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bebocarrick
This book is a really approachable and interesting look at how myths have been interpreted/subverted in the modern day both by authors, actors, singers, activists, and everyday people.
I enjoyed reading more about the interpretation of myths I am familiar with (like Antigone) and learning about new myths (Ianthe and Iphis). The inclusion of the historical context of each of the myths and how the characters' actions would have been interpreted at that time was very interesting (although the revelation about polychromic marble statues made me upset and question all my dark academia aesthetic choices).
I also enjoyed the application of current social issues with the myths and how myths can be used both the empower and to oppress. My favorite chapter had to be "Transmythology." The connection between mythology and queerness has been one of my favorite topics for a few years now, so reading more about it was wonderful!
This book also guided me towards further readings about mythology and interpretation that I am looking forward to reading now.
I enjoyed reading more about the interpretation of myths I am familiar with (like Antigone) and learning about new myths (Ianthe and Iphis). The inclusion of the historical context of each of the myths and how the characters' actions would have been interpreted at that time was very interesting (although the revelation about polychromic marble statues made me upset and question all my dark academia aesthetic choices).
I also enjoyed the application of current social issues with the myths and how myths can be used both the empower and to oppress. My favorite chapter had to be "Transmythology." The connection between mythology and queerness has been one of my favorite topics for a few years now, so reading more about it was wonderful!
This book also guided me towards further readings about mythology and interpretation that I am looking forward to reading now.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I will go on record as saying this is the type of book I usually stay far away from. I am not a romance novel person (much less a hetero romance novel person) and have made it a point to avoid romantasy because it just strikes me as needlessly spicy romance with some fairies thrown in for the hell of it. So off the bat, this book had a LOT to overcome when it came to my usual interests. BUT IT DID THAT! I thought I would tire of the book quickly, with it being one of my least favorite genres, but Selene did such an EXCELLENT job with her worldbuilding that I was hooked.
The idea of a changeling going to rescue the human they had replaced was such an intriguing idea to base a story on, and I really enjoyed the execution. I also loved Fia as a character. Her fleshed-out backstory and motives made me cheer her on. I also really enjoyed how magic functioned in this story, especially when it came to Fia's magic.
The inclusion of retelling elements from such stories as "The Swan Maiden" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" made this story all the more enjoyable because of these familiar (yet delightfully new) elements.
Some reviews mention that the book is a "smut without plot" story, and I did not find this to be the case, as the plot and the suspense were very well done! I think the suspense around Irian's plot line and the mysteries around his character/motive were especially interesting to read about. (Do rest assured if you like spice, there is certainly some of that as well, though for readers like myself who are generally not fans of those types of scenes, it's really not too unbearable.)
My only complaint about the book would be Rogan's character. He really sucked as far as love interests go, and for the life of me, I had no idea what Fia saw in him in the first place. I think the author intended his prince background combined with a lack of common sense to be endearing, but I found it super annoying. He just didn't have enough of a personality/motive to be interesting in the slightest. Despite this, I will definitely check out the next book in this series because I sincerely did enjoy this one!
I don't think this book was strong enough to push me into the romantasy girlies' world (I still will never read ACOTAR), but I think it's made it more likely for me to pick up a book in this genre if the premise seems interesting enough, and that's some high praise.
Publication Date: 12 March 2024
I will go on record as saying this is the type of book I usually stay far away from. I am not a romance novel person (much less a hetero romance novel person) and have made it a point to avoid romantasy because it just strikes me as needlessly spicy romance with some fairies thrown in for the hell of it. So off the bat, this book had a LOT to overcome when it came to my usual interests. BUT IT DID THAT! I thought I would tire of the book quickly, with it being one of my least favorite genres, but Selene did such an EXCELLENT job with her worldbuilding that I was hooked.
The idea of a changeling going to rescue the human they had replaced was such an intriguing idea to base a story on, and I really enjoyed the execution. I also loved Fia as a character. Her fleshed-out backstory
Spoiler
(hello, family trauma!)The inclusion of retelling elements from such stories as "The Swan Maiden" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" made this story all the more enjoyable because of these familiar (yet delightfully new) elements.
Some reviews mention that the book is a "smut without plot" story, and I did not find this to be the case, as the plot and the suspense were very well done! I think the suspense around Irian's plot line and the mysteries around his character/motive were especially interesting to read about. (Do rest assured if you like spice, there is certainly some of that as well, though for readers like myself who are generally not fans of those types of scenes, it's really not too unbearable.)
My only complaint about the book would be Rogan's character. He really sucked as far as love interests go, and for the life of me, I had no idea what Fia saw in him in the first place. I think the author intended his prince background combined with a lack of common sense to be endearing, but I found it super annoying. He just didn't have enough of a personality/motive to be interesting in the slightest.
Spoiler
Hence, I was quite happy when the love triangle stopped love triangling and Fia made her choice to be with Irian.I don't think this book was strong enough to push me into the romantasy girlies' world (I still will never read ACOTAR), but I think it's made it more likely for me to pick up a book in this genre if the premise seems interesting enough, and that's some high praise.
Publication Date: 12 March 2024
Understated, but still very brutal. An honest look at how disgusting and awful people can be to each other. Not for the faint of heart, not a book to enjoy, but a very thought-provoking one all the same.
The commentary on who/what makes a human and who is worthy of life or not reminded me of some portions of NBC's Hannibal, although this was a lot more horrific in gruesome simply because of the sheer scope/normalization of cannibalism in the world of the novel.
The commentary on who/what makes a human and who is worthy of life or not reminded me of some portions of NBC's Hannibal, although this was a lot more horrific in gruesome simply because of the sheer scope/normalization of cannibalism in the world of the novel.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Wow. This book absolutely blew me away. As far as Hades/Persephone retellings go, I had only read Lore Olympus (a favorite) before this, which is a romantic and more positive retelling of the ancient myth. While I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with more positive retellings, what I adored about this one was that it did not shy away from the darker aspects of the Hades/Persephone myth and showed how problematic that kind of power dynamic is.
The relationship between Cory and Rolo is NOT romanticized, which is refreshing due to the increasing popularity of age gap "romances." Despite this, the relationship between Cory and Rolo is not needlessly graphic, relying more on Cory's discomfort and Rolo's sickening attention to her to show his predatory intentions.
Cory is also not shown as a helpless, despite certainly being a victim. She is wild, reckless, and curious about the world. She is a quintessential teen in some ways, wanting to rebel against her mother, find her place in the world, and seek new highs. I think her quintessential teen-ness adds to this story rather than takes away from it, as other readers have suggested. It makes the story feel all the more real.
And then we get to Emer's perspective. Her protectiveness of Cory and sheer willpower to save her daughter, whatever it takes, was both admirable and like watching a train crash off the rails. I adored her fierceness and the way that her calm, collected persona fell away as she got more desperate to reach her daughter. I also found the writing in her sections SO beautiful.
The ending of this novel was *chef's kiss* PERFECT. It beautifully paid homage to the ancient myth (as did so many other moments in the story), while keeping the novel fully embedded in its dreary, modern setting. It brought the themes of addiction, medical ethics, medical racism, motherhood back to the readers' mind as something to ponder over later.
If I had one complaint about this book, it would be the one that other readers have pointed out: the way the dialogue was formatted. The lack of quotation marks did make me have to re-read certain scenes to see who was speaking, and I did grow frustrated with this throughout the book. However, there are too many good things for me to say to let this frustration lower my rating.
As stated previously, though the book is not needlessly graphic, readers should be aware of the following trigger warnings: sexual assault, grooming, drug addiction, alcoholism, and self-harm.
Publication Date: 5 March 2024
Wow. This book absolutely blew me away. As far as Hades/Persephone retellings go, I had only read Lore Olympus (a favorite) before this, which is a romantic and more positive retelling of the ancient myth. While I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with more positive retellings, what I adored about this one was that it did not shy away from the darker aspects of the Hades/Persephone myth and showed how problematic that kind of power dynamic is.
The relationship between Cory and Rolo is NOT romanticized, which is refreshing due to the increasing popularity of age gap "romances." Despite this, the relationship between Cory and Rolo is not needlessly graphic, relying more on Cory's discomfort and Rolo's sickening attention to her to show his predatory intentions.
Cory is also not shown as a helpless, despite certainly being a victim. She is wild, reckless, and curious about the world. She is a quintessential teen in some ways, wanting to rebel against her mother, find her place in the world, and seek new highs. I think her quintessential teen-ness adds to this story rather than takes away from it, as other readers have suggested. It makes the story feel all the more real.
And then we get to Emer's perspective. Her protectiveness of Cory and sheer willpower to save her daughter, whatever it takes, was both admirable and like watching a train crash off the rails. I adored her fierceness and the way that her calm, collected persona fell away as she got more desperate to reach her daughter. I also found the writing in her sections SO beautiful.
The ending of this novel was *chef's kiss* PERFECT. It beautifully paid homage to the ancient myth (as did so many other moments in the story), while keeping the novel fully embedded in its dreary, modern setting. It brought the themes of addiction, medical ethics, medical racism, motherhood back to the readers' mind as something to ponder over later.
If I had one complaint about this book, it would be the one that other readers have pointed out: the way the dialogue was formatted. The lack of quotation marks did make me have to re-read certain scenes to see who was speaking, and I did grow frustrated with this throughout the book. However, there are too many good things for me to say to let this frustration lower my rating.
As stated previously, though the book is not needlessly graphic, readers should be aware of the following trigger warnings: sexual assault, grooming, drug addiction, alcoholism, and self-harm.
Publication Date: 5 March 2024
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This short little manga is so sweet! It centers around an aroace character AND includes several queer side characters who are all represented in such positive and authentic ways. It also contains really valuable information about asexuality and would be a fantastic read for anyone wondering about their own sexuality and gender identity.
My only complaint is that I wish it was longer. I would love to read more of Chika's story, or more about the various side characters.
Publication date (English edition): Jan 17, 2023
This short little manga is so sweet! It centers around an aroace character AND includes several queer side characters who are all represented in such positive and authentic ways. It also contains really valuable information about asexuality and would be a fantastic read for anyone wondering about their own sexuality and gender identity.
My only complaint is that I wish it was longer. I would love to read more of Chika's story, or more about the various side characters.
Publication date (English edition): Jan 17, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book had all the ingredients to make it a new favorite: sapphic romance, dark academia, biblically accurate angels, cults, nonbinary/trans rep... alas, what it did with those ingredients was a wild ride, but like the kind that you want to get off of as soon as possible.
The two main characters were god-awful. And not in the way where they're so evil that you love to hate them. They were just completely empty vessels filled only with obsession (Veaer) and hunger for love (Elise) Their chemistry was NON-EXISTENT. For the life of me, I cannot understand Veaer's crazy obsession with Elise after seeing her literally murder someone else, and the fact that that element of the novel was not believable made everything else just that much less believable. Veaer is an absolute doormat of a character that seems to just exist to be a love interest for Elise, and that could be excusable in a side character, but she's the MAIN CHARACTER.
I also do not understand much of anything about the world of this story. There are terms thrown around like Senti and Caemi (Caemi gave me heavy furry vibes, so do with that what you will), but the differences between these races (species?) aren't explained at all. I am left with so many questions. Why do people care about the four heirs so much? Why do caemis seemingly have less rights than Senti? Who has magic and who doesn't? How do you know what kind of people have magic? How do the caemi and senti ascend to angels? What kind of education do most people need to thrive in this world (clearly arts/magic but like what about math and shit)? Additionally, the "dark academia" vibe fell very flat because the school just seemed to be a backdrop for the story. I was hoping for more academic rivalry/classics references as I come to expect when that genre is mentioned.
The shifting timeline also didn't make sense. I find myself wondering what the flashbacks to years 1 and 2 add to Veaer's character at all, especially since there weren't many of them at all.
Now despite all that I disliked about this book, it has some points that are its saving grace and that got it to 2 stars instead of just one. Tychon's character and his transness being connected to divinity was incredible. Veaer's visions of Tychon as a biblically accurate angel were very interesting. I really loved the connection this novel made between trans bodies and heavenly/angelic bodies, and if that aspect were more heavily included, I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more. Alas, this saving grace was a mere spot compared to the rest of the book, so its inclusion was not enough to make me enjoy this book in its entirety.
Publication date: March 16, 2024
This book had all the ingredients to make it a new favorite: sapphic romance, dark academia, biblically accurate angels, cults, nonbinary/trans rep... alas, what it did with those ingredients was a wild ride, but like the kind that you want to get off of as soon as possible.
The two main characters were god-awful. And not in the way where they're so evil that you love to hate them. They were just completely empty vessels filled only with obsession (Veaer) and hunger for love (Elise) Their chemistry was NON-EXISTENT. For the life of me, I cannot understand Veaer's crazy obsession with Elise after seeing her literally murder someone else, and the fact that that element of the novel was not believable made everything else just that much less believable. Veaer is an absolute doormat of a character that seems to just exist to be a love interest for Elise, and that could be excusable in a side character, but she's the MAIN CHARACTER.
I also do not understand much of anything about the world of this story. There are terms thrown around like Senti and Caemi (Caemi gave me heavy furry vibes, so do with that what you will), but the differences between these races (species?) aren't explained at all. I am left with so many questions. Why do people care about the four heirs so much? Why do caemis seemingly have less rights than Senti? Who has magic and who doesn't? How do you know what kind of people have magic? How do the caemi and senti ascend to angels? What kind of education do most people need to thrive in this world (clearly arts/magic but like what about math and shit)? Additionally, the "dark academia" vibe fell very flat because the school just seemed to be a backdrop for the story. I was hoping for more academic rivalry/classics references as I come to expect when that genre is mentioned.
The shifting timeline also didn't make sense. I find myself wondering what the flashbacks to years 1 and 2 add to Veaer's character at all, especially since there weren't many of them at all.
Now despite all that I disliked about this book, it has some points that are its saving grace and that got it to 2 stars instead of just one. Tychon's character and his transness being connected to divinity was incredible. Veaer's visions of Tychon as a biblically accurate angel were very interesting. I really loved the connection this novel made between trans bodies and heavenly/angelic bodies, and if that aspect were more heavily included, I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more. Alas, this saving grace was a mere spot compared to the rest of the book, so its inclusion was not enough to make me enjoy this book in its entirety.
Publication date: March 16, 2024