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saychall's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Bullying, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Drug use, Stalking, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy
tecknicolour's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Death, Sexual assault, War, Sexism, and Drug abuse
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault, Death, and Gaslighting
sparrowhearted's review against another edition
★★☆☆☆ — 2/5 stars
A frustrating read — or, well, listen in this case. I didn't go into it with high expectations so it's a little sobering that even that was seemingly a bit too ambitious. For much of the book I felt like I was listening to the result of someone enjoying Fifty Shades of Grey and Lore Olympus, thinking "I can do that too" and then somehow failing to add much unique flair to it.
The mythological inspiration feels very surface level and like it's just there to throw around names in the hopes of the reader's own interest in Greek mythology to fill out the blanks. My brain did a lot of the filling in and even then, however, it felt like the worldbuilding made next to no use of it. Most of the things that happen in the book don't rely on magic and mythology to work and could very, very easily be substituted for realistic equivalents.
Also, pardon my uh, Greek, I suppose, but why is this retelling of Greek mythology written from such an overly heterosexual lens??? There is nothing wrong with m/f couples in entertainment in themselves, but the heteronormativity in this novel was a little mind-boggling considering Greek mythology wasn't all that shy about same-sex relationships.
The narration didn't help either, much of it feeling cheesy and making it hard for me to take characters i should perceive as serious and imposing seriously. Lexa's exaggerated intonation makes lines that could be read as completely inoffensive sound insufferable and Hades sounds like a caricature. In particular in that second instance I wish the narrator had just used their natural voice.
Sensitive and difficult topics like parental abuse, power imbalances, drug abuse or consent that were loosely addressed in a few instances but for most of the part, it feels like they're included in the story for drama and shock value. I don't need entertainment to spell out moral lessons for me but I do think it's rather disappointing when themes like that aren't treated with the respect necessary. In a lot of places the efforts to portray Persephone as an enlightened, intelligent and insightful person was hampered by leaning into Not Like the Other Girls(tm) territory (borderline slut-shaming Aphrodite by pointing out her gala dress was "surprisingly tasteful" does what, exactly?), being unwilling to take responsibility for her own actions and preconceived notions (only challenging her stance on Hades around the 07:30 hour mark?? Really??) and a good amount of narration that feels like it doesn't really understand societal issues past where they impact privileged people.
Persephone's reactions to most of these instances often come with very strange priorities that make it seem like she doesn't really (care to, in some instances) understand what the actual issue is and that is a little worrying, considering she's portrayed to be well-read and curious. Investigative journalist, amirite?
The characters feel very trope-heavy and as a result, flat. Persephone is a bratty, entitled and hypocritical woman throughout everything I've heard and although she ends up in a good amount of situations that would evoke sympathy from me under different circumstances her habit of almost making a point and then swerving and focusing on the wrong part of the issue made that hard. She's infuriating, she's bland and listening to the book I was reminded of a good amount of white privileged feminist stereotypes.
There were a few instances where it felt like the author genuinely just wasn't fully aware of the words they were using. Describing seeing someone in a simple dress only to go on to describe how it'd featured embroidery that is likely by every measure of the word lavish or phrases like "a contract she couldn't win" (Contracts are not about winning? That's not what they exist for) became more glaring as I went and lost interest in the actual story and characters and… I don't know. Isn't that stuff an editor should've picked up on? Was the book self-published? Even then, shouldn't maybe a beta reader have called the author's attention onto these things? Made the writing feel sloppy.
tl;dr: I probably shouldn't have expected much, this genre isn't meant to dissect difficult societal issues and that in itself is okay. I do feel a little catfished, however, because the Greek mythology component of the premise was flimsy. The characters are either bland or downright unlikeable, the plot meanders and feels painfully drawn out for what it's supposed to achieve and the worldbuilding is so weak, the story could do away with it and might feel less pretentious for it.
Didn't pay for it since it was included in the list of Audible titles I had access to for free so I don't feel scammed necessarily, but I do wish I'd put my time and attention into books that I liked better.
A frustrating read — or, well, listen in this case. I didn't go into it with high expectations so it's a little sobering that even that was seemingly a bit too ambitious. For much of the book I felt like I was listening to the result of someone enjoying Fifty Shades of Grey and Lore Olympus, thinking "I can do that too" and then somehow failing to add much unique flair to it.
The mythological inspiration feels very surface level and like it's just there to throw around names in the hopes of the reader's own interest in Greek mythology to fill out the blanks. My brain did a lot of the filling in and even then, however, it felt like the worldbuilding made next to no use of it. Most of the things that happen in the book don't rely on magic and mythology to work and could very, very easily be substituted for realistic equivalents.
Also, pardon my uh, Greek, I suppose, but why is this retelling of Greek mythology written from such an overly heterosexual lens??? There is nothing wrong with m/f couples in entertainment in themselves, but the heteronormativity in this novel was a little mind-boggling considering Greek mythology wasn't all that shy about same-sex relationships.
The narration didn't help either, much of it feeling cheesy and making it hard for me to take characters i should perceive as serious and imposing seriously. Lexa's exaggerated intonation makes lines that could be read as completely inoffensive sound insufferable and Hades sounds like a caricature. In particular in that second instance I wish the narrator had just used their natural voice.
Sensitive and difficult topics like parental abuse, power imbalances, drug abuse or consent that were loosely addressed in a few instances but for most of the part, it feels like they're included in the story for drama and shock value. I don't need entertainment to spell out moral lessons for me but I do think it's rather disappointing when themes like that aren't treated with the respect necessary. In a lot of places the efforts to portray Persephone as an enlightened, intelligent and insightful person was hampered by leaning into Not Like the Other Girls(tm) territory (borderline slut-shaming Aphrodite by pointing out her gala dress was "surprisingly tasteful" does what, exactly?), being unwilling to take responsibility for her own actions and preconceived notions (only challenging her stance on Hades around the 07:30 hour mark?? Really??) and a good amount of narration that feels like it doesn't really understand societal issues past where they impact privileged people.
Persephone's reactions to most of these instances often come with very strange priorities that make it seem like she doesn't really (care to, in some instances) understand what the actual issue is and that is a little worrying, considering she's portrayed to be well-read and curious. Investigative journalist, amirite?
The characters feel very trope-heavy and as a result, flat. Persephone is a bratty, entitled and hypocritical woman throughout everything I've heard and although she ends up in a good amount of situations that would evoke sympathy from me under different circumstances her habit of almost making a point and then swerving and focusing on the wrong part of the issue made that hard. She's infuriating, she's bland and listening to the book I was reminded of a good amount of white privileged feminist stereotypes.
There were a few instances where it felt like the author genuinely just wasn't fully aware of the words they were using. Describing seeing someone in a simple dress only to go on to describe how it'd featured embroidery that is likely by every measure of the word lavish or phrases like "a contract she couldn't win" (Contracts are not about winning? That's not what they exist for) became more glaring as I went and lost interest in the actual story and characters and… I don't know. Isn't that stuff an editor should've picked up on? Was the book self-published? Even then, shouldn't maybe a beta reader have called the author's attention onto these things? Made the writing feel sloppy.
tl;dr: I probably shouldn't have expected much, this genre isn't meant to dissect difficult societal issues and that in itself is okay. I do feel a little catfished, however, because the Greek mythology component of the premise was flimsy. The characters are either bland or downright unlikeable, the plot meanders and feels painfully drawn out for what it's supposed to achieve and the worldbuilding is so weak, the story could do away with it and might feel less pretentious for it.
Didn't pay for it since it was included in the list of Audible titles I had access to for free so I don't feel scammed necessarily, but I do wish I'd put my time and attention into books that I liked better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
booksthatburn's review against another edition
Stopping because Persephone is happy that Hades is paternalistic and sexist, punishing someone because they scared her and she’s a woman. There’s also some ableist language in a way that’s not important to the narrative, and Persephone keeps thinking of some non-human people as “creatures” and “monsters” in a way that feels disparaging. I don’t like this version of Persephone and I don’t like how the story is being told.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Death, Alcoholism, Stalking, and Ableism
diana_raquel'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“Respect could build an empire. Trust could make it unbreakable. Love could make it last forever.”
For a long time, I wanted to read more retellings or inspired Greek mythology books, especially from the myth of Hades and Persephone (one of my favorite myths). So, when this book started to make the rounds on social media, I was interested. However, hyped books are very 50/50 with me.
When I started to read this book, for a time, I was considering DNF because, in the beginning, there are some parts a bit boring to me. However, when the story starts to gain some speed, the story became really interesting and entertaining. So, this is a 3.75 read for me. It was good, but not enough for a 4 stars book to me. Even so, I plan to read the next book.
I would recommend this to people who want to read a romance and a modern retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone. It has well-developed characters, however, in the beginning, the slower pace can be a problem.
For a long time, I wanted to read more retellings or inspired Greek mythology books, especially from the myth of Hades and Persephone (one of my favorite myths). So, when this book started to make the rounds on social media, I was interested. However, hyped books are very 50/50 with me.
When I started to read this book, for a time, I was considering DNF because, in the beginning, there are some parts a bit boring to me. However, when the story starts to gain some speed, the story became really interesting and entertaining. So, this is a 3.75 read for me. It was good, but not enough for a 4 stars book to me. Even so, I plan to read the next book.
I would recommend this to people who want to read a romance and a modern retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone. It has well-developed characters, however, in the beginning, the slower pace can be a problem.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Torture, Violence, and Stalking
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, War, and Drug abuse
lulibelle's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
jack_go_to_bed_at_noon's review
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Often times when you're reading erotica it is all sex with no plot, this was not that. Sex was not even the biggest part it was all about the mc discovering the power within herself and that was nice to see. I love the "I hate everyone but you" romance trope and that was present.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism and Toxic relationship
cepbreed's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Coming into this book I didn't really know much about it but once I learned it was a myth adaptation I had such high expectations. Madeleine Miller has set every other author who wants to write something based on a myth to unattainable standards. Unfortunately it didn't meet these. However, I still enjoyed this book because it serves its purpose as a fan service novel for women so I can't really complain.
Songs:
Songs:
- Wanna Be Yours - Artic Monkeys
- Flawless - The Neighborhood
- Chuch - Chase Atlantic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Emotional abuse