Scan barcode
A review by authorlibrarianrachel
Game of Strength and Storm by Rachel Menard
4.0
I received a copy of the netgalleys in exchange for my review.
Game of Strength and Storm by Rachel Menard tells the story of Gen, a former circus performer trying to rescue her wrongfully imprisoned father and Castor sister to the heir apparent to Arcadia, a country who can control, manipulate, bottle, and sell storms! Both girls enter a contest where the Olympian Empresses grant wishes of ten people who win the lottery. However, as with all magic (and everything else) nothing is given for free. Gen has the magical ability to speak to animals and is the last of the Mazons (Amazonians) who draws strength from the Earth but mostly only in her ancestral homeland. The girls are pitted against each other to complete the tasks wished for by the other lottery winners in order to have their own wish granted. They must use their cunning, strength, and unique skills to master increasingly complex and worrying tasks, the last of which involves bringing the empresses the head of a Hydra. And if you know anything about ancient mythology, you know how problematic that ask is.
First, I absolutely adore modernized mythology/classic tales or myths told with new twists. So when I heard about Game of Strength and Storm, I was all about it. The start of this book is a little slow. I don’t really care that Gen’s new clothes are dirtier than she’d like but I do love the fact that she is traveling in the mouth of a Whale! Also, the ability to communicate with animals is a superpower I have always wanted so that hooked me fast even though I don’t know what it’s like to have a parent in prison, let alone wrongly imprisoned. I do know what it is to feel like you don’t belong. To think everyone hates you, is staring at you everywhere you go, whispering about you.
I instantly connected with Gen because of those things. Castor, not so much. But soon there was Pollux who abides by the tragically misunderstood artist tope, something I also love. Watching these teens fighting for their own autonomy, battling mythical monsters, making deals with unsavory characters, and taking on Sisyphean challenges like cleaning up a never-ending pile of horse poop was fantastic. I loved just about every minute of it even if the fight scenes were a bit too long and took place slightly more often than I would have liked.
As much as I personally did not want to be friends with (or on the wrong side of) Castor, I thought she was a wonderfully written character who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty but who is not merely strong because she can fight good. She will do whatever it takes to get what she wants, even if it means hurting the people she loves. Gen is, surprisingly the same way she just goes about it differently. Where Castor will strike physical blows to her own family, Gen cuts herself off from the world, refusing to accept help, love, or friendship from anyone. Please read this book. The cliffhanger ending makes me want very much to read the sequel but we won’t get that if people aren’t buying and talking about this book.
Game of Strength and Storm by Rachel Menard tells the story of Gen, a former circus performer trying to rescue her wrongfully imprisoned father and Castor sister to the heir apparent to Arcadia, a country who can control, manipulate, bottle, and sell storms! Both girls enter a contest where the Olympian Empresses grant wishes of ten people who win the lottery. However, as with all magic (and everything else) nothing is given for free. Gen has the magical ability to speak to animals and is the last of the Mazons (Amazonians) who draws strength from the Earth but mostly only in her ancestral homeland. The girls are pitted against each other to complete the tasks wished for by the other lottery winners in order to have their own wish granted. They must use their cunning, strength, and unique skills to master increasingly complex and worrying tasks, the last of which involves bringing the empresses the head of a Hydra. And if you know anything about ancient mythology, you know how problematic that ask is.
First, I absolutely adore modernized mythology/classic tales or myths told with new twists. So when I heard about Game of Strength and Storm, I was all about it. The start of this book is a little slow. I don’t really care that Gen’s new clothes are dirtier than she’d like but I do love the fact that she is traveling in the mouth of a Whale! Also, the ability to communicate with animals is a superpower I have always wanted so that hooked me fast even though I don’t know what it’s like to have a parent in prison, let alone wrongly imprisoned. I do know what it is to feel like you don’t belong. To think everyone hates you, is staring at you everywhere you go, whispering about you.
I instantly connected with Gen because of those things. Castor, not so much. But soon there was Pollux who abides by the tragically misunderstood artist tope, something I also love. Watching these teens fighting for their own autonomy, battling mythical monsters, making deals with unsavory characters, and taking on Sisyphean challenges like cleaning up a never-ending pile of horse poop was fantastic. I loved just about every minute of it even if the fight scenes were a bit too long and took place slightly more often than I would have liked.
As much as I personally did not want to be friends with (or on the wrong side of) Castor, I thought she was a wonderfully written character who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty but who is not merely strong because she can fight good. She will do whatever it takes to get what she wants, even if it means hurting the people she loves. Gen is, surprisingly the same way she just goes about it differently. Where Castor will strike physical blows to her own family, Gen cuts herself off from the world, refusing to accept help, love, or friendship from anyone. Please read this book. The cliffhanger ending makes me want very much to read the sequel but we won’t get that if people aren’t buying and talking about this book.