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bellerina2000's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, and War
Moderate: Suicide and Incest
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
saskiajva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Child death, Murder, Sexism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Grief
Moderate: Rape, Infidelity, War, and Suicidal thoughts
hannahbailey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Self harm, Abandonment, Animal death, Suicide, Slavery, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcoholism
majakrmer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Pregnancy, Death, Grief, Child death, and Rape
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Incest, and Animal death
Minor: War
nialiversuch'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
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide, Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, War, Child death, Confinement, and Domestic abuse
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: Injury/Injury detail, War, Animal death, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Death, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Grief, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism
theequestrianslibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
To start, as I'm rewriting this review a second time because I accidentally deleted the first one, I was very happy to see a retelling of a Greek Myth that wasn't Persephone & Hades (though I do love that pairing immensely.) For about the first 1/3 of the book, I was unaware this WAS a retelling, but that may have simply been my own oversight, considering the names Theseus and the Minotaur were also mentioned. I digress.
After about 1/3 of the book, I did do a search to see if the main characters, Ariadne and Phaedra, were in fact real characters in these Greek myths. Because of this, I discovered they were and carried on with reading, though now I had some additional information such as pertaining to who ended up with who based on the legend.
The book's writing retains a "formal, prose-y" type of speech, especially when characters are talking. There weren't very many instances that I was confused by a word or a phrase, but did take note of how the characters spoke. The descriptions of scenes and setting was flowery, and as a more flowery writer myself, I tend to appreciate this type of description. However, there were instances in the book, mostly in the first 1/2 that involved numerous references back to past events in the characters' lives. While this is usually fine, it did get a point where it felt very repetitive and almost annoying. By annoying, I mean, "Yes, yes, we know this happened to them, we've been over this, [...]" etc. Etc.
The book also utilizes timeskips. For most of the book, you have no idea how long has actually passed between the very first chapter, to the very end of the book. You actually do not find out how much time has passed until the very last 5 or so chapters. Which, some of the ending chapters were extremely short, some having only two pages, while others earlier on were bordering having ten. While short chapters can be useful in short, choppy scenes, it felt rushed and like larger plot points were simply ran past, in a way that was very reminiscent of, "Oh, okay, we're already past that then." Admittedly, this may have affected my reaction to the end, as well as my brief research into the character' original identities.
When the book ended, I did not feel any overwhelming emotions. I was simply ready for the next one, unlike other books that can leave you in emotional disarray for days on end. I didn't dislike the book, but I would border it more to a 3.5 rather than a 3. The book, to me personally, feels like a one-off. You read it, mark it off your list, and then keep it on the shelf for its pretty cover. I would recommend it simply because it is a retelling of a myth not often touched upon, as it's a good one to simply sit down, read, and enjoy for what it is.
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Genocide, Kidnapping, Violence, War, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment
Abandonment, Abuse/Neglect, Alcohol Consumption, Animal Cruelty/Abuse/Tortue, Animal Death, Arranged Marriage, Asphyxia/Strangulation/Hanging, Pseudo-Banishment/Exile, Bestiality, Blood/Gore Descriptions, Childbirth, Dead Bodies/Body Parts, Death of a Parent, Death of a Sibling, Grief/Loss Depictions, Genocide, Psuedo-Incest (Stepmom/Stepson), Pregnancy (Wanted/Unwanted), Rape/Sexual Assault, Suicide (via Hanging), Suicidal Ideation, Starvation/Dehydration Depictionsamelianotthepilot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Death
icarusandthesun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
It's so wordy and slow and boring. Fancy words and fancy sentence structures might be nice from time to time, but not to this extend. It was so tiring and my attention wavered frequently, making the whole experience rather unenjoyable.
The story wasn't quite it either. Lots of insta love and betrayal and nothing really of value. The message was repetitive and nothing new or revolutionary. I was expecting rich feminist commentary and some of it was good, not gonna lie, but most of it was just the same "men suck" and "gods suck" and so forth, as if everybody wasn't already aware.
Deeply disappointed.
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Suicide
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
realalexmartin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, War, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Gore, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Misogyny, and Physical abuse