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katrina_ingram's review against another edition
I picked up this book expecting a feminist retelling of a Greek myth or story but it’s not what it is. If I’d read a couple of the reviews I wouldn’t have even picked this up, I see the author admitted to not having read the odyssey before and as a historian it bothers me that you would set a book in a world without doing research. While I understand that authors take inspiration for their stories from many places, and could have been inspired by Percy Jackson or other retellings already in circulation I can’t fathom why you would write a book and market it as a retelling without having read the original. But while this is annoying it’s more poor advertising than anything else because it’s not a retelling.
When reading the likes of Circe, song of Achilles, and Ariadne I enjoyed recognising the story but seeing it from a different viewpoint, and the elements I didn’t recognise I could find with a quick google search. When I was trying to find elements of this story I was coming up empty, yes the 12 hanged maids was in the Odyssey but the rest seems to be an invention by the author. So what I read wasn’t so far a retelling but a fantasy set in Ancient Greece and inspired by a small section of the odyssey. It also doesn’t seem to be feminist, it’s told from the perspective of 2 of the hanged women and we find out that as punishment for killing the 12 maids ithica has to … kill more women? Like what? I don’t know whether the author came up with this herself or maybe she’s just not explained it well enough but it makes no sense to me
The writing was flowery and fitting with the style of book and the narration was great but it wasn’t enough to keep me invested
When reading the likes of Circe, song of Achilles, and Ariadne I enjoyed recognising the story but seeing it from a different viewpoint, and the elements I didn’t recognise I could find with a quick google search. When I was trying to find elements of this story I was coming up empty, yes the 12 hanged maids was in the Odyssey but the rest seems to be an invention by the author. So what I read wasn’t so far a retelling but a fantasy set in Ancient Greece and inspired by a small section of the odyssey. It also doesn’t seem to be feminist, it’s told from the perspective of 2 of the hanged women and we find out that as punishment for killing the 12 maids ithica has to … kill more women? Like what? I don’t know whether the author came up with this herself or maybe she’s just not explained it well enough but it makes no sense to me
The writing was flowery and fitting with the style of book and the narration was great but it wasn’t enough to keep me invested
spacepanda120's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
journeyc's review against another edition
4.0
4.25 ⭐️
What a golden book honestly. There’s no better way to describe it but everything and everyone in this book were absolutely bewitching.
Leto and Melantho’s steady relationship was so comforting and sweet. I just fell in love with the love they had for each other. It was so gentle and little, but had the biggest impact on the whole novel and especially the ending.
I also found Leto and Mathias relationship to be quite sweet I really loved Mathias as a character I thought he was such a pure little character and was really hoping they could spare him.
The plot was superior. The setting was so vivid and beautiful, and the characters all worked so well with each other, the ending is extremely sad but beautifully done. Overall reading this was the best decision I’ve made in a while.
What a golden book honestly. There’s no better way to describe it but everything and everyone in this book were absolutely bewitching.
Leto and Melantho’s steady relationship was so comforting and sweet. I just fell in love with the love they had for each other. It was so gentle and little, but had the biggest impact on the whole novel and especially the ending.
I also found Leto and Mathias relationship to be quite sweet I really loved Mathias as a character I thought he was such a pure little character and was really hoping they could spare him.
The plot was superior. The setting was so vivid and beautiful, and the characters all worked so well with each other, the ending is extremely sad but beautifully done. Overall reading this was the best decision I’ve made in a while.
eva_reads24's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.25
jose_kg's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
*** This review contains a few light spoilers ***
I really enjoyed the premise and the first half of this book, pretty much everything up to Leto and Melantho arriving in Ithaca. To me the second half of the book felt overly drawn out and I'm not really sure how I felt about the love triangle, I definitely didn't love it, I think it might have been a stronger story without it or if Leto had seemed genuinely torn between the two.
I also personally really dislike the lack of communication trope, especially in a multiple POV narrative which leads to the reader knowing that if they did just talk everything would be resolved pretty quickly. This added to the second half of the book feeling like it dragged as you knew that once they actually got round to properly talking the issue would be resolved. Likewise their 'research' felt kind of pointless, it was clear that there wasn't anything in the library and then they just went to a couple of potentially interesting locations but didn't do any kind of actual looking around when they got there. Then suddenly deciding to go to the cellars felt like the author not knowing how to get them to a location she wanted them in.
I did enjoy the first half though, I enjoyed the descriptions of Melantho's island and how her relationship with Leto grew and developed. The language used was beautiful throughout the novel and the voices of the three POV characters were strong and independent of one another. I enjoyed the plot and the various aspects of the curse, though at times it's execution was a little clunky. I also enjoyed the fact that we got a bit of insight into Mathias' mother and why she behaved as she did, I would have liked a bit more of that or Leto bringing some of that insight to Mathias before the end of the novel.
I listened to this book on audio and I really enjoyed having three narrators portraying the three POV characters, it made it easy to know who's chapter you were in. I also thought the voice actors were very good at portraying emotion and weren't afraid to slow down or speed up to portray their characters fully. It very much felt like the book was being acted rather than just read, which I think works incredibly well within the oral and stage based Ancient Greek traditions that this novel uses as it's source.
Overall it was a enjoyable read and, though sections were a bit long, I'm glad to have read the whole story.
Thank you to Harper Collins UK Audio and Sarah Underwood for the free audiobook, it was a great audio performance.
I really enjoyed the premise and the first half of this book, pretty much everything up to Leto and Melantho arriving in Ithaca. To me the second half of the book felt overly drawn out and I'm not really sure how I felt about the love triangle, I definitely didn't love it, I think it might have been a stronger story without it or if Leto had seemed genuinely torn between the two.
I also personally really dislike the lack of communication trope, especially in a multiple POV narrative which leads to the reader knowing that if they did just talk everything would be resolved pretty quickly. This added to the second half of the book feeling like it dragged as you knew that once they actually got round to properly talking the issue would be resolved. Likewise their 'research' felt kind of pointless, it was clear that there wasn't anything in the library and then they just went to a couple of potentially interesting locations but didn't do any kind of actual looking around when they got there. Then suddenly deciding to go to the cellars felt like the author not knowing how to get them to a location she wanted them in.
I did enjoy the first half though, I enjoyed the descriptions of Melantho's island and how her relationship with Leto grew and developed. The language used was beautiful throughout the novel and the voices of the three POV characters were strong and independent of one another. I enjoyed the plot and the various aspects of the curse, though at times it's execution was a little clunky. I also enjoyed the fact that we got a bit of insight into Mathias' mother and why she behaved as she did, I would have liked a bit more of that or Leto bringing some of that insight to Mathias before the end of the novel.
I listened to this book on audio and I really enjoyed having three narrators portraying the three POV characters, it made it easy to know who's chapter you were in. I also thought the voice actors were very good at portraying emotion and weren't afraid to slow down or speed up to portray their characters fully. It very much felt like the book was being acted rather than just read, which I think works incredibly well within the oral and stage based Ancient Greek traditions that this novel uses as it's source.
Overall it was a enjoyable read and, though sections were a bit long, I'm glad to have read the whole story.
Thank you to Harper Collins UK Audio and Sarah Underwood for the free audiobook, it was a great audio performance.
ruthiep11's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
dekaj's review against another edition
I just can't.
I picked this up thinking it would be like Circe or The Witch's Heart. Oh boy, was I in for a disappointment. But that's on me. Yet again, I failed to heed the YA tag.
(no rating given because I should have known better)
The author did an interview that has since been taken down, but the internt keeps everything. I think everyone that wants to read this book should first read this interview. This book might be just what you are looking for, but for me, it highlighted exactly why I did not like it. https://web.archive.org/web/20220615031808/https://felixonline.co.uk/issue/1785/books/an-interview-with-sarah-underwood-bioengineering-graduate-and-soon-to-be-published-author
"I read a lot of the stories within The Odyssey, because they’re in things like Percy Jackson, and those little books of mythology you get as a kid, but I actually started and finished writing without sitting down and reading the whole thing." —Underwood 2021
If you have not read the Odyssey, how can you let the promoters call this a "Sapphic, feminist retelling of the Odyssey"??
"If you aren’t on top of trends in writing style and content, you lose relevancy." —Underwood 2021
It shows. Oh God, it shows.
I picked this up thinking it would be like Circe or The Witch's Heart. Oh boy, was I in for a disappointment. But that's on me. Yet again, I failed to heed the YA tag.
(no rating given because I should have known better)
The author did an interview that has since been taken down, but the internt keeps everything. I think everyone that wants to read this book should first read this interview. This book might be just what you are looking for, but for me, it highlighted exactly why I did not like it. https://web.archive.org/web/20220615031808/https://felixonline.co.uk/issue/1785/books/an-interview-with-sarah-underwood-bioengineering-graduate-and-soon-to-be-published-author
"I read a lot of the stories within The Odyssey, because they’re in things like Percy Jackson, and those little books of mythology you get as a kid, but I actually started and finished writing without sitting down and reading the whole thing." —Underwood 2021
If you have not read the Odyssey, how can you let the promoters call this a "Sapphic, feminist retelling of the Odyssey"??
"If you aren’t on top of trends in writing style and content, you lose relevancy." —Underwood 2021
It shows. Oh God, it shows.
khardan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hxpeless_ly's review against another edition
3.0
Look. The book itself I liked if I looked past the whole "British woman who never bothered to read the source material she wrote the book based on" part. Unfortunately, that puts the book down to 3 stars though, and thats generous. It didn't feel right reading it, and doing more research into the book as well as looking at reviews, I now understand why. Still, the prose is nice and I admittedly liked the sapphic romance, but if it was another book that was a bit more researched and thought out I would like it better.
thechosenchun's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-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
4.75