Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

84 reviews

mlander's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Blood, and Murder

audreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

All my homies hate Agamemnon!

Book is beautifully written. It’s a challenge to write this time period in a way that’s still easy to consume but this book definitely accomplishes that. It’s also super difficult for me to keep up with a lot of characters, but the descriptions and callbacks were so good that I rarely had to look back at the character list (which is also helpful)! I do feel like some scenes and details could be cut. While the book wasn’t especially long, it took me longer to get through than I expected. Overall I would recommend this to anyone interested in Greek mythology and/or female rage, with the caveat that you should definitely read the content warnings first.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, and War

Minor: Bullying, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Classism

I listed a ton of content warnings, yes, but most of them overlap for the same scenes and passages. The book is pretty honest about the treatment of people in this time, particularly women, so there are a lot of traumatic topics. I struggled with the amount of SA occurrences, but not so much that the book wasn’t worth it. Much of the book is dark, but moves on quickly and the end leaves you with some spark of retribution.

bookdragonkatie's review

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Incest

sarah_speaks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

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

Minor: Incest, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and War

wyrmbergsabrina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Death of parent

elya_moss93's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Blood, Grief, and Pregnancy

emerentina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and War

acorny's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad slow-paced

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

2.5

As a fan of retellings, this one was my least favorite so far. There were too many diversions from the main plot without focusing enough on one storyline. It made it difficult to connect and understand characters. I know there were many moments when I should have felt suspense but I found the story dragging. I kept reading hoping I would find it more engaging. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Rape, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War

ifeltlikereading's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-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? No

4.0

If you love a good Greek re-telling with gut wrenching emotions, this is the book for you. I COULD NOT put this down. Devoured this under 48hrs and my mind was reeling. Fair warning- this book, while beautifully articulated, has the capacity to trigger emotions. While this depicts how wonderful the storyteller is with their craft, its always nice to know ahead 🫡

I got angry in her stead, cried when she did and burned with the feeling to get revenge when all was lost. I was so engrossed in this story- but while I was there, I started to be grateful to be born in an era where I am able to take a stand for my life. There was a lot of suffering and reading about them is not for the faint of hearts. I became well acquainted with the Spartans, Greeks, Trojans and everyone from Achilles to Helen of Troy. Casati has masterfully weaved Clytemnestra’s legacy in this book and I’d recommend this with all my heart. I love women who don’t back down, and never give up. 😎 Definitive ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 read for me 🧡

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and War

oakotoks's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

this book is the embodiment of female rage- the anger i felt alongside the protagonist, the sadness all of it was so good. such an excellent greek myth retelling 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Blood, and Murder