MORTAL GODS by Kendare Blake is the second book in The Goddess War trilogy. The book continues the stories of Cassandra and Athena from ANTIGODDESS. The old Greek gods are slowly dying; fading ignobly in agony. Cassandra and Athena face the oncoming battles with a fragile alliance stretched between them. And Cassandra is the girl who kills gods.

Having read and enjoyed ANTIGODDESS I have been looking forward to reading this book. MORTAL GODS was a fantastic read, even though it has been a while since I read this series I fell straight into the story; it was a really engrossing and on the whole rewarding read. There were a couple of things that niggled at me, but on the whole this was a really enjoyable read.

Athena and her brother Hermes remain in a lot of ways unchanged by the events of ANTIGODDESS, but then that is to be expected of centuries old gods I suppose. They are still losing their immortality in painful ways and fading away, but they are still very much the same characters that we meet in the first book. Blake does take the opportunity in this book to make them more fallible; we get to see how close the siblings are, and that they genuinely care for one another.

This is in contrast to Cassandra’s relationship with her brother, Henry, where the siblings aren’t quite as close. Cassandra is a very different person from the one we meet in ANTIGODDESS; she’s isolated, even amongst friends, and angry. And whilst I can understand her anger, there were times when her actions left me feeling uncomfortable.

The plot of MORTAL GODS is pretty much what readers of ANTIGODDESS would expect; in a lot of ways, it still feels like Blake is setting the scene for the overall series plot. That’s not to say that I think the book is lacking anything, because I don’t think it is. The plot is just complicated enough to keep you guessing, and there were several twist that I did not see coming at all.

MORTAL GODS is a brilliant addition to The Goddess War trilogy. Blake continues the story brilliantly, and I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the third book. If you are a fan of re-imaginings of Greek mythology then you should definitely check this series out.

Originally posted on The Flutterby Room.

ANTIGODDESS is the first book in Kendare Blake’s new young adult trilogy THE GODDESS WAR. Blake draws characters – both mortals and gods – from Greek mythology and sets the story in a small town in the state of New York. The gods are slowly dying, and not all are disappearing with a whimper. They seek a way to save themselves.

I have to admit that when I first read the blurb for this book I was intrigued. I’m always interested to see how authors can re-imagine mythology. Although Greek isn’t my favourite area of mythology, I was curious to see what would be done with the story of Cassandra and Apollo. I had also heard of Kendare Blake, and whilst her first young adult series ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD held no interest for me I had heard nothing but good about it. I’m glad I listened to my instinct and picked up a copy of this book. I read it within a matter of hours – about five, I think – and was utterly captivated by both the characters and the plot. ANTIGODDESS literally blew me away.

The narrative of the book is split between Cassandra and Aidan – a couple of high-schoolers in love – and Athena and Hermes – two of the Greek gods. The story is roughly split between the two groups, which works to give the reader a good overall idea of what is going on in the book. Blake does a brilliant job laying down the ground rules – who’s who, and what’s going on – without giving too much away, just enough to make it interesting. Having an idea of the Greek myths that the characters were based on added an extra twist to the story and does make it possible to make some guesses, but I don’t think it is necessary as Blake gives some background on the characters.

The plot of ANTIGODDESS is, at first glance, a pretty simple one but I’m finding it quite hard to describe without treading on spoilers. The main plot focuses on the death of the gods, and the fight for their survival – of which there are two factions. There is also a strong focus on the romance between Aidan and Cassandra, which at first doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the main plot focus but then things fall into place. Blake does a good job in setting the scene, and building the tension in this book. I really enjoyed watching the story unfold on the page, and the ending . . . The ending was spectacular.

If you are a fan of Greek mythology then you should definitely check out this new story and series by Kendare Blake. It is a really enthralling read. I’m looking forward to reading the second book in this trilogy.

Originally posted on The Flutterby Room.