Reviews - The Palace of Eros

687 reviews for:

The Palace of Eros

Caro De Robertis

3.89 AVERAGE

boneornge's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

read_with_courtney's review against another edition

4.0

I had no idea what this book was about before starting it, and when I read the description on the back, all I needed to see was “Young Psyche secretly longs for a life away from the expectations and demands of men…” and I was sold!

This is obviously based on Greek mythology and the story of Psyche and Eros, but the thing is… I’m very unfamiliar with Greek mythology in general, so I can’t speak to that aspect as well as others might.

What I can say is that this book was so beautifully written and poetic! My oh my, give me more of Caro De Robertis’ writing immediately, please and thank you. The lyrical prose and imagery woven into this one were divine.

This story challenged gender norms and cultural expectations in all the best ways. I’m afraid to go any deeper and accidentally spoil something, so I’ll keep this brief but it was such a refreshing take on mythology retellings. The message of shattering old ways to open new paths rang loud and clear and left me feeling inspired and empowered.

graves_em's review against another edition

4.0

Sorry book club for finishing so late

aranea_aenara's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

sakisreads's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I’ve never been a huge fan of Greek mythology and gods/goddesses, but after reading Barker’s books and seeing this on a recommendation list in San Francisco’s public library, I thought I’d give this a good go 😊 I’m glad I did, too!

Based on Psyche (a mortal human) and Eros (the goddess of love)’s journeys, this book has both cheesy moments and genuine, heartfelt moments that make you feel warm fuzzy feelings 💖 I loved the ‘fuck you’ to binary norms (because even Greek mythology feels patriarchal 😫)

There is also a lot of smut. I’m not usually a smut kinda person but oh, this was exciting and lovely 🤣

An unexpectedly good read, I’m giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars ✨ Thank you!

Content Warnings

helendiana's review against another edition

3.75

mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I finished the book because I liked the overall theme but thought there were several moments that were very slow and it could have been shorter. definitely recommend the audiobook. At 1.5 speed.

caitplayspiano's review against another edition

4.75

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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

moonknitter's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really loved this book!!! It was written so beautifully and I loved seeing the story of eros and psyche through this light and reading about a genderqueer goddess. It was interesting to relate to some of their struggles and on the other hand I was frustrated at times that they didn’t just communicate with each other more truthfully especially in the middle part of the book but that’s also what made it relatable. I love these adaptations of mythology and I think this was my favorite one I’ve read. Gotta love Greek myths mixed with sapphic queer love!!!!

Content Warnings

allie_jane's review against another edition

3.75

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

stardust_tippy's review against another edition

2.75

emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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