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mattiedancer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Writing: 4⭐️/5
The writing in this story was clear and poetic. At times, I really did love the beauty of the words and how the story was unravelling carefully. I think Underwood writes very cleanly and epically, which served this Greek-myth-inspired story well. The shifting character POVs served the story well, though I do wish each character had a more defined voice during their own section.
Characters: 3⭐️/5
The characters in the story were clear and relatively strong. Or, at least, the main characters – our narrators – were. The side characters felt much more wishy-washy, their personalities left unexplored and undeveloped until the climax of the story, which then felt far too late. Despite our three main characters being clear in their characteristics, they also didn’t develop much throughout the story. The plot took the centrefold of the story, and the characters simply continued along their paths.
Plot: 3.25⭐️/5
I did enjoy reading the story, as the plot felt clear and decided. However, at many points, the plot’s pacing felt incredibly off. I wondered at the stretched out timeline between Menthalo and Leto’s training to the condensed timeline of them returning to Ithaca and crashing into Mathias’ life. Since the timeline felt rushed, many of the plot points felt rushed. Personally, while I enjoyed both of the love stories in the novel, I wondered whether they could have been handled a bit better to make it feel more respectful. I love a good poly relationship, but – while Menthalo and Mathias ended up respecting each other – one was left in the dark about the other, and Menthalo herself never seemed to be settled with the fact that Leto also loved Mathias.
Who Should Read This Book?
Fans of Greek Mythology looking for something inspired by it; readers looking for a tragedy that isn’t hopeless; those who like LGBTQIA stories;
Content Warnings?
Blood, death, hangings, drowning, murder, injury, injury detail, fire, rape, sexual assault, sexual content, sacrifices, misogyny, sexism, gaslighting, abuse, suicide, suicidal thoughts, depression, classism,
Post-Reading Rating: 3.25⭐️/5
I liked the ending, but I wanted a bit more from the lead up into it.
Final Rating: 3.25⭐️/5 (3.38)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
pau0704's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
This book is like dumpster on fire. Very entertaining to watch at first because of the chaos, then it's just meh.
Fist of all there's absolutely nothing about Greek mythology on this book, just the false advertising claiming it to be a retelling of the Odyssey (which is absolutely not). I came across it after I read song of Achilles and was looking for something similar, I may add, nothing similar to it.
Overall, the book makes no sense, the plot makes no sense, the "curse" makes no sense, the solution makes no sense. It's very frustrating to see the whole thing developing under no foundations for anything.
Also, the main character's very infuriating, she's an assh*le to both secondary characters, idk if the author was trying to make her morally grey, but God, I hated her and how she used the two people who cared about her because she could control her hormones. Ver very bad LGBTQ representation (or bi representation). Felt like I wasted my time reading this, also, the book is not hard to read but took me so long to get through it.
Fist of all there's absolutely nothing about Greek mythology on this book, just the false advertising claiming it to be a retelling of the Odyssey (which is absolutely not). I came across it after I read song of Achilles and was looking for something similar, I may add, nothing similar to it.
Overall, the book makes no sense, the plot makes no sense, the "curse" makes no sense, the solution makes no sense. It's very frustrating to see the whole thing developing under no foundations for anything.
Also, the main character's very infuriating, she's an assh*le to both secondary characters, idk if the author was trying to make her morally grey, but God, I hated her and how she used the two people who cared about her because she could control her hormones. Ver very bad LGBTQ representation (or bi representation). Felt like I wasted my time reading this, also, the book is not hard to read but took me so long to get through it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Murder
hanne_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Gods, what a slog. Had one early moment with properly horrific use of familiar imagery (the feet, what else?), and then… kinda fell apart. This could’ve been sweet and lush, but tried to do too much with too little and was narratively all over the place. It’s a reimagining of how the Odys— okay, it’s not really doing that rigorously but it’s an intensely personal exploration of— nope, it’s one of those “monarchic inheritance acts like a reality show competition” books— but don’t worry, this YA love triangle’s *bisexual* and even drifting toward polyam— oh wait, now we’re doing the senselessly tragic nature of capital-F Fate— whoops, have two sudden twists… and it’s over. Exhausting.
I think the author needed to pick one or two things to really commit to: the worldbuilding as an extension of The Odyssey, the consistency of the magic and plot elements she wanted to include, Leto and Melantho’s first-person voices (which started out refreshing and distinct but soon blended together), the three protagonists’ relationships, or the political/governing elements. Instead, the story rushes past each in turn in service of the others, and the only reliably well-developed element is actually… the violence? If you for some reason want to read a lot of detail about people, mostly children, being disturbingly murdered and assaulted, this is the book for you.
I think the author needed to pick one or two things to really commit to: the worldbuilding as an extension of The Odyssey, the consistency of the magic and plot elements she wanted to include, Leto and Melantho’s first-person voices (which started out refreshing and distinct but soon blended together), the three protagonists’ relationships, or the political/governing elements. Instead, the story rushes past each in turn in service of the others, and the only reliably well-developed element is actually… the violence? If you for some reason want to read a lot of detail about people, mostly children, being disturbingly murdered and assaulted, this is the book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism