Review Detail

Kate is driving her mom back to her childhood home, where she wants to spend her final few weeks before she succumbs to cancer. Kate just wants to get through her school days and get back home to be with her mom as much as she can. She’s not interested in making friends. She’s just getting into a pattern of home to school and back again when she meets Henry, who tells her he is god of the Underworld and he can help her mother if she agrees to stay in his mansion home for 6 months while she completes 7 tests. If she passes, she will become his wife.

I really liked Kate, she was such a strong female character. She loved her mom and would do anything to help her, but she also knew that she was going to have to say goodbye to her soon. She could admit when she was scared to death of something, but she wasn’t afraid to face it head-on if it meant saving someone, even someone who was a total bitch to her. She wasn’t afraid to ask the hard questions or admit her feelings. On the other hand, I had a bit of a hard time liking Henry. He was hot, sure, but he was wishy-washy in the way he acted toward Kate. One minute he was tender and caring, then the next he went cold and distant, with no real explanation. Eventually he warmed up, though he still wasn’t as swoony as I would have preferred. The other characters were well rounded with their own personalities.

The plot was new to me, I had never read a Greek mythology remake, nor had I ever been interested in them. I did enjoy this one and wouldn’t mind reading more books featuring the Greek gods. Carter did a fabulous job of weaving the mythology in with current society and it didn’t feel like a boring school lesson. The writing was so descriptive, I could picture the manor perfectly. All of the rooms and grounds sounded luxurious. And, hello, a separate room just for racks and racks of clothes to choose from? Count me in.

The dialogue felt real to me. It was hard for Kate to know she was losing her mother and to imagine a world without her, but I thought she handled it well. Once she got into the manor and started talking with the people that lived there, I enjoyed the different voices. There were the quiet but stern guards, the tiny and energetic valet, the snob who was getting knocked down a peg, the grumpy but kind assistant. They all meshed well together to make a colorful living environment.

There were definitely swoon-worthy moments, most of it very chaste. Kate was a virgin and intended to remain that way for some time, but she still found herself falling for Henry and wanted to be affectionate with him. Their first touches were tentative and very sweet. The tension between them was slow and delicious. The ending was great, with plenty of surprises. Some I saw coming, others were unexpected, and I loved that.

I’m not too sure about the cover for this one. It’s pretty, for sure, but doesn’t really go with the book. The dress makes sense, but at no point do I recall Kate lying on a forest floor like that (especially looking all constipated).