Lovestruck

Title: Lovestruck
Author: Kate Watson
Genre: Fiction/ Fantasy/ YA/ Greek Mythology
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 3/5

Favourite Quote: ‘Maybe I am thanatotic. I certainly seem to have a death wish, blaspheming like this. But herein lies the problem: my parents may have given me my immortal body, but the Fates wove the thread of my existence. They gave me my personality, the core of who I am. How can they blast me when they made me this way in the first place? Everything I do is ultimately their responsibility. We’re all just pawns in their twisted game. It infuriates me.’

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.*

Kali is probably the only greek goddess on Olympus that hates her job. The morties would define her role as ‘cupid’ a naked baby with wings. Damn the Romans for starting that myth. It couldn’t be further from the truth as her role as an Erote matchmaker. Kali would do anything to change her course, but unfortunately only the Oracle and the Fates have any say in her future. Nothing seems to be going her way, so when she accidentally sticks herself with her arrow, and falls madly in love with a mortal boy she’s assigned to match, enough is enough. Kali cannot get a reversal on her mismatch this time since she’s immortal, there are rules after all, which means she has to live the next 70 mortie years on earth with her mortal boy Ben to stop from going crazy. The only way to change this mistake is to confront the Fates herself. And she’s the only goddess willing to try.

*SPOILERS ALERT*
I really liked Lovestruck, it’s the first book I’ve read about greek gods on Olympus and it was a refreshing take. A greek goddess, a descendant of love, who has no idea what love really is, who is determined to change her fate no matter what the cost. I felt like I needed to brush up on my greek mythology before really getting into this story which made it feel more appealing. The author has done well with her facts of greek gods in order to bring this story together. The characters were well written, the settings worked well and the magical aspects weren’t overpowering for a greek mythology fantasy.

I really enjoyed the characters and seeing them slowly develop around our main protagonist. Kali was a great female lead, a young naive goddess who believes she can fight the impossible and defy what the Fates have in store for her. She cannot deny that she has incredible skill with a bow and arrow, being top of her class has to amount for something, but it’s a constant reminder of her job as an Erote matchmaker when she’d do anything to become a muse instead like her best friend, Hector. Defying the Fates is the only way to change her path and destiny on Olympus. Being a greek goddess definitely has it’s perks, but she can’t help but feel comfortable dressing up as a mortie on Earth when she’s on assignments.
When she subconsciously sticks herself with her arrow in-front of her little mortal crush, the world crashes on it’s head when she’s forced into a love she believes is pure and natural, except it’s anything but. The only other person that’s been know to stick themselves with an arrow is Hector – who then suddenly fell in love with her when they were children, which is why she cannot be with him, what is real and what is the power of the arrow? When Hector starts spending time with another goddess, the jealousy she feels is unexpected due to her situation with the mortal boy. It’s fascinating to see a goddess of love experience what love truly is beyond the power of the arrow.

‘But to Hector, I am his torment. I am the one person he loves more than anything. The one person he can never have. The one match I could never, ever allow. Because it isn’t real.’ 

Hector is a lovely love interest in this story, he stuck himself with an arrow accidentally when he was 11 and immediately fell for Kali. His love has never wavered, as he truly believes in the arrows power of love. He knows he can never have the same feelings for anyone else, whether Kali will have him or not, which makes him completely smitten and adorable, keeping the role as her supportive best friend.

The additional characters on Olympus are great, I particularly liked Teresa the granddaughter of Hades himself who is allowed to live on Olympus as a reaper. Everyone around her is terrified of her and her connection to the underworld, not that she’s bothered by it, she enjoys being feared by others. It’s surprising when she suddenly befriends Kali and Deya to help change fate when she has nothing to gain from it. She’s badass and isn’t afraid of anything, as you can well imagine with a family like hers. When she goes back to the underworld to help Kali find a mortal soul, Kali gets to see what the underworld is truly like from Teresa’s perspective – and it’s terrifying.

‘Teresa looks over at Cerberus. “You got that guy?” Cerberus growls. With a single bound, he jumps to the second soul and catches him in the teeth of one mouth. The other two mouths start shredding the now shrieking soul. The sound shakes and pierces me like I’m being stabbed. Then it stops. Cerberus has bitten through the soul, and it bleeds out, the same thick, oozy black of the river. Teresa bends down to make eye contact with the first soul. “You going back down, or do I have to send you there?” The soul’s eyes flash from Cerberus to Teresa. But a mean glint is all the answer Teresa needs. She stands up. With a shake of her head, she reaches her foot back. And kicks the soul’s head. Off. 
I can’t breathe. I can’t blink. I can’t believe what I just saw. I was wrong not to be afraid of the underworld. Very, very wrong.’ 

Overall I enjoyed this story very much and rate it 3/5.

Goodreads Review:
Sixteen-year-old cupid-in-training Kali is in an Olympus-sized mountain of trouble. Rule number one in arrow-toting matchmaking: don’t stick yourself. But accidents happen, and Kali instantly falls hard for her indie rock, bass-playing target, Benicio. 
The God of Love is going to kill her. Even if he is her dad.
Being the daughter of Eros isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. For one thing, a girl can get jaded when her parents have the most beautiful and fatalistic love story in history. For another, immortality royally sucks when the Oracle condemns you to eternity in the wrong profession. Do the Gods care that Kali wants to ditch the love stuff and be a muse? 
Nope.
To reclaim her heart and her destiny, Kali is left with no choice but to defy the Gods, tempt the Fates, date the mortal love-of-her-life, and hope she doesn’t lose her best friend, Hector, in the process.