Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann

12 reviews

gondorgirl's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Grief, Blood, Gun violence, and Infidelity

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.25

A pretty solid modern family drama based off Greek myth. There are a lot of povs in here, and it can get messy to keep track of. But that is fitting for Greek myth. Not my favorite retelling? interpretation?, but it's not bad at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Murder, Alcohol, Death, and Grief

someryarns's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail

ashhearddwrites's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, and Death

historic_wince's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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

4.25

One of the great things about the gods from ancient Greece is just how human they are. They squabble and hold grudges, play favorites, and could heartlessly cruel. They are complicated beings. Olympus, Texas takes the Greek pantheon and all it's complicated interpersonal relationships and set it within a small town realm, where carelessness and mistakes are no less devastating. Swann carefully updates and edits well known myths into a modern drama. People familiar with the mythology we catch the numerous allusions to other stories not told here. And when it becomes clear which myth we're about to watch be re-enacted, readers will squirm as Greek tragedy demands.
The events of Olympus, Texas take place over one week, told in short snippets from multiple POVs. The characters are complicated and real.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Infidelity, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse

erinblue's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Abandonment

lgmelcher's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity

caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The only good thing I can say about this book is that in the last 40% the pace picked up considerably.  Otherwise, this was nothing but trashy melodrama. I understand that the characters were supposed to resemble the characteristics of certain Greek gods but they ended up feeling like caricatures, not real people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Death

meliroo's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Infidelity

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Stalking

nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

It seems I have an incredibly unpopular opinion on this one. This modern approach to the aggressive family dynamics of the Greek and Roman gods felt clunky and clumsy, overwrought and underthought. 

Peter (Jupiter/Zeus) and June (Juno/Hera) Briscoe are notorious in Olympus for Peter's real estate scheming and philandering and June's loyalty, though June prides herself on her tiny acts of violence and anger, pouring hot coffee on Peter from above morning after morning. Daughter Thea (whose mythological counterpart I haven't been able to identify) has moved away and become an attorney, resentful of her parents' selfishness and uninterested in the daily dramas of her small-town family. The tension between their sons, Hap (Hephaestus/Vulcan) and March (Mars/Ares), is the crux of the novel, which begins with March's return to Olympus after a self-imposed exile two years ago, when he was discovered having an affair with Vera (Venus/Aphrodite), Hap's wife. 
Peter's illegitimate son Arlo (Apollo) has also returned to town, back for the summer after a band tour cut short, hoping to recruit his twin sister, Artie (Artemis/Diana), to reprise her role as his manager. Artie, though, has just begun a new relationship for the first time and is reluctant to leave her new love, Ryan (Orion), for fear he won't wait for her to come back. 

Over the span of a single week, emotions build and erupt, with anger, in all its forms, as the dominant propelling force of the novel. Though an interesting exploration of rage itself, the novel features limited character development, and rather than creatively incorporating a range of myths, superficially retells a basic story. I anticipated a greater level of sophistication and was disappointed by characters and plot lines that hardly dipped beneath the surface and deep-seeded conflicts that resolved so quickly. I did consume the novel in a single day, which is certainly a mark in its favor, but I was hardly emotionally invested and suspect it will be quickly forgotten. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism and Animal death

Minor: Stalking and Sexual harassment