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karanextweek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I haven’t had a negative visceral reaction to a book like this since I read Where the Crawdads Sing. For much different reasons, but my hate for both runs deep.
I hate the narrative voice (or should I say voices). And the constantly shifting POV. And the dozens of extremely unlovable, irritating characters. It made it so hard to invest in or care for any single character. It’s also marketed as a retelling of Medusa but she barely felt like a peripheral character?
Also, what ever happened to the giants? What was the point of all that?
I know many of the characters are introduced to explain this one little thing that another character did that snowballed into a slightly larger part of the plot but good grief.
There were some clever parts and the writing (probably) isn’t bad! I just couldn’t get past my dislike to enjoy it. Not my style.
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Slavery, Murder, and War
sierraashley's review against another edition
- 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? N/A
5.0
Minor: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, and War
nak34's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
cnannery19's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Classism
catarina_pego's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Incest, Rape, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Abandonment, and War
itshrewsbury's review against another edition
3.0
Minor: Gore, Rape, and War
atamano's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Sexism, Blood, Grief, and War
Minor: Animal death
booksjessreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I will start with what I enjoyed about the book first. The portrayal of Perseus as a self-righteous and stuck-up 16 year old was my favourite thing. I liked how Haynes had depreciated him in the story and really emphasised how much of a coward he was, despite being praised as a hero. However, there were several chapters where Haynes breaks the 'fourth wall' and writes in second person to the reader, instilling her fury in you that Perseus has always been painted in this way. Listening to the audio of this, this was quite jarring, although I appreciated her intentions of the chapters anyway.
When we got a perspective of Medusa, I also appreciated her point of view.
Perhaps this is just me, as I don't read lots of mythology books, but I felt a lot of the conversations in this book were really basic or childish. And it only ever worked well when we got conversation from Perseus, as it helped build Haynes' portrayal of him. One example that really stuck with me was
I can appreciate why people have enjoyed this book, but I just felt as though this book did not deliver to the standards that it was marketed by. I do enjoy Medusa's story generally so I stuck with it, but there was certain elements that just did not work for me.
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and War
Minor: Incest
mgiegerl'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
4.75
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Violence and War
lzad's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and War