THE GODDESS TEST

Propelled by its high concept—ancient Greek deities, reality TV plot—this romance-series debut starts promisingly but soon sinks into a queasy blend of genres with cardboard characters and interchangeable deities. Manhattanite Kate Winters, 18, has relocated to Eden, Mich., where her ailing mother wants to live out her last days in her hometown. At her new school, Kate encounters two instantly besotted guys and one jealous mean girl, Ava, who abruptly dies in a freak accident on the way to a party she’s manipulated Kate into attending. Enter the mysterious Henry, aka Hades, who offers to restore Ava to life if Kate will take his ex-wife Persephone’s place. Having inexplicably bonded with vapid Ava, Kate agrees, although it means spending six months a year in the underworld. Her light sentence is carried out in a halfway house between worlds, where she enjoys dressing up, being waited on, taking Greek Deities 101 and falling for the tortured Henry. But it’s not all guys and parties; Kate must pass seven pantheon-administered “tests” in order to win the prize (Henry and immortality); if she loses, Henry will fade. That plus agonizing over whether he loves her occupy her abundant spare time. Better takes on this familiar paradigm abound. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)