Goddess by Josephine Angelini

Title: Goddess
Author: Josephine Angelini
Publisher:  PanMacmillan
Release: May 28th 2013
Pages: 480 (Paperback)
Pre-Order: Amazon UK / Amazon US
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After accidentally unleashing the gods from their captivity on Olympus, Helen must find a way to re-imprison them without starting a devastating war. But the gods are angry, and their thirst for blood already has a body count.

To make matters worse, the Oracle reveals that a diabolical Tyrant is lurking among them, which drives a wedge between the once-solid group of friends. As the gods use the Scions against one another, Lucas’s life hangs in the balance. Still unsure whether she loves him or Orion, Helen is forced to make a terrifying decision, for war is coming to her shores.

In Josephine Angelini’s compelling conclusion to the masterfully woven Starcrossed trilogy, a goddess must rise above it all to change a destiny that’s been written in the stars. With worlds built just as fast as they crumble, love and war collide in an all-out battle that will leave no question unanswered and no heart untouched.

I want to be happy about this book, I do - but it has a bit of a bittersweet aftertaste to it. I picked up Starcrossed about a month after it was released, and ever since then, I have been hooked. I've watched along with countless others as the trilogy has unfolded, and now...well, I guess I don't want to say goodbye.

Helen Hamilton thought she was your average awkward teenage girl - until the Delos family move to the small island of Nantucket. Over the span of a few months, Helen has been introduced to an entirely new world; one full of gods and goddesses, monsters and mythical beings, Heaven and Hell and everything in between. Helen is a Scion, otherwise known as a demigod, just like the Delos'. However, to add an even bigger problem into the mix, the Fates want something from Helen - they want to recreate the battle of Troy, except this time, they want everyone dead.

I went into this novel with high expectations - not just because I wanted the trilogy to go out with a bang, but because both Starcrossed and Dreamless proved how great Angelini was at characterisation and building up a thick plot. True to form, Goddess didn't disappoint.

There were a lot of new characters, and at first I got a bit lost with what was going on. I understood that characters needed to be filled in to fit in with the original tale, but parts of it felt a bit rushed - especially Andy. She seemed like the kind of character I would have loved, but Angelini was very vague about her, and aside from her filler part, she may as well not have been there.

However, the original characters were just as fantastic as ever. Can we all just appreciate and cheer the fact that Helen is one of the only female characters I have loved throughout an entire series? She had moments of being slightly annoying when it came to Lucas, but family and friends and honour always came first for her, which was refreshing to see. I found Lucas' characterisation to be much better than in Dreamless, and Orion...well, I was still swooning!

Angelini has this unique talent where she keeps the reader guessing throughout the entire book right until the very last second - and then she unleashes this massive plot twist, and I was honestly left speechless.I never saw it coming, and although a part of it was kind of anticlimactic, I kind of liked it. It was a nice way for it to end, and although a few questions were left unanswered, I'm still left feeling satisfied.

Overall, Goddess was everything I wanted it to be - it was the perfect ending to a magnificent trilogy. Angelini has created a way for Greek myths to become accessible to teens without having the read The Odyssey first - not only is it educational, but it is witty, relateable, and just amazing. Definitely worth a read.
Rating: 5/5