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ambeesbookishpages's review
4.0
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
*Thank you so much to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Fierce Reads for the opportunity to read LIFE STYLES OF GODS AND MONSTERS!*
I love Greek Mythology retellings, so a modern day retelling of the Minotaur myth? Sign me up! Now lets add in reality TV and fight to the deaths and its basically a kick ass book. This book is basically: Keeping Up With The Kardashians + Greek Mythology + The Hunger Games = Lifestyle of Gods and Monsters. Lifestyle of Gods and Monsters is a refreshing take on a timeless myth and a breathe of fresh air in the fantasy genre. If you are looking for a fun but dark quick fantasy read this is the perfect book for you.
In Crete every year fourteen teens for Athens compete for the chance to qualify for the chance to appear on The Labyrinth Contest, a fight to the death on life TV. Beat the Minotaur and you'll be rich among your wildest dreams. But in the ten years since the show first aired, no one has beaten the Minotaur. Ariadne, one of the three princesses of Crete, is the Keeper of the Gates and leads each competitor to the gates where the they ultimately meet their death. Ariadne has her own reservations about being the Keeper, but its the Gods plans for her and you never disobey the Gods. That's until she meets Theseus and she can't deny her quick growing attraction to him or the chemistry they seem to have. When Theseus begs Ariadne to help him beat the Minotaur, Ariadne begins to question everything she has known her whole life. Especially as dark secrets begin to unravel.
I really loved Ariadne's character. She's funny and dedicated to her family. She doesn't question her father and as long as she has her VR video games she is happy. That is until she meets Theseus and begins to question things. After being caught on camera her and Theseus quickly become a plot line in The Labyrinth Contest, causing ratings go through the roof, but at what cost is this to Ariande and her connection to the Minotaur? She can't let the Minotaur die and that is Theseus' ultimate goal.
Besides the mythology and retelling in the Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters it casts an interesting light on things that happen behind the camera of reality television. How things are planned and orchestrated. We see Ariadne's sisters who have their own reality TV show,The Cretan Paradoxes, bask in their own fame. But at what cost? Not everyone is as happy as they look on camera. I loved seeing the obedient character that Ariadne started out as at the beginning of the novel and her growth to the end. Especially after the things her parents and best friend expected of her as being part of the plot line to boost ratings and making the this season the most watched in history. But after a while, enough it enough.
Overall I really enjoyed Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters and can't wait to read more from Emily. Her debut novel is a taste of something different in YA fantasy. A modern day retelling with a reality TV and dark twist that will keep you turning the pages until you reach the last one.
*Thank you so much to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Fierce Reads for the opportunity to read LIFE STYLES OF GODS AND MONSTERS!*
I love Greek Mythology retellings, so a modern day retelling of the Minotaur myth? Sign me up! Now lets add in reality TV and fight to the deaths and its basically a kick ass book. This book is basically: Keeping Up With The Kardashians + Greek Mythology + The Hunger Games = Lifestyle of Gods and Monsters. Lifestyle of Gods and Monsters is a refreshing take on a timeless myth and a breathe of fresh air in the fantasy genre. If you are looking for a fun but dark quick fantasy read this is the perfect book for you.
In Crete every year fourteen teens for Athens compete for the chance to qualify for the chance to appear on The Labyrinth Contest, a fight to the death on life TV. Beat the Minotaur and you'll be rich among your wildest dreams. But in the ten years since the show first aired, no one has beaten the Minotaur. Ariadne, one of the three princesses of Crete, is the Keeper of the Gates and leads each competitor to the gates where the they ultimately meet their death. Ariadne has her own reservations about being the Keeper, but its the Gods plans for her and you never disobey the Gods. That's until she meets Theseus and she can't deny her quick growing attraction to him or the chemistry they seem to have. When Theseus begs Ariadne to help him beat the Minotaur, Ariadne begins to question everything she has known her whole life. Especially as dark secrets begin to unravel.
I really loved Ariadne's character. She's funny and dedicated to her family. She doesn't question her father and as long as she has her VR video games she is happy. That is until she meets Theseus and begins to question things. After being caught on camera her and Theseus quickly become a plot line in The Labyrinth Contest, causing ratings go through the roof, but at what cost is this to Ariande and her connection to the Minotaur? She can't let the Minotaur die and that is Theseus' ultimate goal.
Besides the mythology and retelling in the Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters it casts an interesting light on things that happen behind the camera of reality television. How things are planned and orchestrated. We see Ariadne's sisters who have their own reality TV show,The Cretan Paradoxes, bask in their own fame. But at what cost? Not everyone is as happy as they look on camera. I loved seeing the obedient character that Ariadne started out as at the beginning of the novel and her growth to the end. Especially after the things her parents and best friend expected of her as being part of the plot line to boost ratings and making the this season the most watched in history. But after a while, enough it enough.
Overall I really enjoyed Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters and can't wait to read more from Emily. Her debut novel is a taste of something different in YA fantasy. A modern day retelling with a reality TV and dark twist that will keep you turning the pages until you reach the last one.
lady_katie16's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
mehsi's review against another edition
4.0
Greek mythology mixed with celebrity and fame and oh yes a dash of hunger games.
I have eyeing this book for some time and decided to just buy it for once. Well, sadly, the book is going on the bye bye pile as I only keep 4.5+ starred books. But I can at least say I enjoyed it. And that is quite interesting given that I lost my interest in the first part of the book. Up to page 80 I was just mostly bored out of my mind and wanted to drop the book. But then it got better and better. However, given that 80 pages out of 336 were a bore/not my thing and I wanted to drop the book I am going to be rating it 4 stars. Maybe if I hadn’t had those feelings of wanting to drop the book a few times I would have rated it 4.5 stars.
This story is all about Ariadne and Theseus. About their love. About how they were destined to be the ones to kill the Minotaur. Along the way we see how the lives are for the Athens and the Cretans. Ariadne lives a pretty lush and luxurious life.. at least that is what the cameras see. We actually see that things aren’t as comfy or happy as you may think and we learn more and more things about shows and her family as the story continues. At first things may look like everything is OK. The sisters have their own reality show. Ariadne’s dad is the king. There are riches and fame everywhere.
But underneath that we see forced plotlines, drugs use, wishlists with presents to make one feel happy again, abuse, and more. We see there are plans and ploys running around to make things more interesting.
My heart broke for Asterion. A boy who just wants to be a boy but who is the Minotaur. Forced to become a raging bull who kill everyone. I loved how sweet Ariadne was for her brother while her whole family pretended Asterion was never there. Asterion was dead in their eyes.
The games, well, we didn’t actually see a lot of it so that was a shame. I would have loved to see at least one or two more competitors to get a real feel of the danger + make things a bit more better paced. Now we just see one competitor and while that one was just gruesome, it just felt weird to directly throw Theseus after that person. Then again, given how far along we were in the book I guess we couldn’t have waited much longer. The games were gruesome though, a labyrinth filled with obstacles that will kill you…. if the Minotaur doesn’t find you first. I would also kind have liked the pre-competitions to see how the kids were chosen. Now we only read that they happen each year.
There are plenty of twists and turns and I loved it.
I loved all the mythology that was in this book though I had to get into the fact that they took place in the now/future-time. For me mythology doesn’t mean cameras, colourful cocktails, tv-shows, and that stuff. But I have to say when I got into it I loved it. I loved that someone took mythology. Took Ariadne and Theseus story and made it into something now. And sure, I also had to get all my mythology facts straight as I just got a bit confused on things. But thankfully we got Google for that these days.
I loved loved LOVED the romance between Ariadne and Theseus. Holy wow. Those two have chemistry and sparks and the whole batch of hearts. It was cute and adorable and I loved seeing them together. Though I knew how things were going to end if the author would follow the original story. So I just soaked all the romance up and enjoyed each moment.
Icarus is also present and he is the best friend of Ariadne. Well, at least he tries to be. At times I just wanted to shoot him into the sun. But he did show he was a true friend throughout the story. I loved that his story is also hinted in the way of the drawings/paintings in which he is wearing feathers and flying away.
The ending was very well done. I am sad as well because of what happens there, but also happy because Ariadne got at least part of her wish.
I could probably talk some more about the book, but I think I have said most of what I wanted to say. I am happy I had a chance to read this book. It was a fun and interesting. Mythology x fame and fortune x twists and turns.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I have eyeing this book for some time and decided to just buy it for once. Well, sadly, the book is going on the bye bye pile as I only keep 4.5+ starred books. But I can at least say I enjoyed it. And that is quite interesting given that I lost my interest in the first part of the book. Up to page 80 I was just mostly bored out of my mind and wanted to drop the book. But then it got better and better. However, given that 80 pages out of 336 were a bore/not my thing and I wanted to drop the book I am going to be rating it 4 stars. Maybe if I hadn’t had those feelings of wanting to drop the book a few times I would have rated it 4.5 stars.
This story is all about Ariadne and Theseus. About their love. About how they were destined to be the ones to kill the Minotaur. Along the way we see how the lives are for the Athens and the Cretans. Ariadne lives a pretty lush and luxurious life.. at least that is what the cameras see. We actually see that things aren’t as comfy or happy as you may think and we learn more and more things about shows and her family as the story continues. At first things may look like everything is OK. The sisters have their own reality show. Ariadne’s dad is the king. There are riches and fame everywhere.
But underneath that we see forced plotlines, drugs use, wishlists with presents to make one feel happy again, abuse, and more. We see there are plans and ploys running around to make things more interesting.
My heart broke for Asterion. A boy who just wants to be a boy but who is the Minotaur. Forced to become a raging bull who kill everyone. I loved how sweet Ariadne was for her brother while her whole family pretended Asterion was never there. Asterion was dead in their eyes.
The games, well, we didn’t actually see a lot of it so that was a shame. I would have loved to see at least one or two more competitors to get a real feel of the danger + make things a bit more better paced. Now we just see one competitor and while that one was just gruesome, it just felt weird to directly throw Theseus after that person. Then again, given how far along we were in the book I guess we couldn’t have waited much longer. The games were gruesome though, a labyrinth filled with obstacles that will kill you…. if the Minotaur doesn’t find you first. I would also kind have liked the pre-competitions to see how the kids were chosen. Now we only read that they happen each year.
There are plenty of twists and turns and I loved it.
I loved all the mythology that was in this book though I had to get into the fact that they took place in the now/future-time. For me mythology doesn’t mean cameras, colourful cocktails, tv-shows, and that stuff. But I have to say when I got into it I loved it. I loved that someone took mythology. Took Ariadne and Theseus story and made it into something now. And sure, I also had to get all my mythology facts straight as I just got a bit confused on things. But thankfully we got Google for that these days.
I loved loved LOVED the romance between Ariadne and Theseus. Holy wow. Those two have chemistry and sparks and the whole batch of hearts. It was cute and adorable and I loved seeing them together. Though I knew how things were going to end if the author would follow the original story. So I just soaked all the romance up and enjoyed each moment.
Icarus is also present and he is the best friend of Ariadne. Well, at least he tries to be. At times I just wanted to shoot him into the sun. But he did show he was a true friend throughout the story. I loved that his story is also hinted in the way of the drawings/paintings in which he is wearing feathers and flying away.
The ending was very well done. I am sad as well because of what happens there, but also happy because Ariadne got at least part of her wish.
I could probably talk some more about the book, but I think I have said most of what I wanted to say. I am happy I had a chance to read this book. It was a fun and interesting. Mythology x fame and fortune x twists and turns.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
sp1derpr1ncess's review against another edition
2.0
Ohhhh boy. Where do I begin?
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of this book is the writing style. Roberson writes in a way that no human, ESPECIALLY not a 16 year old, would ever speak. The formality was jarring and prevented me from really getting into the book (just use contractions lady!!!! they won't hurt you!!)
I'm not going to mention the instalove factor, since it seems exhausted and it's... well... obvious.
Roberson paints Ariadne as an "I'm not like other girls" type character, which was upsetting and outdated. Not to mention, her familial relations are... WEIRD. I understand that her family is obsessed with being in the spotlight and whatnot, but a universe where a father tells his daughter to "show some nipple"? I'm sorry, WHAT?
I am honestly not sure what I just read. The end twist wasn't even shocking or compelling because I felt like I was getting knocked around the whole time. (Plus, Pasiphae's lack of development made it even worse.)
Ariadne was boring and stuck up. Theseus had little to no actual character. King Minos was too hot-and-cold, and he didn't feel developed enough to make it his "thing". The Paradoxes were unneeded (sexy lamp test anyone?).
Disappointing, as I've loved mythology for a long time and was looking forward to a contemporary retelling.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of this book is the writing style. Roberson writes in a way that no human, ESPECIALLY not a 16 year old, would ever speak. The formality was jarring and prevented me from really getting into the book (just use contractions lady!!!! they won't hurt you!!)
I'm not going to mention the instalove factor, since it seems exhausted and it's... well... obvious.
Roberson paints Ariadne as an "I'm not like other girls" type character, which was upsetting and outdated. Not to mention, her familial relations are... WEIRD. I understand that her family is obsessed with being in the spotlight and whatnot, but a universe where a father tells his daughter to "show some nipple"? I'm sorry, WHAT?
I am honestly not sure what I just read. The end twist wasn't even shocking or compelling because I felt like I was getting knocked around the whole time. (Plus, Pasiphae's lack of development made it even worse.)
Ariadne was boring and stuck up. Theseus had little to no actual character. King Minos was too hot-and-cold, and he didn't feel developed enough to make it his "thing". The Paradoxes were unneeded (sexy lamp test anyone?).
Disappointing, as I've loved mythology for a long time and was looking forward to a contemporary retelling.
chaosandbooks's review
3.0
This book was probably more of a 2.5, but I bumped it because I thought it was a good modern take on a Greek classic. I enjoyed the writing, though the content felt a bit more on the adult side than YA. That was fine and probably fits the themes of most Greek myths much more aptly, but it is misleading in terms of marketing.
Theseus felt a bit like a two-dimensional character, and Ariadne was okay. I think she was very relatable but the obvious contrast between her character as the safe, non-risk taker against her provocative sisters was the author's attempt to push boundaries too much to the point it felt annoying. Acalle was actually much more interesting as a character and I would have probably preferred a book from her POV.
I appreciated the effort to humanize the Minotaur and to provide depth to Icarus. Both characters shined in this retelling, making it much more dynamic. Overall, a good quick read.
Theseus felt a bit like a two-dimensional character, and Ariadne was okay. I think she was very relatable but the obvious contrast between her character as the safe, non-risk taker against her provocative sisters was the author's attempt to push boundaries too much to the point it felt annoying. Acalle was actually much more interesting as a character and I would have probably preferred a book from her POV.
I appreciated the effort to humanize the Minotaur and to provide depth to Icarus. Both characters shined in this retelling, making it much more dynamic. Overall, a good quick read.
indigoivee's review
4.0
Holy cow. Literally.
All I have to say, is that this was an incredible retelling of the Minotaur tale. Set in a world where a royal family's entertainment empire reigns supreme, the story follows sixteen-year-old Ariadne as she leads a group of teens into a deadly maze for a televised contest.
Roberson's writing was immersive and compelling, allowing me to experience the story from Ariadne's fresh and modern perspective. The blend of action, adventure, and romance kept me hooked from beginning to end. The chemistry between Ariadne and the mysterious Theseus was undeniable, he was practically smitten from the second he laid eyes on her. Their romance was palpable and inevitable, especial at the end.
I really appreciated this retelling and the way it explored themes of destiny, family, and the power of forging one's own path - which is typical for any Greek tragedy, but more prominent in this modern setting, making the story somewhat relatable. Ariadne's every move was watched by the public and dictated by the gods, yet she fought to find her own agency and protect the people she loved. And the dynamic between her sisters as opposed to her mother and father, really showcased how disconnected they are from each other and certain realities and truth.
I honestly love the more feminist portrayal of this story. The tiresome hero winning and gaining eternal glory has lived it’s course. The woman have been saving the day, proven through Ariadne.
Also, the Minotaur? That was a plot twist I had been expecting, though should’ve foreseen.
I genuinely enjoyed this read. It seamlessly blended elements of action, adventure, romance, and mythology to create a unique and engaging story. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys retellings or is looking for a fresh take on Greek mythology.
Favourite quote: “I don’t agree. Our destiny, it’s like a giant wave—we can let it beat us down. We can let it drown us. Or, we can try to get on top of it. We can make our own destinies. We can ride the wave.”
All I have to say, is that this was an incredible retelling of the Minotaur tale. Set in a world where a royal family's entertainment empire reigns supreme, the story follows sixteen-year-old Ariadne as she leads a group of teens into a deadly maze for a televised contest.
Roberson's writing was immersive and compelling, allowing me to experience the story from Ariadne's fresh and modern perspective. The blend of action, adventure, and romance kept me hooked from beginning to end. The chemistry between Ariadne and the mysterious Theseus was undeniable, he was practically smitten from the second he laid eyes on her. Their romance was palpable and inevitable, especial at the end.
I really appreciated this retelling and the way it explored themes of destiny, family, and the power of forging one's own path - which is typical for any Greek tragedy, but more prominent in this modern setting, making the story somewhat relatable. Ariadne's every move was watched by the public and dictated by the gods, yet she fought to find her own agency and protect the people she loved. And the dynamic between her sisters as opposed to her mother and father, really showcased how disconnected they are from each other and certain realities and truth.
I honestly love the more feminist portrayal of this story. The tiresome hero winning and gaining eternal glory has lived it’s course. The woman have been saving the day, proven through Ariadne.
Also, the Minotaur? That was a plot twist I had been expecting, though should’ve foreseen.
I genuinely enjoyed this read. It seamlessly blended elements of action, adventure, romance, and mythology to create a unique and engaging story. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys retellings or is looking for a fresh take on Greek mythology.
Favourite quote: “I don’t agree. Our destiny, it’s like a giant wave—we can let it beat us down. We can let it drown us. Or, we can try to get on top of it. We can make our own destinies. We can ride the wave.”
mmotleyu's review
3.0
Fluffy, but I am a sucker for a mythology retelling. This primarily features Ariadne and Theseus and all the characters from their stories. The ending definitely sets up a sequel. It has modern elements where Ariadne's family is basically a reality show like Keeping up with the Kardashians, and the minotaur and its maze are the highlights of the reality show for a few weeks each year. I will read the subsequent books-- sometimes a light read is necessary!
gwen_pageturner's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! Finished it in less than a day and I need to know if there’s going to be a sequel!
clesh01's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5