I can't think of words that are enough to describe how this book made me feel. I have so many emotions. Octavia Butler is a phenomenal author, and the fact that this was written in 1993 is startling. The similarities are uncanny. There is a lot of dark and starling subject matter, and with current events, this could be a very jarring read. I highly recommend it, but proceed with caution!

This book is brilliant, and parts have made me see the Iliad and the Odyssey and their characters in a somewhat different light. 

The author does an amazing job of breaking down the translation choices and giving new depth to a favorite text!

This book does an excellent job portraying the experience of the two young Trojans after the war, showing their desire for honor, glory, and most of all, vengeance. It's been almost a decade since I've read the Aeneid, and this book has definitely made me want to do a reread. I've always leaned more toward ancient Greece and the homeric epics, but I think I may need to give more attention to Rome. The author's love for the Roman text really shines through in this novella!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for the eARC of this novel!

This book blends the story of beauty and the beast together with Asian mythology and I loved it. This book is lighthearted at times, but the conflict definitely has stakes. Reading this was a magical experience. I felt a bit like a child reading a fairytale for the first time. 

The magic system, the imagery, the characters: I loved everything!

The book is action packed and easy to read quickly. I did like the first book better, but this one definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. 

I was incredibly excited for this book, and it did not disappoint. Mythica explores the Iliad and Odyssey through the women- Briseias, Helen, Circe, and, of course, Penelope just to name a few.

 @emilyhauserauthor has such a talent for combining stories with research. Each chapter opens with a scene that ties Mythica back to the original text with and gives the perspective of the figure it follows. The remainder of the chapter then examines the archaeology and scholarship surrounding that figure in order to show what the actual women living in the bronze age may have experienced. 

This is one of my favorite nonfiction books now. 10000/10, you should definitely read it!

Thank you @netgalley and @doubledayukbooks for the opportunity to read and review this book early!

I am not incredibly familiar with the ancient Near East with my knowledge coming from bits and pieces mentioned in ancient Greek sources. This book was the perfect entry into the topic. Rather than focusing solely on major events and scholarship, the author goes directly to the source: the surviving cuneiforme tablets that were painstakingly created and preserved by everyday people and scribes. 

I listened to the audiobook version, and it's very clear the author is passionate about the topic. I feel like I've traveled from the workshops weaving women worked in, the halls of Neo-Babylonian palaces, and the sacred spaces of temples dedicated to Inanna. While this type of scholarship is definitely limited by what sources survive, I would love to see more of it. This book gives a name and voice to the everyday people who lived thousands of years ago, and I am absolutely in love with it.

Malinalli reimagines the story of a Nahua woman of the same name who acted as a translator for Hernan Cortés. This story adds a lot of context and depth to a controversial historical figure. 

Malinalli is renamed Malinalxochitl after the Aztec sorceress/goddess in an attempt to subvert a dismal prophecy. This association with the goddess plays a key part in the story as a source of power for the main character. Aztec mythology and symbolism are prominent throughout the book, and I am embarrassingly unfamiliar with most of it. This book has definitely inspired me to do a deeper dive into not only Malinalxochitl, but Aztec and Mayan mythologies as a whole.

I loved the descriptions of the setting. There are moments where I felt like I'd stepped into the magical and brutal world of 1500s Central America. 

I do feel that the pacing was off in the book and it ends rather abruptly. I would have loved to see more of how Malinalxochitl handles the cascade of catastrophies in the last 15-20%. It felt a bit rushed, and I feel like a lot of opportunities were missed. 

With that in mind, I am excited to see what Veronica Chapa writes in the future. She shows a lot of talent and potential, and I'd love to read more stories centered around Mexico's history and indigenous mythologies!

Thank you Netgalleu and Atria Books for this opportunity to read a digital ARC and provide my honest review. 

This book was only 24 pages, but that was enough to make me really feel for Aerope. The house of Atreus is always interesting to read about, and the author did a great job of bringing this tragic story to life. 

Thank you Netgalley and HQ stories for the opportunity to read and review this book! 

I am a huge fan of capricious gods and goddesses, so when I saw Aphrodite, I was excited to read it. The beginning was intriguing with Aphrodite's birth from the castration foam of Ouranos and her subsequent handling of the threads of fate. 

The book is written in a very comical tone, and the more I read, the more I realized it wasn't for me. There are places where it's clear the author has a deep understanding of Greek mythology and the original sources, but I just found myself getting more or less annoyed as I continued to read. The characters seemed more like the punchline to a joke than someone to be sympathized with, and I found it really hard to care at all. Additionally, Hestia is made into literally the most overbearing, irritating person imaginable. Don't even get me started on Aphrodite and Ares's relationship: his nickname for her- foamy- was the really what pushed me over the edge. 

I can appreciate what the author was going for with this book, and I'm sure it will resognate with some people. I struggled to get through this book though, which is really sad because I had high hopes