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cutenanya's review
3.0
In a nutshell: Great potential, poor execution.
Kendare Blake really excelled in Anna Dressed in Blood, where she had a small cast of original characters, however, she failed to replicate her success in this book, where she had to juggle with a huge cast of mythical characters, with personas created thousands of years ago.
Her writing is still solid, despite everything else screams problem!
Problem #1: Weird world building.
I get it the gods are dying and each in their own pitiful way, what I don't get is how some gods (or goddessess) can retain their powers and others don't. What exactly is killing the gods anyway? She may answer this in a subsequent book but readers (like myself) want some answers in the first book at least so I will be interested to read the next book.
Problem #2: Characterization
The personality of some characters are twisted beyond recognition, especially Athena and Apollo. Maybe when you are dying, you change a bit, may even beg for redemption, but you certainly don't have teenage crushes. They are gods who have lived for thousands of years, not reincarnation of gods in teens' bodies. The failure to differentiate between the two can take a severe toll. Also, what with giving Apollo another name? Is that even necessary? It's not like she wants to make it a huge revelation or anything.
Problem #3: Where's the plot?
Since a lot of narratives are dedicated to teenage crushes, angst, and despair, the plot seems a bit thin at the moment. The story may get more interesting as the series unfolds but I frankly do not have the patience to read the second book.
Overall, Kendare Blake should focus on what she does best: small group of original characters in an original setting!
Kendare Blake really excelled in Anna Dressed in Blood, where she had a small cast of original characters, however, she failed to replicate her success in this book, where she had to juggle with a huge cast of mythical characters, with personas created thousands of years ago.
Her writing is still solid, despite everything else screams problem!
Spoiler
Problem #1: Weird world building.
I get it the gods are dying and each in their own pitiful way, what I don't get is how some gods (or goddessess) can retain their powers and others don't. What exactly is killing the gods anyway? She may answer this in a subsequent book but readers (like myself) want some answers in the first book at least so I will be interested to read the next book.
Problem #2: Characterization
The personality of some characters are twisted beyond recognition, especially Athena and Apollo. Maybe when you are dying, you change a bit, may even beg for redemption, but you certainly don't have teenage crushes. They are gods who have lived for thousands of years, not reincarnation of gods in teens' bodies. The failure to differentiate between the two can take a severe toll. Also, what with giving Apollo another name? Is that even necessary? It's not like she wants to make it a huge revelation or anything.
Problem #3: Where's the plot?
Since a lot of narratives are dedicated to teenage crushes, angst, and despair, the plot seems a bit thin at the moment. The story may get more interesting as the series unfolds but I frankly do not have the patience to read the second book.
Overall, Kendare Blake should focus on what she does best: small group of original characters in an original setting!
harleyrae's review against another edition
I don't know what it was about this book but I just couldn't get into it. I would put it down and completely forget about it. I would have no inclination to pick it up again. For now, I am done with it, maybe at a later date I'll be able to pick it up and read it all the way through, but right now that just isn't gonna happen. Sadly I have to DNF this book, I'm hoping to pick it up again when I'm more interested in it.
hibashakes's review
4.0
What an absolutely, wonderful book!
The book was such a creative idea, the reincarnation of the Trojan War. Sucvgh a unique and amazing execution made by the author.
All the characters were winderfully portrayed. I loved how each "thing" that was killing the gods was spot on.
I would've originally rated the book a 3 but the ending brought it up to a 4. My, oh, my, the ending made me want to pull my hair out, but I loved it. It was very shocking.
My critiques of the book is that its a very slow-paced book and the majority of the action happens in the last 122ish pages.
I also wished that we got more information on why this was happening to the Gods and what was Cassandra's definate power.
I'll be reading book #2 hoping to get all my answers answered! Thank you once again for a great book, Kendare Blake.
The book was such a creative idea, the reincarnation of the Trojan War. Sucvgh a unique and amazing execution made by the author.
All the characters were winderfully portrayed. I loved how each "thing" that was killing the gods was spot on.
I would've originally rated the book a 3 but the ending brought it up to a 4. My, oh, my, the ending made me want to pull my hair out, but I loved it. It was very shocking.
My critiques of the book is that its a very slow-paced book and the majority of the action happens in the last 122ish pages.
I also wished that we got more information on why this was happening to the Gods and what was Cassandra's definate power.
I'll be reading book #2 hoping to get all my answers answered! Thank you once again for a great book, Kendare Blake.
thepeppermintfairytale's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
summer_winter's review
3.0
So I have a pre decided thing for what each star stands for. 3/5 stars translates to it was okay/average book.
It was a really good idea and I really like Greek mythology. Maybe if I read it another time I may enjoy it but recently I haven't found a book that I really loved and connected with.
For example:
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT
when Aiden/Apollo died I was there like oh... Shame. This showed me I really didn't connect with the characters. And also Apollo is one of the stronger gods why would he die first... That quite annoyed me but that was probably to get across some point of the new mortality of the gods -.-
However the last few pages made me curious as to what happens next so I will probably read the next book and hope it's better than this one.
It was a really good idea and I really like Greek mythology. Maybe if I read it another time I may enjoy it but recently I haven't found a book that I really loved and connected with.
For example:
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT
when Aiden/Apollo died I was there like oh... Shame. This showed me I really didn't connect with the characters. And also Apollo is one of the stronger gods why would he die first... That quite annoyed me but that was probably to get across some point of the new mortality of the gods -.-
However the last few pages made me curious as to what happens next so I will probably read the next book and hope it's better than this one.
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't really sure what to expect with this Greek mythology-inspired urban fantasy series, but I got more than I bargained for! I absolutely loved it. The story was very unique and the horror angle taken on by Kendare Blake will stick with me for a long time. While there was little by traditional action at first, the ending was intense and nail-biting with a shocking twist. I loved the concepts Blake used to introduce a new spin on old heroes. While Athena and Aidan were stubborn to the point of lunacy some times, I had to admit that I really enjoyed their perspectives. Cassandra is a great female lead character and Hermes is instantly loveable. The villains weren't who I expected and far more dastardly than I could have imagined. It was waaaaay gorier than I anticipated, but that's not a complaint because it helped paint the visuals of what was going on. I barely stopped reading for anything, and the finale begs for a sequel. Can't wait to read more!
dmurdock1997's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
stephhirsch's review
This sucked. I don't think that Kendare Blake should have said that Aidan was Apollo until 2/3 of the way through the book. And all the parts that talked about Athena were just boring. What I did like though was that Cassandra was the oracle.
nklosty's review
3.0
I couldn't help but make the Percy Jackson comparison, and at first, I like the direction. The mystery of why the gods/goddesses could die kept me going. My disappointment came with the unneeded, harsh vocabulary. Who is the audience? 81