Characters ★★★☆☆
Setting ★★★☆☆
Writing Style ★★★☆☆
The more things change…
Five years ago, the gods of ancient mythology awoke all around the world.
The more things stay the same…
This morning, Kyra Locke is late for school because of an argument with her father.
Seventeen-year-old Kyra lives in a transformed Washington, D.C., dominated by the embassies of divine pantheons and watched over by the mysterious Society of the Sun that governs mankind’s relations with the gods. But when rebellious Kyra encounters two trickster gods on her way home, one offering a threat and the other a warning, it turns out her life isn't what it seems. She escapes with the aid of Osborne "Oz" Spencer, a young Society field operative, only to discover that her scholar father has disappeared with a dangerous Egyptian relic. The Society needs the item back, and they aren’t interested in her protests that she knows nothing about it or her father's secrets.
Now Kyra must depend on her wits and the suspect help of scary Sumerian gods, her estranged oracle mother, and, of course, Oz--whose first allegiance is to the Society. She has no choice if she’s going to recover the missing relic and save her father. And if she doesn't? Well, that may just mean the end of the world as she knows it.
REVIEW
I wasn't too sure about this in the first 20%. I had very high hopes and was initially underwhelmed. This might have been down to a book hangover I was experiencing, because once I got past 40% I really started to enjoy this. By the halfway point it got awesome and I couldn't stop reading it.
The Woken Gods puts a new spin on urban fantasy with a world not inhabited by creatures of the night or demons but with Gods - of all pantheons. I loved the collective of Gods, and that Gwenda Bond wrote about Gods of all religions as opposed to only Greek or Egyptian Gods. The conflict and relationship between the different Gods was something new and enjoyable.
As for characters, Kyra is a little difficult to connect with but ultimately likeable and the supporting characters are even more so. I found myself draw more to those characters than Kyra, as she was a little bit too different from myself and I couldn't completely put myself in her place. I loved Justin, however, and fell hard for Oz.
The setting itself is, I imagine, more terrifying if you have visited the city The Woken Gods is set in. I loved the contrast of ancient Gods and modern city, and the unique little ways that it had been affected by the Gods' awakening. The carriages and lamps for example, I adored. It gave the book a total otherworldly feel, while still keeping it quite real and grounded in D.C.
The individual Gods were my most favourite thing about this book. Anzu is, for a fearsome God, a total adorable sweetheart and I came away from this wanting my own personal Guard (that, however, may end in me getting my head bitten off.) Enki was a compelling enigma. Legba was someone I wanted to smack in the face very hard. They all had their own charm and made this book something very different from other Mythology-inspired books I have read.
In short: a good book with an exciting world, fast pace, and high stakes that I would recommend to all who enjoy Mythology.
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