Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake

Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Publisher: Tor Teen
My ratings: 2 out of 5 stars.

synopsis:Ares, God of War, is leading the other dying gods into battle. Which is just fine with Athena. She's ready to wage a war of her own, and she's never liked him anyway. If Athena is lucky, the winning gods will have their immortality restored. If not, at least she'll have killed the bloody lot of them, and she and Hermes can die in peace.

Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can't have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite.

The alliance between Cassandra and Athena is fragile. Cassandra suspects Athena lacks the will to truly kill her own family. And Athena fears that Cassandra's hate will get them ALL killed.

The war takes them across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and Achilles, the greatest warrior the world has ever seen. As the struggle escalates, Athena and Cassandra must find a way to work together. Because if they can't, fates far worse than death await.


I'm trying to remember why I liked Antigoddess.

Troy. Athena. Dying Gods. Blood and gore. Waiting for the finale with bated breath. 
More than anything else, war. The clash of the greatest and mightiest with a pinch of reincarnations that make you want to scream. 
Awesome.

The problem with this one started right from the very beginning and that beginning happened when they decided to change the name from 'Aristae' to something so plain, so simple. absolutely insignificant and boring(?) like 'Mortal Gods'.
Slowly and steadily, we're re-introduced to the original plot line which is basically that the Gods are dying and are now in a race to find the cure because they're all supposed to be immortal. Two camps have formed. One led by Hera and Aphrodite and other, led by Athena and Hermes. While one has no regard for human existence, the others in their own ignorant way do. Thrust in this mix is the background of the Trojan War and the reincarnations of pivotal characters from the Trojan War to aid the destiny and fate of these dying gods. 

First off, everything here was simply a mess.
Even Kendare's writing, which might I add has always been brilliant, couldn't salvage this terrible broth of disaster. I felt that some sections were unnecessary or at least required polishing. Some pieces felt 'damp'.
You know how you always anticipate adrenaline and heart palpitations when you're reading about supposed 'badass' confrontations? Yeah, damp.

But my greatest issue were the characters and how, my favourite characters were underplayed and destroyed right in front of my eyes.

I did have issues with the predecessor. Like for example, every time Cassandra, the other protagonist (Athena is the first.)spoke, I felt like finding a duct tape or needles to sew her mouth shut. The saving grace of the previous book? She was at least bearable.

Now, I feel like skinning her alive and watch with mad glee as she screams and squirms and finally, thankfully, dies.
That's how much of a nuisance her character was.
As for Athena?
Goddess. You're a goddess. For once, forget you're restraint and just kill her already. You'd be doing a great service to this universe and yourself. 

And what of Hermes? Underplayed. Really, underplayed. 

I don't even want to talk about the romance because whatever promise the first book showed me, all of it was quickly scrounged down and scraped off by this one. 
Severely disappointed with this one. I doubt I'll be reading the next one.