dragoninwinterfell's reviews
98 reviews

Dark Harvest by Hazel Atkinson is such an excellent concept. Re-imagining the stories of Sappho and women from Greek mythology and placing them in different time periods sounds fantastic. Some of the stories were very good, while others were tedious. 

My favorites were Medea, Canace, and Helen. The complete re-imaginings of Medea and Canace were intricately detailed and engrossing. Helen's story is the only one set in the character's own time period, but Atkinson still managed to breathe fresh life into her character. I would have loved full length novels of each one of them. I also liked Phaedra, though that was too short. 

The other stories were pretty boring.  Penelope was a particular disappointment given it's lack of originality in the re-imagining (Penelope took the place of an actual historical figure) and the length just made it drag on without anything interesting happening. The other stories were pretty forgettable.

Sofia Engstrand's narration was excellent. Her rendition of each story was completely unique.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bolinda Audio for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nataly Gruender's Medusa sits in an interesting space of covering dark topics like sexual assault and victim blaming while also having an almost cozy feel to the narrative, as strange as that sounds.

The story centers on Medusa, a mortal woman born to minor gods, who became collateral damage in a fued between Athena and Poseidon. While serving as a priestess in the temple of the goddess of wisdom, Medusa is raped by the sea god. Since Athena can't punish her uncle, Poseidon, without starting a war between the hods, Medusa is used as a scapegoat. While Athena's victim blaming of Medusa is given additional complexity and motivation, it is not excused. While this is good, there was one point where it became a little preachy. The point was rightly made and made and made multiple times one particular scene. That could have been brought back a little. 

While the assault Medusa survives is treated with the appropriate amount of severity, she is also depicted developing friendships, engaging in a romance, healing her relationships with some of her sisters, and bonding with her new head of snakes. Particularly sweet were the scenes between Medusa and one of her nephews. But over it all, looms the prophecy of her doom due to the curse Athena forced on her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I've loved Greek and Roman mythology since I was a kid, so this boom in retellings is giving me all the content I've always dreamed of and then some. 

The Heir of Venus tells the stories of Lavinia, Creusa, and Dido -- mythical figures who play supporting roles in the story of Aeneas. So, already, these are very rare perspectives. I love the way the novel shifts back and forth between the three women detailing their backgrounds, struggles, aspirations, and personalities. Each point of view was compelling in its own right and played off of each other very well. My only difficulty as far as the characters go is that I wasn't particularly attached to any of them and I didn't feel as though I got a full character arc for any of the three. 

TW: Suicide. There are multiple suicides in this book. Unfortunately, I don't feel like those moments were narratively earned nor given the seriousness they deserved. More time should have been spent on building up the motivations and the fallout of those moments. 

Overall, I gave this a three out of five stars. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Laura Shepperson, and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Saint's Hera is everything I've ever wanted in a Greek mythology retelling. The gods, including the titular protagonists, are depicted as relatably flawed and messy, but on a massive scale. This is one of the few retellings I have found that seemed to capture the complexity, grandeur, and dysfunction of the Olympian gods. 

While many are tired of Greek and Roman mythology retellings, I would argue that this book was an incredibly fresh take on the trend as the novel is told from the perspective of Hera, the common villain in many of the myths. Saint brings Hera to life beautifully, honoring the classic works she was included in while also giving her added dimensions. Rather than white washing the character's actions, Saint gives additional motivations to Hera's choices. Rather than being the one-dimensional jealous wife and wicked stepmother, she is a woman forced into a role she never wanted only to be humiliated again and again. Striking out at her husband and brother only leads to her own failure. So she aims her attacks at easier and more innocent targets: Zeus' illegitimate children and the women he assaults or seduces. Seeing Hera depicted as a heroine in the war against the Titans, a victim of assault and oppression, a vengeful wronged wife who terrorizes women and children, a protector of women, a champion of heroes, etc. all at once was so refreshing.

In addition to Hera's excellent characterization, I also loved how the other female characters were handled. There's a tendency to depicted women as either helpless or all powerful with very little middle ground. Either depiction is reductive, in my opinion since both types leave out complexity and humanity. That's not the case here as even the side characters have layers to them. All of the female characters are unique with their own strengths and challenges. Their relationships with Hera are just as complex as they can be mentors, rivals, friends, enemies, and allies, some of them fluctuating between the roles depending on the circumstances of the moment.

My only complaint about the novel is that we didn't get very much of Hera's life before and during the war against the Titans. Seeing that would have given a firm picture of what Hera was forced to give up while bring forced into the role of wife. That wasn't enough to ruin the book for me though. 

I'm rating this a solid five stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book, but it was all paint by numbers story beats with no soul. Part of the issue is that this book's summary isn’t fully accurate. We never get the "glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten" that is described. The main character leaves Buenos Aires immediately and begins a very formulaic sequence of events that were very tedious to get through. I started abd stopped this repeatedly for months because I really like the aesthetics and kept seeing very positive reviews for it. But no matter how much I wanted it to be, it just wasn't for me. 

I went into The First by Kipjo K. Ewers blind without any knowledge of the publication history. I just assumed it was a new release that was a bit of a period drama as it's set in 2008. So I was shocked to find that it was published in 2013 and that two more installments were already published. This book is so incredibly good, I can't believe I haven't heard of this series until now. 

The novel centers on Sophia Dennison, a doctor in her 30s who is sentenced to death for the murder of her husband. She maintains her innocence all the way to her execution. Just minutes after this execution, she comes back to life with brand new super powers that continuously adapt to her injuries. 

The central conflict is the mystery of where her powers came from and who the real murderer of her husband is. Following Sophia through the unraveling of these questions also sheds greater light on what a layered and fascinating character she is. I love that she's able to be ruthless in getting justice against genuinely terrible people and the narrative doesn't demonize her for it. 

This novel is very much a gritty super hero origin story. Ewers writes specifically to this genre, embracing, joking with, and averting the common convention. My only criticism is from the villain monologuing that over-explained the story unrealistically since there was no reason for the villains to start explaining things other than to helpfully provide valuable information to the reader and the characters. That is element of the super hero genre, so it's hard to be too critical. But it was a little annoying.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked many of the ideas in The Cruel Dark but the execution was extremely lackluster. The plot was very formulaic. Every step was predictable. That isn't necessarily a bad thing since random twists with no build up are a sign of poor writing. But the plot also shouldn't be stale. 

Looking at the overall rating, I'm obviously in the minority. So this novel works for many others. So if you're looking for a spicy, Gothic romance set in the 1920s, this book is worth giving a try. 

Thanks NetGalley, Bea Northwick and Victory Editing for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons has so many fascinating concepts but a very inconsistent plot. 

The world building was amazing. I love what Lyons did with the magic system and the political system. I also loved the concept of a person visibly indicating their orientations and identity through rings. This was so unique. Honestly, the world building kept me going through this book.

Unfortunately I found the pacing and overall plot to be inconsistent. The beginning was strong and engaging. But as more of the backstory was revealed, it got less and less interesting and more random.

A Ruse of Shadows is a solid continuation of the Lady Sherlock series. Sherry Thomas continues to be a master of character work and plotting. She beautifully built off of what came in the previous installments while keeping the story fresh and new. Charlotte, Mrs. Watson, and the other heroes remained charming, flawed, and fun to follow. I just finished and the ninth book can't get here quickly enough.

First, I want to thank Macmillan Audio, Flatiron Books, NetGalley and Yume Kitasei for providing the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

The Stardust Grail is the first novel I've read from Yume Kitasei and it definitely won't be the last. I'll be checking out Kitasei's other novel and eagerly waiting for the sequel to The Stardust Grail.

This futuristic space fantasy centers on Maya Hoshimoto, a 31-year-old retired art thief turned graduate student, as she is drawn into another heist by an old friend for a treasure that is vital to the survival of an alien species. Straight away, I adored Maya as a character. She's both an academic who works through the problems with research and knowledge as well as an action girl who can think on her feet and has a reckless streak. She has a very rich backstory that adds texture to her character and helps broaden the world building. Essentially, she was the perfect heroine to follow for this fun treasure hunt.

The supporting characters were also well crafted and unique. There's a mercenary who keeps her cards close to the vest, an academic leaving Earth for the first time who has a rocky relationship with Maya, an ancient alien desperately trying to save their species, and a robot who wants to be sapient. This combination of characters bounce off of each other and Maya beautifully. 

In addition to the excellent characters, the world building was fascinating and just complex enough for the story being told. It felt expansive without weighing down the narrative. The magic is also very unique, being presented as an illness that there needs to be a vaccine for, giving Maya both strengths and hindrances.