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fictionandfarming's reviews
32 reviews
Winter Harvest by Ioanna Papadopoulou
4.0
Winter Harvest is a beautiful and heartbreaking Greek mythology retelling focused on the goddess Demeter. Papadopoulou starts at the very beginning with Demeter's birth and the titanomachy, all the way through the loss of and eventual reunion with her daughter. There are well known myths, like the story of Hades and Persephone, and so many lesser known myths woven together in this debut novel.
This story does not shy away from the brutality and darkness of the original myths, including widespread abuse as well as incest. Ancient Greek mythology was not kind to its women.
Overall, I did thoroughly enjoy this novel and still find myself thinking about it a week after finishing. I love Greek mythology, and Papadopoulou's care for Demeter's story is evident in the writing. Other fans of Greek mythology and of Hades and Persephone's story will enjoy this. Though prior knowledge of Greek mythology definitely adds to the experience, other fans of mythology and retellings in general will also likely enjoy this.
Papadopoulou does not shy away from the challenge of writing an immortal goddess, someone entirely inhuman. The story is balanced between the external struggles Demeter faces and her internal struggle against the monster within. She goes through several periods of change as she attempts to find her place in the world, and especially when searching for her daughter. Papadopoulou captures the overwhelming grief and righteous fury of a mother and goddess in a way that both delights and horrifies, and shows us the chthonic and oft-forgotten side of the deity of agriculture, one that can take life as easily as give.
Some readers may find Papadopoulou's style simplistic or heavy-handed, but, personally, I found the voice to be an excellent match to this story. The style is different from what many readers might be used to, but does a good job of portraying an immortal being and makes the passage of time feel fluid - days could be passing, maybe years, decades, or centuries. Why would something as inconsequential as time matter to an immortal?
If I am going to offer criticism, I will say I did not enjoy the prologue. Despite being very short, it felt unnecessarily jarring and I do not feel that it added to the story. The topics in the prologue are covered again later in the book, and in a way that feels more fitting with the narrative. I do think the prologue can be skipped.
There were also times where the pacing could have been further refined. For the most part, the story progressed quickly and was easy to consume, but there were places where it lagged. Grief is not generally an active emotion, and can be very hard to get right in terms of pacing. There were a few places where I found myself feeling antsy and wondering when the story would move on.
Thank you to Ghost Orchid Press and NetGalley for making the DRC available to me. All opinions are my own.
This story does not shy away from the brutality and darkness of the original myths, including widespread abuse as well as incest. Ancient Greek mythology was not kind to its women.
Overall, I did thoroughly enjoy this novel and still find myself thinking about it a week after finishing. I love Greek mythology, and Papadopoulou's care for Demeter's story is evident in the writing. Other fans of Greek mythology and of Hades and Persephone's story will enjoy this. Though prior knowledge of Greek mythology definitely adds to the experience, other fans of mythology and retellings in general will also likely enjoy this.
Papadopoulou does not shy away from the challenge of writing an immortal goddess, someone entirely inhuman. The story is balanced between the external struggles Demeter faces and her internal struggle against the monster within. She goes through several periods of change as she attempts to find her place in the world, and especially when searching for her daughter. Papadopoulou captures the overwhelming grief and righteous fury of a mother and goddess in a way that both delights and horrifies, and shows us the chthonic and oft-forgotten side of the deity of agriculture, one that can take life as easily as give.
Some readers may find Papadopoulou's style simplistic or heavy-handed, but, personally, I found the voice to be an excellent match to this story. The style is different from what many readers might be used to, but does a good job of portraying an immortal being and makes the passage of time feel fluid - days could be passing, maybe years, decades, or centuries. Why would something as inconsequential as time matter to an immortal?
If I am going to offer criticism, I will say I did not enjoy the prologue. Despite being very short, it felt unnecessarily jarring and I do not feel that it added to the story. The topics in the prologue are covered again later in the book, and in a way that feels more fitting with the narrative. I do think the prologue can be skipped.
There were also times where the pacing could have been further refined. For the most part, the story progressed quickly and was easy to consume, but there were places where it lagged. Grief is not generally an active emotion, and can be very hard to get right in terms of pacing. There were a few places where I found myself feeling antsy and wondering when the story would move on.
Thank you to Ghost Orchid Press and NetGalley for making the DRC available to me. All opinions are my own.
Stealing Glass: A Cinderella Retelling by Liv Strom, Liv Strom
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
The blurb promises a Cinderella retelling, except our Cinderella is a thief, the fairy godmother is evil, and the prince has his own motives - and the story delivers. Elements from the fairytale are scattered throughout this novel, many with interesting or delightful twists.
Stealing Glass introduces us to Tal, also known as the City of the Dead, where spirits walk the earth and a small number of people have magical abilities. Numerous places outside of Tal are also referenced, giving the sense that there is a larger world outside of this city. This world is very intriguing, and left me wanting more worldbuilding - which I'm hoping we will see more of in the sequel.
Strom has written a strong cast of characters. Everyone is distinct and has their own motives and secrets that are slowly revealed over the course of the novel - or are left to be discovered in the sequel. This is a dual POV, switching back and forth between Vanya and Dimitri in a way that kept the story moving. Both our MCs grew naturally over the course of this novel, as did their relationship, paving the way for what should be a thrilling conclusion in the next book.
The story itself was intriguing and the pacing was fast. This novel knows exactly what it is, a YA Fantasy Romance, and it hits all the right notes. The twists were fun, the secrets and mysteries kept the pages turning, and the reveals were satisfying.
There were a handful of times where we would go from point A to point C in a scene without addressing point B on the page. It was typically small things that made me go "wait, I thought X was Y, but now they're Z." Just enough to pull me out of the moment and go back a few paragraphs to see if I missed something.
I knew going into this that it would end on a cliffhanger, and I am certainly looking forward to the sequel and seeing how this story ends. Strom shows a lot of promise, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her other future projects.
Thank you to Liv Strom and BookSirens for making the DRC available to me. All opinions are my own.
Stealing Glass introduces us to Tal, also known as the City of the Dead, where spirits walk the earth and a small number of people have magical abilities. Numerous places outside of Tal are also referenced, giving the sense that there is a larger world outside of this city. This world is very intriguing, and left me wanting more worldbuilding - which I'm hoping we will see more of in the sequel.
Strom has written a strong cast of characters. Everyone is distinct and has their own motives and secrets that are slowly revealed over the course of the novel - or are left to be discovered in the sequel. This is a dual POV, switching back and forth between Vanya and Dimitri in a way that kept the story moving. Both our MCs grew naturally over the course of this novel, as did their relationship, paving the way for what should be a thrilling conclusion in the next book.
The story itself was intriguing and the pacing was fast. This novel knows exactly what it is, a YA Fantasy Romance, and it hits all the right notes. The twists were fun, the secrets and mysteries kept the pages turning, and the reveals were satisfying.
There were a handful of times where we would go from point A to point C in a scene without addressing point B on the page. It was typically small things that made me go "wait, I thought X was Y, but now they're Z." Just enough to pull me out of the moment and go back a few paragraphs to see if I missed something.
I knew going into this that it would end on a cliffhanger, and I am certainly looking forward to the sequel and seeing how this story ends. Strom shows a lot of promise, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her other future projects.
Thank you to Liv Strom and BookSirens for making the DRC available to me. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Violence
Moderate: Death, Abortion