Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Pénélope, Reine d'Ithaque by Claire North

39 reviews

pedanther's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

garnethalo's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

I really liked this POV from Hera. To see everything she does in the shadows. The power women have they take in secret.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Violence and Grief

Minor: War

Takes place during the Odyssey but on Ithaca. Greek tragedy withthe usual warnings.

deianeiraann's review against another edition

adventurous fast-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Violence

Minor: Domestic abuse

ezio_sev's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Claire North’s writing reads like poetry. She tells a unique story through the eyes of Hera about Penelope, queen of Ithaca, as she tries to save her island and grapples with her fading relationship with her son.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

woolgathering_jane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring reflective relaxing 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

„Love is for fools and children.“
„And yet we live, Leaneira. We live.“

What a masterpiece of a book, wow. The prose was excellent, it reminded me of the Bridgerton narrator, but like hundred times better. It's witty, engaging and easy to read. The story was unfolding at a slower, but nevertheless enjoyable pace, and I loved how the narrator didn't tell us everything, how we were invited to think about the story and its characters and come to our own conclusions about some things. I adored the wide cast of woman characters, who were all masterfully written - complex, sometimes unlikeable and messy, driven, and so real. The only issue I had that there - ironically - too many male characters for me to keep track of, I kept forgetting who was who, lol. It also felt like just a glimpse into the lives of the gods and the mortals alike, like there is so much more to come - you can imagine my delight when I found out that this is the start of a series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

clauglezzz_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This is a veeery slow paced book but i didn't mind it as much as i thought i would. It tells the story of Penelope 18 years after Odysseus sails for Troy and how she holds up the fort with fascinating scheeming.

I didn't expect Hera to be the narrator and I ended up loving it a lot. Even if her comentary was a bit anachronistic at times it was witty and funny. Her character was very interesting and fleshed out, as well as the other female characters in the book. It does incredibly at showing Penelope's intelligence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

janey_bones's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad slow-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? No

3.75

I came to this looking for books similar to Song of Achilles & Greek Mythology, while it was a fun read and quite different to what I'm used to it was long. Way too long. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence

fronk10's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

A really interesting book of political intrigue and hidden agendas. I didn’t know a lot about Penelope going in, and it was refreshing to see a different aftermath of Tory and a parallel to the Odyssey. It got a little slow in the middle, but I loved the camaraderie between the women of Ithaca and the goddesses of Olympus. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, and Violence

sirenricobooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

kate001's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and War

Moderate: Violence