sarah2438's reviews
1046 reviews

The pacing is HORRENDOUS. My foot was 359 pages (before a reprint, apparently) but it felt like a thousand. Nothing happened until the last 20%. They just sang and danced. So incredibly dull, and then it majorly escalated out of nowhere. There were moments that I enjoyed the writing but on the whole, this was painful to get through.

This is exactly 3.5 stars for me, so it's tough to round. There are some essays here that I really enjoyed! My favorites were Hera, Aphrodite, Athene, and the Furies. But the others (Artemis, Demeter, and Hestia) just fell short for me.
In the earlier essays, Haynes makes references to movies to connect the goddesses to pop culture, but with one exception (The Hunger Games), the movies are rather out of date, and it felt like it took longer to explain the context of what she's trying to reference than to make the point she's going for.
In essays about the goddesses where there was less material, it felt like she was trying to fill the word count by discussing stories only tangentially related. In Demeter's essay, for example, it's almost exclusively about the
kidnapping of Persephone, which while absolutely significant to Demeter, does not tell us a whole lot about the goddess herself.
Finally, I thought the male-gaze aspect of this book's purpose was lost a bit. From the introduction, I expected an analysis of how women may have interpreted/perceived these goddesses at the time men were writing the myths. But the only female voice mentioned was Sappho, and only briefly. I understand there's likely a lack of sources on this front, but I think that perhaps means that the mission of the collection should have been adjusted.
On the brighter side, Haynes's writing shines, regardless of the content she covers, and she's clearly very knowledgeable about the topic. I found her tone educated but still relatable. Given that this is an ARC of a book that's already out by now, I can only hope that Haynes was able to include photographs of all the different works of ancient art that she discusses-- I think that would be really beneficial, but that's just a personal preference. 
Overall, I've decided to round this down, because while I think this is a very respectable collection of essays, it just didn't hit exactly how I needed it to. But for what it's worth, my Storygraph will have this rated properly at 3.5 stars :)

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Reminded me of Murderbot or Project Hail Mary, but better.
Objectively it's probably closer to 3 stars- the lack of development is significant. I'd say it doesn't pass the Bechdel test but I think you need to have two women speak to each other to even be considered for that. Despite this, it was still a whole lot of fun, so I'll settle at 4. This could definitely be read as a standalone with a somewhat open ending, so with everything considered, I don't see myself going out of my way to read the sequel. But I could give it a shot if I found a cheap copy.

This is already disappointing. Maybe I'll come back to it but I just need it to do more.

These short little lives that are repeatedly covered don't give you a chance to connect to the characters, so I haven't felt anything when they're separated or die. Also I think it's odd that Thora has been a child twice when Santi was an adult man.

Big thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the last minute ARC!
 Honestly I went into this pretty much blind. I loved House of Hollow so requested this without much other knowledge except that I trust this author, and she did not disappoint. Just like House of Hollow, The Invocations is gritty and gruesome with twists I didn't see coming. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the quick pace kept me coming back despite the length. I also enjoyed the emphasis on women and the fight against the oppression by men-- this is very much an "I support women's wrongs" book, and I love those! The only critique I have is that I had some issues with the ending. It felt like we were in a great spot and knew where we wanted to end up, but that our MCs had to make some pretty dumb decisions to get there. That's a pretty minor issue though, especially when you're caught up in the moment, and overall I would absolutely recommend this one!

So good. I did not see the twist coming. It's odd but this is the 3rd book I've read this month that centers on a pandemic (the others being The Dog Stars and Severance) and while each had a different and interesting perspective on life during/after a pandemic, this was the gut punch. (The Dog Stars was published 2012 and Severance in 2018, so it's obvious where this one gets its advantage.) For better or for worse, Jodi perfectly brings the reader back to how it felt to experience that visceral uncertainty and fear that emerged in the early days of the pandemic. It caused me to take a step back and say "holy shit, that happened. How did we get through it?"
While the MC does have a classic "life-changing circumstances making me question every decision I've ever made" arc, which does get a bit predictable, the execution is still interesting to read. And the heartbreak and confusion Diana feels are palpable. This was a solid read and I recommend.

Unique but ultimately unsatisfying. I think this approaches some really good commentary against capitalism but the detached tone that reinforced those messages also prevented me from getting invested in the story. Additionally, the ending felt unfinished, rather than intentionally open.

No notes.
This was so much fun! Already ordered the entire series for my shelves.