Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Lore Olympus 1

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Lore Olympus 1 by Rachel Smythe

24 reviews

cassiecraycray's review against another edition

emotional funny fast-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

This story is beautiful. The artwork is amazing.
I absolutely love Persephone and Hades, they are so adorable and their interactions so sweet.
I think its amazing how she's portraying the different gods and goddess. She's flipped the script on how some are portrayed, Hera isn't some cruel goddess in this story. It's refreshing and wonderful.

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

This is a situation of having checked this book in one too many times to pass it up again. Flipping through, the colors and illustrations looked so fun, and as you know I’m into mythology of all kinds. And I’m apparently on a Hades and Persephone streak (having just read A Touch of Darkness), so I brought it home. Worth it though, as once I sat down with it, I made it through the whole thing in like, less than an hour.

So, obviously, this is a graphic novel Hades and Persephone retelling. It’s originally a Webtoon comic, from Smythe, that has since been turned into a series of fully physically published collections. This first installation takes us through Hades and Persephone meeting at a party, their first night “together” and the feels they’re starting to have about each other. Plus, we get some back story on each, explaining some of their vibes and traits – some of Hades’ soft spots and flashbacks, some of Persephone’s sheltered past and intro to the world of Olympus. And we get introduced to a few other gods and goddesses, like the brothers (Zeus and Poseidon), Artemis and her brother Apollo, Hermes, Hera and Aphrodite and her son Eros, along with a few side plots/stories more focused on them.

The illustrations were just as colorful and fun as they looked when I first flipped through – I loved the entire visual facet of the story. I did struggle a few times following the jump between stories and locations and interactions, but that could also come down to me, as this is a Webtoon series I am consuming all in one sitting. This is a great contemporary take, with cell phones and strip clubs and other current day aspects. Plus, I did really like the sibling relationship amongst Hades, Zeus and Poseidon – the three of them interacting is not something I usually see and that’s really fun (if unhealthy, in ways lining up with how all the gods’ relationships are). As with all mythological stories, there are really toxic relationships all over, quite a bit of sexual harassment and assault (either on-page or in reference,) and Smythe recognizes and includes those pieces here. But there is also a sweetness to the budding connection between Hades and Persephone that holds promise. And a lot of the side/additional stories, as I mentioned earlier, hold promise of developing alongside the primary one, adding interest and dimension.

Other than that, while I definitely enjoyed this read and am looking forward to the next compilations (my library has volumes 2 and 3 as well, and I am already on the holds list for them) I am into, but not yet in love with, this retelling. I am, clearly, invested enough to see where it goes from here, and hoping that my lukewarm-ness is more to do with the fact that the ending leaves me hanging (I mean, I know what happens, but still, what are they talking about on their phone call and when do they see each other again and can someone just knock Apollo out already?!) than anything else. As a retelling of a story I’ve consumed lots of times (which is a high bar expectation that is absolutely on me), this so far is a solid, but not groundbreaking, version. A very entertaining first graphic novel interpretation though, and like I said, looking forward to continuing the story.

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haydenreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The use of color in this book is fantastic, how each god and goddess is represented by a different color. Any time you update mythology there is 1) conflicting origin stories/myths associated with the gods and 2) a need to make the stories more relevant to a modern audience and that is true of Lore Olympus. While there's a general attention to entanglements and personalities of the original myths, there's plenty of license, but the license makes sense and is entertaining.

They don't shy away from issues of misogyny and infidelity (which makes sense, Zeus is involved), sexual assault, body image, or power imbalance so be prepared. No matter how sweet the art looks, the story is more hard-hitting.

It was an enjoyable story and probably gains even more depth on re-read.

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tanniegames's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I read lore olympus through the Web toon app but it is wonderful having it in a book form and being able to read it in an easy to read format. The story is just wonderful and mostly optimistic despite dealing with hard topics. A wonderful read with lovely artwork. Though I would say it's lovely to see how Rachel's artistry has grown over the time of creating lore olympus.

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lisa_m's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

I love greek mythology, I love Hades and Persephone and I love graphic novels so I already knew before starting to read this that I would like it.
What I did not know though was that this graphic novel is portraying a lot of heavy topics and that caught me of guard. Especially the rape scene was a lot. But just generally I would not recommend this to everyone for that reason. I do think it was all handled really well and respectfully.
Please do look at the trigger warnings though! Since it is visually portrayed I think it can be especially triggering.

I really enjoyed reading this book though. The drawing style is gorgeous and I felt really immersed in the story. There is great attention to detail and that helps with the main problem I have with graphic novels (them feeling too short and the characters not being flashed out enough).

I am definitely reading the second book as well and I'm really excited for it too. The only reason this isn't a 5 star read for me is that it made me feel bad because of all the darker themes. It is really close though and I might give it 5 stars after a reread in the future.

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anapthine's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny relaxing sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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caleighrosebud's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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pastel_princess's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This book was pretty good, for a romance. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous, but I am not a huge fan of romance and jealousy as the main focus of a story. If you enjoy romances, this is probably a perfect series for you.

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dannythestreet's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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gabrielleclarke05's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Apollo can choke. I love this WEBTOON so much ❤️‍🔥

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