I wanted to thank Flatiron Books for sending me and ARC for my honest review.

When I look at all the Greek heroic legends I often wonder what happens to the side characters who often go overlooked by the audience as just a minor player in the “real hero’s” story. I also wonder why these characters are also often women. This story delves into the stories of Ariadne and her sister Phaedra and how they make their way through the world as sidelined and discarded women by the heroes we all glorify as some of the mightiest and most honorable figures. The prose is absolutely stunning and some of the lines hit so hard I had to pause for a second. I could almost see the white sails of ships and rolling waves off the coast. The pacing is a lot slower than I anticipated but that slowness lended itself really well to asking all the questions I had while reading the story. Most of my objections were able to be addressed sentences late by the characters themselves because the story is very much character driven and value driven. This story does not shy away from asking difficult questions about being a woman and why our struggle is often unheard by those around us. I struggled with this book but it was well worth the effort in the end.

If you’re a fan of books like Circe, Song of Achilles, and Lore then you NEED to preorder this book as soon as you can and I PROMISE you will not regret it.