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theblerdnewsletter's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- 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? No
4.0
The reason I didn’t give it 4.5 stars is because I would love to see Hera’s telling of when Odysseus comes home.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Incest, Violence, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Child death, Slavery, Infidelity, War, Blood, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Trafficking
brittishrcoming's review
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: War, Misogyny, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Slavery, Rape, and Sexual assault
forgetbeenot's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual assault, and Violence
cookiegirl89089's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
this book was a gift and while i enjoyed the beginning and end i nearly dnf during the middle part and was struggling to get through chapters without feeling bored. its not bad and i enjoyed the writing style but i don't think i'll be re-reading it or checking out the sequel. also i've seen a lot of people talk about having hera as the narrator and while it caught me of guard i quite enjoyed seeing the story told from a 3rd person view where you don't always know what everyones thinking, plus the added information about certain details other characters wouldn't have known. i liked parts of it and disliked others, maybe its just not my cup of tea. as far as greek myth retellings go it was pretty decent
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Slavery
madamenovelist's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Rape, Misogyny, War, Gore, Violence, Murder, Slavery, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Sexism, Xenophobia, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, and Death of parent
poetic_liz's review against another edition
4.75
I should give this book five stars for its relentless, ruthless, bitterly honest narrator and it's beautiful, ugly, pretty use of words. So many of those quotes will stay with me. The book balances beautiful prose with harsh commentary, lyrical stanza with curse words, poetic descriptions with vulgar and heartless wording.
As someone who read way too many books on Greek myth, this was very refreshing to read, both in terms of narrator, style choices and timeline chosen. It is truly unique amongst other retellings and focuses on women very differently than most "women focused"/"feminist" retellings do. Often I dislike them for trying to hard or not enough. This book wasn't ashamed to face the bitter truth of the lives of women and goddesses. It was ugly, disturbing, and utterly beautiful.
The thing that keeps the 5 stars away is that I wasn't happy with some of the plot choices made. This is completely on me and my personal taste, other people may love it. The book would for sure be 5/5 if I could only give full stars.
I beg everyone to read this, to approach it with an open mind, ready to be disappointed by your heroes and the female characters alike, for they are all human. And what can I say? Humans are built like gods, so be ready to be disappointed by the gods as well.
As someone who read way too many books on Greek myth, this was very refreshing to read, both in terms of narrator, style choices and timeline chosen. It is truly unique amongst other retellings and focuses on women very differently than most "women focused"/"feminist" retellings do. Often I dislike them for trying to hard or not enough. This book wasn't ashamed to face the bitter truth of the lives of women and goddesses. It was ugly, disturbing, and utterly beautiful.
The thing that keeps the 5 stars away is that I wasn't happy with some of the plot choices made. This is completely on me and my personal taste, other people may love it. The book would for sure be 5/5 if I could only give full stars.
I beg everyone to read this, to approach it with an open mind, ready to be disappointed by your heroes and the female characters alike, for they are all human. And what can I say? Humans are built like gods, so be ready to be disappointed by the gods as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Rape, War, Slavery, and Misogyny
brazenbookbabe's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
4.0
This was a great Greek myth retelling. I very much enjoyed Hera as a narrator and this insight into Penelope’s story during her period on Ithaca without Odysseus. It was bitchy and full of feminine rage.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, War, Violence, Slavery, and Sexual violence
nataliii's review against another edition
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This book had glimmers of success in style/tone and touching emotional or reflective moments, but overall fell short of an engaging story and narrative style for me. I found it inconsistent throughout, starting out highly, nearly annoyingly, lyrical (said as one who enjoys lyrical prose) alongside strange dry snark that felt out of place coupled with the lyrical surroundings of the first 1/4. I did enjoy Hera as the narrator, though agree that it did create a lot of distance between the reader and main characters - I wanted to be closer to Penelope’s and Telemachus’s thoughts and emotions.
Appreciated the potential and ambition, but this didn’t really pan out for me and I likely won’t read the next installment.
Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook for an eARC of this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Slavery, and Sexism
srm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a fascinating account of Penelope struggles to survive and maintain her position in the long wait for Odysseus to return from the Trojan War. Told from the POV of the goddess Hera, Penelope is undoubtedly the focus, but Hera's omniscience allows the reader to see the thoughts of Telemachus, Elektra, and many others at the Ithacan court. Plus, Hera's narrative voice is just fantastic. Interested that this is listed as Penelope #1, because I'm definitely excited to see where North goes with this next.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
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