#Review - Ungodly by Kendare Blake (Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology)

Series: Goddess War # 3
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Publisher: Tor Teen
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology

For the Goddess of Wisdom, what Athena didn’t know could fill a book. That’s what her opponents said.

So she was wrong about some things. So her carefully planned assault on Olympus left her team beaten and scattered and possibly dead. So they have to fight the Fates themselves, who, it turns out, are the source of the gods’ illness. And sure, Athena is stuck in the underworld, holding the body of the only hero she has ever loved.

But all is not lost. Hermes is still topside, trying to power up Andie and Henry before he runs out of time and submits to his death, or the Fates arrive to speed it along.

And Cassandra is up there somewhere, too, on a quest for death…with the god of death himself.

Just because things haven’t gone exactly according to plan, it doesn't mean they’ve lost. They’ve only mostly lost. And there’s a big difference

Ungodly is the final installment in Kendare Blake's Goddess War trilogy. This series kicked off with Athena, virgin goddess of wisdom and military victory, fighting a war against Hera, patron goddess of marriage and childbirth, after it was revealed that the Gods, who are thought to be indestructible, start dying of strange diseases. Athena and Hera both grabbed as many allies as they could with the remaining missing Gods. But, Athena went a bit further. 

She choose to look for those who were around at the time of the Trojan War. She gathered to her side Cassandra Weaver, who in a previous life was a Princess of Troy, Prophetess, and Apollo's Oracle. She's been given the power to kill any God she puts her hands on by the Fates. Andie aka Andromache wife of Hector, and Henry, Cassie's brother, formerly known as Hector. These human heroes may be just the thing needed to defeat Hera and find out who created the disease that is killing Gods. She even found Odysseus, hero, and King of Ithaca, Greece, and Achilles who has since found his own path. 

After the brutal ending to Mortal Gods, Athena's plans to defeat her enemies (Aphrodite, Ares, Achilles, and the Moirae) have failed spectacularly. (Although Cassie did take down a major player) The truth behind what is killing the Gods, hasn't been revealed as of yet, and Achilles made his own choices which may tip the battle to yet another direction. Athena's allies are in disarray, and separated in three different locations. Athena finds herself in the underworld with fallen hero Odysseus who lies between death and being alive. 

Strange things happen in the Underworld. Enemies become Allies. Allies Athena, Odysseus, and Ares make strange bedfellows and their actions lead to a maddening confrontation with Hades, Aphrodite, and the Judges who stand in the way of their escape. Brilliant scene by the way. I have to say that I actually liked Athena a whole lot better in this book. She finds herself at a crossroads and hasn't a clue what to do next. Her love for Odysseus is apparent, but they have a war to win before they can have a happy ending. Meanwhile, Cassandra (Doom of the Gods) is with the nymph Calypso who she has made a promise to. 

Cassie has so much anger brewing within her, that it is clouding her judgment in everything she does. She has so much hatred towards all of the gods, even Athena and Hermes, that it will be a matter of time before she shatters into pieces. Her desire to kill more Gods, leads them to California and the death God Thanatos who joins the adventure. It also leads them to Greece in order to hunt down and kill Hades. Can I stop a moment and say that I actually LOVED Thanatos? How can you not? I was in no way against a potential romance between him and Cassie.

Back in New York, Andie, Henry, and Hermes have no clue what is happening to either Cassie, or Athena. Andie & crew truly believe that Odysseus is dead, and maybe even Athena after what happened in Mortal Gods. They search for Demeter to ask if she has any idea where Cassie or Athena are. All they can do is hope that the two missing friends will come around sooner, rather than later. Hermes is actually able to locate one of the final missing Gods, Hephaestus, which leads to yet another showdown between Henry and Achilles who is now indestructible. Another fantastic action scene! Alas, I am also happy that Andie and Henry stepped up their romance. Good for them!

There is nothing easy about reading or writing a review for a final novel in a series, especially one written by Kendare Blake. She in no way takes the easy road out of this series. She strives to push her characters to the absolute maximum, while giving them even more horror, and shocking surprises to resolve. Blake's descriptions are once again on the level of Anna Dressed in Blood. For me, that was entirely acceptable. Sometimes you need to push the envelope in order to truly entertain and show how deadly and awful this God killing disease really is. Plus, there is nothing shiny or nice about going to war. People do die. Heroes do prevail but with consequences.

I have two minor issues with the way Ungodly wrapped up. 1: where the hell was Zeus when all of this was happening? Is he dead, or alive? If he was alive, then why did he not make any sort of appearance? 2: I would have loved to learn what happens with Cassie and Thanatos. Do they end up together, or have they gone their separate ways? It's especially puzzling since Cassie can't exactly kill Thanatos who is immune to her powers.

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