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A review by klaragon73
Goddess: A Starcrossed Novel by Josephine Angelini
5.0
Be sure to stop by Better Read Than Dead. I have a giveaway going on, which will end on September FRIDAY the 13th!
Inhales deeply and releases! Step one to overcoming LBS, AKA... Last Book Syndrome, has commenced, and boy did I pick the right book to begin the endings with. The Starcrossed Trilogy is everything Greek Mythology should be--passionate, twisted, tabooed, a perverse game board for the Olympus Twelve, and Goddess upped ratcheted up the action, the deceit, brought on some new players and pitted the Scions against the each other, forcing what could be an apocalyptic war.
In my humble opinion, Dreamless suffered from sophomore book syndrome, though all the information is useful and important to this trilogy. I think it just pulled my heart in so many directions it made me anxty, throughout the whole damn thing.
Now Goddess, I continually made notes so I wouldn't forget all the things I wanted to talk about. And man there are just so many. The book starts right where Dreamless leaves off, Zach is dead and he's left his trusty ancient dagger with Matt? Immediately I needed to know what that meant. But apparently my immediately and Ms. Angelini's immediately are two different things. Then Matt's body begins to fill out and not just in a "eh, he's growing up" way. The Delos' looking at him differently, wondering what's going on. They'll soon find out.
Helen, Ariadne, Jason, Lucas, and Orion are still recovering from the battle in which Helen, Orion and Lucas, not only sent Ares to Tartarus, but by becoming blood brothers, they combined the House of Thebes (founded by Apollo), the House of Rome (founded by Aphrodite), the House of Athens (founded by Poseidon), and the House of Atreus (founded by Zeus). This is the event in which the prophecy states that the Tyrant will be formed. A person who possesses powers from all four houses. This person is thought to be absolute power, and "absolute power corrupts absolutely." The Tyrant is to be killed.
Just a snippet of the prophecy:
The time has come. The children must overthrow the parents--or be devoured by them.
The Hero
The Lover
The Shield
The Tyrant--have taken the stage.
The Warrior waits in the wings, the last to join the battle.
The Tyrant shall rise up with power unlimited. On one choice will the fate of all be decided.
So, as you read through the prophecy, think about who you might place in those roles. Some, might be obvious, but others not so much.
One interesting twist that I absolutely loved is the Fates recast the characters from Helen of Troy until the actual outcome of the battle at Troy happens; therefore, there are a handful of Scions who look exactly like the gods who fought the battle. These Scions are meant to eventually replace the gods they resemble. It's such a cool angle and I feel sure my description is lacking, but I loved it anyway.
Then we have the Oracle, Cassandra. She's found a way to keep the Fates from prophesying through her and she may also be falling in just a little bit of love. This made me happy, because I hated seeing Cassie suffer so much. Those Fates are a bitch sometimes.
Overall, I loved the trip Josephine took me on. I loved how she twisted the mythology but managed to keep the same overall theme throughout the story. Balance is a must and the Tyrant's power must be checked, and it will be. I fell in love with all the characters in book one, hated a few in book two, then fell right back in love with them in book three. Some lived, some died, some were tricked and trapped for eternity.
My emotions flew all over the map: I cried when Helen realized her true heart, I laughed for joy when Cassandra realized she actually had choices, I cried again when beloved heroes died, and rejoiced for those who lived. My heart truly ached at the connived deceit between friends and family. But in the end, Josephine left me with an ending I can handle, maybe even love just a little... or more than chocolate!!!
A Couple of My Favorite Quotes:
"The prophecy has been fulfilled. The Houses are one, Helen." Hades took her hands between both of his, cradling them in warmth. "You will raise Atlantis, or Avalon, or Helena--whatever you wish to call it--and once your world is made you can decide who may enter, who must stay or go, and how each inhabitant experiences your land. It really is all up to you." - Page 135
That's the thing about walls, Matt thought. The men on either side of them sometimes have nearly everything in common--except for the one detail that they are willing to kill each other over. - Page 220
~Kristin A
Inhales deeply and releases! Step one to overcoming LBS, AKA... Last Book Syndrome, has commenced, and boy did I pick the right book to begin the endings with. The Starcrossed Trilogy is everything Greek Mythology should be--passionate, twisted, tabooed, a perverse game board for the Olympus Twelve, and Goddess upped ratcheted up the action, the deceit, brought on some new players and pitted the Scions against the each other, forcing what could be an apocalyptic war.
In my humble opinion, Dreamless suffered from sophomore book syndrome, though all the information is useful and important to this trilogy. I think it just pulled my heart in so many directions it made me anxty, throughout the whole damn thing.
Now Goddess, I continually made notes so I wouldn't forget all the things I wanted to talk about. And man there are just so many. The book starts right where Dreamless leaves off, Zach is dead and he's left his trusty ancient dagger with Matt? Immediately I needed to know what that meant. But apparently my immediately and Ms. Angelini's immediately are two different things. Then Matt's body begins to fill out and not just in a "eh, he's growing up" way. The Delos' looking at him differently, wondering what's going on. They'll soon find out.
Helen, Ariadne, Jason, Lucas, and Orion are still recovering from the battle in which Helen, Orion and Lucas, not only sent Ares to Tartarus, but by becoming blood brothers, they combined the House of Thebes (founded by Apollo), the House of Rome (founded by Aphrodite), the House of Athens (founded by Poseidon), and the House of Atreus (founded by Zeus). This is the event in which the prophecy states that the Tyrant will be formed. A person who possesses powers from all four houses. This person is thought to be absolute power, and "absolute power corrupts absolutely." The Tyrant is to be killed.
Just a snippet of the prophecy:
The time has come. The children must overthrow the parents--or be devoured by them.
The Hero
The Lover
The Shield
The Tyrant--have taken the stage.
The Warrior waits in the wings, the last to join the battle.
The Tyrant shall rise up with power unlimited. On one choice will the fate of all be decided.
So, as you read through the prophecy, think about who you might place in those roles. Some, might be obvious, but others not so much.
One interesting twist that I absolutely loved is the Fates recast the characters from Helen of Troy until the actual outcome of the battle at Troy happens; therefore, there are a handful of Scions who look exactly like the gods who fought the battle. These Scions are meant to eventually replace the gods they resemble. It's such a cool angle and I feel sure my description is lacking, but I loved it anyway.
Then we have the Oracle, Cassandra. She's found a way to keep the Fates from prophesying through her and she may also be falling in just a little bit of love. This made me happy, because I hated seeing Cassie suffer so much. Those Fates are a bitch sometimes.
Overall, I loved the trip Josephine took me on. I loved how she twisted the mythology but managed to keep the same overall theme throughout the story. Balance is a must and the Tyrant's power must be checked, and it will be. I fell in love with all the characters in book one, hated a few in book two, then fell right back in love with them in book three. Some lived, some died, some were tricked and trapped for eternity.
My emotions flew all over the map: I cried when Helen realized her true heart, I laughed for joy when Cassandra realized she actually had choices, I cried again when beloved heroes died, and rejoiced for those who lived. My heart truly ached at the connived deceit between friends and family. But in the end, Josephine left me with an ending I can handle, maybe even love just a little... or more than chocolate!!!
A Couple of My Favorite Quotes:
"The prophecy has been fulfilled. The Houses are one, Helen." Hades took her hands between both of his, cradling them in warmth. "You will raise Atlantis, or Avalon, or Helena--whatever you wish to call it--and once your world is made you can decide who may enter, who must stay or go, and how each inhabitant experiences your land. It really is all up to you." - Page 135
That's the thing about walls, Matt thought. The men on either side of them sometimes have nearly everything in common--except for the one detail that they are willing to kill each other over. - Page 220
~Kristin A