Sunday, 9 March 2014

Alpha Goddess by Amalie Howard

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy/Mythology, Romance
My Rating: 3 out of 5

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In Serjana Caelum’s world, gods exist. So do goddesses. Sera knows this because she is one of them. A secret long concealed by her parents, Sera is Lakshmi reborn, the human avatar of an immortal Indian goddess rumored to control all the planes of existence. Marked by the sigils of both heaven and hell, Sera’s avatar is meant to bring balance to the mortal world, but all she creates is chaos. A chaos that Azrath, the Asura Lord of Death, hopes to use to unleash hell on earth.

Torn between reconciling her past and present, Sera must figure out how to stop Azrath before the Mortal Realm is destroyed. But trust doesn’t come easy in a world fissured by lies and betrayal. Her best friend Kyle is hiding his own dark secrets, and her mysterious new neighbor, Devendra, seems to know a lot more than he’s telling. Struggling between her opposing halves and her attraction to the boys tied to each of them, Sera must become the goddess she was meant to be, or risk failing, which means sacrificing the world she was born to protect.

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The story in this was pretty interesting. Despite all the mythology that was in it, and the many different types of deities and demons and hells and everything else that we were introduced to, it still managed to make sense. It explained everything well enough to follow and there was a good amount of action. I don't have any complains really besides the characters, namely Dev and Kyle. I think this book handled its love-triangle rather poorly.

The book alternated between Sera and Kyle's POVs, so I was definitely Team Kyle. We got to know him a lot better than Dev because of his POVs, and I felt like that meant something for the outcome. Although I was really frustrated with the back and forth. You can trust him. You can't trust him. You can trust him. You can't trust him. My demon blood made me do it. Its really hard for a character to be an individual when they are so easily controlled, and their loyalties begin to mean nothing when it is not their own choice.

And Dev we hardly knew at all. I hated how he just strolled into Sera's life and started acting like he belonged there because of something that happened thousands of years ago. We never really got to know him, and any relationship he had with Sera was based on the past. We never saw them connect in the present, and it just felt really intrusive and presumptuous. It made me hate him in the same way that I hate River Song.

And what the hell was with that ending?! Who did she pick? Did she pick neither or both?! She spends months in a realm between realms, where she is mourning Kyle's death alone, which I assumed meant something in favour of Kyle. But then Dev shows up and tells her that Kyle is still alive. And what does she do? She kisses Dev! And while she is kissing him she thinks. "It was a kiss of hello and a kiss of goodbye, a kiss of love and of friendship. It was a bridge between the past and the present, and a promise of the future. It was a kiss for forever." I like the part where it says 'a kiss of goodbye and a kiss of the past'. But I certainly do not like the part where it says 'a promise of the future and a kiss for forever'. Blah. But then, on the very next page, she visits Kyle and when she sees him, she thinks, "Sera knew without a doubt that there was no other place she needed to be...there was no other place she would rather be. She was home." And then the book ends. Huh, sooo what just happened?!

I would recommend this to fans of books heavy with mythology, and especially books that visit hell. There is a lot of hell and demons in this book. Or I should say Xibalba. But not necessarily for fans of YA romance. The romance in this book was a mess.

“Why are you telling me this, Dev? You could have let me believe that she didn't love me. Things would have been much easier for you." 
Dev smiled. "Because its not the truth. And why would I hurt you when its clear she does love you? What she feels for you doesn't change what exists between me and Sera. That existed far before your time and will endure long after it. Even if she loves another, I bear that person no ill will because I love her. And love is infinite, is it not?”

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