Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Heroines by Laura Shepperson

23 reviews

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

madelinemariegeorge's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I know Greek mythology is intense, but this retelling felt particularly dark, hopeless and a little flat. A painful read for me. Almost quit after the particularly gruesome scene, but decided to finish it, so I guess it had something that kept me reading. 
 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

nicoles_reading_corner's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Child death

oakotoks's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, and Sexual violence

Minor: Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder

poseidons_siren's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

While it isn't a "feminist tale" of the myth of Phaedra, i thought this was one of the most phenomenal books I have read all year and likely will read all year. 

The author is clearly very well-versed on mythology and the different versions, as well as ancient Greek society and culture. The proper pronunciation being used in the audiobook was such a breath of fresh air. The story of Phaedra was never a happy one and I was insanely impressed in the way Shepperson intertwined many different versions and points of view of the myths into the dialogue between characters. While, yes, she did have some creative freedoms with the retelling, what author doesn't? I enjoyed her take on the myth greatly.

This book made me feel so seen and validated, and when you suffer what Phaedra did (in the book, not the myth, because there is a lot of different versions there) you just want to know that you aren't alone and that some sort of justice is enacted, however positive or negative the ending was for you, that's really up to the reader, in my opinion. But without giving away anything else, I loved this book. I think that the low ratings aren't really doing it justice and when you look at it more through the lens of myth interpretation, it works so much better. 

TL;DR, read the myth, go in blind to the book, ancient feminine rage will ensue. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide and Sexual harassment

libraryofaeaea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

betsythegremlin's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

carriemae's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The author jumped from character to character a lot, making it difficult to follow. Over all, interesting take on this story.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexual harassment

andrwa's review against another edition

• Strong character development? No

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Rape

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