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A review by shrikebait
I Never Liked You Anyway by Jordan Kurella
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This is a retelling of Eurydice and Orpheus as queer, polyamorous college students. I enjoyed the LGBTQ+ and alt rep throughout.
I found some of the backstory difficult to follow as the book assumes readers are familiar with Greek myths. I would definitely appreciate more context, particularly for the Odyssey references.
There are also many, many musician name-drops. A few would be fine, but they are so frequent that I felt alienated when I kept having to look up references.
The characters did not resonate with me. In my opinion, the college-aged characters are immature, with almost middle-school-level reasoning. I would love to see Eurydice mature, especially in the Afterlife. When she "has done nothing but the correct things" and just happens to be "a special case," it feels like she takes a passive role instead of actively growing as a person.
Kurella has promising and creative ideas in this book that could shine with more workshopping. As is, this book was not a hit for me.
Thank you so much to Lethe Press for the chance to read this book for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.
I found some of the backstory difficult to follow as the book assumes readers are familiar with Greek myths. I would definitely appreciate more context, particularly for the Odyssey references.
There are also many, many musician name-drops. A few would be fine, but they are so frequent that I felt alienated when I kept having to look up references.
The characters did not resonate with me. In my opinion, the college-aged characters are immature, with almost middle-school-level reasoning. I would love to see Eurydice mature, especially in the Afterlife. When she "has done nothing but the correct things" and just happens to be "a special case," it feels like she takes a passive role instead of actively growing as a person.
Kurella has promising and creative ideas in this book that could shine with more workshopping. As is, this book was not a hit for me.
Thank you so much to Lethe Press for the chance to read this book for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Death, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, and Blood