gods. There she tells the other gods of Cronus’ plan to break out of Tartarus and destroy Earth. As the novel continues, Kate is forced to choose between her love for her friends, her love for her son, and her love for her husband while simultaneously trying to defeat Cronus.
When Kate escapes from Cronus’ hold, she is forced to leave her baby behind, who is being taken care of by Kate’s best friend, Ava (also known as Aphrodite), who was captured alongside her. Every day of separation tears Kate apart, and this portion of the story is where we see many instances of the themes of love and family. In another section of the novel, Kate attempts to sacrifice herself in order to have Milo returned to Olympus, only to have her husband, Henry, take her place. This is another example of two characters whose actions show their love for one another. The final place where I notice friendship in this novel is when Ava takes a knife which was meant for Kate, giving up her life so that Kate can spend it with the ones she loves. All of these scenarios demonstrate how much the characters in this book understand love, friendship, and family.
Overall, I would give this book two stars out of five. This is because the author’s style of writing was extremely repetitive and there were many holes in the plot. For example, the main character cried almost every three pages. I found this overuse monotonous and diminishing towards the characters feelings. Additionally, the ending made little sense and left many loose ends. I did enjoy the parallels to Greek mythology, but they definitely didn’t make up for the author’s mistakes. This book related to me personally because I, like the main character, have strong connections to my family and friends. The theme was quite relatable to any reader.
In conclusion, I would not recommend this book/series. The reader is left with an incomplete ending and confusion. Although I did enjoy the themes of friendship, family, and love, they couldn’t compensate for my opinion on the author’s writing skills. This book is probably not worth your time unless you have absolutely nothing else to read and love Greek mythology.