Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Daughters of Sparta

Fuck, Agamemnon. Purr, Klytemnestra. I support women’s rights. But more importantly, I support women's wrongs.

I enjoyed this book a lot! It switches back and forth between the third person perspective of Helen and Klytemnestra in a way that wasn’t confusing and allows you to get a sense of what both sisters are going through as they navigate growing up into wifehood and motherhood. Really enjoyed!

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nevdite284's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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emryses's review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

3.0

Wasn’t particularly impressed or disappointed. I wished there was more depth and personality given to both of the female characters.

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adequateanja's review against another edition

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reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Another really good retelling of Greek mythology. I gobble those up like there‘s no tomorrow ngl
I really appreciate the trend on focusing on a female perspective. Also you know a book is good, when you know the story but are still curious how this author is gonna tell it. I still liked A thousand ships better, it hit me harder emotionally.

Fun story: even as a kid I didn’t understand what Elektras problem was and thought that Agamemnon had it comin‘… can you tell that I was raised by a single mother lol

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indyjg's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Follows the life of Klytemnesta and Helen, key figures from Greek mythology. However, in this retelling it highlights the struggles of women in a heavily patriarchal society, there is no such thing as winning or fulfilment for women, they are supposed to exist to serve men. This expectation is subverted especially by the ending. I was hesitant about another retelling but enjoyed this one more than I thought, despite some pacing issues! I especially enjoyed the juxtaposition between Klytemnesta as a 'dutiful daughter' and Helen who rebels against what is expected of her.

The ultimate contrast ending with Agamemnon's death at Klytemnestra's hand and Helen returning to Menelaus, fulfilling her duty.

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withlivjones's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

This is a fantastic retelling of the stories of two of the most vilified women in Greek mythology. This book focuses heavily on Helen and Klytemnestra’s childhood experiences and how the small differences in them result in drastic differences to their behaviour as adults. The author provides us with a level of depth to their characters that isn’t provided in the source material, making them so much more sympathetic than many other interpretations have. Of course they have their flaws and make their mistakes, but since we clearly understand their motivations we have no choice but to root for them regardless. The prose is excellently written and gives a clear voice to both women’s feelings. And the men? We love to hate most of them, as it should be.

My one gripe with this book is that the pacing is rather inconsistent. The start is somewhat slow, and I am grateful for the time skips to ensure that the narrative doesn’t get boring. However, Helen’s “abduction” occurs over halfway through the book and the actual war doesn’t start until three quarters of the way through. From there, the pacing is almost breakneck as the author attempts to fit the nine-year Trojan war, as well as its aftermath, into under one hundred pages. I appreciate that retellings of the Trojan War, especially the events covered in the Iliad, have been done to death in other adaptations, but I feel that Helen’s perspective of more parts of the war, or even Klytemnestra’s reception of the news of certain events, could have enhanced the story. I was half expecting Kalchas to somehow make a return, either during the plague (which isn’t mentioned) or when the Trojan Horse arrives (which is alluded to in a single sentence), since he plays a significant role in the first half of the novel and then completely disappears after Iphigenia’s death. The book barely touches on the events of the Iliad and the Agamemnon and doesn’t even cover the Libation Bearers (leaving both Klytemnestra’s and Elektra’s arcs feeling somewhat unfinished), and I think that the author really could have taken advantage of the opportunity to discuss the motivations of Helen and Klytemnestra in these stories where their actions are so significant.

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lanid's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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mothman19's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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