This cover! The colors! The illustration! It's stunning.

Book cover fan alert: The illustration is by Ping Zhu (IG: @pingszoo) and the jacket design is by Emily Mahon (IG: @emilymahon_covers).

This intense family saga, set in the small, fictional town of Olympus, Texas, follows the Briscoe family and how the return of the prodigal son, March, throws all of the family members' lives into a tailspin. Yet, we learn, as the narratives of each character are revealed, that their lives have been pretty messy for a long time. Resentments, anger, jealousy, and codependency have festered, and the reverberations caused by March returning is like putting gas on many little flames.

With strong allusions to the characters and dramatic situations of Greek mythology (March has dogs named Romulus and Remus, Arlo and Artie are the Apollo and Artemis of the tale, one of the main brothers is "Hadyn," a mortician, etc.) Swann's novel peels back the layers of the Briscoe family members' lives (and secrets) through violent encounters, intense character debriefs (several chapters are called things like, "The Origin of Vera's Broken Heart), and one edge-of-your-seat moment that opens up the second half of the novel. Every Briscoe is complex--possessing charms and flaws--and the way they live with, love, and loathe each other makes for an intriguing and riveting character-driven narrative. And it's a clever way of reimagining Greek mythology drama in a small-town, modern-day setting.

Aside from a penchant for drama, I'm not sure that there was really a need for the Greek myth undertones, but it still made things fun. I enjoyed all the characters but found that the ones who were the most put-upon appealed to me the most (ah, my sensitive heart). If you're a fan of dramatic, family-themed sagas, definitely give this one a try.