The Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond

8/10

I just finished Gwenda Bond’s Woken Gods. Yes, it’s about gods and yes, they have awakened!

I’m talking all the gods you could possibly imagine, especially the ones whose names you cannot pronounce and the ones you did not even know existed. Now try to imagine the chaos!

Being a fan of Rick Riordan I naturally felt more than partial to a book about gods, and in a contemporary setting no less.

Beware spoilers!

At the centre of this god-infested modern Washington DC is Kyra Locke, a sass-talking girl with – in the words of Emma Roberts in Wild Child – “A severe attitude no problem!” Now while this may stem from the fact that Kyra is somewhat an abandoned child, she is terribly bratty and around the final arc of the story kills a character and maintains a laissez-faire attitude about it which left me profoundly disturbed. Yes, she did confess to suffering over it, but come on!

While the story itself is rich in description, and the idea of so many gods, complete with their powers and short tempers, is one with enormous potential plus Bond writes a mean tale keeping her head above water messing with all that mythology and politics to boot, but I find her characters somewhat one-dimensional with the exception of Justin Pearson, the nerd sidekick to the heroine’s leading, eh, man and Bronson who makes a good antagonist with his dark and light mixed in just right. There were more of them, but I hardly remember them and I am assuming there would be a second book. I’d like to know more about privileged nerd-man Justin please!

Another thing I enjoyed was the dynamic in the relationship between Kyra and her father. Call me a ‘daddy’s girl’ but there were times I was moved to tears by the frailty of their bond which was too strong that it succumbed to misunderstandings but is one of unbreakable loyalty just because of that strength.

The political aspect is not boring at all - in case you are wondering - and it actually gives the story the lightning fast pace you may have been hearing about. Read the blurb below then go get a copy for yourselves.

From GwendaBond.com

Five years ago, the gods of ancient mythology awoke around the world.

This morning, Kyra Locke is late for school.

Seventeen-year-old Kyra lives in a transformed Washington, D.C., home to the embassies of divine pantheons and the mysterious Society of the Sun. But when rebellious Kyra encounters two trickster gods on her way back from school, 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, an intriguing Society field operative, only to discover that her scholar father has disappeared with a dangerous relic. The Society needs it, and they don’t care that she knows nothing about her father's secrets.