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caitlinemccann's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed the dark academic setting and the overall twist on the Medusa mythos. If anything, I just wanted more of this--the pacing in particular felt rushed and I would have loved to see the tension stretched out. But this was a quick and compelling read and I'm excited to try more from Giana Darling in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Torture, Gaslighting, Bullying, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Grief, and Hate crime
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, and Infidelity
Minor: Vomit
The author warns in the beginning that the on-page sexual violence are explicitly in Chapter 2, which she says you can skip. It is referenced throughout the book, but less graphically. So if you need to skip that chapter, you can.thebookishb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Biphobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism
Minor: Toxic friendship, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
colorcrystals's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Violence, Sexism, and Homophobia
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
dyanimae's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a good sapphic, dark academia with a Medusa based plot-line. I could’ve done without all of the Harry Potter references and the comparison of feminine taste to the taste of salted pasta water, though. 🤷🏻♀️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, and Homophobia
kelseythestrange's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Edit: Re-writing review for clarity. I initially wrote it after throwing down my Kindle in a fit of rage and disgust.
DNF at 33%. I don’t usually write reviews but man, this book is so full of cringe. I was excited for a Sapphic DA Medusa re-telling but this one was disappointing and was a disservice to Medusa herself.
Spoilers ahead.
I do not think I will finish this book, though I may return to it out of sheer curiosity.
First, let's talk about Lex. I didn't like her from the start as she was a total NLOG. She's different from the other girls as she's more interested in the classics than partying and getting drunk, which nobody has ever heard of before! You can tell just how different she is when she's describing herself in her Athena Halloween costume.
'Regardless of feeling sexy or not, I felt strong and right as I passed the other costume-clad students in the commons. Amid a sea of sexy nurses, Targaryens, and Star Wars characters, I felt uniquely me.' Sigh.
She then has a very uncomfortable discussion with her homophobic professor where they throw classical quotes back and forth at each other for way too long, I guess to build up their short-lived relationship, but it was painful to read. It was almost as bad as Donna Tartt's overuse of Latin in The Secret History.
'You've never had a man treat you right, have you, sweet Lex?' CRINGE
Second, the way the author describes Lex's body made me uncomfortable. I could have sworn the author was male before checking and it reads like some man's WLW fantasy, especially from the professor's POV which would have made sense if it was in his POV, but it wasn't.
'Her breasts were obvious beneath her conservatively buttoned black blouse, but they would have been obvious in anything she wore, heavy, but high with youth.'
As someone who is LGBTQ+, Lex does not read like a lesbian at all, but what a man thinks a lesbian would talk and act like. And the way she acted after the incident? Disgusting. You would think she would be more careful with her actions after what she went through, but instead, she forces herself onto Luna, who is straight (though Lex says she isn't), SA's her, and exposes herself to her all in a cheap act of revenge against Luna's mother, the president of the school.
'Lex,' she breathed, and it was there, both the protest and the longing for more. 'Don't.'
'Don't what? Don't stop? I won't,' I promised darkly, tossing the hem of my short skirt up and over my belly to reveal my underwear-clad groin to her hungry gaze.'
Hello? 911?? This is SA! Luna has a boyfriend, which she makes clear to Lex, but that doesn't stop Lex from getting off in front of Luna without consent. I don't understand how someone who was SA'd could put someone else in this position knowing how they may feel afterward. Even if Luna seemed 'hungry,' she clearly said stop.
Lex also forces herself onto Luna in the library, without consent, and kisses her also knowing then that she has a boyfriend, all for the sake of revenge.
I was on Lex's side before and during the incident, and I was hoping she would come back and seek her revenge cleverly, but from what it seems where I left off, she doesn't.
Briefly talking about Luna, I liked her. Sure, she had a few NLOG qualities too, but she had to be attractive to Lex, I guess. She genuinely feels herself falling for Lex and starts to question her sexuality, which would have been a great subject to write about in this book but it's lost in Lex's gross advances. Luna loves her boyfriend and doesn't want to cheat on him but finds herself torn between loving her boyfriend and having feelings for Lex. I felt bad for her and may never know what happens later since I probably won't finish the book. The one thing that made me uncomfortable when describing Luna was when the author put her in a Slytherin sweater. I don't understand why the author would mention a TERF when (attempting) to write an LGBTQ+ fantasy. Make it make sense.
Now, about the 'Man Eaters,' Lex's group with her sisters where they torture boys on campus who have assaulted women. Again, I stopped at 33% so I was only able to read about their first act of revenge, but it didn't make sense to me at all. I understand wanting to call out boys on campus who have SA'd before, but the whole idea was messy and anyone with a brain would have known it was Lex who did it. Lex, the girl who was SA'd, came back to school wearing all black with snake tattoos and chose a 'disguise' of all-black clothing and a snake mask. Yet she got away with it because she changed her voice. I wasn't convinced at all. When the girl who was SA'd by their victim decided to finally say something, it was Luna and her team that comforted her, not Lex, but were supposed to feel good about it anyway.
Other things that didn't make sense to me:
If Mina (the president of the school and Luna's mother) knew Lex and her foster family for a long time and knew her character, why would she not believe Lex when she admitted she was SA'd? Because she loves her work so much?
If Lex knew Mina and her family, how has she never met Luna before?
Why did Lex choose Luna as her 'tool' for revenge when she, herself went through something so traumatic where she felt the same?
Why is Lex, a lesbian, so insistent that Luna isn't straight? LGBTQ+ people get told all the time that we aren't what we say we are, and it's frustrating. I don't see why she would put someone else through that.
TikTok??
Why did the author mention a TERF in a (supposedly) LGBTQ+ book?!
Also, salted pasta water.
DNF at 33%. I don’t usually write reviews but man, this book is so full of cringe. I was excited for a Sapphic DA Medusa re-telling but this one was disappointing and was a disservice to Medusa herself.
Spoilers ahead.
First, let's talk about Lex. I didn't like her from the start as she was a total NLOG. She's different from the other girls as she's more interested in the classics than partying and getting drunk, which nobody has ever heard of before! You can tell just how different she is when she's describing herself in her Athena Halloween costume.
'Regardless of feeling sexy or not, I felt strong and right as I passed the other costume-clad students in the commons. Amid a sea of sexy nurses, Targaryens, and Star Wars characters, I felt uniquely me.' Sigh.
She then has a very uncomfortable discussion with her homophobic professor where they throw classical quotes back and forth at each other for way too long, I guess to build up their short-lived relationship, but it was painful to read. It was almost as bad as Donna Tartt's overuse of Latin in The Secret History.
'You've never had a man treat you right, have you, sweet Lex?' CRINGE
Second, the way the author describes Lex's body made me uncomfortable. I could have sworn the author was male before checking and it reads like some man's WLW fantasy, especially from the professor's POV which would have made sense if it was in his POV, but it wasn't.
'Her breasts were obvious beneath her conservatively buttoned black blouse, but they would have been obvious in anything she wore, heavy, but high with youth.'
As someone who is LGBTQ+, Lex does not read like a lesbian at all, but what a man thinks a lesbian would talk and act like. And the way she acted after the incident? Disgusting. You would think she would be more careful with her actions after what she went through, but instead, she forces herself onto Luna, who is straight (though Lex says she isn't), SA's her, and exposes herself to her all in a cheap act of revenge against Luna's mother, the president of the school.
'Lex,' she breathed, and it was there, both the protest and the longing for more. 'Don't.'
'Don't what? Don't stop? I won't,' I promised darkly, tossing the hem of my short skirt up and over my belly to reveal my underwear-clad groin to her hungry gaze.'
Hello? 911?? This is SA! Luna has a boyfriend, which she makes clear to Lex, but that doesn't stop Lex from getting off in front of Luna without consent. I don't understand how someone who was SA'd could put someone else in this position knowing how they may feel afterward. Even if Luna seemed 'hungry,' she clearly said stop.
Lex also forces herself onto Luna in the library, without consent, and kisses her also knowing then that she has a boyfriend, all for the sake of revenge.
I was on Lex's side before and during the incident, and I was hoping she would come back and seek her revenge cleverly, but from what it seems where I left off, she doesn't.
Briefly talking about Luna, I liked her. Sure, she had a few NLOG qualities too, but she had to be attractive to Lex, I guess. She genuinely feels herself falling for Lex and starts to question her sexuality, which would have been a great subject to write about in this book but it's lost in Lex's gross advances. Luna loves her boyfriend and doesn't want to cheat on him but finds herself torn between loving her boyfriend and having feelings for Lex. I felt bad for her and may never know what happens later since I probably won't finish the book. The one thing that made me uncomfortable when describing Luna was when the author put her in a Slytherin sweater. I don't understand why the author would mention a TERF when (attempting) to write an LGBTQ+ fantasy. Make it make sense.
Now, about the 'Man Eaters,' Lex's group with her sisters where they torture boys on campus who have assaulted women. Again, I stopped at 33% so I was only able to read about their first act of revenge, but it didn't make sense to me at all. I understand wanting to call out boys on campus who have SA'd before, but the whole idea was messy and anyone with a brain would have known it was Lex who did it. Lex, the girl who was SA'd, came back to school wearing all black with snake tattoos and chose a 'disguise' of all-black clothing and a snake mask. Yet she got away with it because she changed her voice. I wasn't convinced at all. When the girl who was SA'd by their victim decided to finally say something, it was Luna and her team that comforted her, not Lex, but were supposed to feel good about it anyway.
Other things that didn't make sense to me:
If Mina (the president of the school and Luna's mother) knew Lex and her foster family for a long time and knew her character, why would she not believe Lex when she admitted she was SA'd? Because she loves her work so much?
If Lex knew Mina and her family, how has she never met Luna before?
Why did Lex choose Luna as her 'tool' for revenge when she, herself went through something so traumatic where she felt the same?
Why is Lex, a lesbian, so insistent that Luna isn't straight? LGBTQ+ people get told all the time that we aren't what we say we are, and it's frustrating. I don't see why she would put someone else through that.
TikTok??
Why did the author mention a TERF in a (supposedly) LGBTQ+ book?!
Also, salted pasta water.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Vomit
emcdonald's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape
Minor: Child abuse
queerafictionado's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Serpentine Valentine was poetry in prose. Words strung together that paint pictures in your mind and dance around in your soul. Captivating. Alluring. It will take you on a journey through the whole range of human emotions. It will rip your heart out, smash it to pieces, and string it back together. Broken. Bruised. Changed. Just like the characters on the pages. I have so many highlights in my ebook - sometimes entire paragraphs! I devoured this book, just like the twin snakes in the ouroboros devouring themselves.
This story wrenched itself in my heart and gave me words for feelings I hadn’t yet been able to name for myself. And Lex and Luna’s bond - the way the light and darkness in them commingled and pulled pieces of themselves out that might have otherwise remained hidden in the shadows of darkness or been blinded by the light of other’s expectations. Their story was tragic and beautiful and raw. And I found bits of myself in each of them. But especially Lex as she struggled to see anything good as real, instead waiting for the ticking time bomb to explode in her face. As she grappled with the darkness inside her and what it meant about who she was and her worthiness for love. As she clawed her way out of that darkness and slowly let the light that was Luna seep into her weary soul.
This was a narrative about feminism, and female empowerment. But also female rage. And the lengths women identified people must go to in order to be heard and seen and taken seriously. About why silence is so often the answer in a world that vilifies victims and parades them around as pariahs, while the real monsters wander free- their crimes covered, their reputations protected. It was powerful and heart wrenching and it will burn the fires of rage within your soul. Because the truth is…this might be a fictional story, but it is rife with truth and there are far too many real stories like this in our world.
I wanted to be able to give this book 5 stars. But there were just some parts that were problematic for me. The Harry Potter references for one. I would be engrossed in some part of the story and then an HP reference would jar me and pull me out of my reverie. They just weren’t needed, and I wish people (especially writers of queer books) would stop referencing the works of a blatant transphobe. The other big one was the whole premise of Lex using Luna as a pawn in her revenge while simultaneously claiming to be protecting women. It was contradictory to everything she stood for. I think the story could have been just as powerful if that part of the story had been written differently. There were some other cringy things but they were minor and didn’t impact my feelings on the book as a whole in the same way these two things did.
TRIGGER WARNINGS! Please read the trigger warnings. This book is a Medusa retelling and as such involves rape and sexual assault. There are some on page (not a lot of graphic details) and some off page accounts, but it is also an overarching theme of the whole book. Read with caution and check the other trigger warnings as well.
🏳️🌈Rep: Lesbian FMC, Bi FMC, queer and POC SCs
📝Tropes/Themes: Dark Academia, Medusa Retelling, Revenge, Found Family, Coming Out, Sapphic Romance, Feminism, Female Empowerment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Grief, Misogyny, Cursing, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Biphobia, Vomit, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Murder and Death
feyresarchgf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
❝ the Gorgan sisters were not ugly, and our anger didn’t taint us, it empowered us. ❞
Initial Thoughts
i LOVED this book, especially in terms of how it dealt with sexual assault. LEX GORGON is such a strong female character, i love her to bits. she’s a survivor and i am so glad she got her revenge AND her justice. as for LUNA, i see parts of myself in and that hurts. she deserves the absolute world. both her and LEX were relatable female characters and i hope one day i find my own LEX.
❝ i’d been born to love women. ❞
Characters
the relationship between LEX and her sisters was something i enjoyed. the fact that part two immediately began on them working together … it warmed my heart. the way this developed into the Man Eaters warmed my heart, a group of females coming together to support each other!
regarding MINA, reading the first couple of chapters, felt like a dagger to the heart. as the reader, having to reconcile the MINA she had been to LEX prior to the book, and the MINA she became after LEX was sexually assaulted, it filled me with rage. and yet … it got WORSE. my heart absolutely breaks for both LEX, LUNA and all the other girls that her actions affected. the fact that she wasn’t even punished for her role ??? did not sit right with me.
as for PIERCE, i liked him and i was praying that he would not let me down. his acceptance and friendship with LUNA was what made me like him. my only thing with him is the fact that when his friends made tasteless jokes about LEX and laughed at it, he didn't do shit and thereafter called him 'his boys'. nor do we see his reaction/how he deals with the fact that his friend SA'd his ex-girlfriend/friend, LUNA, and physically assaulted her.
❝ everyone can relate to a sad story. there are degrees of tragedy, obviously, but every person living knows some sort of unhappiness. ❞
Final Thoughts
the way that Giana Darling dared to give me SUCH a good sapphic romance, one that gave me pretty much everything i wanted AND with quotes that affected me so much ??? she’s a genius.
my only downside (that prevented this book from being given a 5-star) is that i wish we got to explore LUNA’s assault in the same depth that we did LEX’s. it seemed like it was pushed to the side and only acknowledged when the plot called for it before being forgotten.
all in all, LEX and LUNA are everything to me, and their story is so fucking beautiful i could sob. what i would give for them to meet KING and CRESS from the author’s ‘Fallen Men’ series 😩
I received an ARC from ValentinePR in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexual violence and Homophobia
Minor: Abandonment
lindslikesbooks's review against another edition
This story is so worth telling. It delivers retribution for so many women who don't get it in real life.
What to expect:
- dark academia
- sapphic romance
- revenge
- femme rage
Plot:
Lex came to Acheron U from humble beginnings. After coming out to her parents and being kicked out, she was getting closer to her dream of studying under brilliant literary minds. But the people she trusted betrayed her. And Lex is not going to fade quietly. She wants revenge for what was done to her. And part of her revenge plan includes seducing her enemy's daughter...
The trauma and femme rage in this book spoke to my soul. I did not know how much I needed this story. So powerful.
CW: graphic descriptions of SA and attempted SA, bullying, sexual content
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
What to expect:
- dark academia
- sapphic romance
- revenge
- femme rage
Plot:
Lex came to Acheron U from humble beginnings. After coming out to her parents and being kicked out, she was getting closer to her dream of studying under brilliant literary minds. But the people she trusted betrayed her. And Lex is not going to fade quietly. She wants revenge for what was done to her. And part of her revenge plan includes seducing her enemy's daughter...
The trauma and femme rage in this book spoke to my soul. I did not know how much I needed this story. So powerful.
CW: graphic descriptions of SA and attempted SA, bullying, sexual content
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
chaptersinthecoop's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Domestic abuse and Gaslighting
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