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caitlinemccann's review
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.dannie_xx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Giana Darling?? Girl?? Oh my sister really had to remind the girlies why she is the supreme! Her writing is truly like nothing else, like my sister is a poet! Like Shakespeare wishes he could have half of her talent I fear. She was definitely missed when she was away❤️🩹 Anyways this book was too good, like both the love story and female empowerment were really amazing🫂 I deffo wish some of those men should’ve been stoned to death, but that’s just me…🙏🏾Luna and Lex?? My queens, my girls!🫂🖤🩵
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Homophobia
_assiral's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
thebookishb's review
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
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
readbyjaimes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.0
ugh I loved them
Luna and Lex were everything, they lived in my head rent-free for the couple of days I was reading this. I want them and I want to be them, a true conundrum. I'm still so obsessed with them even after I've finished the book. The aesthetics of this book were everything. I loved the vibes and loved seeing these women love each other. I think I related a lot to Lex's struggles and found a lot of healing in her character.
The reason this isn't getting a higher rating is that I thought that the third-act conflict/breakup felt really forced and I couldn't really find it believable. Also, I'm confused why more wasn't said about Becket just like hey are we ignoring him?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
joanliz's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Rape, and Sexual assault
kelseythestrange's review
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
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