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

Review of "oh. my. gods." by Tera Lynn Childs

Yay! A review! Ahem. Okay, there are three things that I am obsessed with. Right right, more than three.. but when it comes to reading and research, three things.. mostly. I'm sure you've all picked up on the fact that I obsess over Vampires. You might have even caught my love of fallen angels.. but have you yet discovered that I love mythology? Any kind, really, but Greek mythology is the top of the list. So when a fellow book blogger mentioned this particular book, I practically ran to the library to borrow a copy. And yes, I know I'm not usually a YA fiction person, but I like to branch out of my comfort zones sometimes, and I just couldn't pass this book up.

From the book jacket: "If Phoebe Castro can keep her grades up and have another stellar cross-country season, her dream of attending USC with her best friends is only a track scholarship away. She's made all her plans, so it's a complete shock when her mom announces she's marrying a mysterious stranger and moving them halfway around the world - to Greece. Phoebe's stuck on a secret island in the Aegean, attending the super-exclusive Academy, where her new stepfather is the headmaster, and the kids are anything but your average students - they are descendants of the Greek gods, superpowers included. That's right, Greek gods are no myth! If Phoebe thought high school was hard, she knows this is going to be mortal misery. Securing that scholarship seems like Phoebe's only ticket out of Greece, but training and maintaining her grades will be gruelling, even without a sabotaging steosister from Hades and a gorgeous guy - what a god! - who just might be her Achilles' heel. One thing is for sure - summoning the will to win and finding her place among the gods could be Phoebe's toughest course yet. The Greek gods get a makeover in this romantic odyssey of mythic proportions."

Well, what to say, what to say.. I liked it. I thought it was a fun read, and heck.. I finished it in under two hours, while I enjoyed a little downtime between finishing errands and beginning work. As far as books go, I wouldn't say it was monumental, something that changed my life (oh yes, there are books like that!), but it was cute and enjoyable. I wish it hadn't been quite so predictable. I mean, from a third of the way in, you start getting inklings of the "big shocker" that occurs in the end. And I think the stepsister angle could have been done a little better - the character of the stepsister just seemed to change a little too quickly. But as I said, I enjoyed it, and I would recommend it to others. I'm always interested in how different authors will bring mythology into their work, whether figuratively - as inspiration, or literally - as in this case.

Supposedly, there is a sequel "Goddess boot camp," and I'm a little upset that my library does not have a copy.. I suppose I shall have to find it elsewhere!

I think I will end up giving this book a THREE POINT FIVE out of FIVE. I will probably recommend it to others, but probably only those that read YA fantasy/sci fi/this sort of thing.

Woo, it feels good to get another review up. I feel so accomplished! Now back to my readings for school, which.. if you're interested is - "Cane" by Jean Toomer, and "Neuromancer" by William Gibson. The first, ehhh... the second, I think is really interesting, I just wish I could understand it better. I love sci-fi, but he glances over things a little too quickly, so I don't catch them, then have to go back later and figure out what that meant.. well, anyways!

Happy reading, everyone! Only a few more days to Halloween - better get your spooky costumes and yummy candy out and ready!
~Morning Glow

Copy was borrowed from the library, I was not given it in exchange for a review. Photo courtesey of Amazon.com.