Scan barcode
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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
3.0
The Temple of Persephone by Isabella Kamal evidences evocative writing and a unique premise. While Hades and Persephone retellings are not uncommon, I've never read one that called back so directly to the original tale and that used the mythology through so much of the plot's throughline. Aside from that inspiration, the characters also felt very reminiscent of our cast from Pride and Prejudice - a surly (but largely just misunderstood) male main character, a hoydenish female main character aging into spinsterhood (in her mid-20s) in the countryside with an elderly, doting (but distant) father, and a secondary romance between two sunshine characters who fall immediately and hopelessly in love.
Despite all the familiar beats in this romance (marriage of convenience is usually a favorite set-up for me!), I struggled to feel the chemistry between the two main characters and wished for more on-page tension between them through the first half of the book. This is a very introspective book, with most page-space devoted to inner monologue, and there were moments I wanted more interaction between characters, more showing and less telling, more push and pull between them. The secondary plot - and the primary cause of tension between our main characters - felt like it was carrying too much in the final act, as I struggled to imagine the back-and-forth truly being as drawn out as it was.
In another call-back to Pride and Prejudice, in the final act, we have our male main character threatening to interfere in a secondary plot in a way that didn't feel as resolved as I needed it to be - his actions are frustrating and limit agency for these characters in a way that rankled a bit. This, alongside our female main character's continued negative self-talk throughout the narrative (more telling than showing, as we don't see a lot of evidence for why she may have felt that way among her family and friends), made it hard for me to really root for the main characters through the final conflict.
While I struggled with the plot and characters, I did find the writing to be compelling, and I'll read more by this author in the future, in hopes that this was just a set-up that didn't quite work for me. Thank you to the author and publisher for an advanced reader copy!
Despite all the familiar beats in this romance (marriage of convenience is usually a favorite set-up for me!), I struggled to feel the chemistry between the two main characters and wished for more on-page tension between them through the first half of the book. This is a very introspective book, with most page-space devoted to inner monologue, and there were moments I wanted more interaction between characters, more showing and less telling, more push and pull between them. The secondary plot - and the primary cause of tension between our main characters - felt like it was carrying too much in the final act, as I struggled to imagine the back-and-forth truly being as drawn out as it was.
In another call-back to Pride and Prejudice, in the final act, we have our male main character threatening to interfere in a secondary plot in a way that didn't feel as resolved as I needed it to be - his actions are frustrating and limit agency for these characters in a way that rankled a bit. This, alongside our female main character's continued negative self-talk throughout the narrative (more telling than showing, as we don't see a lot of evidence for why she may have felt that way among her family and friends), made it hard for me to really root for the main characters through the final conflict.
While I struggled with the plot and characters, I did find the writing to be compelling, and I'll read more by this author in the future, in hopes that this was just a set-up that didn't quite work for me. Thank you to the author and publisher for an advanced reader copy!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Grief, Alcoholism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death
Brief mentions of stillbirth. Notes on consent: verbal consent throughout.
More...