Blog Tour: The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter - What's Divine About The Goddess Test Series + Giveaway

Guys, I am beyond thrilled to be taking part in The Goddess Inheritance Tour hosted by Kismet Book Touring.  The Goddess Inheritance is the final book in a series I've loved since page one, through all of Kate's ups and downs, and I can't wait to share with you why I think The Goddess Test series is divine.  But first, a little about this final installment in Aimée Carter's mythology-themed saga:

Title:  The Goddess Inheritance
Author:  Aimée Carter
Series:  final book in The Goddess Test series
Publisher:  Harlequin Teen
Publication Date:  February 26, 2013
Purchase:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Love or life.
Henry or their child.
The end of her family or the end of the world.
Kate must choose.

During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can't stop her--until Cronus offers a deal.

In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he'll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.

With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.

Even if it costs her eternity.

Above all else, my favorite aspect of this series is the mythology, which is kind of funny, considering I would have done anything to get out of reading Edith Hamilton's Mythology when I was in school.  But Aimée Carter has done something that my teachers only dreamed of doing:  she made mythology fun.  And while I did enjoy mythology on the whole as a youth, I would have enjoyed it so much more if it had been presented in the way that it is in this series.  Not that I think these books are a substitute for what is taught in school, but  kids might be more interested in the subject matter if they could see that mythology doesn't have to be boring and stodgy, the way it was taught to me.

Another reason I can't get enough of this series?  Despite the fact that Kate is put through the gauntlet time and again, you still kind of want to be her.  She's just finding herself when we meet her in the first book, but what girl wouldn't want to be a goddess?  Granted, that crazy immortal family is part of the package, but they just make life interesting.  The romance and the friendships more than make up for those insane in-laws, though.  Kate and Henry's love has been tested, but it is true, and I love how it was portrayed in these books.  It's emotionally trying, but it's also depicted as two people, facing their own fears to be with one another, and I can't get enough of it!

I'm going to miss all of these characters so very much, but I'm excited to see what Aimee Carter has in store for us next.  And on that note, I'll leave you with some of my favorite quotes from the series:

“I care," he said in a trembling voice. "I care so much that I do not know how to tell you without it seeming inconsequential compared to how I feel. Even if I am distant at times and seem as if I do not want to be with you, it is only because this scares me, too.”

“But if this works--if I pass, I need to know that when you look at me, you're going to see me, not just her replacement. That there is more in this future for me than standing in the shadows while you wallow the rest of your existence away.”

“I'm not afraid of you." And to demonstrate that point, I leaned forward and kissed him like he'd kissed me in the drawing room, careful not to spill my drink. My heart pounded in my chest as I waited for him to respond, hoping he wouldn't pull away and declare everything that had happened a mistake.”

“It is supposed to be the truth." He stared at me and my breath caught in my throat. "If I were a better man, I would be able to show you the love and affection you deserve. As I am not, I can only offer you what I'm capable of giving. But I assure you, just because I do not show it, doesn't mean I do not feel it.”

“You can say you love me all you want, but if you only ever act like the opposite's true, then I can't trust your words anymore.”

“Sadness doesn't equal weakness, sweetheart. If anything, it shows the love you have inside of you, and nothing stronger in this world exists.”

About the author:

Aimée Carter was born and raised in Michigan, where she currently resides. She started writing at age eleven and later attended the University of Michigan, graduating with a degree in screen arts and cultures. Currently she spends her time continuing with The Goddess Test series and working on new projects. You can tweet her at @aimee_carter or catch updates on her website.

Find Aimée: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

As part of The Goddess Inheritance Tour, you have the chance to win a copy of any one book in The Goddess Test series to one lucky winner. All entries into the daily giveaway count toward the grand prize giveaway of a Kindle Paperwhite skinned in the gorgeous and lush The Goddess Inheritance cover art!

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Be sure to check out the rest of the tour:

Monday, January 28th - Harlequin Paranormal Blog

Wednesday, January 30th - Alison Can Read

Friday, February 1st - Mundie Moms

Monday, February 4th - Soul Unsung

Wednesday, February 6th - Starry Eyed Revue

Friday, February 8th - Two Chicks on Books

Monday, February 11th - The Story Queen

Tuesday, February 12th - Simply Infatuated

Wednesday, February 13th - Me, My Shelf and I

Friday, February 15th - IB Blogging

Thanks so much to Harlequin Teen, Aimée Carter & Kismet Book Touring for allowing me to be a part of this tour!

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Labels: aimee carter, blog tour, giveaways, goddess test, harlequin-teen, kismet, mythology

In My Mailbox #32

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.  It's a weekly meme where we all get to brag about the books and swag we got in the mail, for review, won in contests, etc.

Okay, so remember last week how I was saying that I had to force myself not to request any more review copies because I already had enough on my plate?  Yeah, that didn't last long.  I have zero willpower when it comes to this sort of thing.  o.O

For Review:

Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
The Goddess Legacy by Aimee Carter
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller



Won:

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker, from Kate at Ex Libris

 

See what I mean?  I couldn't help myself!  :D  So, what was in your mailbox this week?  Anything I need to check out?  :P

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Labels: aimee carter, contemporary, goddess test, in my mailbox (imm), TBR pile

Q & A with Goddess Interrupted author Aimée Carter + Giveaway

Today on the blog, I've got a great Q & A with Aimée Carter, author of the Goddess Test series, as well as a giveaway for the newest book in the series Goddess Interrupted, all thanks to Harlequin Teen! 

About the author:  Aimée Carter was born in 1986 and attended the University of Michigan.  She started writing at age eleven, focusing first on fan fiction and later on original work, and hasn't stopped since.  The Goddess Test trilogy is her first series  Check out her website at www.aimeecarter.com.

The following interview was provided by Harlequin Teen.

How familiar were you with Greek myths and folklore before writing the Goddess Test series?  Was a lot of research required?

I first fell in love with Greek mythology when I was a kid learning how to read, and my infatuation only grew from there. I’ve studied various kinds of mythology for years, sometimes for class and always for fun, but even then I put a great deal of research into the Goddess Test series. Mostly as a refresher to make sure I was getting my facts right, but I also researched the various myths looking for ways to tie the plots and characters together in unexpected ways.

Was Goddess Interrupted any easier or harder to write than the first book in the series, The Goddess Test?

It was both easier and harder, in a strange way. I rewrote The Goddess Test multiple times, and I’ve never edited a book more heavily in my life. Goddess Interrupted did require some editing, of course, but it was much easier.

However, the pressure to deliver a sequel worthy of the series made the writing process for Goddess Interrupted more difficult than I’d anticipated. There’s something called the “sophomore slump”, where sequels or second books generally don’t quite match up to the second, and I wanted to avoid that at all cost. So that added a lot of stress, but in the end, I was very happy with the results.

You give the gods and goddesses in the series “ordinary names” – Zeus is named Walter, Aphrodite goes by Ava, Hermes is named James.  Why did you do that and do the more contemporary names have any significance?

This was something I went back and forth on multiple times. Initially the characters Kate encounters weren’t council members at all – I changed that very, very quickly though. By the second draft, I had a place for each of the Olympians, and I did some heavy rewriting to replace my first draft characters with the gods. I wanted to find a way to keep their names the same, but since they’re supposed to live among us in secret in the modern world, it didn’t really make sense. How many men named Zeus do you know, or women called Aphrodite? On top of that, keeping the council’s identities secret was incredibly important to the plot. So eventually I decided they would have changed their names when Western civilization stopped worshipping them as gods, allowing them to live freely among us.

I did choose each name for what it means, some more than others – Walter, for instance, means “army leader”, while James means “supplanter”. The exception is Calliope, which in the story was chosen by her counterpart for its Greek roots. The reason the gods changed their names – and why Artemis didn’t wind up with the name Diana – is explained throughout the series, but you get to actually see this happen in The Goddess Legacy (July 31).

Goddess Interrupted begins with the main character Kate Winters adjusting to her new life as an immortal.  Given Kate’s innate strength and stubbornness, was it difficult to switch gears to portray her as a bit more vulnerable and unsure of herself in her new role as goddess AND wife?

Not so much, to be honest – her progression felt natural to me. While Kate is very tough in certain ways, she’s extremely vulnerable as well. She’s emotionally dependent on the people around her (her mother in the first book, Henry in the second), and that in and of itself carves the path she takes in the sequel. She’s spent six months with Henry, falling in love with him and forming a relationship she thinks is going to last for eternity. But Henry is battling his own demons and isn’t ready to be the person she needs him to be, and because Kate is so stubborn, she has a hard time coming to terms with that. In the sequel, Kate really is her own worst enemy emotionally – her entire world has changed, after all, and that’s a lot for anyone to take – but it’s all part of her development into a goddess and queen.

Kate finds herself trying to work through her rather complicated relationship with James, as well as her relationship with her new husband, Henry (Hades).  Neither seems to be black and white, but rather varying shades of gray.   Were any of Kate’s feelings or situations based on any relationship struggles you’ve been through?

Not personally, no, but I did try to make Kate’s relationships with the people in her life as realistic as possible. She isn’t perfect, and neither are they, and that’s something they all have to work through at varying points in the series. None of the relationships in the books are based off of specific experiences I’ve been through though.

What is your favorite part of the writing process?  Least favorite?

Outlining is by far my favorite part of the process. I love the idea stage, where anything’s possible, and it’s such a shiny place. All of that comes crashing down when I write the first draft though, which is the hardest part for me. I tend to get mentally exhausted about two thirds to three quarters of the way into the manuscript, and it’s always a struggle for me to push through it, especially if I’m on a deadline. And inevitably there are a ton of problems I didn’t notice in the outline stage that have to be fixed for the story to work. I’m a perfectionist, so in order for me to continue writing the story, everything I’ve already written has to make sense.

Do you have a favorite quote or line from a poem or book?

I love so many quotes that I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite.

How did you get your first publishing deal and how did that feel?

My agent, Rosemary Stimola, sent the manuscript out to various publishers, and after a long submission process, Harlequin TEEN offered to publish it! I was stunned at first, but that quickly gave way to giddiness. It was an incredible feeling to know I’d be published, and to this day, I still can’t quite believe it.

When is the next book in the series due out? Any hints on what will happen in book 3?

Goddess Interrupted, the sequel to The Goddess Test, came out in late March. The next book in the series, The Goddess Legacy, will be out July 31. It’s a collection of five novellas told in the perspectives of Calliope, Ava, Persephone, James, and Henry, and together they form one story.

The third book in the series, The Goddess Inheritance, is currently scheduled to be released in March 2013. Unfortunately I can’t say too much about it, but the challenges that Kate will face are pretty clear by the end of the sequel!

After the huge success of The Goddess Test, Goddess Interrupted is on many, many TBR lists for this summer.  What’s on your TBR list?

I’m so excited for a slew of books coming out – The Girl in the Clockwork Collar, Grave Mercy, The Selection, The Serpent’s Shadow, Philippa Gregory’s YA novel, and a ton of others. I never have as much time to read as I want, but I’m definitely making time for all of those and more!

Yearbook Superlatives! If you went to high school with the Greek gods and goddesses, who would you vote for?

·         Most likely to succeed? - Hera

·         Class clown? - Hermes

·         Nicest? - Demeter or Hephaestus

·         Best dressed? - Aphrodite

·         Best dancer? - Apollo

·         Most school spirit? - Iris

·         Most likely to attend summer school? - Ares

·         Teachers pet? - Athena

Filled with greek mythology, complicated love triangles and a fierce battle of wits and strength to save humanity, Goddess Interrupted is this summer's most "heavenly" pick for poolside/beachside/hammock reading, says Harlequin Teen, and they're giving you the opportunity to win a copy!  (US/Canada only, publisher will ship prize directly to the winner.)  

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title:  Goddess Interrupted
Author:  Aimee Carter
Series:  Goddess Test
Publisher:  HarlequinTeen
Publication Date:  March 27, 2012

Kate Winters has won immortality.

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

You can find my review of Goddess Interrupted here.



  
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Labels: aimee carter, author interviews, giveaways, goddess test, harlequin-teen, mythology

Review: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title:  Goddess Interrupted
Author:  Aimee Carter
Series:  Goddess Test
Publisher:  HarlequinTeen
Publication Date:  March 27, 2012
Source:  Netgalley

Kate Winters has won immortality.

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

I loved The Goddess Test, the first book in this series. So much so that I speed-read it and didn’t take a single note, and I never even wrote a review for it. The shame! I may go back one day and re-read it and review it properly, but for now, just know I adored the mix of mythology and romance and everything else about it…especially the yummy Henry.

Goddess Interrupted, however, left me scratching my head at times and completely freaking out at others. A whole summer has passed, with Kate and James in Greece while Henry continues with his Underworld duties at home. So, you’d think it natural to expect some romance and canoodling upon Kate’s return, right? Guess again. The bad guys have other plans for Kate, and so almost from the first page, Kate is thrust once more into the action, betrayal, and sacrifice that is the Underworld.

Speaking of betrayal, I’m not usually an advocate for love triangles, but I really like how Aimee Carter handled not one but two potential love triangles in this book: the Kate – Henry – Persephone triangle and the Henry – Kate – James triangle. Yes, Kate has earned immortality and is now married to Henry. But if you’ve read the synopsis, you already know that Persephone will make an appearance in Goddess Interrupted, and if you read The Goddess Test, you already know that Henry will probably always carry a torch for her. He may have married Kate, but it’s hard to let go of your first love. And then we have James. Clever, funny, too-caring James. I think it was pretty obvious in The Goddess Test that he had fallen for Kate. Well, after a summer together, it’s even more obvious that he’s in love with her. And no matter how much he would like for her not to return to Henry at summer’s end, Kate has already made her choice…hasn’t she?

I admire the fact that the author included her heroine’s love interest as the focal point of one of the love triangles. Usually it’s our protagonist who has to deal with two suitors, and true, that is the case in this novel, but the issue at the heart of the main triangle is whether Henry’s newfound love for Kate can ever overcome what he once felt for Persephone.

The characters definitely kept things interesting, as did the bad guys. What does it mean when an author can write such an awesome nemesis that he can become just as enchanting as the love interest? It must mean that Carter writes excellent characters because at times, I found myself liking not only Persephone (gasp!) but also Cronus, the King of the Titans and enemy to the gods of Olympus. I love how developed the characters are in this series, but I do have to admit that this second installment was lacking a little on the mythology-side. We got a heavy dose of it in The Goddess Test, but it was less prevalent in this book, much to my disappointment. The mythology was one of the elements I loved best in the first book.

I really enjoyed Goddess Interrupted, just not as much as The Goddess Test. Of course I missed the mythology aspect, but I also felt that Kate was too trusting and showed less strength of character than she did in the first novel. And the occasional sweet moments between Kate and Henry seemed almost non-existent, as well. I’m sure that will all change after the cliffhanger we’re left with at the end of the novel, though. The last third of the book really picked up and set the pace for the next book, inevitably leaving me wanting more. (And, yes, the irony of coveting the next book in the series when the one being reviewed hasn’t even been released yet is not entirely lost on me.)

So, to summarize: action? Check. Romance? Check. Cliffhanger and story that will leave you wishing for the next book? BIG FAT CHECK. I’d definitely recommend this book – and the series – to anyone who loves a well-written story with a little romance and a side of mythology.

Rating: 

Also, don't forget to check out The Goddess Hunt, the novella set during the summer between The Goddess Test and Goddess Interrupted.  You can get it from your ebook retailer for $1.29:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble.

I couldn't find a trailer for Goddess Interrupted, but while I was searching, I ran across my friend April's (of Sim~Sational~Books) Sims trailer for the first book.  Behold the awesomeness:

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Labels: book trailers, goddess test, mythology, reviews, src 2012

TGIF #23 - Recommend It

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at GReads!  In this weekly feature, Ginger poses a question to her followers and then asks everyone to link up at the end of the post, sharing their responses.

This Friday's Question:

Recommend It: Which book from the last 10 you've read would you recommend to a friend?

Um, all of them???  Just kidding...sort of.  There were a couple that weren't as good as I'd hoped, but for the most part, I'd still recommend them because what might not be my cup of tea might just be someone else's.

That said, of the last ten books I've read, I'd most heartily recommend the following:






Those three were all reads for me.  However, I'm behind on my reviews -- shocking, I know -- so I've only posted the review for Fracture to date.  But let me just say that it completely surpassed my expectations, and that alone should make you run out and add it to your TBR list because it doesn't happen often.  The other two I whole-heartedly expected to love, but you should still read them, too.  :D

Do you agree that these are all awesome books?  If not, what would you pick in their place?


Week in Review:

In My Mailbox #14
Review:  Fracture by Megan Miranda
Review:  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Uncovered - 1/19/12

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Labels: fracture, goddess test, must-read, recommended reads, tgif, under the never sky, week in review

Uncovered - 1/19/12

Squeeeeee!  I love novellas because of the additional character insight provided...well, that, and it's another snippet into the lives of my favorite characters.  :)  So, when I saw that Aimee Carter had written a short story for her Goddess Test series, I was obviously delighted.  And I'm doubly delighted now that the cover has been revealed:

Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble

I wish it were a real book because it would look so pretty with the rest of the series on my shelf!  What are your feelings on novellas?  Do you mind paying a nominal fee for them?  Do you also wish they were offered in print form, as well as ebooks?

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Labels: beautiful covers, goddess test, novellas, uncovered