ARC Review--The Goddess Legacy by Aimee Carter

For millennia we've caught only glimpses of the lives and loves of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. Now Aimée Carter pulls back the curtain on how they became the powerful, petty, loving and dangerous immortals that Kate Winters knows.

Calliope/Hera represented constancy and yet had a husband who never matched her faithfulness...

Ava/Aphrodite was the goddess of love and yet commitment was a totally different deal...

Persephone was urged to marry one man, yet longed for another...

James/Hermes loved to make trouble for others-but never knew true loss before...

Henry/Hades's solitary existence had grown too wearisome to continue. But meeting Kate Winters gave him a new hope...

Five original novellas of love, loss and longing and the will to survive throughout the ages.

I  received this ARC from the publishers via Netgalley for review

The Goddess Legacy is an incredible "side story" that Aimee Carter wrote in which we get to see what some of the gods and goddesses were like before Kate came along! A prequel of sorts for many of the people involved!

It was really good too! I love how Aimee weaves the gods and goddesses personalities into "modern-ness" so well! I mean Ava/Aphrodite can be sweet in one moment and then selfish in another! Her need for love in different forms is not one of her better qualities, yet she is the goddess of love!

Hera's story was first, in which Zeus attempts to woe her because he loves her and wants to marry her. Hera tries to resist at first, knowing Zeus will never treat her as his equal, but she succumbs to his whims. Yet her life is not the happily ever after she was expecting. Zeus as we all know has a problem with being monogamous.

Aphrodite's story was with her not wanting Zeus or "daddy" to dictate her life and tell her who to marry. She loves Ares, god of war. They have a passionate love and a very physical one too. Yet Zeus says she is to marry Ares' brother Hephaestus. So Aphrodite and Ares run away together, yet while things start out wonderfully, they do not remain so. 

I really don't like Aphrodite in this one. Her need for all kinds of love leads her to be unfaithful. She chooses one of the brothers to marry, but sees the other one constantly! But this is Aphrodite and she is known to have many lovers.

Persephone's story stemmed from her not wanting to marry Hades. She was betrothed since she was young and come 16 she was to marry him. Yet it's not the life she wants. She doesn't love Hades, though he loves her.

Persephone is allowed to spend half the year wherever she chooses, and thus begins Persephone's life of deception and selfishness. 

I do feel for the girl. She didn't want to be forced to marry someone and I get that, but the way she treated Hades seemed harsh. She betrays him in the worst way possible, yet still comes to him when she needs something.

This seems to be a pattern with the gods and goddesses; falling in love soooo many times. I find it annoying. Although, I do realize that is how the myths go in mythology as well.

Hermes's story was far more interesting. He was trying to find a pair of deities who went missing. He searches for others as well. Then he goes to Earth in disguise where he meets Tuck and her band of thieves. He learns that humans don't know about him and the other gods of Olympus. They have become nothing more than memories long forgotten. 

Hermes learns a few things about humans and humanity while he's there too. It was a tragic little story. But the outcome brought Hermes into the good graces of his family. This is when the gods and goddesses choose new identities and names for themselves. So that was an interesting little story to read about!

The final story is about Hades, who claims a new identity for himself as Henry. Although it was suggested by Calliope or Hera, as Henry was one of her favorite kings. Which if it's the Henry we all know, I find odd. Hera being the goddess of marriage and with what Henry did to his wives. Although, maybe it was another Henry, history was never my best subject!

Henry, after turning down Calliope's offer of companionship and more, is ready to fade. The loneliness is killing him. But his family isn't ready to give up, so the the test to find the next goddess begins. And so do their deaths. Henry is grief stricken at each of their deaths and is ready to end it all. 

But Diana isn't ready to let him, so she says she will have a daughter and she can be his wife, if she chooses. Henry even has an encounter with Kate when she is but a child. The ending is nice as well, for Henry makes some revelations and does a very kind thing for James.

These stories are best read in order, they have a nice little timeline and it's easier to follow if they are read this way. I love being back in this world and learning more about the gods and goddesses Kate interacts with. Seeing their origins, so to speak, really gives new insight to how we see them now!

Overall rating 4.5/5 stars

The Goddess Legacy releases July 31, 2012