Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Heroines by Laura Shepperson

33 reviews

emilyaposton28's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I’m loving how much more often I’m seeing books/novels/retellings of different characters in Greek mythology that you typically don’t hear much about. However, this book made me SO angry, and I know that was the point. It’s disheartening to read and compare Phaedra’s story to modern women that don’t get the justice they deserve. To read and compare the men that are conniving, malicious, violent, and selfish to their very core to those we know today makes me want to throw this book across the room and scream. Women deserve better.
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thestarsandthemoon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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astridoodle's review against another edition

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sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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courtneylys's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

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ibjilln's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

As a retelling I enjoyed it. As a stand-alone book I think it could've been pushed further and the characters more well developed. 
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alexis_baldwin92's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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madelinemariegeorge's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I know Greek mythology is intense, but this retelling felt particularly dark, hopeless and a little flat. A painful read for me. Almost quit after the particularly gruesome scene, but decided to finish it, so I guess it had something that kept me reading. 
 
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nicoles_reading_corner's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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carmelien's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This book retells the myth of Phaedra and Hippolytus, first told in play form over 2000 years ago. This flips the play around however, having Hippolytus force himself upon Phaedra and the results thereof. Woven throughout this is the story of other women in Athens and across Greece, of the suffering they experience daily. Despite the tough themes and content, I found this book to be a disappointing read. It felt like every man involved was evil and every women suffered at the hands of the men around them, and this grew tiring and repetitive to read. It felt that the women had no agency and no way to impact the world around them, and even strong female characters like Medea fell victim to this in this novel.

If you want a Greek retelling there are many better out there, I would suggest Ariadne by Jennifer Saint or Medea by Rosie Hewlett. The writing was good however, and I will pick up the next book published by this author, I only hope the themes are covered more respectfully than in this first attempt.
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korotasz's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The ending was very anticlimactic and it felt rushed. I don’t feel like loose ends were tied up well.
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