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h_sloan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Minor: War and Sexual assault
stobo1kenobo'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I enjoyed this book a lot! It switches back and forth between the third person perspective of Helen and Klytemnestra in a way that wasn’t confusing and allows you to get a sense of what both sisters are going through as they navigate growing up into wifehood and motherhood. Really enjoyed!
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexism, Violence, Animal death, Murder, Sexual assault, War, Genocide, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
nevdite284'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, War, Pedophilia, Misogyny, and Abortion
Moderate: Misogyny, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Kidnapping
emryses's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Sexual assault
adequateanja'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really appreciate the trend on focusing on a female perspective. Also you know a book is good, when you know the story but are still curious how this author is gonna tell it. I still liked A thousand ships better, it hit me harder emotionally.
Fun story: even as a kid I didn’t understand what Elektras problem was and thought that Agamemnon had it comin‘… can you tell that I was raised by a single mother lol
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, and Violence
indyjg's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: War, Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Child death
Moderate: Death and Rape
withlivjones's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
My one gripe with this book is that the pacing is rather inconsistent. The start is somewhat slow, and I am grateful for the time skips to ensure that the narrative doesn’t get boring. However, Helen’s “abduction” occurs over halfway through the book and the actual war doesn’t start until three quarters of the way through. From there, the pacing is almost breakneck as the author attempts to fit the nine-year Trojan war, as well as its aftermath, into under one hundred pages. I appreciate that retellings of the Trojan War, especially the events covered in the Iliad, have been done to death in other adaptations, but I feel that Helen’s perspective of more parts of the war, or even Klytemnestra’s reception of the news of certain events, could have enhanced the story. I was half expecting Kalchas to somehow make a return, either during the plague (which isn’t mentioned) or when the Trojan Horse arrives (which is alluded to in a single sentence), since he plays a significant role in the first half of the novel and then completely disappears after Iphigenia’s death. The book barely touches on the events of the Iliad and the Agamemnon and doesn’t even cover the Libation Bearers (leaving both Klytemnestra’s and Elektra’s arcs feeling somewhat unfinished), and I think that the author really could have taken advantage of the opportunity to discuss the motivations of Helen and Klytemnestra in these stories where their actions are so significant.
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, War, Genocide, and Grief
Period-typical attitudes towards womenlanid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Minor: Pregnancy, Slavery, Child death, Death, War, Abortion, Animal death, Blood, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence
mothman19's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Violence, War, and Blood
Moderate: Pedophilia, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Rape, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Abortion, Abandonment, Body shaming, Medical trauma, and Infertility
abfabulous17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child death, Infertility, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Death of parent, War, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Suicide, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Slavery