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A review by jinnyshollow
The Tale of Kore by Amanda L. Rautio
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.*
Vibe/Mood: .5
Characters: 1
Plot: .5
Scratched my ADHD brain: 1
Hyperfixation Potential: .5
3.5/5 🌟
The Tale of Kore was a unique read in that I went in expecting the romance angle of a HadesxPersephone retelling, but what I got was more of a philosophical, reflective character study of Corey and how her story intertwined more with and affected the world as a whole (and tbh, Hades was just a supporting character in this, and I’m not mad about it.)
I’m not normally a fanof amnesia as a device for a plot, but I think in this case, it was done well and made sense to the overall story being woven. (pun intended) I also found the way the author wove different mythos together to create a larger overarching mythos for the cultures of Earth was neat and does support a lot of Classics academia belief that these ancient cultures had certain things more in common than not and provided a really interesting set up for the overall story of the novel.
I had some issues with the writing, as there were clearly mistakes with character names (Cynthia and Claudia? Aiden and Hades?), and it kind of felt like the author couldn’t stick to one name for him even within the same scene, and it was mildly confusing. I also felt like there were parts where her prose was so well-written and lines that I loved and highlighted, but those would then be dampened by saying something like “pulling a Percy Jackson.” Like, it was trying to be academic and philosophical while also being easily digestible and contemporary. (Which, in hindsight, might make a lot of sense with the focus being on Corey and her being literally between two different worlds all her life.)
Overall, I did enjoy my time reading it. It just needed some more editing and some assistance with pacing because the overall plot of Corey’s story was either too fast or not fast enough at times, and I almost put it down about halfway through. I am glad that I didn’t because I was very happy with the ending and how her story wrapped up.
Vibe/Mood: .5
Characters: 1
Plot: .5
Scratched my ADHD brain: 1
Hyperfixation Potential: .5
3.5/5 🌟
The Tale of Kore was a unique read in that I went in expecting the romance angle of a HadesxPersephone retelling, but what I got was more of a philosophical, reflective character study of Corey and how her story intertwined more with and affected the world as a whole
I’m not normally a fan
I had some issues with the writing, as there were clearly mistakes with character names (Cynthia and Claudia? Aiden and Hades?), and it kind of felt like the author couldn’t stick to one name for him even within the same scene, and it was mildly confusing. I also felt like there were parts where her prose was so well-written and lines that I loved and highlighted, but those would then be dampened by saying something like “pulling a Percy Jackson.” Like, it was trying to be academic and philosophical while also being easily digestible and contemporary. (Which, in hindsight, might make a lot of sense with the focus being on Corey and her being literally between two different worlds all her life.)
Overall, I did enjoy my time reading it. It just needed some more editing and some assistance with pacing because the overall plot of Corey’s story was either too fast or not fast enough at times, and I almost put it down about halfway through. I am glad that I didn’t because I was very happy with the ending and how her story wrapped up.