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alli_e_oop's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and War
kayceeisbookish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
kermitluver69's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Gaslighting
clovetra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and War
hannah_hodges's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Rape
kfergy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Suicide, Pregnancy, and War
icy_queen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape
nicolewhopickedthisbook's review against another edition
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and War
leweylibrary's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
But seriously, I really enjoyed this one, especially the relationship between Ariadne and her sister. I do kind of wish it would've slowed down a bit once they were separated and given some more detail on what their lives were like, especially the sister. And my goodness what a depressing ending lol.
Quotes:
- What I did not know was that I had hit upon a truth of womanhood: however blameless a life we led, the passions and the greed of men could bring us to ruin, and there was nothing we could do. (12)
- No longer was my world one of brave heroes; I was learning all too swiftly the women's pain that throbbed unspoken through the tales of their feats. (13)
- I only knew Medusa as a monster. I had not thought she had ever been anything else. The stories of Perseus did not allow for a Medusa with a story of her own. (13)
- I would be Medusa, if it came to it, I resolved. If the gods held me accountable one day for the sins of someone else, if they came for me to punish a man's actions, I would not hide away like Pasiphae. I would wear that coronet of snakes, and the world would shrink from me instead. (14)
- What the gods liked was ferocity, savagery, the snarl and the bite and the fear. Always, always the fear, the naked edge of it behind the smoke, rising from the altars, the high note of it in the muttered prayers and praise we sent heavenward, the deep, primal taste of it when we raised the knife above the sacrificial offering.
Our fear. That was how the gods grew great. (17) - Theseus had not left me because I was at fault or because I did not matter. He had left because, to him, nothing mattered at all. Beyond the cold pursuit of his own fame. I would not let a man who knew the value of nothing. Make me doubt the value of myself. (179)
- "I want no gift that I give you to be so transient. And so I took it from your head, where it can only look a doll in comparison to your radiance, and I put it somewhere it will shine forever."
... In the eternity of night, I saw the brand new pinpricks of light that shone in a sweeping arc. The luster of my crown was now a fiery illumination against the darkness.
"Just as you will never lose me, you will never lose your crown," his arms wrapped tightly around me. "Your coronet will guide sailors to safety through the labyrinth of the treacherous seas. Women will look to it for a sign of comfort, a light in the darkness. Children will whisper their wishes to it before they close their eyes to dream. It will stay there, fast and true, for all of time." (187) - As If we hadn't learned from living with our shattered mother and her monstrous spawn that all the women can do in this world is take what she wants from it and crush those who would stand in her way before they break her into fragments like Pasiphae. (233)
- The price we paid for the resentment, the lust, and the greed of arrogant men was our pain, shining and bright like the blade of a newly honed knife. Dionysus had once seemed to me the best of them all, but I saw him now for what he was, no different from the mightiest of the gods. Or the basest of men. (299)
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Pregnancy
jaywb's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
From start to finish, this book focused on the women lost within mythology, delving into the stories of those forgotten in favour of the male heroes. I have found that with other books that explore the same themes as 'Ariadne', the female characters are still somehow lost in the man's story even though the focus is meant to be on them and their role in Greek mythos; this is not a problem in 'Ariadne'. The focus is constantly on Ariadne and the women surrounding her i.e. her mother and sister, as well as women she percieves as legends e.g. Medusa, with Thesues' part seeming very minimal in contrast to the concentration on illustrating Ariadne's role. The book asks many important questions, inspiring deep thought on women's roles throughout history and mythology.
I found the story to be extremely engaging (I read it from start to finish within a week), challenging, emotional and oftentimes quite dark. I thoroughly enjoyed Saint's writing style and will be picking up her other books ASAP!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal death and Toxic relationship
Minor: Incest