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apostrophen's review
3.0
My original review from http://www.eroticarevealed.com
I adore mythology. When it comes to the Greek or Norse myths, I could read and re-read for hours, especially since so many of the tales have been written – or re-written – in so many different voices. Interpretation, so often key in any historical pursuit, is everything, and where different tellings of the “same” tale can go can astound me. So I had high hopes for Seducing the Myth, and maybe that came into play a little bit too much, but the end result was a mixed bag. In her introduction, Felthouse says it was a close call between doing a mythology anthology and a paranormal anthology – and I have to agree, except that’s how I felt about Seducing the Myth.
It’s not that the myths the authors chose to tackle in the anthology were uninteresting – I actually found the range of myths quite intriguing, and many of the ideas were very clever. But there was an unevenness that crept in a bit too often – many of the stories read more paranormal than mythological.
The opening tale, “Djinn and Tonic” by Lexie Bay, was quick to illustrate that we weren’t going to be playing with just the typical Greek myths. I liked that – but then I found that I sincerely disliked Laura, the main character of the story. She likes her man more or less – it’s hard to tell if she loves him – but gosh if he isn’t just sad in the sack. But, he’s rich and he loves her and he’s a nice guy, so she’ll make a go of it – even if she does think he has a weak chin. When she thinks to herself that she’s being a bitch, I whole heartedly agreed, and had to struggle through the rest of the story. The erotic contents of her journey with her mother-in-law’s djinn – which she’ll inherit along with the house when she marries her husband – left me more annoyed than aroused. It’s not that the sex wasn’t well written – it was, and the author had a lot of fun with the wish-granting djinn – it’s just that this horrible woman was going to end up with everything. At no point did I have the slightest wish for her to end up happy.
Fulani’s “Andi in Chains” follows – and tackles the myth of Andromeda by turning everyone involved into crime families on a modern day coastal city. This story was my favourite of the anthology – taking the bare bones of the myth, twisting it perfectly into a contemporary setting, and heating up the temperature to a high pitch. When Perseus (a ruthless gun for hire) comes across Andi all trussed up for some pirates due to a turf war gone bad, well, things happen. I loved the retelling here – crime families, drug cartels – and it sizzled as well as being an incredibly clever idea.
Some of the stories show this same cleverness (Medusa in K.D. Grace’s “Stones” and the wonderfully done “Aspara” by Burton Lawrence, which tackled South Asian mythology), some less so, though they did grant some well-written erotic prose (“The Weary Traveller” by Indigo Skye, for example, is sexy but didn’t really reinvent the wheel). Some stories were good but didn’t really hit on a particular myth – they’re more magical realism or urban fantasy. Again, that’s not a bad thing – “Logan’s Treasure” by Lisa Fox had a decent plot – a captain finds a treasure that leads him to an island of bliss that might come with a terrible price – but I spent a good amount of time wondering if there was a myth I was forgetting or just missing. Was this supposed to be Theseus, maybe? Mermaids, the Undead, Fairies, Lost Seductive Souls – I kept struggling.
Similarly, “Beltane Fire” by Hawthorn – a really solid story, scorching sex, and as someone who has always loved watching the wheel of the year turn, I was very happy to see Beltane get some representation. This was another story I really thought was well-written and engaging, and wonderfully sexual in a very affirming way – but mythological? I’m not sure.
“The True Folly of Icarus” by Saskia Walker, “Saving Orpheus” by Indigo Skye, “A Temple for Hera” by Maxine Marsh and “In the Springtime” by Elizabeth Thorne are probably the stories that are the most like what I was expecting. These are myths re-told with an erotic lens. Others, like “Blooming April’s Flower” by Jillian Murphy, straddle the line a bit between paranormal and mythological.
It’s this sometimes lack of focus that left me a bit befuddled with the anthology. There are some seriously strong stories here – again, I really enjoyed what Fulani did to the Andromeda myth – but overall, there was a lack of cohesiveness. If you read Seducing the Myth as a loose collection of erotic stories with some mythology, some magic, some spirits, and some paranormal, then I think you’ll have a good time. But for every two mythology stories, I felt like I bumped into one that fit more the paranormal niche instead.
I adore mythology. When it comes to the Greek or Norse myths, I could read and re-read for hours, especially since so many of the tales have been written – or re-written – in so many different voices. Interpretation, so often key in any historical pursuit, is everything, and where different tellings of the “same” tale can go can astound me. So I had high hopes for Seducing the Myth, and maybe that came into play a little bit too much, but the end result was a mixed bag. In her introduction, Felthouse says it was a close call between doing a mythology anthology and a paranormal anthology – and I have to agree, except that’s how I felt about Seducing the Myth.
It’s not that the myths the authors chose to tackle in the anthology were uninteresting – I actually found the range of myths quite intriguing, and many of the ideas were very clever. But there was an unevenness that crept in a bit too often – many of the stories read more paranormal than mythological.
The opening tale, “Djinn and Tonic” by Lexie Bay, was quick to illustrate that we weren’t going to be playing with just the typical Greek myths. I liked that – but then I found that I sincerely disliked Laura, the main character of the story. She likes her man more or less – it’s hard to tell if she loves him – but gosh if he isn’t just sad in the sack. But, he’s rich and he loves her and he’s a nice guy, so she’ll make a go of it – even if she does think he has a weak chin. When she thinks to herself that she’s being a bitch, I whole heartedly agreed, and had to struggle through the rest of the story. The erotic contents of her journey with her mother-in-law’s djinn – which she’ll inherit along with the house when she marries her husband – left me more annoyed than aroused. It’s not that the sex wasn’t well written – it was, and the author had a lot of fun with the wish-granting djinn – it’s just that this horrible woman was going to end up with everything. At no point did I have the slightest wish for her to end up happy.
Fulani’s “Andi in Chains” follows – and tackles the myth of Andromeda by turning everyone involved into crime families on a modern day coastal city. This story was my favourite of the anthology – taking the bare bones of the myth, twisting it perfectly into a contemporary setting, and heating up the temperature to a high pitch. When Perseus (a ruthless gun for hire) comes across Andi all trussed up for some pirates due to a turf war gone bad, well, things happen. I loved the retelling here – crime families, drug cartels – and it sizzled as well as being an incredibly clever idea.
Some of the stories show this same cleverness (Medusa in K.D. Grace’s “Stones” and the wonderfully done “Aspara” by Burton Lawrence, which tackled South Asian mythology), some less so, though they did grant some well-written erotic prose (“The Weary Traveller” by Indigo Skye, for example, is sexy but didn’t really reinvent the wheel). Some stories were good but didn’t really hit on a particular myth – they’re more magical realism or urban fantasy. Again, that’s not a bad thing – “Logan’s Treasure” by Lisa Fox had a decent plot – a captain finds a treasure that leads him to an island of bliss that might come with a terrible price – but I spent a good amount of time wondering if there was a myth I was forgetting or just missing. Was this supposed to be Theseus, maybe? Mermaids, the Undead, Fairies, Lost Seductive Souls – I kept struggling.
Similarly, “Beltane Fire” by Hawthorn – a really solid story, scorching sex, and as someone who has always loved watching the wheel of the year turn, I was very happy to see Beltane get some representation. This was another story I really thought was well-written and engaging, and wonderfully sexual in a very affirming way – but mythological? I’m not sure.
“The True Folly of Icarus” by Saskia Walker, “Saving Orpheus” by Indigo Skye, “A Temple for Hera” by Maxine Marsh and “In the Springtime” by Elizabeth Thorne are probably the stories that are the most like what I was expecting. These are myths re-told with an erotic lens. Others, like “Blooming April’s Flower” by Jillian Murphy, straddle the line a bit between paranormal and mythological.
It’s this sometimes lack of focus that left me a bit befuddled with the anthology. There are some seriously strong stories here – again, I really enjoyed what Fulani did to the Andromeda myth – but overall, there was a lack of cohesiveness. If you read Seducing the Myth as a loose collection of erotic stories with some mythology, some magic, some spirits, and some paranormal, then I think you’ll have a good time. But for every two mythology stories, I felt like I bumped into one that fit more the paranormal niche instead.
prationality's review
4.0
Let's review why I read this book: mythology, anthology and romance--yeah that about covers all my particular interests very well. I've read a couple of the authors present before--Kay Dee Royal for instance and I have a Louisa Bacio waiting on me, plus I've definitely read Justine Elyot before. Still there are 24 (very short) stories with a few of the authors repeating. I'll highlight a few stories before giving an overall review.
Djinn and Tonic by Lexie Bay - I probably would have enjoyed this story better if the main character didn't rub me wrong for the entirety of the story. This is meant to be a romance, but she's dismissive of her future husband, fantasizing about waiters and when the Djinn shows up, well I lost a lot of respect for her. I do approve of Dastan's fantasy conjuring abilities however and this was a really hot read.
Andi in Chains by Fulani - Re-imagining of Perseus and Andromeda's meeting was certainly different! Andromeda--better known as Andi--was into bondage and kink, Perseus was a tough son of a gun mercenary and well virgin sacrifice took on a different twist. This story amused me and was possibly my favorite.
In the Springtime by Elizabeth Thorne - This is Persephone and Hades and I have to admit I like that Persephone is more proactive about everything in this story. She wants her own life, she wanted to go with Hades, and she wanted to come to an agreement with her mother. By the end of the story Peresephone was my hero.
Stones by K D Grace - I've always felt bad for Medusa, no matter which way you look at her story its a short stick she was dealt. Grace chose to take the view that Medusa wasn't a monster, she just was confused and given this terrible power without guidance. Of all the stories this felt the best developed and came alive the best for me.
Saving Orpheus by Indigo Skye - I'm beginning to see a trend in the stories I enjoyed (all Greek related). The story of Orpheus is well known, but I found this story of who helped him get over the loss more intriguing. If nothing else it was nice to see Orpheus as something other then a sad sack.
Q is for... by Caz Jones - I'm mentioning this one just because I find it hilarious that the infamous God of love is sitting in a bar trying to get sloshed and doesn't know who Jane Austen is. Short and heated it was a mighty quick read.
The Lady of the Flowers by Shan Ellis - This was an interesting tale of lust, revenge and betrayal. Quite a few of the stories don't end well and this one ended with a sort of fierceness. It was done and over with before I could even blink in fact, not because its short, but the story pulled me along with its tense undertone.
Overall I have to say I was pretty pleased with this anthology. The stories were on the fairly short side, but were by in large really hot. Not all of them ended happily, some of the authors chose to stick closely to the ending of the original myth or tale (The True Folly of Icaraus by Saskia Walker for instance) and there were some surprises (The Lady of the Flowers is based on a Welsh legend) amongst the normally re-imagine Greek/Roman mythology.
And happiest of most I found a few new authors to pick up and try!
Review originally posted at Night Owl Reviews
Djinn and Tonic by Lexie Bay - I probably would have enjoyed this story better if the main character didn't rub me wrong for the entirety of the story. This is meant to be a romance, but she's dismissive of her future husband, fantasizing about waiters and when the Djinn shows up, well I lost a lot of respect for her. I do approve of Dastan's fantasy conjuring abilities however and this was a really hot read.
Andi in Chains by Fulani - Re-imagining of Perseus and Andromeda's meeting was certainly different! Andromeda--better known as Andi--was into bondage and kink, Perseus was a tough son of a gun mercenary and well virgin sacrifice took on a different twist. This story amused me and was possibly my favorite.
In the Springtime by Elizabeth Thorne - This is Persephone and Hades and I have to admit I like that Persephone is more proactive about everything in this story. She wants her own life, she wanted to go with Hades, and she wanted to come to an agreement with her mother. By the end of the story Peresephone was my hero.
Stones by K D Grace - I've always felt bad for Medusa, no matter which way you look at her story its a short stick she was dealt. Grace chose to take the view that Medusa wasn't a monster, she just was confused and given this terrible power without guidance. Of all the stories this felt the best developed and came alive the best for me.
Saving Orpheus by Indigo Skye - I'm beginning to see a trend in the stories I enjoyed (all Greek related). The story of Orpheus is well known, but I found this story of who helped him get over the loss more intriguing. If nothing else it was nice to see Orpheus as something other then a sad sack.
Q is for... by Caz Jones - I'm mentioning this one just because I find it hilarious that the infamous God of love is sitting in a bar trying to get sloshed and doesn't know who Jane Austen is. Short and heated it was a mighty quick read.
The Lady of the Flowers by Shan Ellis - This was an interesting tale of lust, revenge and betrayal. Quite a few of the stories don't end well and this one ended with a sort of fierceness. It was done and over with before I could even blink in fact, not because its short, but the story pulled me along with its tense undertone.
Overall I have to say I was pretty pleased with this anthology. The stories were on the fairly short side, but were by in large really hot. Not all of them ended happily, some of the authors chose to stick closely to the ending of the original myth or tale (The True Folly of Icaraus by Saskia Walker for instance) and there were some surprises (The Lady of the Flowers is based on a Welsh legend) amongst the normally re-imagine Greek/Roman mythology.
And happiest of most I found a few new authors to pick up and try!
Review originally posted at Night Owl Reviews
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