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abby_ace_of_books 's review for:
Daughter of Sparta
by Claire M. Andrews
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Honestly, props to Lykou for not getting tired of everyone and not eating them all 100 pages in cause, like, I totally would have...
Daughter of Sparta is a YA fantasy novel that acts as a very loose retelling of Daphne and Apollo's story from Greek mythology. This was my third time reading the book, as I now own the rest of the series and intend to finish it, but I didn't remember much of the plot going into this. Readers looking for a direct retelling of the Daphne/Apollo myth might want to look elsewhere, as the Author's Notes section clarifies that she took a lot of creative liberty with the mythology she used. But, as someone who isn't super familiar with the original Daphne/Apollo story, I didn't mind the author's approach and thought it was a good story on its own.
Trained as a Spartan but still an outsider, Daphne is issued a quest by Artemis: she must retrieve nine treasures and return them to Olympus, or the gods will fall. Accompanied by cocky Apollo, god of prophecy, and her childhood friend turned wolf, Lykou, Daphne embarks on a journey to save Olympus that will lead her through all sorts of trials. The pacing is quite quick (I read this in less than 24 hours) and very action-packed, so even when there were slower/less eventful sections, I felt inclined to keep reading. The main twist isn't too unpredictable if you've read anything about Greek mythology before, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. I thought there was a good level of tension throughout, almost to the point where there were very few moments where something major wasn't happening. The ending is satisfying on its own, so you don't have to continue the series if you didn't enjoy book one. It's definitely a plot-focused adventure-y book, but there are some romance subplots as well to keep readers engaged.
Because the book is so plot-heavy, some of the characters don't get as much attention, so I struggled to connect to some of them. Daphne is an okay protagonist; I've read a lot of "feminist" retellings, so the strong, female protagonist can feel overdone at times. I didn't mind her, and I appreciated her curiosity about her past and her love for her brothers. The romance was also pretty light, which was nice as well. I've seen people considering it enemies-to-lovers, but I think the main romance is more of just people with grudges to light lovers. Apollo was pretty much your typical Apollo, although he definitely felt more human than godlike at times. I liked Lykou a lot, and I'm hoping he gets more page time in future books. Lyta and Theseus are minor characters that I didn't really care for, but I liked the crossovers from other Greek myths. I'm also hoping the future books spend more time on developing the side characters.
Daughter of Sparta is the first book in a YA Greek mythology-based trilogy that follows the story of Daphne and Apollo in a more feminist light.
3.75/5
Daughter of Sparta is a YA fantasy novel that acts as a very loose retelling of Daphne and Apollo's story from Greek mythology. This was my third time reading the book, as I now own the rest of the series and intend to finish it, but I didn't remember much of the plot going into this. Readers looking for a direct retelling of the Daphne/Apollo myth might want to look elsewhere, as the Author's Notes section clarifies that she took a lot of creative liberty with the mythology she used. But, as someone who isn't super familiar with the original Daphne/Apollo story, I didn't mind the author's approach and thought it was a good story on its own.
Trained as a Spartan but still an outsider, Daphne is issued a quest by Artemis: she must retrieve nine treasures and return them to Olympus, or the gods will fall. Accompanied by cocky Apollo, god of prophecy, and her childhood friend turned wolf, Lykou, Daphne embarks on a journey to save Olympus that will lead her through all sorts of trials. The pacing is quite quick (I read this in less than 24 hours) and very action-packed, so even when there were slower/less eventful sections, I felt inclined to keep reading. The main twist isn't too unpredictable if you've read anything about Greek mythology before, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. I thought there was a good level of tension throughout, almost to the point where there were very few moments where something major wasn't happening. The ending is satisfying on its own, so you don't have to continue the series if you didn't enjoy book one. It's definitely a plot-focused adventure-y book, but there are some romance subplots as well to keep readers engaged.
Because the book is so plot-heavy, some of the characters don't get as much attention, so I struggled to connect to some of them. Daphne is an okay protagonist; I've read a lot of "feminist" retellings, so the strong, female protagonist can feel overdone at times. I didn't mind her, and I appreciated her curiosity about her past and her love for her brothers. The romance was also pretty light, which was nice as well. I've seen people considering it enemies-to-lovers, but I think the main romance is more of just people with grudges to light lovers. Apollo was pretty much your typical Apollo, although he definitely felt more human than godlike at times. I liked Lykou a lot, and I'm hoping he gets more page time in future books. Lyta and Theseus are minor characters that I didn't really care for, but I liked the crossovers from other Greek myths. I'm also hoping the future books spend more time on developing the side characters.
Daughter of Sparta is the first book in a YA Greek mythology-based trilogy that follows the story of Daphne and Apollo in a more feminist light.
3.75/5