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wrenosaurus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence
withlivjones's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
This is a really interesting take on the story of Helen before she becomes Helen of Troy, set in a vivid recreation of Ancient Greece that is rooted in archaeological research. The author takes the classic trope of a character trying everything in their power to escape a prophecy but their actions inadvertently leading to that fate occurring, and reinvents it with Helen playing an active role in her own story.
There are some nice moments in this book. Carosella strings together a load of different myths in a cohesive way, and many of these myths are the more niche ones that the average person won’t be familiar with. Sure, they have probably heard of Theseus and the Minotaur, but do they know about Phaedra? My favourite scene is the sparring match between Theseus and Pirithous and the rest of the princes and nobles who visited Sparta, where we see cameos from several familiar faces from Greek myth.
The main issue I found with this book is just how young Helen is. She is just fourteen for most of the book, and Carosella even notes that she aged her up from where she would have been around seven in the source material. I feel like the author forgets that Helen is a fourteen year old girl, because despite the many, many traumatic things that happen to her (it’s literally relentless, the poor girl suffers one thing after another) she still behaves with an awful lot of maturity. It also means that the age gap between her and Theseus (who is forty eight!) is massive, and the romanticisation of their relationship, no matter how normal it might have been back then, really doesn’t sit right with me. It made it very difficult to root for them as a couple.
The cliffhanger ending sets the book up well for its sequel, but I’m not sure that I particularly want to continue with this series.
There are some nice moments in this book. Carosella strings together a load of different myths in a cohesive way, and many of these myths are the more niche ones that the average person won’t be familiar with. Sure, they have probably heard of Theseus and the Minotaur, but do they know about Phaedra? My favourite scene is the sparring match between Theseus and Pirithous and the rest of the princes and nobles who visited Sparta, where we see cameos from several familiar faces from Greek myth.
The main issue I found with this book is just how young Helen is. She is just fourteen for most of the book, and Carosella even notes that she aged her up from where she would have been around seven in the source material. I feel like the author forgets that Helen is a fourteen year old girl, because despite the many, many traumatic things that happen to her (it’s literally relentless, the poor girl suffers one thing after another) she still behaves with an awful lot of maturity. It also means that the age gap between her and Theseus (who is forty eight!) is massive, and the romanticisation of their relationship, no matter how normal it might have been back then, really doesn’t sit right with me. It made it very difficult to root for them as a couple.
The cliffhanger ending sets the book up well for its sequel, but I’m not sure that I particularly want to continue with this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, and Confinement
Period-typical attitudes towards womencharredwinter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
You know a story based in Greek mythology is good when the gods make you want to throw the book in a fire.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
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