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lealikestoread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
definitely worth the read.
Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
kennedyevermore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Let's start off with the good:
The narration. The narration is amazing, unique, and my favorite part of this book. I love that greek Gods and Goddesses narrate and play a role in the story. My favorite parts of the book were when they were interrupting the story to interact with each other. Aphrodite and Hephestus's relationship is so compelling. I also really enjoyed Ares as a character. I love him just being annoyed the whole time and also being a total man-whore. The author does a great job of making each of the gods have a very distinct narrating style and role in the story. For example, when Ares is narrating he is not biased and doesn't interject with what's happening. However, Aphrodite is constantly giving her own thoughts and opinions when telling her parts of the story and she also constantly meddles in what the mortals are doing (I mean, she's the whole reason any of the characters in her story end up together).
I think the beginning of this book is really strong. We start off with meeting Aphrodite, Ares, and Hephaestus in the 40s, and Aphrodite starts telling them a love story from WWI. Then she takes us to the 20s to meet Hazel and James who are adorable and super loveable. The author does a great job of making you root for the characters right away.
I also love the other characters we're introduced to. I immediately fell in love with Collette and Aubrey. I also love the role that Hades plays in the story, and the way he's introduced is very cool and funny (And so very Hades).
I also love Aphrodite's and Hephestus's arc. I think their storyline is super romantic and their ending is perfect.
This whole book, despite its problems, is very pretty. The language, style, and way it's written are very beautiful and there are a lot of great quotes in this book.
Now the not so good:
Another smaller thing that irked me was Hazel getting assaulted. It added nothing to the story and was never mentioned again. It was really unnecessary and it felt like it was just there for shock value.
Now onto my biggest problem with the book, the ending:
I really thought this book would have some big tragic ending. We're dealing with greek gods, the author had the opportunity to go crazy but she doesn't. There's this little fake-out where Hazel's train gets blown up when she's on her way to see James but then Aphrodite convinces Hades to give her back "without her beauty" (she actually just has a few scars but whatever). Hades letting her live also doesn't make sense. He's introduced as this cool, seductive character but ends up being a total pushover at the end.
Ultimatley, the story gets wrapped up way too fast and builds up to nothing (I did like Aphrodite and Hephestus's ending though).
If you go into this book not expecting anything super crazy to happen and you just want to listen to greek gods tell a story, this book is for you.
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Racism, and War
anna_23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism, War, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual assault
allthewords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and War
Moderate: Death of parent and Genocide
muh_hahaha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Hate crime, and Grief
ohheyandi's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Violence
honeyreads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders