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crazytourists_books's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It took me a while to like it, but I found it to be a descent approach to the ancient myth of Penelopy and the suitors.
My main problem, mainly at the beginning was the constant whining of the narrator (I won't say who it was) and later on by the endless descriptions. I liked the choice of narrator but I was a bit disappointed tho find them rather restrained and frightened not how I had them on my mind; defying and fearless. I also enjoyed this side of Penelopy, the dutiful, loyal wife trope of the ancient myths is rather boring. I could do without the feministic notions, but they sell, right? It has a promising end and I will probably read the second book when it's out.
Again, it should have been shorter, at least a hundred pages shorter...
My main problem, mainly at the beginning was the constant whining of the narrator (I won't say who it was) and later on by the endless descriptions. I liked the choice of narrator but I was a bit disappointed tho find them rather restrained and frightened not how I had them on my mind; defying and fearless. I also enjoyed this side of Penelopy, the dutiful, loyal wife trope of the ancient myths is rather boring. I could do without the feministic notions, but they sell, right? It has a promising end and I will probably read the second book when it's out.
Again, it should have been shorter, at least a hundred pages shorter...
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and War
madamenovelist's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
nataliii's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- 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
2.5
This book had glimmers of success in style/tone and touching emotional or reflective moments, but overall fell short of an engaging story and narrative style for me. I found it inconsistent throughout, starting out highly, nearly annoyingly, lyrical (said as one who enjoys lyrical prose) alongside strange dry snark that felt out of place coupled with the lyrical surroundings of the first 1/4. I did enjoy Hera as the narrator, though agree that it did create a lot of distance between the reader and main characters - I wanted to be closer to Penelope’s and Telemachus’s thoughts and emotions.
Appreciated the potential and ambition, but this didn’t really pan out for me and I likely won’t read the next installment.
Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook for an eARC of this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Slavery
stephbakerbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
We’re all familiar with Odysseus’s story (maybe?), but this book gives us a new perspective—the story of Penelope during those long years of waiting for Odysseus to return.
I first read the Odyssey (and a lot of Greek mythology) back in college, and while it wasn’t my favorite one (that was the Aeneid) I did really enjoy the story. Then I read Circe a few years ago and fell in love with that perspective to the story, so I was intrigued to read this one from Penelope’s POV.
The story is actually told by the goddess Hera, though it’s focused on what happens to Penelope. I actually really liked this though, as Hera had a unique perspective and sees more than Penelope sees (being a god and all obviously). However, I do think it caused there to be distance from the other characters. For instance, it’s supposed to be Penelope’s story but I didn’t really know what she was thinking or feeling in certain moments. I didn’t feel that I knew her as a reader, so it was hard to feel any development in her as a character.
There’s not much that’s new to the story—if you’re familiar with the Odyssey, you’ll recognize the main plot points. Nothing is here to surprise you. What is new is the focus—on female characters that are often overlooked in Greek mythology, and I did appreciate that.
There are a lot of characters in this story and it was easy to get bogged down in them, especially because the plot moves very slowly. I’m not sure that audio was the best route for this story; it was easy to get distracted from.
So basically a bit of a mixed bag with this one. I liked it but didn’t love it, and it was hard not to compare it to Circe. It was really well written and had a lot of good lines in it.
Thanks to Libro.fm, Hachette Audio, and the author for my ALC!
I first read the Odyssey (and a lot of Greek mythology) back in college, and while it wasn’t my favorite one (that was the Aeneid) I did really enjoy the story. Then I read Circe a few years ago and fell in love with that perspective to the story, so I was intrigued to read this one from Penelope’s POV.
The story is actually told by the goddess Hera, though it’s focused on what happens to Penelope. I actually really liked this though, as Hera had a unique perspective and sees more than Penelope sees (being a god and all obviously). However, I do think it caused there to be distance from the other characters. For instance, it’s supposed to be Penelope’s story but I didn’t really know what she was thinking or feeling in certain moments. I didn’t feel that I knew her as a reader, so it was hard to feel any development in her as a character.
There’s not much that’s new to the story—if you’re familiar with the Odyssey, you’ll recognize the main plot points. Nothing is here to surprise you. What is new is the focus—on female characters that are often overlooked in Greek mythology, and I did appreciate that.
There are a lot of characters in this story and it was easy to get bogged down in them, especially because the plot moves very slowly. I’m not sure that audio was the best route for this story; it was easy to get distracted from.
So basically a bit of a mixed bag with this one. I liked it but didn’t love it, and it was hard not to compare it to Circe. It was really well written and had a lot of good lines in it.
Thanks to Libro.fm, Hachette Audio, and the author for my ALC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
anapthine's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
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