Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Athena's Child by Hannah Lynn

9 reviews

kylosten's review against another edition

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reflective sad fast-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? Yes

4.0

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maddiereadswords's review

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1.5

Honestly, if this book weren't so short I probably would have DNFed it. The writing was just absolutely not working for me. There were so many random time skips, and POV switches that it was sometimes difficult to tell when and where I was in the story, and the narration was so far removed from the characters that they all ended up feeling really flat. My biggest problem with it, though, is the ending. It was so abrupt and there's sort of a summary of what happens after, but I wish there was more exploration of the aftermath of Perseus's choice. The epilogue sets up such an interesting conversation about toxic masculinity and the role it plays in myth-making, but this book is totally uninterested in having it, so it all just ends up feeling pointlessly brutal and even more tragic than the source material. Don't get me wrong, I am all for a feminist reframing of the Medusa story, but this was just so not it for me. 
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stories's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Loved this. Short chapters, engaging “sub”-plots and enjoyable twists in a retelling of the Medusa story, well grounded on original canon and context. Particular kudos for keeping me guessing all the way through as to how it would end. 
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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-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? Yes

3.5

I guess this is already published by the author herself back in 2020 but now it’s being republished by Sourcebooks Landmark; which is how I got an eARC with a publishing date of September 26 🎉

I’m curious what the differences are between the self published and now traditionally published versions especially because the TRAD book is 192 pages while Lynn’s self published work is 252 😳

Anyways, on to my review of Athena’s Child-Immediately pulled in! That prologue, chills 😍 I was so excited to finally read a Medusa retelling and that we are finally getting a story where Medusa is not a monster born but a “monster” who was made, victimized by the actions of others.

We get POVs from Medusa and Perseus. The first half is mainly Medusa, focusing on her early life and how she became a Gorgon. Then in the second half we get Perseus’ back story and his “heroic” journey. I wish we would’ve gotten more from Medusa though, this novel certainly is quick, to the point, and interesting but it doesn’t add anything new to the Medusa story which I found disappointing.

I enjoyed the first half much more than the second half because I didn’t care about Perseus and wanted to get back to Medusa. The writing style is okay, it’s simple and makes for a quick read but does more telling than showing. I do wonder if the novel is better in the self published version as it’s about 50ish pages more than this version.

Some time jumps could be jarring at times with no warning, the book is split into two parts but the time jump occurs 2-3 chapters into part 2. Seemed like it could’ve been organized a bit smoother. I thought this would be 4.5-5 stars easily but towards the end I just got disappointed in how the story ended up.

Overall not a bad read and one I’d still recommend for Greek mythology lovers, for a quick and easy read! I’m interested to check out the other 2 books in Lynn’s series and hope I’ll enjoy them more.
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readbyella_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-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

3.0

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camillarossi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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cynicalraven's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

I hoped for more... I loved Medusa's characterization but the story is basically Ovid's one. I wished there was more "retelling", more original elements. Best part of the book was Peseus' and Medusa's
conversation at the end
 
Please check the content warnings. Although, if you're familiar with the story you already know what I'm referring to. 
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_viiii_'s review against another edition

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adventurous reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

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rd77's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

A sad story that brings a new perspective to the story of Medusa. I think I would have liked it more if the book was longer. It felt very short, so there was little room to develop characters and settings, to the point that one feels unattached to most characters besides Medusa and Perseus. 
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