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eggcatsreads 's review for:
Winter Harvest
by Ioanna Papadopoulou
A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Ghost Orchid Press for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book incorporates Greek myth starting from the birth of the Olympians, to the marriage of Persephone and Hades, as told by her mother, Demeter. I thought it was very interesting to get into the mindset of Demeter, as despite being the goddess of the harvest, we can see how much rage and control she desires for herself and her own life - as well as her daughters’. I enjoyed getting into Demeter’s head, as there were multiple instances of the Greek myths I had never considered, and this gave a personal in-depth view of the situations and the emotions tied to them.
The story starts with Demeter being swallowed by her father, and we spent a lot of time in that dark place with her and her siblings. I really enjoyed this, as I had never considered the relationship of the gods and goddesses in their father’s stomach, and the differences in their relationships to each other versus with Zeus. I also enjoyed how calculating Demeter could be, with asserting that she would have more power than her sisters and that she would become a mother but not a wife.
When Kore is captured, we can feel Demeter’s pain as she stops the harvest and poisons the world, almost killing all life on earth in the process. I also thought it was interesting how, while she considers herself different from her brothers, she in many ways thought of and treated humans and lesser immortals the same, if only in a different way. She feels her pain is larger than anyone else could experience, and only her pain matters in the grand scheme of things. Personally, I really liked this selfish take on Demeter, as it helped the reader to understand that even though her pain and emotions are similar to ours, she is still a goddess and considers herself such.
Honestly, I was a bit worried about how the story of Kore/Persephone was going to go, as in this story she was kidnapped without her consent, but the evolution of Kore into Persephone was well done. I liked how originally Hades wished to marry Demeter, but when he found Kore he realized he loved her rather than her mother, and even though he “kidnapped’ her, he did technically go through the proper channels for a marriage by asking her father for permission. And then even after she was kidnapped, he waited until Kore accepted him as her husband and transformed into Persephone, becoming a different goddess altogether, with her newfound power.
If you like Greek mythology focused on the women in the storytelling, and always liked the retellings of Persephone and Hades, but always wondered what her mother felt about it all (other than forcing the changing of the seasons in her grief), this is a great book to read. The characters in this book are both realistic and larger than life, showing that while the gods and goddesses have the same emotions as humans - they are still divine and do not adhere to the same rules.
This book incorporates Greek myth starting from the birth of the Olympians, to the marriage of Persephone and Hades, as told by her mother, Demeter. I thought it was very interesting to get into the mindset of Demeter, as despite being the goddess of the harvest, we can see how much rage and control she desires for herself and her own life - as well as her daughters’. I enjoyed getting into Demeter’s head, as there were multiple instances of the Greek myths I had never considered, and this gave a personal in-depth view of the situations and the emotions tied to them.
The story starts with Demeter being swallowed by her father, and we spent a lot of time in that dark place with her and her siblings. I really enjoyed this, as I had never considered the relationship of the gods and goddesses in their father’s stomach, and the differences in their relationships to each other versus with Zeus. I also enjoyed how calculating Demeter could be, with asserting that she would have more power than her sisters and that she would become a mother but not a wife.
When Kore is captured, we can feel Demeter’s pain as she stops the harvest and poisons the world, almost killing all life on earth in the process. I also thought it was interesting how, while she considers herself different from her brothers, she in many ways thought of and treated humans and lesser immortals the same, if only in a different way. She feels her pain is larger than anyone else could experience, and only her pain matters in the grand scheme of things. Personally, I really liked this selfish take on Demeter, as it helped the reader to understand that even though her pain and emotions are similar to ours, she is still a goddess and considers herself such.
Honestly, I was a bit worried about how the story of Kore/Persephone was going to go, as in this story she was kidnapped without her consent, but the evolution of Kore into Persephone was well done. I liked how originally Hades wished to marry Demeter, but when he found Kore he realized he loved her rather than her mother, and even though he “kidnapped’ her, he did technically go through the proper channels for a marriage by asking her father for permission. And then even after she was kidnapped, he waited until Kore accepted him as her husband and transformed into Persephone, becoming a different goddess altogether, with her newfound power.
If you like Greek mythology focused on the women in the storytelling, and always liked the retellings of Persephone and Hades, but always wondered what her mother felt about it all (other than forcing the changing of the seasons in her grief), this is a great book to read. The characters in this book are both realistic and larger than life, showing that while the gods and goddesses have the same emotions as humans - they are still divine and do not adhere to the same rules.