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A review by naphoeleon
Game of Strength and Storm by Rachel Menard
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Flux Books for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!
Game of Strength and Storm tells the story of Gen and Castor, two girls competing to complete perilous tasks for the chance to make their wish come true. For Gen, this means clearing her father’s name; for Castor, it means ending a centuries-old edict banning women from ruling her island.
The author plays fast and loose with greek mythology in a way I absolutely loved. Some aspects are accurate down to the tiniest, minute, obscure detail, while other aspects are fun and creative plays on mythology. Figures from Percy’s labors play roles in the story, but with a spin on them that makes this story Gen and Castor’s own, instead of a simple retelling. Both the world building overall and this aspect in particular were big wins to me.
And the characters were okay. All of them felt individual and unique, perhaps a bit surface level but their motivations were nevertheless simple to understand. The romance felt weak and a bit forced, which was a let down for me because Pollux’s crush in his POVs felt the opposite—his idolized crush turning into genuine feelings was endearing, but the chemistry between the two and Gen’s own feelings didn’t come across as successfully for me.
Plot wise, this was easy to follow and predictable, which is neither good nor bad. Every task is completed quickly and with little real struggle; even those that cause injury to one of the main characters seemed very easy, and they’re healed a few pages later. There weren’t any stakes—you can tell pretty early on how the story is going to go, and the ending isn’t quite the surprise twist it was intended to be. But again, predictable doesn’t mean bad; the reading gets considerably lighter when you know exactly what’s going to happen.
Really, this book was fine. But it was JUST fine—nothing stood out, nothing drew me in, and nothing in particular bothered me. I don’t know that I’d go out of my way to recommend this book, but I definitely wouldn’t tell anyone to stay away from it.
Game of Strength and Storm tells the story of Gen and Castor, two girls competing to complete perilous tasks for the chance to make their wish come true. For Gen, this means clearing her father’s name; for Castor, it means ending a centuries-old edict banning women from ruling her island.
The author plays fast and loose with greek mythology in a way I absolutely loved. Some aspects are accurate down to the tiniest, minute, obscure detail, while other aspects are fun and creative plays on mythology. Figures from Percy’s labors play roles in the story, but with a spin on them that makes this story Gen and Castor’s own, instead of a simple retelling. Both the world building overall and this aspect in particular were big wins to me.
And the characters were okay. All of them felt individual and unique, perhaps a bit surface level but their motivations were nevertheless simple to understand. The romance felt weak and a bit forced, which was a let down for me because Pollux’s crush in his POVs felt the opposite—his idolized crush turning into genuine feelings was endearing, but the chemistry between the two and Gen’s own feelings didn’t come across as successfully for me.
Plot wise, this was easy to follow and predictable, which is neither good nor bad. Every task is completed quickly and with little real struggle; even those that cause injury to one of the main characters seemed very easy, and they’re healed a few pages later. There weren’t any stakes—you can tell pretty early on how the story is going to go, and the ending isn’t quite the surprise twist it was intended to be. But again, predictable doesn’t mean bad; the reading gets considerably lighter when you know exactly what’s going to happen.
Really, this book was fine. But it was JUST fine—nothing stood out, nothing drew me in, and nothing in particular bothered me. I don’t know that I’d go out of my way to recommend this book, but I definitely wouldn’t tell anyone to stay away from it.