Scan barcode
emailadresse's review against another edition
slow-paced
- 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
1.75
Read for a book club, here are my notes:
1. I enjoy how the writing is flowery but still it is very easy to follow. Though Reperatur and sometimes sounds likr the author is trying to hard to sound intelligent.
2. I normally dont enjoy greek mythos retellings and I didn't go in with very high expectations. The whole "feminist retelling" trend has put out so many mediocre books and i feel like this is another one of them. the character development is choppy and its like every time there is "growth" it is sudden and not built up to.
3. feels unedited, would make sense if it was an indie publish.
4. literally breaks the "show not tell" rule every chapter
5. i dont want to be overly critical but i just feel like its marketing really made it out to be a better book than it is but i really had a hard time reading it. it was slow and boring, and not in the ways i can find enjoyment in. cause i do like books about nothing. this just gave me nothing.
6. i like when books or media gives me a question after reading or watching it. like a nice moral or philosophical lesson. i dont like it to be one that the media may be forcing you to think of, but one that i come up with. this book just left me with no questions but the statement of how can one mess up so bad.
7. "feminist" but their whole lives revolve around men?
8. found myself skimming because it was getting so repetitive and boring.
9. a positive is that the words let you really know the world that the author is building it is very easy to see the intended aesthetic
1. I enjoy how the writing is flowery but still it is very easy to follow. Though Reperatur and sometimes sounds likr the author is trying to hard to sound intelligent.
2. I normally dont enjoy greek mythos retellings and I didn't go in with very high expectations. The whole "feminist retelling" trend has put out so many mediocre books and i feel like this is another one of them. the character development is choppy and its like every time there is "growth" it is sudden and not built up to.
3. feels unedited, would make sense if it was an indie publish.
4. literally breaks the "show not tell" rule every chapter
5. i dont want to be overly critical but i just feel like its marketing really made it out to be a better book than it is but i really had a hard time reading it. it was slow and boring, and not in the ways i can find enjoyment in. cause i do like books about nothing. this just gave me nothing.
6. i like when books or media gives me a question after reading or watching it. like a nice moral or philosophical lesson. i dont like it to be one that the media may be forcing you to think of, but one that i come up with. this book just left me with no questions but the statement of how can one mess up so bad.
7. "feminist" but their whole lives revolve around men?
8. found myself skimming because it was getting so repetitive and boring.
9. a positive is that the words let you really know the world that the author is building it is very easy to see the intended aesthetic
bethwilson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
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
5.0
hightidesunday's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
icy_queen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Sexual violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Blood, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Confinement, Death, War, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape
kennedybullen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
gabrielleh8934's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
boklava's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
lyakimov's review against another edition
2.0
This book was so slow and boring. A snooze fest at its finest. I don't know why this book is described as a feminist retelling of Ariadne and Phaedra because it is not. Their whole lives are decided by men and they just glide through the story without making their mark or doing something important, like they say they do. They lie and say they are girlbossing it up but in reality they make absolutely no decisions and are practically robots. Both girls just become housewives and they don't really have much character development. Their characters seem so stunted and confused because we go through the years of their lives so fast that it just fast-forwards their growth and within a chapter we are supposed to accept that they act like this now, they do this now because of the character growth and experiences they've had that we have NEVER SEEN. It's telling, not showing.
Also, the ending was so confusing and barely made sense to me. I am just going to choose to ignore it because I really did not care, I was so apathetic. Going through all this random conflict with Ariadne and Dionysus in the last 3 chapters was ridiculous but somehow on par with the haphazard pacing. Reading this book felt like dredging through thick mud. It was like the plot was undecided and there was no true direction of where this story was supposed to go. I should have just read Ariadne's Wikipedia article instead of reading this. Also, Part I and Part II of the book are so disconnected that I completely forgot where the girls were from, I forgot the Minotaur existed, by the end of the book. It was randomly mentioned near the end and I was so shocked because I had completely forgotten the first half of the story. Maybe because I felt like I had aged 15 years like the sisters.
I'm not a history buff but I've taken Latin so of course I have heard some of the myths so these types of books interest me. Unfortunately I have not yet read one of these books that has actually interested me, impressed me, or shown me something new. People in their reviews of this book talk about how this is nothing like Madeline Miller's books and honestly? This book is exactly like her books! In this book and Millers', there is no plot and the characters read like they have been carved out of a stone tablet -- two-dimensional. However, I am still interested in reading another of Saint's books because her prose is very good and I think this was her debut so I am sure she has gotten better with plot and pacing. The story of Ariadne is also kind of a difficult one because after the Minotaur ordeal, nothing really happens with her, she just chills on an island for her whole life and Phaedra just chills in a palace so I am sure it was very challenging to even try to find anything to turn into a plot so I applaud Saint for that. I definitely could not write a mythology-based book like this.
Also, the ending was so confusing and barely made sense to me. I am just going to choose to ignore it because I really did not care, I was so apathetic. Going through all this random conflict with Ariadne and Dionysus in the last 3 chapters was ridiculous but somehow on par with the haphazard pacing. Reading this book felt like dredging through thick mud. It was like the plot was undecided and there was no true direction of where this story was supposed to go. I should have just read Ariadne's Wikipedia article instead of reading this. Also, Part I and Part II of the book are so disconnected that I completely forgot where the girls were from, I forgot the Minotaur existed, by the end of the book. It was randomly mentioned near the end and I was so shocked because I had completely forgotten the first half of the story. Maybe because I felt like I had aged 15 years like the sisters.
I'm not a history buff but I've taken Latin so of course I have heard some of the myths so these types of books interest me. Unfortunately I have not yet read one of these books that has actually interested me, impressed me, or shown me something new. People in their reviews of this book talk about how this is nothing like Madeline Miller's books and honestly? This book is exactly like her books! In this book and Millers', there is no plot and the characters read like they have been carved out of a stone tablet -- two-dimensional. However, I am still interested in reading another of Saint's books because her prose is very good and I think this was her debut so I am sure she has gotten better with plot and pacing. The story of Ariadne is also kind of a difficult one because after the Minotaur ordeal, nothing really happens with her, she just chills on an island for her whole life and Phaedra just chills in a palace so I am sure it was very challenging to even try to find anything to turn into a plot so I applaud Saint for that. I definitely could not write a mythology-based book like this.
frankieselby's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
izzylashley's review against another edition
5.0
i love a good twist on greek mythology, reminded me so much of circe by madeline miller