Power, Pettiness, and Double Standards

What if the Greek gods secretly controlled the modern world? That’s what we find out in Ungodly Rich by Katharine McGee. Julia has spent the last two years with the love of her life, Harry. They have been living together and having a good time until they run into one of Harry’s cousins. The cousin reveals that Harry is an Ellenes, a billionaire family that lives in New York. Harry wants to steer clear of his family, but Julia is eager to get to know them. However, Harry is holding onto a big secret. His real name is Ares, and his family is the Greek gods of myth. He knows the petty games they play, especially when messing with the lives of mortals. Will Ares be able to prevent Julia from becoming a pawn in his family’s hands?

The treatment of humans is intriguing in Ungodly Rich. In my article on Kusunoki’s Garden of the Gods, we see mutual respect between gods and humans. In this novel, there is no such thing. Gods like Hera, Hermes, and Aphrodite have no problem with using their powers on humans to gain what they most desire. The top 12 gods even have a conference every year to discuss the human affairs they want to intervene in for better or worse. What humans want is none of their concern. They only care about their own self-interests and think humans are beneath them.  

Considering their thoughts on humanity, it is pretty ironic that they have family dramas as humans do. Hera is peeved that Zeus not only cheats on her constantly, but is even more mad that she can’t leave him. Aphrodite is concerned that her husband married her only for her appearance. Aphrodite is also on thin ice with all the goddesses, not only because of her beauty, but also because of the affair that she had with her husband’s brother. Hermes is family, but none of the gods treat him as such. He is treated as a messenger boy instead of a member among the gods, and has to stop what he is trying to do to answer the whims of all the gods. Despite all the money and power they have, their insecurities prevent them from moving forward. 

Power is considered more important than anything in this world, and the gods exploit each other’s insecurities to gain it. They scheme and change alliances to get what they want. Hermes does this all the time by providing info to people in return for favors. He believes that his knowledge over other gods will help him gain more power. Aphrodite is worried about losing her power. All the goddesses hate her, including her mother-in-law, and she constantly schemes to make sure she is in the top inner circle among the gods. She remembers what it felt like to be a human without choices and strength, and she never wants to experience that lack of power again. 

One of the things we learn from Aphrodite is that there is an inequality between men and women even amongst the gods. Ares and Aphrodite have an affair. Ares runs away to escape the fallout, but Aphrodite stays behind and suffers the ire of everyone involved on her own. When Ares comes back, he is accepted back with open arms, but Aphrodite is still considered the black sheep. She and Ares were both involved in the affair, but she is the only one who gets the blame. Women are always held to a higher standard even when they are a goddess. 

Overall, I thought the story was great. It put a new spin on the Greek myths and made it entertaining by having several different points of view. The gods have their own drama, insecurities, and gender inequality as humans do. It makes you wonder if, in future books, the gods will realize that humans are not as inferior as they like to think. It is a good book to binge on a weekend. 

Thank you NetGalley and Crown Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.