Review - The Goddess Legacy - Aimee Carter


Title: The Goddess Legacy
Author: Aimee Carter
Genre: Young Adult, Greek Mythology
Publication: July 31st 2012, Harlequin Teen
Pages: Kindle edition
Source: Thank you to Harlequin Teen and Netgalley for providing me with this to review.


For millennia we've caught only glimpses of the lives and loves of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. Now Aimé e Carter pulls back the curtain on how they became the powerful, petty, loving and dangerous immortals that Kate Winters knows. Calliope/Hera represented constancy and yet had a husband who never matched her faithfulness...Ava/Aphrodite was the goddess of love and yet commitment was a totally different deal...Persephone was urged to marry one man, yet longed for another...James/Hermes loved to make trouble for others-but never knew true loss before...Henry/Hades's solitary existence had grown too wearisome to continue. But meeting Kate Winters gave him a new hope...Five original novellas of love, loss and longing and the will to survive throughout the ages
I love Greek mythology, it's exciting enough on its own but when it's intertwined in a modern retelling of the Greek gods,it's even better! I've heard amazing reviews on the Goddess Test series by Aimee Carter and when an opportunity arose to review the Goddess Legacy, I readily accepted - and I'm glad I did! The stories displayed so many emotions. There was love, hate, betrayal, deep, fresh hurt, jealousy and everything in between. The stories were beautifully told and I now finally know why the gods behaved the way they did. I also liked how Aimee Carter told each of their stories in their own voice. The characters were brought to life and I loved that. I haven't read The Goddess Test yet or it's sequel and I'm glad I read the Goddess Legacy before so I could get an insight on their stories that shaped and defined them into the gods Kate Winters knew.


In the first story we were introduced to Hera. I sympathized for her when she felt that no one loved her and that no one cared and I was furious towards Zeus for what he did to her, but then again, Hera was too blame, as she knew what he was like and she shouldn't have trusted him so easily. In the beginning of her story, I wasn't gripped from the first page as I was with the others, but as I continued reading I was pulled in and was left hungrily wanting more. You can really see the changes in Hera from when her story started and to where her story ended.


The second story was told from Aphrodite's point of view. I've  never thought much of Aphrodite, I must admit. I always thought of her as nothing but a pretty-faced airhead, but she has a whole lot more to her than I thought. I liked her story because I got to know her a whole lot better, I finally learnt why she was the goddess of loved and why she cheated on the two men she loved the most. It was also really sweet to see her love for Eros, and I would never have imagined her as a mother, but she turned out to be a pretty good one. A sweet, happy story or love and being true to yourself.


The third story was Persephone's. I wasn't expecting her story to be like that all. I thought she would be a sweet and loving person, in some ways she was, but what I wasn't expecting was her unending selfishness. At parts in the story I was wondering if she even cared about anyone but herself. In the beginning I sympathized for her, but as the story progressed, I felt myself hating her a bit. She kept breaking Hades down and it was heart-breaking to see how she constantly wore him down. The ending was quite shocking and I'm still coming to grips with it, she did surprise me, because FINALLY she showed some care, love and selflessness. Not towards Hades, however, but to the one she loved. Her story was really interesting and at parts I felt such pain, not for her, but for Hades.


The fourth story was about Hermes. I neve r really knew him as much as the other gods, he got a lot of mention at parts in the Percy Jackson series, and to be honest, I always thought he was a bit of jerk, but I was way wrong. The could feel all the emotions churning inside l him, the anger, the hurt, the disappointment, the resentment, the guilt, the curiosity and the love. The sensitivity and gentleness he showed towards Tuck and the boys was stunning, the way he wanted to be part of their family. I loved the relationship between him and Tuck, it was far from insta-love and I liked how it slowly built up, ending in love...and tradegy. Towards the end it was just heart-breaking, you could feel the guilt and sorrow rolling off the pages. I just wanted to hug him and let him know he did what he could. The end was stunning and rounded off perfectly. There were lots of shockers that I did not see coming.


The last story was by Hades. There were tears in my eyes at parts in the story and you experience first-hand all the pain, grief and guilt he has endured. He was amazing to love Persephone the way he did, even when she wrenched his heart out and stomped on it. I loved how at the end you finally see a glimpse of happiness and hopefullness in his eyes. A heart-wrenching, grief-stricken tale, you'll end up loving him.


Overall this was a fantastic collection of novellas. The drama that unfolds is priceless, five wonderful stories of love, loss betrayal, jealousy and happiness. A must read.


I give it: 5/5 CUPCAKES!