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bhnmt61's review against another edition
5.0
The Briscoes are a wealthy family in a small town not far from Houston. Peter, the patriarch, has a long history of being unfaithful to his wife June, but it’s been 13 years since he last strayed and their marriage seems to have survived. Now their children and step children are in their twenties and thirties and old enough to start causing their own problems.
The story kicks off as March, their second son, returns to town two years after he was informally exiled for sleeping with his brother's wife Vera. The twins Arlo and Artie, Peter’s children from one of his affairs, have been inseparable all their lives, but Artie has finally fallen in love and wants to start a life of her own. And that’s just the beginning of the tangled story ahead.
As the title suggests, the characters are loosely drawn from Greek and Roman mythology—Peter=Jupiter, June=Juno, March=Mars, Hap=Hephaestus, Vera=Venus, Ryan=Orion, the twins are Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and Apollo, god of music and the sun. If you have any interest in those ancient stories, part of the fun of reading this is seeing how Swann recasts the myths in Texas in the present day. For example- Peter’s brother Hadley (Hades, god of the underworld) is a funeral director who lives across the river, although it is the Brazos rather than the Styx. And his wife Stephanie is in Iowa with her mother for the summer, as Hades’ wife Persephone left the underworld every spring to live with her mother Demeter.
But you don’t need to know a thing about the mythology to enjoy the story, because it all makes sense even without the extra layer of meaning. The only plot thread that didn’t quite ring true to me was the one between Arlo and Artie, but I can’t explain that without spoilers. I’ll just say that when someone makes a dare and there are consequences, is the person who made the dare at fault, or the person who takes the dare? At the very least it should be complicated, but Swann comes down almost entirely on one side (and it’s not the side I would have picked if you’d asked me that question before I started reading).
That is only part of the plot, though, and the rest is mostly believable, even if it’s over the top. There is an undeniable soap opera feel to the story-- like watching those old 1980s nighttime soaps. I was riveted. Before I started I thought it would take a week to read, but I couldn't put it down and finished it in two and half days. Four and a half stars rounded up.
The story kicks off as March, their second son, returns to town two years after he was informally exiled for sleeping with his brother's wife Vera. The twins Arlo and Artie, Peter’s children from one of his affairs, have been inseparable all their lives, but Artie has finally fallen in love and wants to start a life of her own. And that’s just the beginning of the tangled story ahead.
As the title suggests, the characters are loosely drawn from Greek and Roman mythology—Peter=Jupiter, June=Juno, March=Mars, Hap=Hephaestus, Vera=Venus, Ryan=Orion, the twins are Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and Apollo, god of music and the sun. If you have any interest in those ancient stories, part of the fun of reading this is seeing how Swann recasts the myths in Texas in the present day. For example- Peter’s brother Hadley (Hades, god of the underworld) is a funeral director who lives across the river, although it is the Brazos rather than the Styx. And his wife Stephanie is in Iowa with her mother for the summer, as Hades’ wife Persephone left the underworld every spring to live with her mother Demeter.
But you don’t need to know a thing about the mythology to enjoy the story, because it all makes sense even without the extra layer of meaning. The only plot thread that didn’t quite ring true to me was the one between Arlo and Artie, but I can’t explain that without spoilers. I’ll just say that when someone makes a dare and there are consequences, is the person who made the dare at fault, or the person who takes the dare? At the very least it should be complicated, but Swann comes down almost entirely on one side (and it’s not the side I would have picked if you’d asked me that question before I started reading).
That is only part of the plot, though, and the rest is mostly believable, even if it’s over the top. There is an undeniable soap opera feel to the story-- like watching those old 1980s nighttime soaps. I was riveted. Before I started I thought it would take a week to read, but I couldn't put it down and finished it in two and half days. Four and a half stars rounded up.
nancysweitzer's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
nervousleigh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jan1955's review against another edition
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rachelynne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
this was good and i really liked the prose in it. i was really invested in the plot in the first half, but it dragged soo much and for so long for the entire rest of the book i stopped really caring about what was happening, and i think that is partly because of the writing style, which makes it inherently slower. also out of the entire huge cast, i only like june, cole, march, and artie.
lugojayce's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Very good, like reading the towns gossip but with characters you really care about.
mapoirier8's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
4.75
stephjayne's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.75