Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Heroines

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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oakotoks's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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poseidons_siren's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

While it isn't a "feminist tale" of the myth of Phaedra, i thought this was one of the most phenomenal books I have read all year and likely will read all year.

The author is clearly very well-versed on mythology and the different versions, as well as ancient Greek society and culture. The proper pronunciation being used in the audiobook was such a breath of fresh air. The story of Phaedra was never a happy one and I was insanely impressed in the way Shepperson intertwined many different versions and points of view of the myths into the dialogue between characters. While, yes, she did have some creative freedoms with the retelling, what author doesn't? I enjoyed her take on the myth greatly.

This book made me feel so seen and validated, and when you suffer what Phaedra did (in the book, not the myth, because there is a lot of different versions there) you just want to know that you aren't alone and that some sort of justice is enacted, however positive or negative the ending was for you, that's really up to the reader, in my opinion. But without giving away anything else, I loved this book. I think that the low ratings aren't really doing it justice and when you look at it more through the lens of myth interpretation, it works so much better.

TL;DR, read the myth, go in blind to the book, ancient feminine rage will ensue.

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libraryofaeaea's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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betsythegremlin's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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