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aislinncp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
piratesandprophecy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i seriously don’t even know where to start? as with every greek mythology retelling i’ve read, i have a lot of fond and conflicting thoughts about ariadne. i find these retellings really difficult to rate a lot of the time, because i always throughly enjoy them but it’s hard to fit stories like this one into just ‘this star rating or that one’.
i’m glad that this book felt like circe in the sense that it didn’t just follow a portion of ariadne and phaedra’s lives, but the majority of them instead. the minotaur really only took up the first 25% of this book, and i liked the way their stories were expanded upon. getting to hear their stories and see their perspectives rather than the men around them was refreshing and i LOVED the notes of feminism in this book, but it was a very faithful retelling overall. not much reimagining was done, if that’s the kind of myth retelling that you like then this one probably won’t be your favourite. it’s a faithful retelling from a new perspective, but not much of the content of the myths was altered in any way, which i honestly kind of liked about it. there were so many moments i underlined that hit so hard on some of the fears and struggles of womanhood, especially in a setting where women are fairly helpless to the whims and vices of the men around them and often fall victim to the vengeance of the gods for crimes and slights committed by men, or to the deprivatities of said gods and men. i loved that aspect of it— the fact that it brought to to light how unjust it is that these women have to suffer so much as pawns in the games of those who hold more power than they do.
in terms of writing, i’ve seen jennifer saint’s prose compared a lot to madeline miller’s. while there are definitely some similarities between their writing styles i feel like madeline miller’s is just… more?? more lush, more descriptive, etc. saint’s prose was HIGHLY enjoyable and i have absolutely nothing against it, some kickass quotes and very memorable and impactful passages lay ensconced in this little tome and her and the way she uses words is breathtaking in its own way, but i think i still prefer madeline miller’s writing in the end. something about her style just hits different for me.
one of the things i found most interesting in ariadne is the relationship between she and dionysus, and dionysus’ character in general honestly. i loved that she depicted him as sort of a being caught halfway between the man he could have been and the god he truly is— how there were moments of a very human tenderness and depth of feeling from him, and then that olympian coldness and vanity would shine through and break the illusion. it kind of lulled you for a while and then you remember ‘oh shit, this guy is still a very powerful, very dangerous and fickle god’. i also loved the stark contrast between ariadne and phaedra. their perspectives never seemed to blur together at all because they’re such distinct characters. their dynamic as sisters was complex and difficult because of how opposite they were, and i loved both of them for different reasons. their characterization was one of the greatest strengths of this book in my opinion.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, and Abandonment
tashtasher's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism
avery_madison's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Suicide and Abandonment
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and War
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
maddiebusick's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Medical content, Trafficking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
alicia_m_andrews's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
bimbo_andthe_bookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was pretty slow at times but I did really enjoy it. Lots of self-reflection and story-telling but thats what you get with greek mythology.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism
hannahcg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Incest and Suicide
clarissajs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and War
madammejay'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? Yes
4.0
not one of my favorite books but still enjoyable, especially the last couple chapters when it all begins unraveling.
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Minor: Child death and War