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anxious_cowpoke's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
So, this wasn’t the feminine rage Odyssey retelling I was hoping for. This story follows Leto, one of twelve girls who have been sentenced to die by hanging in Ithaca to prevent Poseidon’s rage from devouring the island. Though she dies, she is resurrected on the shores of an island called Pandou, with a population of one, another girl named Melantho. The two of them are determined to break the curse that plagues Ithaca and save the next twelve girls from being sacrificed — but that includes killing Prince Mathias and sacrificing him to the sea, instead.
I wanted to like this book. The beginning was lovely, but the entire second act dragged horrifically. The third act picked up again, but the information presented right at the very end of the book should have been given to Leto at some point earlier. A lot of other convenient plot armor instances also occur — I’m pretty easy to please, and while at first I thought that it really was reading somewhat like an oral retelling of a hero, it just got to the point where everything happening was too convenient. There were also moments where characters acted out of character, and I felt as though that could have either been developed further or left out entirely.
In general, I liked the writing style immensely. It really did read a lot like a myth with the language it used. This alone would have saved the book from being knocked down into the 1 or 2 star range, but there’s something else I feel the need to address.
As someone who is bisexual, I found this book to be a little bit biphobic in its love triangle. It falls into the “cheating bisexual” trope, where Leto’s internal monologue while kissing Mathias begins to work out how she’ll hide it from Melantho. I also found Leto’s and Melantho’s relationship to be rather codependent-feeling as well, with Leto obsessing over Melantho as much as she did. It got to the point where I wasn’t rooting for the two of them like I wanted to be because it just felt unhealthy. Because of this, I can’t within good conscience really rate it much further above than a 2.5.
Finally, and this is a personal aside that doesn’t affect my review, and it contains a minor spoiler so proceed with caution. Truly, I came into this book assuming it would be feminine rage. I didn’t really sign up for a tragic ending. I wasn’t in the headspace to cry as much as I did at the ending and still go away from the book saying “that kind of fucking sucked at the end.” There is beauty in tragedy but that wasn’t it for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Biphobia
julia1205's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Biphobia, Rape, Suicide, Sexual assault, Murder, Infidelity, Death, and Body horror
bookishwondergoth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Listen, I hate to be dragging down this author’s Goodreads rating any further than it already is. It seems like the majority of 1 star reviews on here are review bombs without having read the book. I, on the other hand, have read the book, and there was so much wrong with it I don’t really know where to start.
1) Suspension of disbelief. There were so many instances where I was required, as a reader, to simply accept that something ridiculous had happened. Protagonist Leto makes a series of increasingly nonsensical decisions and then is never questioned or suspected by anyone around her. How did 2 women with no sailing experience crew a Grecian boat to Ithaca without raising eyebrows? How can a small city manage to sacrifice 12 girls every year for centuries without having significant impact on that town’s population?
2) Poorly researched. Apparently this book is set in Ancient Greece, but only the occasional name of an item of clothing or references to the Greek Gods and Odysseus tells you this.
3) Poorly executed. Why does one of the characters fall in love with the person who killed them? Why does everyone fall in love so quickly? All these things needed far more nuance and greater explanation.
4) Pacing. All over the place. The opening and ending are the best parts of this book. Everything else is a meandering, boring mess.
5) Cheating bisexual trope. This book is marketed as a sapphic book, but one of the characters is bi and in a love triangle with a man who she doesn’t tell her girlfriend about. I hate it here. I gave her the benefit of the doubt when it was all just still flirting, but nope, things didn’t stop there. This trope needs to die or at the very least directly addressed if you’re going to keep it in.
The beginning of the book was brutal and I really liked how things were resolved at the end of the book. I will at least give the book credit there where it’s due.
Overall, not the book for me. I read it as part of the Illumicrate March readalong and finished it only because I was enjoying the lively discussion so much. If you like juvenilely-written stories loosely inspired by Greek myths and packed full of YA tropes like love triangles, angry girls and rash choices, this is the book for you.
1) Suspension of disbelief. There were so many instances where I was required, as a reader, to simply accept that something ridiculous had happened. Protagonist Leto makes a series of increasingly nonsensical decisions and then is never questioned or suspected by anyone around her. How did 2 women with no sailing experience crew a Grecian boat to Ithaca without raising eyebrows? How can a small city manage to sacrifice 12 girls every year for centuries without having significant impact on that town’s population?
2) Poorly researched. Apparently this book is set in Ancient Greece, but only the occasional name of an item of clothing or references to the Greek Gods and Odysseus tells you this.
3) Poorly executed. Why does one of the characters fall in love with the person who killed them? Why does everyone fall in love so quickly? All these things needed far more nuance and greater explanation.
4) Pacing. All over the place. The opening and ending are the best parts of this book. Everything else is a meandering, boring mess.
5) Cheating bisexual trope. This book is marketed as a sapphic book, but one of the characters is bi and in a love triangle with a man who she doesn’t tell her girlfriend about. I hate it here. I gave her the benefit of the doubt when it was all just still flirting, but nope, things didn’t stop there. This trope needs to die or at the very least directly addressed if you’re going to keep it in.
The beginning of the book was brutal and I really liked how things were resolved at the end of the book. I will at least give the book credit there where it’s due.
Overall, not the book for me. I read it as part of the Illumicrate March readalong and finished it only because I was enjoying the lively discussion so much. If you like juvenilely-written stories loosely inspired by Greek myths and packed full of YA tropes like love triangles, angry girls and rash choices, this is the book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Violence, and Biphobia
Moderate: Rape, Body horror, and Sexual assault
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