AIRICKA PHOENIX

 
 
 
It’s always been just Kate and her mom–and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate’s going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won’t live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld–and if she accepts his bargain, he’ll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he’s crazy–until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she’ll become Henry’s future bride, and a goddess.
(Excerpt from Goodread)
 
 
 

 
 
 
A dear, wonderful friend of mine–who got an early copy of book 2 (Yes, I am oozing green goo of jealousy)–brought this book to my attention.
 
(Read, love, worship her amazing blog: A Belle’s Tales)
 
It took one peek at the blurb on Goodread to know this was a book I HAD TO READ.
 
Okay, so I am going to warn you right now, a warning the author failed to give upon writing this book–BRING YOUR OWN DAMN TISSUES! YOU WILL NEED THEM!
 
I was practically in tears before the third page, and I very rarely get emotional when reading. I’m not talking The Hunger Games type tears we all felt in Mockingjay (You know which part I speak of if you’ve read the series). But it’s fairly close. It’s the tears you get when you’re about to lose someone so important to you that going on is a torture you just can’t bear.
 
The story begins with Kate, an average, tired girl with a mother she loves with all her heart, who happens to be dying from cancer. It’s horrible to watch, to bear witness to the thoughts that cross Kate’s mind through every page as she watches her mother, the only family, friend, she has fade from her, deteriorating right in front of her eyes, and being powerless to stop it. Although kind, Kate doesn’t make friends, she’s cold and aloof at times, which are easily understandable given the hand she’s been dealt.
 
Then, she meets Ava and James, and through them (in a twisted sort of way) Henry.
 
I’ve never been fond of the name Henry. It always brought to mind the chocolate bar, thus hunger. But Ms. Carter’s Henry is a chocolate bar in himself. He is sweet, addictive and intense. He made me want two of him locked in my basement just for my own amusement.
 
Right from the start, he cares for Kate. He’s so patient with her when I would have happily smacked her. He was so generous and afraid for her, it was hard to imagine that he’s a figment of someone’s imagination.
 
That said, some of the book gave of a sense of falseness that almost, ALMOST, BARELY, deterred from the plot. There were parts that made me raise an eyebrow, disbelieving, but I was so focused on what was going to happen next that I didn’t care. Aimée Carter is a genius and I WILL jump and attack anyone in my way when her second book Goddess Interrupted, book 2 in the series hits the shelves.
 
You have been warned!
 
Did I like the book? Did you READ my review??
 
Would I read from this author again? Damn straight I would!
 
Would I rec this book to friends? YES!