This is dark, and brilliant. It’s a mystery, three women trying to solve who is killing girls in their area, but they were also the wives of serial killers. This is where the book really stands out, the tiny mentions of what their lives were like before, the way society has treated them and the way they’re bound together by these experiences
The blurb on the ARC said that it was like if Taylor Jenkins Reid had written a thriller and I 100% agree, its got the same distinctive unusual main characters and matter of fact acknowledgement of the domestic abuse and violence in the world.
Romance – not applicable to rate.
Plot – 5/5 – it’s shocking and rapid packed, you never know who it is but it’ll take you by surprise!
Characters – 4/5 – the women slowly evolve to be their separate characters over the book even though they seem very similar in the beginning just like how the public all sees them.
World – 5/5 – its dark its gritty and its realistic, delving into 1950’s serial killers and the families destroyed by them.
Romance Rating – explicit but only in one lines. There isnt any romance in this book, but there are mentions and short descriptions of sexual actions (a line or two each).
I loved this one so much! The rapid plot takes us from Aphrodite’s birth from the sea and we get to see not only a retelling and a delve into Aphrodite’s myths which are often ignored in mythology retelling but Pierce also doesn’t flinch away from portraying a heroine who is vengeful and dangerous. Aphrodite herself narrates this tale and as she learns more of the world her perspective changes and we get this glorious depiction of Olympus in the eyes of someone who is on one hand only a few weeks old and yet cynical and powerful.
I love how other characters – especially her handmaidens reflect the world of Olympus. Anyone who is powerful, any woman who could be anything other than a marriageable pawn is reduced to a shallow facet of their true power and there is nothing better than seeing it unfold. Her handmaiden has experienced it before and yet Aphrodite is now experiencing it first hand but she can be supported by her.
I honestly can say that this will stay with me for a while! I can’t wait for another reread once it releases and a sequel because this stunning masterpiece has me hooked!
Bold, powerful and still loyal to the cruelty of the original myths with an exploration of personal power and patriarchy.
World – 5/5 – oh my goodness was the world beautiful and stunning in the cruelest of ways! Greek mythology retellings always have to bridge the gap between changing the myths beyond recognition and setting them in a time that allows the story to flow. Myths come from over thousands of years and so it is set in a relatively timeless but pre-Roman empire Greece just before the Trojan War.
Plot – 5/5 – how could it end like that? My one qualm with this book was the abrupt ending, I honeslty would have loved to see Aphrodite continue on her journey. We know from myth what happens but I would have loved to see Bryony Pierce’s interpretation of it.
Romance – 4/5 – Swoony B – Ares and Aphrodite is a couple that have gone down in myth for their affairs and yet their devotion to each other (if you ignore other paramours which aren’t present in this book) and the cruel separation by Zeus. The most infamous Aphrodite/Ares scene is present for fellow myth lovers but you could also read this if you know nothing!
Characters – 5/5 – complex, cruel and sadistic, these are the Greek gods and I love that they haven’t been changed because that is one of the things about the Greek myths. Their gods often were the worst of humanity and I enjoyed the parallel between what Aphrodite made the mortals do and what Zeus made her do which was very interesting.
Age Recommendation: Upper YA/Adult – 15+
Romance Rating: Open Door – Swoony C – very euphemistic, less than a page for one, less than a paragraph for another
Violence Rating: Level 6 – there is both physical violence throughout and fights as well as sexual violence which happens regularly and there is the threat of it throughout.
CW: SA, Rape, a lot of sexual undertones and innuecendo. If you are familiar with the golden net entrapment of Aphrodite and Ares naked from the myths that does happen and it is a particularly nasty bit because of the embarrassment and nudity and shame of Aphrodite.
Damsel in Delight 