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alexis_baldwin92's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
acrosstheskyinstars's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. I'm the first person to love a feminist myth retelling. The point of view shifting so frequently hindered the book in my opinion. It made it hard for me to feel truly connected to any of the characters. Don't get me wrong. I love a Greek tragedy, which this certainly is and I knew that going in. But the tone of this book was very dark, so definitely be warned that the subject matter is heavy. I preferred the book Ariadne by Jennifer Saint and Ariadne Unraveled by Zenobia Neil. Both of those were 5 star reads for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
bubblegirl858's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. I have been on a Greek mythology retelling reading kick and I thought this book would be the perfect fit. It was not. Knowing the myth does not make this book any easier to read, in fact it only makes you want to scream when events play out exactly as you knew they would but now, NOW you can see the actual (imagined) impact they had on women in the story which only made me angrier. Every single character is unlikable. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Not a single redeeming quality to be found in any male character and not a single likeable character trait in any female character. One of the things that irked me the most about this book was that they CONSTANTLY reminded you how plain Phaedra was. Anytime a new character interacted with her: "Oh that is too bad she is so plain." "Well, she isn't a great beauty" and so on and so forth. That was the only way to describe her. I completely understand the constant reminders that she is a child, because she is, but the constant reminder of how ugly she is compared to other women was so off putting. For a proclaimed "feminist novel", I expected a lot better than what was given. Also, can we talk about how every Greek mythology retelling book is compared to Madeline Miller (just like this book was)? This book's writing was scores below Madeline Miller and just plain boring at times. The Night Chorus was interesting, and I might have enjoyed it if I listened to the audiobook. In writing, it looks super disjointed and is confusing a lot of times. The only redeeming aspect of the book was getting to see Phaedra take revenge on her rapist because let's be honest, any person who has been raped wishes they could deal out justice to the person who harmed them in the same fashion. Knowing that she was like 6-7 months pregnant when she did it makes it that much more of an accomplishment. That was the only high point of the book. Her death at her own hands doesn't even feel like her own choice at the end due to her being backed into that corner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Sexism, Slavery, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
maggiemercutio's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A dark feminist retelling of not only Thesus and the Minotaur but as well as Pheadra and Hippolytus. I can see what the author was shooting for but it did not quite hit for me and more or less just left me feeling empty. Too many povs, and with them being first person pov they all sounded too similar to the point where I would forget who's pov i was reading because reading wise they felt interchangeable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, and Sexual harassment
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Thank you so much to Alcove Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.
I actually did not realize this is considered an adult book until after I finished it. Based on the writing this 100% comes off as YA. Re-reading the description of the book, I definitely see why this would be considered adult, but I feel that the description gives false expectations for the book. Saying that Phaedra, "sparks an overdue reckoning" is misleading, as the very opposite happens...and then the book ends.
I was really looking forward to reading a story from Phaedra's POV, but instead we must also read the POV's of a multitude of other characters. Out of 56 chapters in this book, only 17 are Phaedra. There are characters that really added nothing to the story, and I found myself bored while waiting for it to return to Phaedra's point-of-view.
Speaking of the cast of the characters, everyone comes off as quite one-dimensional. We are only ever shown one aspect of their personality, so everytime that character pops up that is the only thing ever discussed about them. For Phaedra it's painting, Hippolytus is riding horses, Theseus is democracy, Medea her children, etc. We never really explore deeper as to who these characters are.
Unfortunately, I also found the plot to be lacking. Once Phaedra is in Athens she rarely leaves her rooms, so huge amounts of time pass by without anything happening. A good majority of the book is simply conversations that Phaedra has with a few characters in her bedroom. As the book revolves around one event, there isn't anything else that happens that is really of any interest.
Which brings me to the main topic of this story: rape. The description of this book makes it seem like the oppressed women are going to be heard, and perhaps get some justice, but that doesn't happen. Almost every page of this book talks about the brutalization of women. Every man is a rapist, and every woman has been raped. I was expecting some sort of uprising, or mass court hearing where women were going to tell their stories, be heard, and gain back some power for themselves. Yet Phaedra is the only one to speak. The other women remain nameless voices in the night.
With how this book ends I honestly do not understand the purpose of it. I get that this is a Greek tragedy, but with minimal plot and no character growth I am struggling to care. We simply stayed surface level on a topic that should have been delved into so much deeper. There were sparks in the beginning that led me to believe we would be heading for some serious and well needed discussions, but it just never happened.
Here are those quotes:
"It was not until ten summers later, when Theseus was to come to Crete, seeking power beyond what we could give him, that I was to learn the truth: that any man can throw words up into the air, and it is women who must pay when those words land."
"I know that history will judge me, but history is written by men."
Such promise ! Overall this is an unsatisfying story that really should have gone all in if it was going to deal with such a serious topic. I was looking for Phaedra's perspective in a feminist retelling, but instead got multiple perspectives on how large and annoying a table was.
I actually did not realize this is considered an adult book until after I finished it. Based on the writing this 100% comes off as YA. Re-reading the description of the book, I definitely see why this would be considered adult, but I feel that the description gives false expectations for the book. Saying that Phaedra, "sparks an overdue reckoning" is misleading, as the very opposite happens...and then the book ends.
I was really looking forward to reading a story from Phaedra's POV, but instead we must also read the POV's of a multitude of other characters. Out of 56 chapters in this book, only 17 are Phaedra. There are characters that really added nothing to the story, and I found myself bored while waiting for it to return to Phaedra's point-of-view.
Speaking of the cast of the characters, everyone comes off as quite one-dimensional. We are only ever shown one aspect of their personality, so everytime that character pops up that is the only thing ever discussed about them. For Phaedra it's painting, Hippolytus is riding horses, Theseus is democracy, Medea her children, etc. We never really explore deeper as to who these characters are.
Unfortunately, I also found the plot to be lacking. Once Phaedra is in Athens she rarely leaves her rooms, so huge amounts of time pass by without anything happening. A good majority of the book is simply conversations that Phaedra has with a few characters in her bedroom. As the book revolves around one event, there isn't anything else that happens that is really of any interest.
Which brings me to the main topic of this story: rape. The description of this book makes it seem like the oppressed women are going to be heard, and perhaps get some justice, but that doesn't happen. Almost every page of this book talks about the brutalization of women. Every man is a rapist, and every woman has been raped. I was expecting some sort of uprising, or mass court hearing where women were going to tell their stories, be heard, and gain back some power for themselves. Yet Phaedra is the only one to speak. The other women remain nameless voices in the night.
With how this book ends I honestly do not understand the purpose of it. I get that this is a Greek tragedy, but with minimal plot and no character growth I am struggling to care. We simply stayed surface level on a topic that should have been delved into so much deeper. There were sparks in the beginning that led me to believe we would be heading for some serious and well needed discussions, but it just never happened.
Here are those quotes:
"It was not until ten summers later, when Theseus was to come to Crete, seeking power beyond what we could give him, that I was to learn the truth: that any man can throw words up into the air, and it is women who must pay when those words land."
"I know that history will judge me, but history is written by men."
Such promise ! Overall this is an unsatisfying story that really should have gone all in if it was going to deal with such a serious topic. I was looking for Phaedra's perspective in a feminist retelling, but instead got multiple perspectives on how large and annoying a table was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Confinement, Incest, and Grief
Minor: Pedophilia, Slavery, Xenophobia, Vomit, Abortion, and War