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anniekslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
I've read Sajni Patel's YA romances before and let me tell you, those are VERY different. I love an author with range! This book is brutal and graphic, but in a way that will (hopefully) make people feel empowered. You will root for the main character, follow her monster origin story, and wonder who the real monster is. This book is inspired by both the tale of Medusa and Indian mythology, a combination that worked exceedingly well and made for a very gripping read.
CWs: rape, murder, violence, blood, gore, death of parents, menstruation
CWs: rape, murder, violence, blood, gore, death of parents, menstruation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gore, Death of parent, Rape, and Blood
alli_the_bookaholic13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Death, Gore, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Blood
mattyb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Best read of the year. Hands down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Rape, Body horror, Gore, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Colonisation, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Abandonment, War, Body shaming, and Dysphoria
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, and Confinement
mlander's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Violence, and Rape
Moderate: Kidnapping
shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Gore, Body horror, Grief, Murder, Classism, Sexual violence, and Rape
Minor: Cannibalism, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, and Pregnancy
loveat1stwrite's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, Grief, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Gore, Blood, Colonisation, Death, and Rape
Minor: Abandonment
serena_hien's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Blood, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Animal death and Abandonment
irreverent_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fantastic retelling of Medusa. Her myth is honored here. Despite some other reviews mentioning anachronistic wording, I didn’t find it bothersome. It is a YA novel, the main characters themselves being from a younger demographic. The era in which the story is told isn’t explicitly stated- making slight slang phrases fine. If you love Medusa, read this book. And all hail the Serpent Queen!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Misogyny, Blood, Bullying, Classism, and Confinement
carlybomarly's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
This book gripped me from the beginning with its poetic lore and mythology roots. I think it will be with me for some time. It’s not an easy story, but it’s an amazing journey. I personally struggled with the horrors Manisha went through, but these are atrocities that are happening every day. It’s a vivid perspective of who the monsters in the world really are. Who creates and controls the narrative. Please be sure to read the foreword and note from the author before diving into this book. I expected a fun, lighthearted story about Medusa’s side of the myth and I was given a beautiful, heart wrenching story that left me feeling so many things - suspense, anger, horror, wonder, and pride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Emotional abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Rape, War, Violence, Grief, and Genocide
faeriviera's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
slow-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? No
3.0
Shoutout to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
The moment I heard the premise of this story, I immediately wanted to read it. Medusa is one of my favorite "monsters" and I love seeing voices from cultures that aren't often heard giving their takes on classic stories. Add in a forbidden love story between "monster" and slayer to this tale of a woman becoming monstrous against the monsters she faces? What could go wrong?
Well...
I'll admit, this was difficult to get through, and not even because of the subject matter. I feel bad that I didn't like this more, so I'm going to do my best to break this review up into compliment sandwiches.
The author clearly has amazing ideas but the execution left me often struggling to keep reading. Obviously as an ARC the prose isn't in its final form, but as it is it's very uneven, being lush and poetic in one scene and stilted and heavy handed in the next. There are also moments when Patel tries to sprinkle in snarky quips in the middle of something poetic and the tonal whiplash takes me right out of it, especially since as far as "well THAT happened" humor goes, it's pretty weak for the most part. When Patel's prose is good, it's so emotionally impactful and beautiful, and it's part of why the moments when it's not stick out and make the book drag for me. I KNOW she's capable of making this one of those books that rips your still beating heart from your chest and never lets go. Hopefully the final edit shows that.
Additionally, the love story is really poorly developed. It started promisingly, but then Manisha's constant protests against Pratyush's flirting left me cold. The whole point of this story is a hate letter to men who violate women, and while Pratyush is held up as the prime example of "Not All Men", he too could learn a thing or two about taking no for an answer. I really hope this was just a matter of this still being a draft, but this was truly the beginning of my problems with the narrative. It's a shame too, because there are so many moments that would've had me touching my heart if it had been attached to characters I believed belonged together,particularly Pratyush dreaming of their future together, or their post final battle reunion.
This is a book chockful of interesting concepts.Noni the Snake is wonderful, I'm always a sucker for animal friends in my fantasy. I liked the IDEAS of the various societies portrayed in this book (and I must commend Patel for not letting women off the hook for the ways they can perpetuate misogyny), and there were some pretty cool and gruesome fight scenes. Unfortunately, I felt about half of these concepts weren't developed or interesting enough to justify the way the various sidequests ground the pacing of this book to a halt. I also don't think the constant time and POV jumps were the right call for this story, since a lot of this felt like both of our protagonists' stories were spinning their wheels until it was finally time for them to meet again.
I really, really wanted to love this book. As it is, I love the bones of this story, and see a lot of potential for the series Patel is clearly laying the groundwork for, and I hope at least some of these issues are fixed by the time the book comes out on the 16th!
The moment I heard the premise of this story, I immediately wanted to read it. Medusa is one of my favorite "monsters" and I love seeing voices from cultures that aren't often heard giving their takes on classic stories. Add in a forbidden love story between "monster" and slayer to this tale of a woman becoming monstrous against the monsters she faces? What could go wrong?
Well...
I'll admit, this was difficult to get through, and not even because of the subject matter. I feel bad that I didn't like this more, so I'm going to do my best to break this review up into compliment sandwiches.
The author clearly has amazing ideas but the execution left me often struggling to keep reading. Obviously as an ARC the prose isn't in its final form, but as it is it's very uneven, being lush and poetic in one scene and stilted and heavy handed in the next. There are also moments when Patel tries to sprinkle in snarky quips in the middle of something poetic and the tonal whiplash takes me right out of it, especially since as far as "well THAT happened" humor goes, it's pretty weak for the most part. When Patel's prose is good, it's so emotionally impactful and beautiful, and it's part of why the moments when it's not stick out and make the book drag for me. I KNOW she's capable of making this one of those books that rips your still beating heart from your chest and never lets go. Hopefully the final edit shows that.
Additionally, the love story is really poorly developed. It started promisingly, but then Manisha's constant protests against Pratyush's flirting left me cold. The whole point of this story is a hate letter to men who violate women, and while Pratyush is held up as the prime example of "Not All Men", he too could learn a thing or two about taking no for an answer. I really hope this was just a matter of this still being a draft, but this was truly the beginning of my problems with the narrative. It's a shame too, because there are so many moments that would've had me touching my heart if it had been attached to characters I believed belonged together,
This is a book chockful of interesting concepts.
I really, really wanted to love this book. As it is, I love the bones of this story, and see a lot of potential for the series Patel is clearly laying the groundwork for, and I hope at least some of these issues are fixed by the time the book comes out on the 16th!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, Violence, Blood, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Cannibalism
There are some GRUESOME monster fights in this, and thus a lot of gruesome deaths.