A review by berenikeasteria
For the Winner by Emily Hauser

4.0

Where the heck was this level of quality of writing in For the Most Beautiful? I felt like I just read a book by an entirely different author!

For the Most Beautiful read like a Young Adult book, with juvenile vocabulary, angsty protagonists, insipid dialogue, and – despite the author’s stated aim to let Briseis and Krisayis break free from the stories of well-known male protagonists such as Achilles, Hektor, and Odysseus – they utterly failed to do so.

For the Winner is orders more sophisticated and engaging. The writing is more complex, and whilst still not breath-taking, the jump in quality makes me wonder if Hauser’s editors held her back in her debut novel, in hopes of appealing to the broadest possible audience. Atalanta, our protagonist this time, reads like a mature adult instead of a teenager by turns frightened and rebellious. Best of all, she is truly freed to take significant action in the plot and determine her own destiny, in a way that Briseis and Krisayis simply were not, the latter two barely making a ripple, while Atalanta engages in meaningful deeds. This in turn fuels the tension and investment I had in the story. The one sour note I thought was the continuing childishness of the gods, which sucks some of that tension out by being too comedic, and I’m just not a fan of.

I would say give For the Most Beautiful a miss, but by all means try out For the Winner.

7 out of 10