Genre: Fantasy/Mythology
Release Date: April 23rd, 2024
Pages: 320
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“Sisters. Mothers. Lovers. Warriors. In ancient Themiscyra, Hippolyte rules as Queen of the Amazons. Feared throughout Greece, their skills on the battlefield are unrivalled. But when a ship lands on their shores, it brings something more dangerous than the threat of war. It brings a future Hippolyte could never have dreamed of. Swept away to Athens, Hippolyte learns a love that transcends even the bond of the Amazon women. But can she forget her warrior past and forge a new life? With her sister gone, Penthesilea is left with no choice but to rise as the new Amazon Queen. Forgoing her sister’s compassion and wisdom, Penthesilea rules with impulsiveness and ferocity that sparks terror throughout the Aegean. But when Hippolyte’s world starts to crumble it is up to Penthesilea to decide how far she will go to defend their honour, family and way of life.”
My Review:
I love retellings of mythology! I find them to be fun and fascinating reads. This is definitely one of my favorites and possibly the best within this series. I was hooked on this story from start to finish. It is a very emotional story, as many of these are, and it impacted me profoundly.
I think these might be my favorite two characters from any mythology retelling I’ve read thus far. I love that we get perspectives from both Amazon queens. I just really felt a connection with both of them and I enjoyed the ways in which we explored their relationship to each other and with other characters.
I loved the themes of female empowerment and their group of badass warrior women. It was interesting to see how they relate to the world as whole in contrast to the way that women are viewed and treated elsewhere – seeing powerful men quake in the presence of such distinguished women. I also loved the connection these women have to horses. As a horse person, I felt this really strongly and I loved the bond and respect they shared with them.
We get to experience this story over many years and throughout many trials and tragedies. I really enjoyed the writing style and voice. The plotting is fast-paced and exciting. The lore and world-building are engaging. It delivered on everything that I could want from this type of story.
This was just such a magical and all-encompassing experience. I can’t speak for its accuracy, as I’m not that knowledgeable when it comes to Greek mythology. But I think one of the great things about myths and legends is that they lend well to interpretation, expansion, and for writers to explore their own creative purpose with.
I highly recommend to any readers that love mythology and retellings! I will definitely be looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Disclaimers:
Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an early copy of this amazing story! I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Have you read this book? Planning to add it to your TBR?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
I love a good book discussion. 🙂
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