In the Company of Witches by Auralee Wallace
Length: 336 Pages
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings for the Death of a Loved One

"October nights in Evenfall were made for witches, and this one was no exception.
The yellow moon was rising up from behind the trees of the hemlock forest at the edge of town while bats swooped against the darkening sky. The crisp wind with its traces of wood smoke skittered dried leaves across the pavement as a dog barked endlessly in the distance. The stirring of night magic put most creatures on edge."

I was so pleased to be accepted for an ARC of In the Company of Witches by Auralee Wallace! So far, Berkley Books and I have a pretty great track record, and I was so entranced by the cover, and the idea of a witch-owned B&B in New England! Could there be anything more perfect for Halloween?

Brynn Warren, along with her aunts Izzy and Nora (and Uncle Gideon, who refuses to leave the attic), are a part of a magical family that has cared for the little town of Evenfall for nearly 400 years. On top of that, they run a B&B out of their family home, the Queen Anne style Ivywood Hollow. Together, they can do anything -- even deal with a rude and demanding guest. Constance Graves is known around town for being bitter, mean, and a downright challenge, and when she stays at Ivywood Hollow, even going so far as to pay for every room so she's the only guest, emotions run high. Hot-headed Nora jokes maybe they should bump her off. Unfortunately, someone does the job for them, and fingers point to the "odd" Warren women.

It could be easily solved if Brynn could use her specialized powers to talk to Constance's ghost, but ever since the untimely death of her husband, Adam, her magic has all but disappeared. To prove her Aunt's innocence, she will need the help of nosy neighbors, friends, and even Fautus the Maine Coon and Dog the crow. One things for sure about Warren women -- they don't give up.

I adored this little cozy mystery, and loved the portrayal of witchcraft and the sometimes overbearing but loving Warren family. It was such a refreshing and happy little book, which came at exactly the right point in my life. If you're feeling a bit blue, like I was, this is the perfect way to bring a bit of magic back into your life!

Book Review: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Length: 400 Pages
Genres: YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi
Rating: 3 out of 3 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Violence, Alcohol Abuse, Torture, Murder and Physical Abuse

"He should be the Iron King, and I should be the Iron Queen. Yet Iron Demon and Iron Widow is all they'll let us be."

I was really excited for Sci-Fi take on the infamous Wu Zetian, who was the de facto ruler of the Tang dynasty and the only female Emperor of China, so much so that I specifically asked to get an ARC of it. Iron Widow relies heavily on Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim (which I thoroughly enjoyed, even if I was in the minority), so I thought I would really enjoy this! Unfortunately, I was more than a little let down.

Wu Zetian has been raised for one thing: to become a concubine for a pilot so that he can power the towering Chrysalises, made of precious spirit metal to combat the Hunduns. They are bug-like aliens who have taken over the planet and wiped out a whole city hundreds of years ago, driving the remaining humans back behind the Great Wall. It is a fate few survive, for the pilot's spirit pressure, or qi, obliterates the minds of the concubines. Zetian has already lost her Big Sister, but instead of a valiant death in the midst of a battle, she is murdered by a cruel pilot, one Zetian will do anything to get close to. When she is matched up with him something incredible happens -- it isn't Zetian who is killed but him. Her spirit pressure is enormous, so she can only match up with one pilot, Li Shimin, a convicted murderer who killed his family is still a prisoner despite his powerful qi. 

Zetian is tired of being used and will stop at nothing to eradicate a system that views girls as nothing but kindling to fuel the boys' fire. With help of her friend Yizhi, and the eventual acceptance of Shimin, she strives to become the most powerful woman in all of Huaxia.

My main issue with this book was the writing. It was, for lack of a better word, amateur, bordering even on fanfic-y. Everything Zetian said was cool and witty and a perfect retort that left mouths hanging open and people cowering in fear. It was trying to be edgy and coming across as more cringe than anything else. I was very interested in the relationships between Shimin, Yizhi and Zetian, and the fact that they were in a polyamorous arrangement. I really liked that aspect and it was a breath of fresh air from the usual love triangle. Iron Widow takes a while to get going and ends on a massive, unsatisfying cliffhanger. I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel to this one, much to my disappointment!

Book Review: Sistersong by Lucy Holland

Sistersong by Lucy Holland
Length: 416 Pages
Genres: Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Some Gore and Violence and Misgendering of a Trans Character. There is also a scene of where Keyne, the trans character, is forcibly stripped and made to wear a dress.

A special thanks to Netgalley and Redhook Books for an ARC of this book!

*Note: While Keyne is called she/her by the other characters for the majority of the book, I will be using he/him pronouns to describe him, as those are his preference!

"The tale of my sisters live on, but my part in it is lost. They tell different tales about me now: wild peerless flags of tales, with trappings fit for a king. I am a man. I am a woman. I am neither and wear a sorcerer's skin. I am the uncle of a Saxon legend. I murder children. I married Brittany's daughter. I am a creature of vice, as Gildas was fond of saying. And I am also a saint, who abandoned my people for a life of faith and was martyred for it."

I've been eagerly awaiting Lucy Holland's debut, Sistersong, and was so thrilled when I was approved for an ARC! I can tell you know, with that same excitement, that is book is one of my favorites of the year so far! When it comes to fantasy I can be incredibly picky, as it is one of my favorites genres and one I like to write in. But this blew all of my expectations way out of the water!

My bestfriend is my own sister, so I am instantly drawn to stories surrounding the loving and complicated relationships between them. Sistersong follows Riva, the eldest, who was burned by a fire when young and left with a limp and a hand that she can't use, Keyne, who wants nothing more than for his family to accept him as the heir of Dumnonia, and Sinne who is young, beautiful and a little spoiled.

The siblings lives are thrown into tumult when Riva follows Keyne outside of Dumnonia to his secret meetings with the magician Myrdhin, who teaches him about his magical connection the land, and becomes lost, only to be saved by the secretive Tristan. Sinne and Riva's relationship is further fractured by their jealously over Tristan, and it is this that eventually tears them apart -- forever. With the threat of the priest Gildas, who is determined to root out not only their religion, but their powers, pushing in on them from all sides, can the sisters learn to overcome their differences for the better of their Kingdom?

Sistersong reminded me of everything I love about this genre, and oftentimes reminded me of Arthurian myth and the stories I've read based off of it, although this book is based solely off an old ballad called The Twa Sisters. I was unfamiliar with it, and I highly recommend you don't look if up if you are curious, as it reveals a grim twist towards the end of the book that truly shocked me! I also adored the magic system, which relied on one being able to manipulate the "patterns" of the universe -- from fire to air to earth and more.

With murder, magic, battles and ballads, Sistersong is undoubtedly one of the best fantasies of 2021. Be sure to snatch it up on October 5th, or better yet, preorder it now!

Book Review: Vampires, Hearts, and Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston

Vampires, Hearts, and Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston
Length: 320 Pages
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to Netgalley and Margaret K. Elderry Books for an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Cancer and Death of a Loved One

"I cry until I'm so empty it seems like I might float up into the sun and combust if Henry lets go of me. I actually move away from him to see if it will happen. 
Nope. I stand still in the sun as he watches me, waiting.
I am empty, but not broken.
Empty things can be filled again."

As an unrepentant lover of anything vampire related, I knew I had to snatch up Margie Fuston's Vampires, Heart, and Other Dead Things, which promised vampire hunting in a place I've always dreamed to visit: New Orleans. And what better place for vampires than New Orleans, with it's buildings -- dating hundred of years back -- its nightlife and of course, Anne Rice. I was really expecting to love this book more, but in the end, I was just okay with it.

Victoria and her Dad are obsessed with vampires and love to rewatch their favorite flicks (Underworld is mentioned several times, which is one of my favorites, too) and debate what real vampires would be like. Can they really not stand garlic, or the sign of the cross? Can they control the weather, like the undead Draugrs of Norse myth? Their love for their beloved stalkers of the night is only solidified when a man goes on television and claims he's a vampire and even stabs himself -- and seemingly heals in the blink of an eye.

It's been years since that fateful moment, and vampires, if they were ever really real, have gone underground after a string of murders are attributed to the one who revealed everything on live TV.
But Victoria has never stopped believing. And it is this belief that is holding her fragile life together when her father runs out of options to beat cancer. They had always planned to go to New Orleans together, but now Victoria takes the opportunity to fly there herself. And, hopefully, find a vampire.

Tagging along is her bestfriend and lifelong crush Henry Nakamura. They had a falling out when he started dating their other bestfriend, Bailey, and have been excommunicado for a year. However, Henry is not going to let that get in the way, and forces himself back into Victoria's life, possibly when she needs him the most.

While there, Victoria finds Nicholas, who is handsome, nocturnal, and powerful, and he wants her to play along in his game. If she can prove to him that she loves life, he might just let her live...forever.

My favorite part of this book was the lush descriptions of New Orleans, in all its gothic beauty. I especially loved the inclusion of a little vampire folklore which I'm familiar with -- the Ursuline Convent which once housed the infamous "Casket Girls" of New Orleans. There were many juicy tidbits of vampire lore sprinkled throughout, and I loved every minute of it.

Unfortunately, I struggled with connecting to Victoria, who was so hard to empathize with I kept wondering why in God's name Henry wanted to have anything to do with her! She was selfish and treated him like garbage. The poor boy deserved better! While Victoria is going through possibly the most difficult thing a person can go through, she did it with such a lack of regard for anyone else that it set my teeth on edge. I'm also one to bottle up my emotions, but that doesn't stop me from being there for family and my friends.

Overall, I think Vampires, Hearts, and Other Dead Things is a great choice for a vampire aficionado, like myself, and if you can get past the less than loveable protagonist, I think it'll be a fun ride for someone who wishes they could go to New Orleans and find them a real creature of the night. I know this would have been something I really liked as a teen, so if you have any like minded ones, let them know!

Book Review: A Most Clever Girl by Stephanie Marie Thornton

A Most Clever Girl by Stephanie Marie Thornton
Length: 416 Pages
Genres: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for an ARC of this book!

"I would tell many lies in this lifetime. I won't say that was the first or even that it was a lie, for back then I still thought I was capable of good.
Certainly, all the best villains do."

Trigger Warnings in this book for Animal Death, Blood and Gore

In 1945 Elizabeth Bentley, aka Umnista, Ms. Wise and Myrna, walked into FBI headquarters and declared herself a Soviet spy. What followed were many trials in which she exposed two different spy networks and named up to eighty different Americans as being involved in espionage. This is her (mostly) true story.

In 1963, it's just days after Kennedy's assassination, and college student Catherine Grey is, on top of it all, dealing with the death of her mother and a shocking secret, which she reveals in one last letter to Cat. If she wants the truth, she will have to track down Elizabeth Bentley. She does, with a pistol in her purse.

Told in first person while Elizabeth is recounting her tumultuous history, from her rather innocent origins within the CPUSA, to the world-shattering romance with her handler and rise as a notorious Spy Queen, I found myself not only sympathizing with the clever Bentley, but also enjoying her, which is in part due to the amazing writing done by Thornton. She is able to humanize the oft-vilified Bentley, who is driven by her desire to fit in, to live a meaningful life, and eventually, her own desire for control.

We also get some glimpses into the psyche of the completely fictional Catherine Grey via third-person scenes set in the 60's. Stephanie Marie Thornton was able to weave together an engrossing story, using much of the truth and expertly adding in bits of well-placed fiction. If you're craving your next historical hit with two strong female protagonists, look no further than A Most Clever Girl!

Book Review: The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova
Length: 336 Pages
Genres: Magical Realism and Fantasy
Rating: 5 out 5 Stars

A special thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel!

"How do you fight a thing that believes it owns you? How do you fight the past? With gold leaves and salt? With silence? With new earth beneath your feet? With the bodies, the hearts of others?
With hearts that are tender and bloodied but have thorns of their own.
With the family that chooses you."

Trigger Warnings in this book for Minor Blood and Violence

I was so, so pleased to have gotten an ARC of this wonderful, magical and simply delightful new novel by Zoraida Córdova! It is my first foray into her work, though I've heard nothing but good stuff and I can guarantee it will not be my last.

Told in alternating timelines, following the titular Orquídea Divina in her youth, and three of her grand-children and one great-grandchild, Marimar, Rey, Tatinelly and her daughter, Rhiannon, this is a story of the strength of family (and how much they can annoy us!) and just what one will do to feel power when they are born powerless.

The mysterious Orquídea Divina showed up in Four Rivers with a house in her pocket and a determination to protect herself and her family from something she won't name. Five husbands later plus a plethora of children, grandchildren, and a great-grandchild on the way, she calls her family home to claim their inheritance. Growing up in the magnificent house in Four Rivers, where the pantry never runs dry, the floors are scrubbed with a mixture of lemon, salt and herbs to keep evil out, and stories of fairies, Ecuadorian river monsters, and duendes are gospel truth, the Montoyas are used to the strange. What they find upon arrival, though, beggars belief, and sends them into a dangerous game of survival and truth.

I loved every second of this book. From the very first page I knew this was exactly my kind of book, and unless Cordova did something drastic, it wouldn't dip beneath a five star rating! I really enjoyed the dynamic of the large family (I've always wished to have a large family!), and how in the end, they come together to protect what's theirs despite their differences. This novel is certainly one of the most original takes on magic I've read in a long time, and while I kind of guessed the identity of the unnamed threat, it did nothing to diminish the exhilarating ride that was The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina!

This amazing novel comes out September 7th, so mark your calendars, or better yet, pre-order it! You can't dare to miss one of the best books of 2021.

Mid-Year Reading Stats! (2021)

I thought it would be fun to take a look at my reading stats so far this year! Thanks to StoryGraph, I have them all nicely put together. How many books have you read so far this year? I'm currently sitting at thirty-eight and am about a hundred pages into thirty-nine!

June 2021 ☀️

   

June seemed to fly by, and yet, I can't say I actually did much. June was filled with endless Doctor's appointments and procedures for my poor sister who has been sick since about November of last year. All the tests came back okay (Thank God), but it was also somewhat of a disappointment because we didn't get the answers we sorely need. It has been a lot of stress for her, so after everything we chose to be even lazier than usual this month. We laid around, watched movies, and I treated her to a trip to our favorite local restaurant, which is on the pricier side but totally worth it. 

Summer always makes me want to be still. That sweltering Southern heat saps all of my energy and I can't hardly be anywhere there isn't a fan. The only good thing about the summer, in my opinion, is that my sister was born in the middle of it!

 

TV and Movies:

Domina (Epix and Amazon Prime) - As a lover of history, I was so excited to learn of a new series being made about the enigmatic Livia Drusilla, also known as Julia Augusta, wife of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. I'm quite enjoying it so far, and any historical inaccuracies or added drama is just typical, especially with series taking place in Ancient Rome. It does have a few flaws that keep me from absolutely loving it (number one being the treatment of the only black female character), so take it all with a grain of salt and give it watch and see how much your mileage may vary.

Sophie: A Murder in West Cork (Netflix) - My mother and sister are True Crime aficionados and since our favorite hobby is watching things together, their love of everything mysterious and unsolved has rubbed off on me! We watched this three part series in two nights, spurred on to find out the truth behind the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Sophie herself was French, but had fallen in love with Ireland and had a old, rather spartan house in West Cork, a place where everybody knows everybody. It was a safe and warm community -- until the brutal and shocking murder of Sophie. The community thinks they know who did it, if only they could prove it. Highly recommended for True Crime lovers and people who are as fascinated with Ireland as me and mine are!

The Dig (Netflix) - I've been meaning to watch this since it was first released and only just got around to it a couple of days ago. A beautiful, moving and utterly human story, The Dig centers on the famous 1938 Sutton Hoo dig, which unearthed a ship filled with Anglo-Saxon treasures, and the people who made it possible. Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan were absolutely sublime in it. Watch for this history, and if you need it, a good cry.

Who I've Been Watching:

Eleanor Neale - I never would have discovered Eleanor Neale if it wasn't for my sister. Eleanor does really great videos on different True Crime cases and I find her voice so relaxing that I usually put on one of her videos before bed! She also covers some cases which are more obscure, and some that less covered over here because they happened in the UK, where she is from.

Ways to Help:

Navajo and Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund

Stop AAPI Hate

Black Lives Matter

Help Inuit Save Our Future

Aid India's COVID Relief Fund

Edith Wilkin's Street Children Foundation, India

Donate to Palestine

Book Review: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Length: 422 Pages
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Lesbian Romance
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

"I fell in love with you the day that I met you, and then I fell in love with the person you remembered you are. I got to fall in love with you twice. That’s— that’s magic. You’re the first thing I’ve believed in since— since I don’t even remember, okay, you’re— you’re movies and destiny and every stupid, impossible thing, and it’s not because of the fucking train, it’s because of you. It’s because you fight and you care and you’re always kind but never easy, and you won’t let anything take that away from you. You’re my hero, Jane. I don’t care if you think you’re not one. You are."

Trigger Warnings in this book for Past Homophobic Violence and Mentions of Racism

I've never read anything by McQuiston before but I was so excited for One Last Stop I even made it one of my most anticipated reads of 2021! Unfortunately, I felt a bit let down by this one. I think it is simply a case of me not vibing with it, because it is a good book, just not necessarily a good book for me.

One Last Stop follows August Landry -- professional student, cynical virgin, and retired Nancy Drew wannabe. Raised by her single mother who is obsessed with solving what happened to her uncle (her namesake, Augie), August has learned everything there is about keeping herself distant and safe. When she moves to New York, she hardly expects to make friends, let alone meet someone special but boy, does she. On the subway, after a crappy day that ends with her spilling coffee all over herself before class, a mesmerizing woman lends her a scarf and August can't get her out of her mind. She starts seeking her out, and like magic, she's there every single time.

To make ends meet, August takes a job at a forty-five year old pancake place, Billy's, thanks to her new roommates pulling the strings to get it for her. Shockingly, August sees the woman, Jane, in a photo on the wall. A photo from the 1970's.

Jane is trapped on the subway, and has been since the 70's. She doesn't remember anything about her life before and August is determined to help her, even if it means losing her in the process. And worst of all, August thinks she might just love her.

So, I think the idea for this book is so original and cool. I love anything time-travel, especially time-travel romance, and the thought of a modern bisexual and a lesbian from the 70's, a time strife with both violence and hope for the LGBTQ community, was a stroke of genius! My favorite part of this book was Jane, who is soft but strong, sweet and sour, and a total heart-throb. Every scene she was in was made instantly better by her! I waffled on August, whose problems oftentimes seemed caused by her own standoffishness. 

My main issue with One Last Stop came with not only the writing, which is just not my bag but is what's popular right now, but with the conversations everyone has in the book. To put it succinctly, every single character talked like a Tumblr post. I had a hard time believing they were real people and not just vessels to carry funny/quirky sayings and weird anecdotes, especially since I'm in the same age range as them and also have a fairly varied and eclectic friend group.

I think this was an excellent Lesbian romance with an inventive plot and will be an absolute favorite for someone else! It just (sadly) wasn't for me!

Book Review: Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian

Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian
Genres: Fantasy
Length: 448 Pages
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

"Beware, beware three maidens fair
With bloody hands and divine air.
Help not the girl whom others blame
She'll burn the world to ash and flame.
Trust not the girl with the golden crown
She'll take what's yours and watch you drown.
And my Lily Maid will scream and cry.
She'll break them both and then she'll die."

Trigger Warning in this book for Suicide

Along with Greek mythology, one of my lifelong obsessions (dating back, probably, to when I first glimpsed Sam Neill in the 1998 Merlin miniseries on Syfy, when it was still Scifi) is Arthurian mythology. I've always had such a fascination with the characters, and I have to admit I've rarely come across a well-done Arthurian story. I was really taken by surprise when I saw Laura Sebastian's Half Sick of Shadows as one of Book of the Month's June picks, because it had somehow completely flown under my radar! 

"I am half-sick of shadows," Elaine Astolat, Lady of Shalott, famously declares in Lord Alfred Tennyson's lyrical poem, which consists of 20 stanzas (19 in another version). She is afflicted by a strange curse, doomed to forever weave images on her loom, and to only ever glimpse the world through a small handheld mirror. The Lady of Shalott is perhaps even overshadowed by her own death, in which she dies of heartbreak over the knight Lancelot, and floats down the river to Camelot, a lily clutched in hand.

In this retelling, Elaine is cursed with visions, which come unbidden to her in her sleep, and later, under the careful tutelage of the Lady of the Lake, Nimue, at her beck and call through weaving on her loom. Her childhood is spent trapped in a tower in Camelot with her mother, until the wild and tempestuous Morgana returns to court and they strike up a fast friendship. Morgana urges Elaine to come away with her back to Avalon, where the Fey have reigned since they lost the war with Albion. She does, and when she arrives she meets the lost Prince Arthur, the strange and beautiful Lyonessian Princess Guinevere, and the half-fey Lancelot, who she will go on to love.

Soon, Elaine realizes that her power is more a curse than a gift. Urged to never share her visions with those they involve, lest she bring them to fruition, Elaine is lonely, but wise and trusted. She, along with the others, are raised for one purpose: to see Arthur crowned. Everything, their friendship, their love, and even their very selves, are pushed to the side to see the task done. But Elaine cannot accept the future that lies ahead -- one of broken promises, treasonous friends, and her own heart broken by the very man she so wants to trust. Can she stop it? Or is the future already set in stone?

I very much enjoyed this new take on the Arthurian myth, told from the POV of a character rarely utilized. I loved each character, and each new vision Elaine discovered, of a bitter and hate-filled Morgana, or of her and Arthur heartbroken by their lovers' betrayal, made my own heart ache. I was especially taken with this new spin on the much maligned Guinevere, and was pleased to see her not relegated to the same old adulterous harpy role she so frequently fills. A refreshing take on the old with a bittersweet ending, Half Sick of Shadows is a perfect choice to inspire new lovers of Arthur, Morgana, Lancelot, Guinevere, and the oft-forgotten, Elaine.

Book Review: Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
Length: 308 Pages
Genres: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

"It was the women, always the women, be they helpless serving girls or princesses, who paid the price. Cursed to roam the land without refuge, transformed into a shambling bear or lowing cow, or burned to ashes by the vengeful white armed goddess."

Trigger Warnings in this book for Blood, Violence, Gore and Mention of Rape

I have always, since my earliest memories, been enamored with Greek mythology. Now, that same love extends to all mythologies and folklores, but the tales of Zeus and Hera, Artemis and Apollo, the ill-fated Cassandra and the murderous Medea, will always have a special place in my heart. When I saw Ariadne by Jennifer Saint was one of Book of the Month's May selections, I knew I had to have it!

Ariadne is best remembered for giving the crimson thread to the hero Theseus, allowing him to find his way through the labyrinth and destroy her monstrous brother, the Minotaur. Then, cruelly, she is abandoned on the island of Naxos. But there is more to the story.

Told in alternating POV's between Ariadne and her younger sister, the doomed Phaedra, Jennifer Saint's Ariadne gives the story back to the women, who have so often born the brunt of the God's ill-will. Ariadne, at first resigned to die on Naxos, discovers that she has caught the eye of Dionysus, the God of wine, fertility, festivity, and general indulgence, and soon comes to meet him. She is wary, as she knows well what happens to mortals favored by the Gods.

Phaedra is married to Theseus, who tells her Ariadne was killed by a snake on Naxos. Never really believing him, Phaedra tries her hardest to gather power and learn just what makes a Queen. I generally preferred Phaedra; she was strong-willed and fiery, as opposed to the sometimes boringly good Ariadne. Phaedra's downfall comes in the form of Theseus' son by Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons, Hippolytus.

While sometimes I felt the prose fell a bit short, I truly enjoyed reading these legends come to life. With only a few differences from the original mythology, it was bittersweet to follow these fabled women to their fates. I am eagerly anticipating Saint's next novel, Elektra, which will tell the stories of three women from the doomed House of Atreus: Clytemnestra, Cassandra and Elektra. Be sure to pick this up if you're a mythology lover like me!