3.5 stars

I think the average reader's experience with Great Goddesses is going to depend heavily upon what you're looking for. I tried to review this fairly with a middle-of-the-road rating because, as a poetry collection, it didn't work. There's no rhythm or flow to 90% of the writing, much of the text feels a little repetitive, and more passages than not instilled about as much of an emotional response as the average textbook would. On the other hand, as a collection of tales about Greek deities, it works fabulously. Gill does a splendid job of subverting old tropes and offering new perspectives into the stories of many beings, in both positive and negative ways. I'll leave you with a few of my favorite quotes:

Somewhere inside my heart, I misplaced my faith, misunderstood my own origin story, became a person half tragedy, more misery, and I started to relish it. I revelled in this losing of everything that I thought I was, the lack of self-care; the drowning becomes such a needful thing when you think there is nothing left to look forward to.

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This is the story told in hushed tones. It is the version of the tale they do not want you to know. After all, what is more powerful than women who know all about the blessed fires inside them that grow.

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Sometimes I watch Girl become Goddess and the metamorphosis is more magnificent than anything I have ever known.

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Sometimes I pray for the living in me,
And sometimes I pray for the dead.