You Think You Know But You Have No Idea. True Life: I'm a Greek God

"Love is the way I feel for you, 
the way you fill something inside me whenever you so much as walk into the same room. 
Sometimes love is quite, lingering in the background until you least expect it. 
But love it always there for you "
--Aimee Carter, The Goddess Legacy

Genre: YA Greek Mytology Re-Telling

Publisher: Harlequin Teen, 395 pages

Publication Date: July 31st, 2012

Source: Borrowed
Goodreads
Previous Books in Series: The Goddesss Test & Goddess Interrupted

Goodreads Description

For millennia we've caught only glimpses of the lives and loves of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. Now Aimée Carter pulls back the curtain on how they became the powerful, petty, loving and dangerous immortals that Kate Winters knows.
Calliope/Hera represented constancy and yet had a husband who never matched her faithfulness....

Ava/Aphrodite was the goddess of love and yet commitment was a totally different deal....

Persephone was urged to marry one man, yet longed for another....

James/Hermes loved to make trouble for others - but never knew true loss before....

Henry/Hades's solitary existence had grown too wearisome to continue. But meeting Kate Winters gave him a new hope....

Five original novellas of love, loss and longing and the will to survive throughout the ages.

My Thoughts

Ok. So this is going to be more an outpouring and disorganized rant of feelings while reading...because I had a lot of them. There are five novellas total and I just wanted to do a quick venting of what I was thinking while reading. It was a little ridick how excited and emotional I got over all these novellas. I wanted to rage. I cried. I felt. My heart couldn't take it at some points. I LOVED getting the background of our favorite gods and goddesses. I think these brought so much more to the story overall and SO much more understanding. We see what led to major decisions that we see the repercussions of in The Goddess Test. I adore all of these characters so any extra time and history I get to spend with them makes my day. So this is not my usual chaotic blend of spaz. Much, much more. Total spasms of feels coming up. I've broken them down into whose story I was reading about. Be prepared.

Hera—Crazy. It made me understand her choices SO much better but it still doesn’t excuse her actions. I feel bad for her in a way that I mostly just pity her. I would feel more empathy towards her if she wasn't living in a completely deluded world of her own making. She is cray. No grasp on the eons she has lived. Doesn't listen to the advice from the people that love her. No words for her depth of crazy. I also would like to be the bitch that points out that she is the Goddess of Marriage and Fidelity…yet she can’t keep her husband around to be faithful…interesting…Sorry not sorry.

Ava—I really liked her story. But I will never understand her infidelity and “need” to have affairs to do her job. I mean, if she sees so much love in others and her way of showing love is by sleeping with them, I can start to comprehend this...but not really, that is a huge stretch for me. I still call bullshit. Cheating is so not okay. Ares is crazy and I will totally side with Zeus on his stance of love with a fire like theirs will eventually burn out. And Nicholas!?!? Favorite, favorite aspect of this story. He made the whole thing. His quiet demeanor and unassuming personality made ME fall in love with him. The steady and consistent being that he is is a constant presence of stability and undying love. I cannot say enough about how much I absolutely adore him. Love love love him.

Persephone—I can’t. I just can’t even get into how awful she is so I’ll try and be quick. Selfish, annoying, unyielding, selfish, spoiled, superficial, selfish, bitch, crazy, crazy, crazy, selfish…yeah, that sums it up. But seriously. This girl is NUTS. She makes NO sense. She hates Hades for no reason even when he tries EVERYTHING to make her happy. She REFUSES to even try. Oh, she says she tries to love him but she doesn’t. She gets to spend summers on the surface and the first day that happens James brings her a picnic and she gushes about how nobody ever does anything nice for her. Oh, but she does mention how Henry always bring her stuff...but it is only because they’re things he thinks she would want…uh, what’s the problem?!?! He thinks you’ll like something and he gives it to you, you crazy broad. AND THEN she is SO hypocritical when James sees somebody else. ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?! You can cheat on your HUSBAND but the man you’re having an AFFAIR with can’t see other people. How deluded are you?!

And THEN she meets Adonis, who is already with Aphrodite and for some reason she thinks she has claim to him over her. She is all about giving Adonis a choice but when that shell of a mortal can’t speak up for himself she says something like, well if he won’t defend himself I will…um, you realize that by wanting to give him a choice and then when he doesn’t choose you, you decide it is within your right to speak FOR him that you are now making that choice. You are taking away exactly what you say you want for him. No sense. Makes NO sense. She is CRAZY. And what she sees in him I have no idea. Guy has zero personality, NEVER actually says he loves her, yet she gives up immortality for him. For serious, the only reason I think she feels the need to do this is to one-up Aphrodite. It was a race to the finish for her. Not because they had some deep, earth-shattering love. Have fun with that psycho. She sucks the big one and I have no idea what Henry saw in her.

The only thing I did like was that we were able to see exactly how their marriage was and it was NOTHING to be jealous of, Kate. Don’t worry your smart little head. Henry was romanticizing everything, you get your man, girlfriend.

James—Oh James. Not a whole lot was added to the overall story with this novella, except why they changed their names, but this one made me cry hard. We see a different side of James and while I still don’t really like him, I did like this story. Lots of feels. Lots of sadness. I think the term Greek tragedy comes from his story. Sad face :(

Henry—Break my heart, you bastard. This man…this poor man has been through so much…too much. I need to read Goddess Inheritance immediately because I need him to have a happy ending. I need him to love Kate more than life itself. I need him to get his happily ever after. If he doesn’t, I will break my rule and throw this book across the room. That is all. 

Should You Read This? YES! If you love the Goddess Test series this will enhance your reading experience and understanding of the story SO much more!