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But you weren’t married when you had me.’ I furrow my eyebrows to really drive home my confusion. Remind me of how I was conceived, Mother. So much repetitive dialogue and scenes and scenarios. It genuinely feels like I’m reading the same stuff over and over again
They gather round, tell me the worst things I’ve ever heard in my life and then give me tips for staying safe. ‘Don’t wear a gown if you have to travel,’ from Aphrodite, ‘disguise yourself as a man if you can and at the very least travel as part of a group.’ Or Athena patting my head, telling me the places to hit a man to break free of him if, god forbid, one ever made it onto the island and took me away. Hestia wasn’t much older than me and would harp on about how it was always safest to stay at home – though admittedly, as goddess of the hearth, I assumed she’d say as much – but if I ever found myself stranded I should march straight to the nearest palace or estate and request Xenia, a bond of hospitality of her own creation that would make them unable to hurt me without consequence. They could still hurt me, of course, but there would be consequences for it. Before Xenia men could do whatever they liked if you were foolish enough to be unprepared for their advances. For me personally, this was a 2 star read. However, there are some touches here that would easily raise it to four stars if the execution was better. Ergo three stars because it was mostly quite readable and I'm not really the target audience for a lot of YA fantasy anymore. Next was the problem many authors find the most difficult to explain when retelling Greek mythology…the rather incestuous family tree. The author’s chosen explanation was that Kronos’ only child was Zeus. The other Kronids — Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon — were the stolen children of other titans, which then creates so many more questions. Why did Kronos eat his own siblings’ children? What then happened to his siblings…or were they not siblings either? Where do the Olympians stand, or what is their relationship with these titans’ other children? Are Hecate, Helios and Selene, for example, siblings of the Olympians now? Also, where does Chiron fall in this? He was also a son of Kronos.Please, Father’s the one who made me the goddess of flowers, he can hardly be surprised by a bit of mud, can he?’ There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her.
Okay,’ I say, not wanting to continue this conversation and cursing myself for even bringing it up. ‘Can I go see my friends now? Before Father gets here?’ They made it your name, made it an insult, turned it into something it's not. There's nothing wrong with being a little girl, love. Little girls are fearless." I think the books main issue was it’s length. It had no business being as long as it was and it was bogged down with a lot of filler. I felt like every scene was dragged out between chapters and it would have worked better if it was dual perspective for this. Gods forbid my hair looks a mess – the universe might end. Or curse shame upon my household at the very least. The pace was fast, the scenes cute and I found myself engaged in the will they - won't they shenanigans you'd expect from a romance book. So why 3*?Fitzgerald’s story retells the myth of Persephone and Hades, in which Hades ensnares Persephone in the Underworld by making the ground split beneath her feet. In Fitzgerald’s version, our heroine is less easily fooled. We meet her as a young child: “When they asked me what I wanted, I said: ‘The world.’” But her father, Zeus, decides instead that she should be ‘Goddess of the flowers’, and she senses “all my hopes, all my lofty ambitions crumbling away… This felt like a punishment.” I also loved river goddess Styx (one of the supporting characters) the best and sassiest wing woman a Goddess (or God) could ask for! Her enthusiastic support for Hades and Persephone’s relationship was super entertaining and her overly dramatic, OTT asides into her own romantic endeavours kinda have me eager for a Styx-related spinoff—hopefully with cameos from Charon and Thanatos. I went in kinda blind as my only knowledge of Persephone and Hades story was from watching Hadestown on Broadway last year! Yes, because if I don’t look virginal how will the fine suitors know that the girl whose name literally means chastity and who has lived her entire life alone on an island is pure?’ I’m really hoping this is the start of a long series and that I get to enjoy more of Bea’s writing soon.
Go with her to the river, but if the girls here start corrupting her I’m counting on you to stop them.’ And I name you... Kore.’ My eyes widened as the meanings of the name ran through my head: Pure, Beautiful Maiden, Little Girl – apparently that was all I would ever be to him. ‘Goddess of the flowers and of beauty –’ Aphrodite made an almost imperceptible noise of discontent and Father continued, ‘In nature.’ To hell with love, to hell with being the perfect little girl. the little girl is gone. Persephone is ready to cause chaos. But regardless of my age, it was my Amphidromia, the day a child received their name. And as I was a goddess, I would also receive my domain – the aspect of the world that I would be responsible for.I wonder if her lessons will ever sink in or if they’ll forever ring through my mind in her voice, oil on water, condemning my actions without ever helping me stop doing the things that so annoy her. That apparently make me undesirable. Marriage is protection, Kore. A ring on your finger binds you to one man and that’s all the gods respect.’ This book was incredible! What an amazing debut by Bea Fitzgerald, I already want to read her next ten books. The mythological aspects were so much fun and I loved the direction Bea took the story and the way she explored and unravelled so much of the awfulness of the original stories and individuals, whilst still holding onto their essence and inspiration.
A fierce, fresh and enormously fun YA fantasy re-imagining from a growing TikTok superstar. About This Edition ISBN:I seem to be in the minority with this review but I didn’t really enjoy this book and I at times, found it quite dull. I adore a Hades and Persephone retelling and I have read my fair share of them in my time but this just felt a bit flat. I think the premise was there but the execution just didn’t work for me. Sadly, this will probably end up being a forgotten read as ai dont see it being that memorable or standing out to me in the future
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