Very cookie-cutter YA fiction about an unlikable teenaged protagonist who's a bit of a freak and a drummer who smells good that she totally doesn't like until she does. The relationship that develops is very rushed, which is an odd decision considering it's an entire series of books with room to develop them as characters in better depth. The setup to the sequel itself didn't inspire me to pick up the next book, it felt very tacked on in the last chapter. I realize YA definitely isn't my thing, but anybody who's ever heard the YA tropes knows exactly the type of story you're getting with this one, so if that's your thing, it *might* work for you. ( )

I love this book and the whole series. The Mythology genre is my favorite and this book was really good, easily in my top 3. It has a great plot and the storyline just kept on building with new information that kept you reading just to figure out how it would all unravel. I love the main character, she is just a strong heroine, which I really like. The secondary characters are really well written. I love the little misfits that were in Sebastian's house. ( )

Ah! I loved this book! Was iffy on the post-apocalyptic slant but was pleasantly surprised at how fresh the plot of this book was. Definitely a breath of fresh air into the YA series I've been reading lately.

Also, absolutely loved Ari's inner dialogue. I want to be BFFs with that badass. ( )

first read: April 13, 2013:
I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit. Put book 2 on hold at the library.

Plot: 4.5/5
This WOULD be a 5/5, but I’ve just read so many Medusa Greek myth retelling lately. We have Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs (which I actually read back in the summer of 2012) but then, not even a month ago, I read Touch of Death by Kelly HAshaway, and was like “Wow, Medusa’s getting popular, isn’t she?”
And then, I opened this one, and I was liking it. I was like “Well, I never expected THAT take on Athena” and I liked how everybody in New 2 was weird, and it was cool and I liked the atmosphere, and they said Medusa and I was like. “Wow. ANOTHER Medusa book?”
But, if I’m being entirely honest, this one had the best, most compelling plot of the three. I just happened to read it last.

Characters: 5/5
Protagonists:
Ari: I liked her voice. She was snarky and smart and self-depricating and it all blended into a character who was enjoyable to read.
Crank: First of all, what a name. I love how she was so cynical at twelve, and I just loved her.
Sebastian: he seemed hard at the beginning, uncompromising, but as we got to know him better, I just liked him more and more. How he takes care of Crank and the other kids, it’s just so touching.
Violet: I’m kind of predisposed to like people named Violet, because I love the name, but she was so cute, in a I’m-crazy kind of way, and I’m also predisposed to like kind of crazy people, so, yeah, I loved Vi.
Antagonists:
Athena: as I said in my plot analyzation, I was surprised by this new take on Athena. When Ari got kidnapped and the other prisoners were talking about the “Bitch” and how she’d kidnapped Ari because she was a “beauty” drawing attention away from “herself” I was expecting one of the goddesses that’s usually cast in a vain light, like Hera, Aphrodite or Persephone. But I was pleasantly surprised.
Josephine: I do love vampires. I like them better when they’re male, though, and Josephine was just plain old slimy.

The romance: 5/5
I just read Prince of Wolves before reading this one. In that one, we the two Protagonists fall in love in three days and I didn’t like it. In this one, they fell in love in two days. But it flowed better, made more sense, and seemed more natural. It also helped that I was THIS CLOSE to certain that Bastian was either drunk of high when they had their first kiss (He wasn’t. at least, I think he wasn’t. he might’ve been. I don’t know). But it probably helped a LOT that I thought that at a time. But also, it just… it flowed better. In Prince of Wolves, the instalurve was jerky and sudden and I didn’t buy it. In this one, there was attraction as a lead-in, it was smooth, and it happened in such a way that it didn’t feel like it came out of nowhere.

Overall grade: 14.5/15

( )

I loved how different this story was. Such an original. I'm iffy about the romance because it has the trademark YA I've just met you but I'm really into you already... I really like Ari's personality. She's pretty amazing - a rebel who I can't help root for. ( )