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starw0man's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child death, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexism, Grief, Murder, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, and Mental illness
shay43geek's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Confinement, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Child death, Blood, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Animal death
mkifer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
gondorgirl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Child death, Gaslighting, Violence, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Gore, Sexual content, Grief, and Emotional abuse
chaoticbookgremlin_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was just okay.
What started as what felt like a very interesting and compelling read quickly dwindled into disinterest and some feelings of apathy. A Greek mythology retelling? Depicting a feminist perspective on one of the most disliked women in these myths? With witches and sailors and a criticism on sexism? It sounded like something I'd really enjoy. However, many elements of this fell flat for me.
Right off the bat, the prose and method of storytelling reminded me a bit too much of Circe. It felt like the author was trying to write like Madeline Miller, and it was coming across as a bit... bland and messy. I found myself growing bored and feeling like this book was too long, which is concerning for something that's less than 300 pages. While I understand that this is a retelling of Medea's life, there were too many lulls or description on dull events and less impact delivered on the more emotional or developmental story beats.
Too many times, I think, was Phaethon and Chalciope described as "golden", "shining," or something that attributed them to the sun. Medea compared herself to her siblings entirely too much, which is perhaps linking to the development of her character, but just describing that once or twice would be enough to deliver that. The climax at the end was almost too rushed, with not a lot of buildup toward it - I found myself confused, and her relationship with Jason was not very clear by the end and I had no idea what the hell was going on.
It is far easier to focus on the negative rather than positive aspects of the book. I want to reiterate - I did not hate this book. Perhaps I am not familiar enough with the story of Medea to appreciate it enough - but I also was unfamiliar with the story of Circe or Achilles and Patroclus, and I adored those stories. The depictions of sexism and misogyny were done rather well, and I, as always, found myself getting angry at the patriarchy - which is easy to do.
3.5 stars. This book comes out February 13, 2024. Perhaps you will enjoy it more than I did.
Moderate: Death, Gore, Child death, Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny