The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

***1/2

From HarlequinTeen:                                           It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

I have read a lot of mythology related books and this is probably the most unique take on the gods I have read.  Kate is a teenager, all alone in the world, except her terminally ill mother.  They move back to her mother's hometown and Kate meets two boys.  One dark, handsome and mysterious.  The other the cute, geeky boy from school.  When she meets the dark and mysterious Henry, she agrees to his test because she thinks she has nothing to lose, but there's always something to lose. 

Kate must come to terms with losing her mother and dealing with the consequences of her bargain with Henry.  If she 'fails' the test she loses everything she cares for, even Henry. In true Greek Myth style, Kate is manipulated and deceived, while the puppet-masters watch from a distance. 

The Goddess Test is very well written and keeps you guessing until the very end (seriously, right up to the last few pages).  I am looking forward to seeing where Goddess Interrupted takes us in the Spring... 

~Shel