The Gatekeeper's Challenge by Eva Pohler

Ten agonizing months have gone by since Therese faced off against her parents’ murderer at Mount Olympus, and she suspects Thanatos’s absence is meant to send her a message: go on with your life. She tries to return Pete’s affections even though her heart aches for the god of death, but when Than shows up to take her hamster’s soul, she becomes infuriated when he says he’s “been busy.” In cahoots with her new friend, who's gotten in with the Demon Druggies at school, Therese takes a drug that simulates a near-death experience, planning to tell Than off so she can have closure and move on, but things go very, very wrong.

Eventually she learns Than has been busy searching for a way to make her a god, and he’s found it, but it requires her to complete a set of impossible challenges designed by Hades, who hopes to see her fail.

 Pic and description are from Goodreads.com

My Review

     I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

   Mrs. Pohler has done it again!  While I did not like it quite as much as the first book, The Gatekeeper’s Challenge is fantastic.  This book continues right where The Gatekeeper’s Sons left off.  Than has been forced to return to the Underworld to resume his duties as death.  Therese remains on earth and feels abandoned by Than.  She ends up going to extreme lengths to try to see Than and the consequences are tragic.  As you read you get caught up in her struggle to be with the one person that she loves and long for love to conquer all.

   Therese is once again made to interact with the Gods and Goddesses and her life is subject to their whims. It is amazing to see how strong and committed Therese is to Than.  She is willing to go to extreme lengths to prove that she is able to be with Than forever and in the end she makes the ultimate sacrifice to be with him.   

    In addition to the mythological characters introduced in the first book there are also some new and interesting characters in this book.  The writing is so creatively done that all of these mythological characters fit naturally in to the story and you end up learning so much Greek mythology, but without feeling like you are being forced to read a boring textbook.  If I had found stories like this one when I was younger I would have loved learning about Greek mythology.

   This book has an absolutely crazy ending that will leave you shaking your head.  It is a very intense ending and is definitely not a scene for younger readers.  Once again Than and Therese show how determined they are to be together.  It is so frustrating that the Gods are so determined to keep them apart.  I cannot wait to read book three to figure out how Than and Therese will deal with the latest twist in their lives.   

Parents Guide:  There is an episode of drug use.  It is relevant to the story and is not done in a way that glorifies drugs but shows the dangers of their use.  There is also the death of a character that is tragic and may be upsetting to sensitive readers.  There is a scene in which Therese's dog, Clifford, is traumatically injured.  It is a bit heart wrenching and gory.  It may be a little tough for pet lovers to read.