(Mini) Review: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Antigoddess (Goddess War #1) 
Author: Kendare Blake
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Published: September 10th 2013
Publisher: Tor Teens
Source: Won via Publishers
Find: Goodreads

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.

I’m a sucker for stories based on Greek mythology, so it’s unsurprising that I practically devoured Antigoddess in a short amount of time. Then again, “devoured” might not be the right word to use in the context of this book when certain Greek gods are trying to postpone their deaths by destroying and consuming other gods ala the good old-fashioned Titans way. That's right, the almighty immortal gods are dying, and they're permanently stuck in the denial/anger stage.

This is what men risk so much for; this shiver, this acute heat and desire. This is what they think eternity feels like.

WHAT WORKED FOR ME:

• Established Relationships
  Even though it's set in our times, the Greek gods and goddesses are still more or less the same while our favorite Greek heroes/heroines have been reincarnated. If you know your mythology, you know where each character stands in relation to each other, which is nice to see clearly.
• Athena and Odysseus
  Right from the beginning, I knew I would like Athena. She's brash, knows exactly what she wants and how to get it, and she goes for it. I also melted a bit during her interactions with Odysseus. He's Athena's favorite mortal, and he's also mine. I just love him in every incarnation of him in every media, whether it's in the book Song of Achilles, the movie Troy, or the original Odyssey. Antigoddess is no exception.
• The Goddess War Setup
  The upcoming war between the gods adds an epic mood to the story and makes it a bit more unpredictable. Even though we knew who each character were aligned with in the Trojan War, alliances have changed the second time around. There’s always room for betrayal, which makes me excited to see how this will play out in subsequent books.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME:

• Somewhat Predictable Romance
  The problem with already established relationships is that you can easily see who is going to end up with who and how their relationships will develop.There was one exception at the end, however, which did catch me by surprise. 
• Why Are They Teenagers?
  One thing that bothered me is that the characters are so young. Cassandra is still in high school, and Athena and Hermes are barely old enough to drink. (I sincerely hope that if Dionysus shows up in future books, he's also over 21.) Well, it is a YA book after all, so it's not too surprising, but I personally would never repeat high school even for love.

VERDICT:
I'm looking forward to the rest of this series.