Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Ithaca by Claire North

17 reviews

brittishrcoming's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.25


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crazytourists_books's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It took me a while to like it, but I found it to be a descent approach to the ancient myth of Penelopy and the suitors. 
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... 

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madamenovelist's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • 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


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thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • 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

We’re all familiar with Odysseus’s story (maybe?), but this book gives us a new perspective—the story of Penelope during those long years of waiting for Odysseus to return.

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!

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tinybluepixel's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • 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

4.5


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srm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

This is a fascinating account of Penelope struggles to survive and maintain her position in the long wait for  Odysseus to return from the Trojan War. Told from the POV of the goddess Hera, Penelope is undoubtedly the focus, but Hera's omniscience allows the reader to see the thoughts of Telemachus, Elektra, and many others at the Ithacan court. Plus, Hera's narrative voice is just fantastic. Interested that this is listed as Penelope #1, because I'm definitely excited to see where North goes with this next.

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anapthine's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense 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? No

4.25


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