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linguisticali's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, and Rape
brittishrcoming'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: War, Misogyny, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Slavery, Rape, and Sexual assault
forgetbeenot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual assault, and Violence
crazytourists_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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...
Moderate: Death, War, Blood, Violence, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape
madamenovelist's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Rape, Misogyny, War, Gore, Violence, Murder, Slavery, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Sexism, Xenophobia, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, and Death of parent
wlreed312's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
But in spite of that, I thought the last third of the book was outstanding. We get some really lovely scenes between Penelope and Elektra, as well as between Penelope and Clytemnestra. There is some great dialogue, and I thought the ending was very good. So while it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, it was still very enjoyable.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: War, Sexual violence, and Rape
fluffyeti's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape and Physical abuse
poetic_liz's review against another edition
4.75
As someone who read way too many books on Greek myth, this was very refreshing to read, both in terms of narrator, style choices and timeline chosen. It is truly unique amongst other retellings and focuses on women very differently than most "women focused"/"feminist" retellings do. Often I dislike them for trying to hard or not enough. This book wasn't ashamed to face the bitter truth of the lives of women and goddesses. It was ugly, disturbing, and utterly beautiful.
The thing that keeps the 5 stars away is that I wasn't happy with some of the plot choices made. This is completely on me and my personal taste, other people may love it. The book would for sure be 5/5 if I could only give full stars.
I beg everyone to read this, to approach it with an open mind, ready to be disappointed by your heroes and the female characters alike, for they are all human. And what can I say? Humans are built like gods, so be ready to be disappointed by the gods as well.
Moderate: Violence, Rape, War, Slavery, and Misogyny
brazenbookbabe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, War, Violence, Slavery, and Sexual violence
thebakerbookworm's review against another edition
- 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
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!
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism