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A review by roget
Peaceweaver: a retelling of Hades and Persephone by Everly Haywood
3.0
This review is complicated. Parts of this book felt four star, and parts were three.
The opening of this story was fast-paced and compelling, and I found myself quickly attached to the characters. Persis's patience and her values as a healer were refreshing. I loved that these didn't slip in the book's culmination. Her love for Dunewatch was always a delight to read, and her memories of her homeland (and the way she continues to embrace it, despite the distance) was some of the best writing in the book. At his best, Haryk is wry, clever, and charming, and I quickly grew invested in his wellbeing. <3
The author touches on this in an endnote (which I appreciated!), but I did still pause at some of the depictions of blindness in the story. (I am not blind, so take these reflections with a grain of salt.) I wonder if the areas of potential concern discussed in that endnote might've been reworked to accomplish the same goal (emotional intimacy between the protagonists and Persis feeling noticed and appreciated) without drawing from some stereotypes that the author and their sensitivity reader discussed that were touched on in the end note.
I also found myself wishing that Haryk hadn't been "cured." Often, disability is met with a kill-or-cure endgame in stories, and when the book made it seem like Haryk's blindness was going to persist after a showdown with the "curse" (more on that later), I felt it was a strong choice. (As that's the experience most people have with disabilities like this--they don't vanish with true love). The kiss the heroine and hero share there was top notch, and it seemed to communicate that Haryk was agent, whole, and himself. He's heroic in that moment. I was thrilled and elated for them.
But then he gets his sight back anyway, slightly later, as an unintentional side effect of a different magical exchange. And I sort of wondered how necessary that might be. That exchange comes at the cost of Persis's magic, and the tether that linked her to his internal life. (Basically, she gives up her magic to him to save him from peril, and in doing so, it unexpectedly gives him sight on top of helping him handle other magical threats that would otherwise destroy him). The sacrifice would've still been moving had his sight not returned. She did save his life, either way. It would've been interesting to see the space given to his sight restoration provided instead to them having to work on building their relationship without telepathy or dream connections.
Which leads to my next point. Haryk sort of disappears halfway through the book. The roots of the compelling character pull back after a snag around the time that their marriage is arranged. And while I accept some of the reasoning behind Haryk's sudden emotional retreat (fractured trust), some of it felt a bit confusing. It feels like both an under and over-reaction at times. He understands why she withheld information, but he doesn't quite trust her fully, either. His withdrawal is swift and lasting, and she's almost entirely closed off from him emotionally, save for snatches of moments when he seems to waiver. But the reader is locked fully out of his head and heart, and they never really find their way back, completely. There's a good moment during a dragon ride where it seems like a foundation is being laid, but then danger keeps them apart and/or busy for nearly the rest of the story.
While they battle metaphysical danger and push back metaphorical darkness in a dreamscape realm, imho they never fully recover the emotional intimacy that they lost in the mundane world.
I'd have liked to see that, because I grew to be quite invested in their happiness. The story does give a happy ending, but the reader isn't really given the window into Haryk that I was hoping for. I wanted to know more of his motivations, fears, and wishes surrounding Persis.
Finally, some of the twists near the end were interesting, but felt like they might've benefitted from a bit more space to development. The curse-that-wasn't-a-curse was never fully explained, and I'm still not entirely sure of what happened or how tied Haryk's fate was to darkness affecting Gelaira. I'm alright with the latter, though, because Gelaira's condition feels like the sort of thing that might be expanded upon in future books (especially given the librarian's closing comments). Haryk's mom, too. We never really know exactly what happened when she suppressed Haryk's magic as a child. Furthermore, some of her behavior is troubling and is never really unpacked. (Like when she wanted to trick Haryk by exploiting his blindness to leave him behind and out of danger without him knowing. I really wish Haryk had been given a moment to address that more proactively.) She seems to be a bit more grey as a character than Persis gives her credit for.
All that said, the story world was so cool! I wanted more of it. <3 I wanted to see more of Gelaira, especially, and to learn better what every day life looks like there. This definitely reads like one book amidst a series, and I'm curious to see where the story world goes next! (It seems we're in for a war, which is fascinating.) Haywood is strongest in her employment of wit and texture (the note about the librarian and apprentice at the start is just one example; another example would be every word out of Glamren's mouth). Persis made a loveable Persephone figure, and she's probably my favorite part of the story.
The opening of this story was fast-paced and compelling, and I found myself quickly attached to the characters. Persis's patience and her values as a healer were refreshing. I loved that these didn't slip in the book's culmination. Her love for Dunewatch was always a delight to read, and her memories of her homeland (and the way she continues to embrace it, despite the distance) was some of the best writing in the book. At his best, Haryk is wry, clever, and charming, and I quickly grew invested in his wellbeing. <3
The author touches on this in an endnote (which I appreciated!), but I did still pause at some of the depictions of blindness in the story. (I am not blind, so take these reflections with a grain of salt.) I wonder if the areas of potential concern discussed in that endnote might've been reworked to accomplish the same goal (emotional intimacy between the protagonists and Persis feeling noticed and appreciated) without drawing from some stereotypes that the author and their sensitivity reader discussed that were touched on in the end note.
I also found myself wishing that Haryk hadn't been "cured." Often, disability is met with a kill-or-cure endgame in stories, and when the book made it seem like Haryk's blindness was going to persist after a showdown with the "curse" (more on that later), I felt it was a strong choice. (As that's the experience most people have with disabilities like this--they don't vanish with true love). The kiss the heroine and hero share there was top notch, and it seemed to communicate that Haryk was agent, whole, and himself. He's heroic in that moment. I was thrilled and elated for them.
But then he gets his sight back anyway, slightly later, as an unintentional side effect of a different magical exchange. And I sort of wondered how necessary that might be. That exchange comes at the cost of Persis's magic, and the tether that linked her to his internal life. (Basically, she gives up her magic to him to save him from peril, and in doing so, it unexpectedly gives him sight on top of helping him handle other magical threats that would otherwise destroy him). The sacrifice would've still been moving had his sight not returned. She did save his life, either way. It would've been interesting to see the space given to his sight restoration provided instead to them having to work on building their relationship without telepathy or dream connections.
Which leads to my next point. Haryk sort of disappears halfway through the book. The roots of the compelling character pull back after a snag around the time that their marriage is arranged. And while I accept some of the reasoning behind Haryk's sudden emotional retreat (fractured trust), some of it felt a bit confusing. It feels like both an under and over-reaction at times. He understands why she withheld information, but he doesn't quite trust her fully, either. His withdrawal is swift and lasting, and she's almost entirely closed off from him emotionally, save for snatches of moments when he seems to waiver. But the reader is locked fully out of his head and heart, and they never really find their way back, completely. There's a good moment during a dragon ride where it seems like a foundation is being laid, but then danger keeps them apart and/or busy for nearly the rest of the story.
While they battle metaphysical danger and push back metaphorical darkness in a dreamscape realm, imho they never fully recover the emotional intimacy that they lost in the mundane world.
I'd have liked to see that, because I grew to be quite invested in their happiness. The story does give a happy ending, but the reader isn't really given the window into Haryk that I was hoping for. I wanted to know more of his motivations, fears, and wishes surrounding Persis.
Finally, some of the twists near the end were interesting, but felt like they might've benefitted from a bit more space to development. The curse-that-wasn't-a-curse was never fully explained, and I'm still not entirely sure of what happened or how tied Haryk's fate was to darkness affecting Gelaira. I'm alright with the latter, though, because Gelaira's condition feels like the sort of thing that might be expanded upon in future books (especially given the librarian's closing comments). Haryk's mom, too. We never really know exactly what happened when she suppressed Haryk's magic as a child. Furthermore, some of her behavior is troubling and is never really unpacked. (Like when she wanted to trick Haryk by exploiting his blindness to leave him behind and out of danger without him knowing. I really wish Haryk had been given a moment to address that more proactively.) She seems to be a bit more grey as a character than Persis gives her credit for.
All that said, the story world was so cool! I wanted more of it. <3 I wanted to see more of Gelaira, especially, and to learn better what every day life looks like there. This definitely reads like one book amidst a series, and I'm curious to see where the story world goes next! (It seems we're in for a war, which is fascinating.) Haywood is strongest in her employment of wit and texture (the note about the librarian and apprentice at the start is just one example; another example would be every word out of Glamren's mouth). Persis made a loveable Persephone figure, and she's probably my favorite part of the story.