Review of "Goddess Boot Camp" by Tera Lynn Childs

This is book two in a series, find my review for book one ("oh. my. gods.") here.

Disclaimer: This book is on loan from my local library. I was not given this book in exchange for a review, nor have I received any sort of monetary incentive for a positive review.

Type: YA Fiction, Mythology, Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, Running a lot

From the book jacket: "   Phoebe, who recently discovered she's a descendant of Nike (the goddess, not the shoe), is finding out that supernatural powers come with a crazy learning curve. A few months ago, when Phoebe's mom married a Greek guy and moved her halfway around the world to the tiny island of Serfopoula, she had no idea that she'd soon find herself surrounded by the descendants of the Greek gods, let alone that she'd learn her own heritage was more mythical than mortal. But because she still doesn't quite have her new powers under control, something that can be dangerous since the gods are known for smoting those who use their powers recklessly, Phoebe's been enrolled at Dynamotheos Development Camp, also known as Goddess Boot Camp, for the summer. What kind of earthly torture will Goddess Boot Camp be? Well, it can't be any worse than Hades, can it?   "

I love Young Adult Paranormal Fiction. Come on, being a teenager is hard enough, but throw in otherworldly things, and imagine the drama. Finding out Greek gods are real? Yikes. Finding out Greek gods are real and you're a descendant of one? Double yikes. Find all that out, AND you still have to go through highschool (homework and tests included), plus deal with teenage drama? HOLY COW! That's probably why I continue to read Young Adult fiction, even though I tend to enjoy books with a higher "heat" rating.

And while this book is a good and quick read, much like the first one, I was missing the drama. Oh sure, Phoebe has drama to deal with - learning her powers, her boyfriend is hiding something, and she's left alone with her stepsister for two weeks, but I wanted.. more. It seemed the element of mystery was a more popular subject in this book. What was the test she had to pass to show control of her powers? What was Griffin hiding? Who's sending her these emails about her dad? But I wanted the boyfriend drama. Griffin was indeed hiding something from Phoebe, and maybe it's a little selfish of me, but I got maybe one good chapter out of that subplot before it was ignore almost completely. It felt a little inconsistant - the Greeks invented drama, for heavens sake! Shouldn't there be more of it?

I went to the author's website and checked for any info in the form of a new book in this series.. but so far, nothing. We were introduced to a cool new character in "Goddess Boot Camp," named Xander. First off, loner guys equal awesome. Of course I want to hear more about the quiet loner guy with a seedy past. Second? Love the name Xander. If a character is named Xander, good guy or bad, I'm interested. But, so far.. no more Xander. Sigh.

Anyways, all that said, I'm giving "Goddess Boot Camp" a THREE out of FIVE (3/5). It was good, quick, but lacking in the drama. It had the element of mystery, the element of "oh crap, I don't think I can do this" but I want more boyfriend drama. There's never enough of that in the world.

Read it? Tell me your thoughts in the comments. Want to read it? Find it at Amazon.com!


Happy Reading!
~!~ Morning Glow