Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Daughters of Sparta by Claire Heywood

16 reviews

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

this wasn’t my favorite retelling, but i think it’s a very good intro to this story and retellings in general! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Death, Blood, Child abuse, Alcohol, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal death, and Domestic abuse

gabydoesgrowth's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Classism, Death, Genocide, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, and Infidelity

hayleemarie's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, and War

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Suicide

withlivjones's review

dark emotional sad 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

3.75

This is a fantastic retelling of the stories of two of the most vilified women in Greek mythology. This book focuses heavily on Helen and Klytemnestra’s childhood experiences and how the small differences in them result in drastic differences to their behaviour as adults. The author provides us with a level of depth to their characters that isn’t provided in the source material, making them so much more sympathetic than many other interpretations have. Of course they have their flaws and make their mistakes, but since we clearly understand their motivations we have no choice but to root for them regardless. The prose is excellently written and gives a clear voice to both women’s feelings. And the men? We love to hate most of them, as it should be. 

My one gripe with this book is that the pacing is rather inconsistent. The start is somewhat slow, and I am grateful for the time skips to ensure that the narrative doesn’t get boring. However, Helen’s “abduction” occurs over halfway through the book and the actual war doesn’t start until three quarters of the way through. From there, the pacing is almost breakneck as the author attempts to fit the nine-year Trojan war, as well as its aftermath, into under one hundred pages. I appreciate that retellings of the Trojan War, especially the events covered in the Iliad, have been done to death in other adaptations, but I feel that Helen’s perspective of more parts of the war, or even Klytemnestra’s reception of the news of certain events, could have enhanced the story. I was half expecting Kalchas to somehow make a return, either during the plague (which isn’t mentioned) or when the Trojan Horse arrives (which is alluded to in a single sentence), since he plays a significant role in the first half of the novel and then completely disappears after Iphigenia’s death. The book barely touches on the events of the Iliad and the Agamemnon and doesn’t even cover the Libation Bearers (leaving both Klytemnestra’s and Elektra’s arcs feeling somewhat unfinished), and I think that the author really could have taken advantage of the opportunity to discuss the motivations of Helen and Klytemnestra in these stories where their actions are so significant. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, War, Genocide, and Grief

Period-typical attitudes towards women

lanid's review against another edition

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Pregnancy, Slavery, Child death, Death, War, Abortion, Animal death, Blood, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence

mothman19's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Violence, War, and Blood

Moderate: Pedophilia, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Rape, and Death of parent

Minor: Confinement, Abortion, Abandonment, Body shaming, Medical trauma, and Infertility

annasbookreviews's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal death, Blood, and Sexism

owlliecat's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.75

A classic story retold from the perspective of the women. There were so many deeply relatable moments from the emotional struggles the women went through. Struggles with marriage, control, and motherhood.

I wouldn't say I loved any of the characters, most of them were flawed in their own way. But I did find myself feeling pity for them. 

Excellent retelling of the infamous Trojan War. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Child death

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape

Minor: Blood and Classism

indyjg's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A Greek mythology retelling of the Trojan War from the perspective of Klytemnestra and her sister, Helen. It was unique reading about the Trojan war from their perspective and their motivations/reactions to certain events.

Spoiler

I felt particularly sympathetic towards Klytemnestra after Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter under the guise of a wedding to Achilles.

Spoiler

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, and Blood

grisgrisgris's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Pedophilia

Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, and Cannibalism