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wordwoonders 's review for:
Goddess of The Hunt
by Shelby Eileen
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Original review posted on my blog : Word Wonders
*I received an eArc of this book from the author in exchange of an honest review*
Since I read Soft in the Middle and absolutely loved it (review a little farther down) I’ve been looking forward to reading everything Shelby writes, so it’s only natural I was excited about Goddess of the Hunt especially after learning it’s 1/ About Artemis! FREAKING ARTEMIS!!! She’s one of my favourite Greek goddesses. And 2/ It’s hella aroace and I’m here for it. So I jumped on the occasion when the author reached out to me with a review copy and devoured it soon after.
There’s just something about the way Shelby strings her words together to make verses and then her verses together to make poems that works for me. They open me up and pour themselves inside my heart, telling it that it’s not alone in the way it’s feeling, that yes, my feelings are valid.
In this one, we follow Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt, the forest, the moon and archery as she grows more comfortable in her chastity vow because it’s not just a vow, it’s also part of who she is, of her identity, as she’s aroace and doesn’t want to be with anyone either romantically or sexually. And my favourite poems were the ones exploring this aspect of her, the ones where she talks about being perceived as harsh, where her softness wasn’t welcomed because the other gods and goddesses needed to fit he into this tiny box that she expanded way beyond. How she struggled not because of who she was -which she completely owns- but because of how the others’ look on her, and that made my aro heart sing.
There are also these “guest” poems from other goddesses’ perspectives. One of which was Leto, her mother. I liked these but, to be quite frank, they didn’t do much for me feeling wise, and I’d always get a little startled moving from Artemis’ perspective that made me feel *so much* to someone else’s that just…didn’t move me. Which is why this was a 3.5 stars read for me. The one exception to this is one poem where Leto talks about what people tell her about Artemis being harsh, unlikable and just not the “right” kind of goddess, the kind that’s sweet and soft. That one really hit me. Especially since Artemis IS soft, the other Olympians just refuse to see it because she doesn’t fit their perception of it and it doesn’t fit their narrative.
Original review posted on my blog : Word Wonders
*I received an eArc of this book from the author in exchange of an honest review*
Since I read Soft in the Middle and absolutely loved it (review a little farther down) I’ve been looking forward to reading everything Shelby writes, so it’s only natural I was excited about Goddess of the Hunt especially after learning it’s 1/ About Artemis! FREAKING ARTEMIS!!! She’s one of my favourite Greek goddesses. And 2/ It’s hella aroace and I’m here for it. So I jumped on the occasion when the author reached out to me with a review copy and devoured it soon after.
There’s just something about the way Shelby strings her words together to make verses and then her verses together to make poems that works for me. They open me up and pour themselves inside my heart, telling it that it’s not alone in the way it’s feeling, that yes, my feelings are valid.
In this one, we follow Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt, the forest, the moon and archery as she grows more comfortable in her chastity vow because it’s not just a vow, it’s also part of who she is, of her identity, as she’s aroace and doesn’t want to be with anyone either romantically or sexually. And my favourite poems were the ones exploring this aspect of her, the ones where she talks about being perceived as harsh, where her softness wasn’t welcomed because the other gods and goddesses needed to fit he into this tiny box that she expanded way beyond. How she struggled not because of who she was -which she completely owns- but because of how the others’ look on her, and that made my aro heart sing.
There are also these “guest” poems from other goddesses’ perspectives. One of which was Leto, her mother. I liked these but, to be quite frank, they didn’t do much for me feeling wise, and I’d always get a little startled moving from Artemis’ perspective that made me feel *so much* to someone else’s that just…didn’t move me. Which is why this was a 3.5 stars read for me. The one exception to this is one poem where Leto talks about what people tell her about Artemis being harsh, unlikable and just not the “right” kind of goddess, the kind that’s sweet and soft. That one really hit me. Especially since Artemis IS soft, the other Olympians just refuse to see it because she doesn’t fit their perception of it and it doesn’t fit their narrative.