*Review* Antigoddess (Goddess War #1) by Kendare Blake

As a huge fan of Blake's Anna Dressed in Blood, there was no doubt in my mind that I would read Antigoddess as soon as I could be my grabby little hands on it. Took a little bit longer than I anticipated, but, thankfully that is what libraries are for when you don't have the extra dollars to go out and purchase it for yourself! It's also better than pirating a copy from unreputable pissants.

This is the first book in Blake's new series called The Goddess War and it begins with Gods from the Trojan War Era (Athena, Hermes, Demeter, Hera, Aphrodite, and Poseidon) dying from various bizarre ailments which are graphically cataloged down to the owl feather being pulled from Athena's mouth. It is also apparent that Athena and Hermes are up against some very powerful gods/goddesses who will do anything they can to remain prevalent without much, if any, support behind them. They search for that one weapon who can stop Hera's machinations in her tracks as well as a few humans (Odysseus, Hector, and Andromache) they meet along the way who may be able to help. 

Blake then switches gears and focuses on Cassandra Weaver and Aiden Baxter who seem to be nothing more than two human teenagers who are clueless to the Gods ailments and pending war and find themselves caught up in each other. But, after you peel back the layers on Cassandra's past (Cassandra of Troy), you learn that she is a very powerful psychic and you realize that she can more than hold her own. You also learn the secret identity of Aiden (Apollo) which really shouldn't necessarily surprise anyone who has read anything about the Trojan War and those who are said to have been part of it.

As a reader, I love imagining the world that the writers create in order to lure you into their diabolical clutches. In this case, it wasn't really that hard for me to imagine since it was very familiar to me having grown up in the Fingerlakes Region of Upstate New York before transplanting to Florida. Antigoddess is set in a fictional town called Kincade, New York, but it could have actually been Watkins Glen, or Geneva, or a number of other cities along Seneca Lake. I grew up a hop, skip, and jump away from Seneca Lake and have done numerous wine trail tours since I was legally able to drink. Don't judge until you've tried it.

Greek mythology has been used by various authors recently and Blake does an admirable job of linking them back to a world where Gods and Goddesses roamed freely in the world and were either loved or despised by mortals. This new world finds the Gods living among humans since Olympus has fallen and Zeus is nowhere in sight. I would have loved to see more of Artemis who is mentioned. I think united Artemis with Athena, Hermes and Cassandra, would be seriously awesome.

I should warn those that have NOT already read Antigoddess. If you've read Anna Dressed In Blood, you know that she tends to be very graphic and descriptive when telling a story about how her characters live and die. That warning should go out to anyone under 18 so that they understand what they are getting themselves into.

In the end, if you enjoy mythology mixed in a real world setting, this series is for you. 

Published September 10th 2013 by Tor Teen

Author - Kendare Blake
Title - Antigoddess (Goddess War # 1)
Publisher - Tor Teen
Released - September 10, 2013
Genre - Young Adult