Reviews tagging 'War'

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

112 reviews

queerbookworm's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense 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

5.0

This book is so emotional and thought provoking. I'm writing this review just after finishing reading so I haven't really sat with it for long but I thought it was beautiful. A lot happens in this book, Ariadne is from a family with quite a few associated myths, and even though I have read all of them several times it felt brand new. 

This book focuses on two perspectives not often cared for in Greek mythology, that of humans and that of women. If you are a fan of these myths I can guarantee that this book will at least change how you think about the myths recounted in this book, but it may change how you view Greek mythology as a whole. I wholeheartedly recommend it. It is beautiful written and, if you're an audiobook listener, the narrator does a fantastic job of making you feel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, and Blood

Nothing that you wouldn't get out of a regular Greek mythology book

emoryjoy's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I would like to give the caveat that I was listening to this as an audiobook and had it at double speed by the end. This quite nearly was a DNF. 

I'm not sure if the story took liberties with the myth or was just much more in depth than I knew about. Either way, it absolutely nailed the Greek Tragedy vibe and was gruesome in that very specific way that myths often are. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

alli_e_oop's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and War

thalia16's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Rape, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content

reachmars's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

Even though it's just a straightforward retelling of the myths, it was very engaging. Especially as someone who didn't know a lot about this specific story going into it, I couldn't put it down. It's a story that makes it make sense that it would survive thousands of years of oral tradition.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Confinement, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, and War

bxnny's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Stalking and Death of parent

guppygusto's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and War

shadereads's review against another edition

It really wasn’t what I wanted out of a retelling of this myth. Ariadne feels like she has no agency, and everything seems to be told second hand. Phaedra has more agency than our main character, but I can’t help but wonder how much we’d miss out on page in her chapters from this point too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Body horror, Gore, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and War

avrija's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

1.75

The writing was quite alright, the characters interesting enough but I was searching for the plot all along. Like yes, there were scenes that could resemble plot somehow but there was no character motivation, no goal to reach. The characters just kinda float through what is happening, sometimes with motivation or a goal for a scene but not for long.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Suicide, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Grief, Murder, and War

isaaah's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Infidelity, Rape, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Incest, Slavery, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic