Greek gods, have you abandonned us? | Legacy of Kings

Legacy of Kings (Blood of Gods and Royals #1) by Eleanor Herman

Published: August 18th 2015 by Harlequin Teen

Genre: young adult, historical fiction, fantasy

Goodreads summary: Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to a newcomer…

Katerina must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But she doesn’t account for her first love…

Jacob will go to unthinkable lengths to win Katerina, even if it means having to compete for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince.

And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet betrothed, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.

Weaving fantasy with the shocking details of real history, New York Times bestselling author of Sex with Kings Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known, Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.

REVIEW

When I first heard about this book, I was definitely intrigued, because of the time period it was set in. In YA historical fiction, we mostly have novels set in the 19^th century, sometimes 18^th century, but let’s be real: that’s pretty much it. So of course, being this huge history nerd, every time I see a book set before those time periods, I add it to my TBR (even though they’re not always great, like Into the Dim *sobs*).

Because Legacy of Kings was written by a historian, the world was totally accurate, and I actually could grasp how people had lived during this time period. There were also so many myths the author mentioned, that intertwined with the story perfectly. Moreover, the fantasy aspect of the novel also depended upon the historical setting, because it was about the gods, the mythological creatures and so on. However, be warned that in this first book, we don’t see that much of the fantasy aspect, but it’s definitely introduced and we’ll get more of it in Empire of Dust.

This book had seven points of view, which was definitely too much. It actually took me quite some time to get through the first seventy pages or so, because each chapter introduced a point of view. I quickly adapt though, but at times some points of view felt a bit unnecessary. It didn’t help me to connect with some characters, as they were more secondary than anything. I particularly struggled with Zo, because she was so far from the action (but I’m sure it’ll be better in the next book!) and Jacob, because he was so self-centred, and the author kind of forgot his point of view at the end of the book, haha. Nevertheless, all of these points of view helped to understand the bigger picture and I liked that.

Legacy of Kings definitely felt like the first book in a series, because it was introducing so many aspects, the world, the characters, but also multiple subplots. It definitely set up to be an amazing series and it showed that so many things will happen in the latter books, but as a standalone, I didn’t feel like I had enough closure, because it was an introduction. I still liked it though, because I was invested in most of the storylines and it got me totally intrigued. But I’ve seen it bothered many readers and I can understand why.

I was really engrossed into the story during almost the whole book and am excited for the next one. However, I was a little disappointed because I had guessed the final plot twist early on… I think that plot-wise, it was heavy, because there was so much going on, for seven characters. I don’t think I would advise you to start fantasy with this one, even though I loved it. This novel was also quite dark, which I liked, because it wasn’t sugar-coating anything.

Eleanor Herman chose to have so many strong female characters, which I was so excited about, because it’s the Antiquity! I don’t mean I like all of them, but they were all so interesting. Indeed, the author wrote realistic characters, who all had their own agendas, even if it made them flawed, like Olympias, who was more on the villainous side, or Cynane, a morally grey princess. Moreover, can we talk about how Olympias has snakes everywhere and I’m scared to death of snakes?? I will never go near this woman, seriously. I would have liked to have more of Alexander’s point of view, because the book was supposed to be about him, but it was more about Kat, even though I liked her.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the dynamics between the characters, sadly. In the first chapter, the author hinted something was going on between Kat and Jacob, but I didn’t like how he treated her during the whole novel… At some point, something was also going on with Heph and I had no idea where it was coming from. So yeah, sometimes it felt a little bit forced. However, I liked the friendship between Heph and Alex, they were so loyal to each other and Cynane was definitely jealous.

The action definitely picked up during the last chapters of the novel and I was addicted. The characters will have to face so many enemies but I can’t wait to see it. Moreover, I’m curious of the paths some of them are going to take, because they will be farther away from the palace, as the war is starting.

Overall, this book was a very good introduction to a new epic series and I loved reading it. It definitely had flaws though, like the number of points of view or some dynamics between the characters, but my enjoyment of the novel was so high. It was also quite dark, which is so fitting in fantasy. If you haven’t yet, you should read this one, especially because Empire of Dust, the second book, is coming out at the end of June! 

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Are you excited for Empire of Dust? Have you read other YA novels set in Ancient Greece?

A character-driven book I wanted more action from | Ungodly

Title: Ungodly (The Goddess War #3)
Author: Kendare Blake
Published: September 22nd 2015 by Tor Teen

Goodreads summary: For the Goddess of Wisdom, what Athena didn't know could fill a book. That's what her opponents said. 

So she was wrong about some things. So her carefully planned assault on Olympus left her team beaten and scattered and possibly dead. So they have to fight the Fates themselves, who, it turns out, are the source of the gods illness. And sure, Athena is stuck in the underworld, holding the body of the only hero she has ever loved.

But all is not lost. Hermes is still topside, trying to power up Andie and Henry before he runs out of time and submits to his death, or the Fates arrive to speed it along. 

And Cassandra is up there somewhere, too, on a quest for death... with the god of death himself.

REVIEW

This book was the conclusion to the Goddess War trilogy, I was excited to read it, because the second book left off on a cliff-hanger. Now that I’m looking back, I feel like this trilogy was more character-driven than action-packed, and I’m kind of regretting it, because I was expecting more action from it.

I really enjoyed that we got three points of view in this book, because at the end of the second book, the characters weren’t at the same place and were looking toward different paths. This switch between the points of view made me kept reading and totally renewed my interest for the plot.

Kendare Blake expanded the world of this trilogy and we finally got to see the Underworld – literally everyone expects it in Greek mythology novels – I liked to see how Persephone was dying. However, I’m wondering: did we see Zeus in this trilogy? I feel like we didn’t but maybe I read too fast and missed the part where he was? I don’t know but it is awkward not to see him.

The romance was so good in this book, I’m happy Henry and Andie got together – even if the whole world was begging them to be together I’m kidding. I also got a soft spot for Thanatos with Cassandra, even if it is twisted, him being death and everything, but I don’t mind, she deserves to be with someone after all the events of the previous books.

My favourite moments featured:

1)      Hephaestus who was so cool and steampunk-y (evn if it’s urban fantasy). He was a noble character, even if I doubted him for a moment. And the lunch with Hermes was everything.

2)      When the Moirae possessed Cassandra, it was unexpected and disgusting but AWESOME.

I felt the ending was a little easy, I actually didn’t remember it while writing this review, three days after I finished the book (and here, everyone discovers or not my reviews are scheduled LOOOONG after I’m reading the books).

Mortal Gods | Book review

Title: Mortal Gods (Goddess War #2)

Author: Kendare Blake

Published: October 14th 014

Goodreads summary: Ares, God of War, is leading the other dying gods into battle. Which is just fine with Athena. She's ready to wage a war of her own, and she's never liked him anyway. If Athena is lucky, the winning gods will have their immortality restored. If not, at least she'll have killed the bloody lot of them, and she and Hermes can die in peace.

Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can't have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite.

The alliance between Cassandra and Athena is fragile. Cassandra suspects Athena lacks the will to truly kill her own family. And Athena fears that Cassandra's hate will get them ALL killed.

The war takes them across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and Achilles, the greatest warrior the world has ever seen. As the struggle escalates, Athena and Cassandra must find a way to work together. Because if they can't, fates far worse than death await.

REVIEW

“It’s going to be an interesting day tomorrow,” he said. “All that glory.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “And so many dead gods.”

This book was a real transition to the next book, because it focused more on finding new allies in the upcoming war and training the mortal ones (that used to fight in the Trojan War). I didn’t really mind that there wasn’t much going on, because we learned a lot about the world and had a lot of character development.

The first chapter just felt like Athena’s evil plan, because she went back to Demeter to ask her what to do. It was so fun to read about. We also got the point of view of the other gods, amongst whom Ares. The gods just seemed like a freaky family, it was more relatable, even if their relationship were twisted. Moreover, we learned that they weren’t above everything, that there were “gods of gods”, which explains why the Olympians were dying.

Throughout the book, Cassandra, Henry and Andie struggled to find a balance between who they are and what they used to be. Grieve was a great part in this transformation because of Aidan’s death. I really liked that Andie asked to be trained, when it wasn’t the case for the other two, it was her way to get over that grief. We also saw that Cassandra was changing because she wanted revenge, and understood at some point that it wasn’t everything – even if she’s still REAL MAD at Aphrodite.

The different points of view were well handled by the author, because they were all needed. Of course, I didn’t particularly want to read about Ares, but this way, we got to know what the other gods were doing, so it wasn’t a “surprise” at the end. This way, it also felt a lot like a preparation for war, with both camps led by a war-god.

I like how Blake is handling mythology, she isn’t telling it, but just says random information, like when Calypso said she was “basically Odysseus’ girlfriend”. Of course after that we got more information, but it was funnier that way. Also, I laughed so much when they got to drive all the way to Olympus and Athena regretted no to have took a van.

The ending was really fast-paced and everything happened at the same time, so I’m a little confused by it. Still, it ended on a big cliff-hanger, because the characters will be in different places when Ungodly starts.

• My review of Antigoddess

Have you read this book or at least the first book, Antigoddess? What did you think of it? 

Antigoddess | Book review

Title: Antigoddess (Goddess War #1)

Author: Kendare Blake

Published: September 10th 2013 by Tor Teen

Goodreads summary: The Goddess War begins in Antigoddess, the first installment of the new series by acclaimed author of Anna Dressed in Blood, Kendare Blake.

Old Gods never die…

Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god. 

These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning. 

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out. 

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

REVIEW

I had really enjoyed Anna dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares by the same author, I was curious about this one but didn’t know what to expect. The main problem when you talk about Greek mythology in your books is that you have to deal with the comparison with the Percy Jackson series. This book was really different from that and I really enjoyed it. Just like in Anna, I really enjoyed Blake’s writing style, her descriptions are always very vivid, though creepy, but that’s why I loved her in Anna anyway.

I felt the plot was a little bit too slow in the beginning, mainly because we had two points of view: Cassandra and Aidan’s, Hermes and Athena’s. Because we had the gods’ point of view, we knew what was going on when Cassandra didn’t, I just waited for her to understand and it seemed so long, when I had figured everything out. I was also tired of waiting for the two points of view to meet, it happened like 55% into this book. However, reading both these points of view made sense. There was a lot more happening for the gods than for the humans.

Athena was probably my favourite character. She looks like a punk, which made me smile a lot, because it’s not how you would picture her. The fact that the gods’ deaths were based on their attributes, like the owl feathers for Athena, was really interesting. During the novel we saw her being more and more human, even questioning her actions in the past. Relationship between the gods was something I really enjoyed reading about, especially that after all these millenniums, they’re now apart.

I’m really interested to see where this story is going, even though I hope the team won’t take down an important god in each book, because it would be repetitive. About that, I liked that everyone is important in this team, secondary characters were added, but they all have their backstories. The ending left me in awe, because I didn’t expect that. AT ALL. I’m excited to learn what will happen in the next book because of that.

Have you read this book? Are you interested in it? Do you have other recommendations for me, books dealing with ancien mythology (exception Riordan's books, because I read them all^^)?