anindistinctaccountant's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mehsi's review
3.0
I didn't like this one as much as I did the other books. :( I hope the other books will be good again, since I still like this series and the whole mythology part.
However, I didn't like our main girl this time. I loved Athena and I loved Persephone, but sorry, Aphrodite is just a conceited little bitchy girl who can't have it when others get the attention of a guy they like. Add to that, that the girl who gets the attention is one who doesn't care about it and only participated in the make-over because you pushed it to her.
Most of the book is about Aphrodite being a whiny, spoiled and overly jealous girl. Instead of how she was in the previous books (also a bit like this, but not that overly done) she is totally different. Jealous of her friends, being rude to guys and I hated her attitude to the one boy who liked her. She should have said no to him way faster instead of going along with it. I really hate it when girls are this shallow. Oh dear, this boy he is: (insert list of things not cool about a guy). I also didn't like how she kept drooling over Ares. Didn't we already know that he was a bully, mean to the core?
And why can't she trust her friends when they clearly say that they aren't doing anything on purpose? Or that it is not what it seems?
Also that part with the dress? Seriously? You are overreacting because of those 2 things? You can also just tell your friend about it nicely instead of aggressively.
Luckily there is still enough mythology and some fun stuff so I am still rating it a 3 stars, however if Aphrodite had been a bit nicer I would have rated it higher.
Of course the book ends with an all well, end well. Which frustrated me a bit, but I guess it was to be expected from a children's book. They tend to do this kind of stuff.
I did love the payback the main girls did. I hope Ares and also Medusa will learn a lesson in things. Though I doubt it, since we are talking about 2 very bad guys.
All in all, this is one book I was happy about when I finished. I do hope the next book about Artemis will be much better, and otherwise I will just learn to skip certain characters.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
However, I didn't like our main girl this time. I loved Athena and I loved Persephone, but sorry, Aphrodite is just a conceited little bitchy girl who can't have it when others get the attention of a guy they like. Add to that, that the girl who gets the attention is one who doesn't care about it and only participated in the make-over because you pushed it to her.
Most of the book is about Aphrodite being a whiny, spoiled and overly jealous girl. Instead of how she was in the previous books (also a bit like this, but not that overly done) she is totally different. Jealous of her friends, being rude to guys and I hated her attitude to the one boy who liked her. She should have said no to him way faster instead of going along with it. I really hate it when girls are this shallow. Oh dear, this boy he is: (insert list of things not cool about a guy). I also didn't like how she kept drooling over Ares. Didn't we already know that he was a bully, mean to the core?
And why can't she trust her friends when they clearly say that they aren't doing anything on purpose? Or that it is not what it seems?
Also that part with the dress? Seriously? You are overreacting because of those 2 things? You can also just tell your friend about it nicely instead of aggressively.
Luckily there is still enough mythology and some fun stuff so I am still rating it a 3 stars, however if Aphrodite had been a bit nicer I would have rated it higher.
Of course the book ends with an all well, end well. Which frustrated me a bit, but I guess it was to be expected from a children's book. They tend to do this kind of stuff.
I did love the payback the main girls did. I hope Ares and also Medusa will learn a lesson in things. Though I doubt it, since we are talking about 2 very bad guys.
All in all, this is one book I was happy about when I finished. I do hope the next book about Artemis will be much better, and otherwise I will just learn to skip certain characters.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
amy_inthecatacombs's review
5.0
Aphrodite the Beauty is the third book in the Goddess Girls series by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams.
Aphrodite constantly gets attention from godboys and becomes sick of it. When it seems that Athena hints that she would like it if they paid attention to her, Aphrodite decides to give Athena a makeover. The makeover goes so well that Aphrodite’s crush, Ares, is paying attention to Athena while flat out ignoring Aphrodite. Ares is a bit of a bully, but Aphrodite can’t help from being hurt…by Ares and Athena. While she doesn’t get attention from Ares or most of the godboys anymore, Hephaestus is constantly trying to vie for Aphrodite by offering to do things for her and by giving her gifts. Will Aphrodite regain Ares’ attention? Does Hephaestus even stand a chance?
I have loved all the books in the series so far. I felt so sorry for Hephaestus. I liked that his character was given flaws like the Hephaestus from Greek mythology. I was rooting for him the moment it talked about him. He balances Aphrodite because she is always focusing on the superficiality of relationships. I hope there is more of him in the future. I liked this one more than the first but I don’t know if I like it more than the second. Once again, another hit for me.
Aphrodite constantly gets attention from godboys and becomes sick of it. When it seems that Athena hints that she would like it if they paid attention to her, Aphrodite decides to give Athena a makeover. The makeover goes so well that Aphrodite’s crush, Ares, is paying attention to Athena while flat out ignoring Aphrodite. Ares is a bit of a bully, but Aphrodite can’t help from being hurt…by Ares and Athena. While she doesn’t get attention from Ares or most of the godboys anymore, Hephaestus is constantly trying to vie for Aphrodite by offering to do things for her and by giving her gifts. Will Aphrodite regain Ares’ attention? Does Hephaestus even stand a chance?
I have loved all the books in the series so far. I felt so sorry for Hephaestus. I liked that his character was given flaws like the Hephaestus from Greek mythology. I was rooting for him the moment it talked about him. He balances Aphrodite because she is always focusing on the superficiality of relationships. I hope there is more of him in the future. I liked this one more than the first but I don’t know if I like it more than the second. Once again, another hit for me.
haia_929's review
1.0
This is a trimmed down version of my review, to view the full review visit The Book Ramble.
I was not a fan of this book at all. The focus of this book is Aphrodite, which means there's quite a bit of focus on love and beauty. It's not as though that's terrible, it was of course expected, but I think it was done in the wrong way. Throughout this book it becomes clear that the characters value beauty in women over anything else, which means that Athena and Artemis especially are treated as less than others because they are more interested in non-beauty/love related topics. I also felt the focus on dating and beauty was little weird considering the age of the characters. This kind of focus on beauty is really a negative focus to take with young girls.
The characterization was okay in this one. I didn't find anything too off about it, but I just felt like there was a lot more that could have been done with the characters. Aphrodite still loves Ares despite him being a terrible person. I also felt that the characters, time and again, do things that should really be discouraged to other people and its treated as normal. In the first book they turned Medusa into stone and did nothing about it and in this book they resort to bullying and spreading rumors to fix their problems. That's just a bad message to send.
I didn't find anything about this book sweet or cute as I had with the others. I think overall it sent a really bad message that beauty and love are more important than other qualities, even if they made some action to fix this it came across too strongly throughout.
I was not a fan of this book at all. The focus of this book is Aphrodite, which means there's quite a bit of focus on love and beauty. It's not as though that's terrible, it was of course expected, but I think it was done in the wrong way. Throughout this book it becomes clear that the characters value beauty in women over anything else, which means that Athena and Artemis especially are treated as less than others because they are more interested in non-beauty/love related topics. I also felt the focus on dating and beauty was little weird considering the age of the characters. This kind of focus on beauty is really a negative focus to take with young girls.
The characterization was okay in this one. I didn't find anything too off about it, but I just felt like there was a lot more that could have been done with the characters. Aphrodite still loves Ares despite him being a terrible person. I also felt that the characters, time and again, do things that should really be discouraged to other people and its treated as normal. In the first book they turned Medusa into stone and did nothing about it and in this book they resort to bullying and spreading rumors to fix their problems. That's just a bad message to send.
I didn't find anything about this book sweet or cute as I had with the others. I think overall it sent a really bad message that beauty and love are more important than other qualities, even if they made some action to fix this it came across too strongly throughout.
sydsprang's review
5.0
I remember loving this series as a kid! You can always count me in for a good Greek mythology retelling
hayley_cummings's review
4.0
Ok, I think these books just keep getting better. This my second time reading this book and I still enjoyed it just as much. Aphrodite isn’t my favorite character, but as a younger kid this was always my favorite because of the love triangle/romantic focus/makeover theme we get in this one and so nostalgia is making me love this one. This one definitely feels a bit older than the other two, but still aimed a young readers. Overall, I had a blast with this book and I’d highly recommend!
sophia_she1's review
5.0
doesn't aphrodite end up with hephaestus in mythology? i wish they could have followed that storyline rather than make them just friends
lberestecki's review
3.0
I'm a sucker for fairytale/mythology retellings, but I didn't love this one. These authors have a similar series with fairytale characters that I think is much better than this one. Aphrodite has also never been my favorite goddess, so that might have affected my enjoyment of the story some. I did like that they stayed true to Athena and Artemis's characters, even though I initially didn't think they were going to.
caitcosentino's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
monarchbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced