Originally reviewed at Witchmag's Boekenplank
As you guys know by now I just can’t say no to anything with mythology in it. The world of the gods, goddesses and all those mythical creatures is just too intriguing to let it pass. Therefore I was very enthusiast after reading this blurb. Zeus as a teenager? Bring it on! My mind was already brimming with all the possibilities! Unfortunately all that enthusiasm and optimism soon faded. This book just wasn’t it for me and I had to give up. I tried though, oh I tried. Repeatedly. I so wanted to love this book…. But it was just not possible. From the moment I started reading I had trouble with getting into the story, to form a picture in my head, to bring it to life, to find the magical wardrobe inside my head that would bring me to a brand new and fantastic world…
Zoe, our main character, didn’t help me much with finding that wardrobe. On the contrary, she made it even harder for me to keep on reading. I don’t know how to explain it, but she felt “wrong,” from the first moment on. I did not like spending time in her head. Not that she had weird thoughts or something like that, it just didn’t feel natural, her way of thinking. I can’t describe it any other way. Something was off. I hoped that I could get used to this, when I got to know her better, but alas, I only resented it more.
Add to that her less than stellar behavior. She felt too guarded, to stoic for me to really enjoy spending time with her. Even in moments where the toughest sailors sailor would scream for mommy, she acted like a zombie. Still functioning, but without feeling. Besides her lack of empathy she’s also one of those annoying YA heroines who always manage to NOT think before doing something and consequences be damned. Yeah, so not my thing. The cherry on top was definitely the major case of insta love. Just SECONDS after meeting him… That’s just not credible and it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I quit.I still wanted to give the book another chance, to hopefully find something that would make finishing this book worthwhile, so I decided to skip to the ending. Maybe that would intrigue me enough to struggle to the rest. To no avail, it even backfired. I finally got to know who that nice BLOND young man was. And I was unpleasantly surprised. POSSIBLE SPOILER AND RANTING AHEAD –> thread with caution Seriously? Off all the gods out there she had to choose him? The god that everyone has heard off? The god all-known for his extramarital affairs? (And she made him Blond!) Okay if the story would have been a bit different I might have applauded for this twist, this new way of portraying him (except for the blondness). Even raved about the new way to get to know him, but. Yeah, BUT too much history of him, his family and children was omitted or rewritten. Without a plausible explanation. If you use the Greek gods, there are some things that just can’t be altered or forgotten in my mind, like how they were created. Therefore if Dad is still a teenager, it’s just not possible for his children to walk around, so don’t use those Gods in the story or think of an alternative way for them to still exist. END POSSIBLE SPOILER AND RANTING Sorry, but it went too much it much against everything I’ve read about the Greek Gods. It just felt totally wrong, like reading that Germany won WW I (sorry couldn’t find a better comparison). I don’t mind reading about an alternative history of the Olympians. However somethings just can’t be rewritten or omitted, without an explanation.
Conclusion
DID NOT FINISH. There was too much that I didn’t like in this book. This was mostly because of Zoe, with the way she acted, and the writing style. Add to that the insta love and the way the whole history of the Greek Gods was butchered and I hope you can understand my point. I have no problems with reading altered versions, as long as vital points of the original story still stand or there is a logical explanation for why they were altered.
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