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Girl, Goddess, Queen
La Malédiction de l'Oracle - Edition collector
Plongez dans une réécriture audacieuse de la Guerre de Troie où prophéties, malédictions et sentiments interdits s'entremêlent dans une quête désespérée pour sauver la cité légendaire.
Cassandre a été maudite. Le dieu Apollon a puni la princesse de Troie devenue prêtresse lorsqu'elle s'est refusée à lui. Plus personne ne croira ses prophéties.
Elle assiste ainsi impuissante au retour de son frère Pâris marié à Hélène, l'épouse qu'il a enlevée au roi de Sparte. Cassandre voit que c'est le début d'une guerre sanglante qui va détruire sa ville, sa famille, son peuple. Mais on la prend pour folle.
Désespérée, Cassandre est prête à tout pour sauver Troie. Jusqu'à se rapprocher de son ennemie jurée, l'irrésistible Hélène... ? Pourtant, c'est la seule à croire en elle. Pourra-t-elle déjouer le destin, ou l'amour d'Hélène sera-t-il leur perte à tous ?
Par l'autrice du best-seller "La Reine des Enfers", phénomène sur TikTok.
Cassandre a été maudite. Le dieu Apollon a puni la princesse de Troie devenue prêtresse lorsqu'elle s'est refusée à lui. Plus personne ne croira ses prophéties.
Elle assiste ainsi impuissante au retour de son frère Pâris marié à Hélène, l'épouse qu'il a enlevée au roi de Sparte. Cassandre voit que c'est le début d'une guerre sanglante qui va détruire sa ville, sa famille, son peuple. Mais on la prend pour folle.
Désespérée, Cassandre est prête à tout pour sauver Troie. Jusqu'à se rapprocher de son ennemie jurée, l'irrésistible Hélène... ? Pourtant, c'est la seule à croire en elle. Pourra-t-elle déjouer le destin, ou l'amour d'Hélène sera-t-il leur perte à tous ?
Par l'autrice du best-seller "La Reine des Enfers", phénomène sur TikTok.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published July 18, 2024
313 people are currently reading
9389 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 526 reviews
April 30, 2024
Sapphic greek mythology retelling of the trojan war!
It has an asexual lesbian MC, strong women and it's duo pov.
I feel like this book is definitely harder to read than Girl Goddess Queen especially if you're not that familiar with Greek mythology. It's also more serious than GGQ but that's perfect if you wanted more mythology aspect than the romcom aspect!
Personally I wish there was even more backstory to Helen and Cassandra. More Helen pov in general actually!!! Loved her.
Also more description of where the characters were (place and time) but I get that the book would be too long then. (Even though I wouldn't mind Bea writing a book that's 600 pages hahah)
Hades and Persephone made an appearance which I LOVED!!!
It has an asexual lesbian MC, strong women and it's duo pov.
I feel like this book is definitely harder to read than Girl Goddess Queen especially if you're not that familiar with Greek mythology. It's also more serious than GGQ but that's perfect if you wanted more mythology aspect than the romcom aspect!
Personally I wish there was even more backstory to Helen and Cassandra. More Helen pov in general actually!!! Loved her.
Also more description of where the characters were (place and time) but I get that the book would be too long then. (Even though I wouldn't mind Bea writing a book that's 600 pages hahah)
Hades and Persephone made an appearance which I LOVED!!!
June 3, 2025
3.75 stars
The End Crowns All grew in strength with the telling. It took me a little while to adjust to a YA retelling of the Trojan War. I wasn't a fan of some Mean Girl moments between Cassandra and Helen early on, but what this really brought home to me was how young they were - only 16 or 17. I really liked how their relationship developed on from this.
The character development of the two FMCs was really strong. I liked how The End Crowns All shows Helen as being Spartan; she's a warrior who knows how to use a sword and misses her native country. Also, it underlines that Menaleus is only the King of Sparta through her claim to the throne. These aspects aren't focused on in other books I've read. Female empowerment is a major theme, which I loved. I wanted to punch the air when Helen retorted to Menaleus that "Your pride launched a thousand ships."
This is the first book I've read with an ace main character, and I'd like to read more. There was a brilliant conversation I loved between Cassandra and her brother Deiphobus about the many kinds of love. It's also the first retelling I've read that considered how traumatic Cassandra's visions were for her to experience in the first place, and not just how difficult it was for her not to be believed about them.
The End Crowns All explores a lot of important themes in an accessible way; oppression of women, violence against women, war, grief, loss, trauma, female empowerment, and asexuality.
The End Crowns All grew in strength with the telling. It took me a little while to adjust to a YA retelling of the Trojan War. I wasn't a fan of some Mean Girl moments between Cassandra and Helen early on, but what this really brought home to me was how young they were - only 16 or 17. I really liked how their relationship developed on from this.
The character development of the two FMCs was really strong. I liked how The End Crowns All shows Helen as being Spartan; she's a warrior who knows how to use a sword and misses her native country. Also, it underlines that Menaleus is only the King of Sparta through her claim to the throne. These aspects aren't focused on in other books I've read. Female empowerment is a major theme, which I loved. I wanted to punch the air when Helen retorted to Menaleus that "Your pride launched a thousand ships."
This is the first book I've read with an ace main character, and I'd like to read more. There was a brilliant conversation I loved between Cassandra and her brother Deiphobus about the many kinds of love. It's also the first retelling I've read that considered how traumatic Cassandra's visions were for her to experience in the first place, and not just how difficult it was for her not to be believed about them.
The End Crowns All explores a lot of important themes in an accessible way; oppression of women, violence against women, war, grief, loss, trauma, female empowerment, and asexuality.
September 4, 2024
Stupid bloody men.
September 5, 2024
this book perfectly describes why I hate men x
“Ik heb alles opgegeven voor een laatste poging tot een fijn leven. Dat liefde, die zo binnen handbereik voelt, me zou kunnen redden. Maar soms ben ik bang dat ik misschien te beschadigd ben om zoiets moois te beleven.”
ik vond dit verhaal zo geweldig, vooral omdat het een feministische retelling is van een bestaande mythe. en dan is het ook nog sapphic, over de oorlog van Troje (zelfde als tsoa). ja daar heb je me 🥹
jammer dat het boek zo ontzettend lang is en langzaam leest, anders had het een 5 sterren kunnen zijn
luisteren tijdens het lezen: “history of man - Maisie Peters” & gehele nieuwe album “cacophony - Paris Paloma”
bc i love when women
“Ik heb alles opgegeven voor een laatste poging tot een fijn leven. Dat liefde, die zo binnen handbereik voelt, me zou kunnen redden. Maar soms ben ik bang dat ik misschien te beschadigd ben om zoiets moois te beleven.”
ik vond dit verhaal zo geweldig, vooral omdat het een feministische retelling is van een bestaande mythe. en dan is het ook nog sapphic, over de oorlog van Troje (zelfde als tsoa). ja daar heb je me 🥹
jammer dat het boek zo ontzettend lang is en langzaam leest, anders had het een 5 sterren kunnen zijn
luisteren tijdens het lezen: “history of man - Maisie Peters” & gehele nieuwe album “cacophony - Paris Paloma”
bc i love when women
May 26, 2024
Definitely an older read than Girl Goddess but I enjoyed this a lot more! 1. Sapphic romance 2. Asexual representation (lacking in ya) all big yes from me. I also loveeed Cassandra and her story, I wasn’t as invested in the romance as I would’ve liked to be but I enjoyed Cassandra and Helen as characters and enjoyed the story.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review
September 7, 2024
lesbianism was the solution to the trojan war
August 25, 2024
DNF at page 215
I want to finish this but I'm so bored! I've just been reading words and not even taking them in at this point 😭
Disappointed in this after loving girl goddess queen .
At least my edition is beautiful and signed so I can display it
I want to finish this but I'm so bored! I've just been reading words and not even taking them in at this point 😭
Disappointed in this after loving girl goddess queen .
At least my edition is beautiful and signed so I can display it
September 3, 2024
✨ Holy crap, an EPIC already? And such a bold departure from the original source material! ✨
The End Crowns All is a sapphic re-imagining of the Trojan War. When the gift of prophecy, and all the power that comes with it, is offered to Cassandra, princess of Troy, she can’t possibly refuse. But when she can’t uphold her end of the deal Cassandra finds out just far she can fall. No one believes her visions.
Helen, the girl who is about the start a war according to these visions, seems to be thriving in Troy. She is slowly but steadily wrapping everyone around her finger. Though, things might not be as easy as they seem to be for Helen, the love she left Sparta for is starting to feel shallow. And Cassandra trying to drive her out of the city is getting on her nerves.
“Strong men become heroes immortalized in the starts. Strong woman are snapped quicker, punished harder, fall futher”
The way Cassandra’s curse was portrayed. Helen’s strength, cunning and determination! The sheer audacity of men. The ace representation! The direct references to the Iliad *CHEF’S KISS* I do not want to give away to much of the book as it’s not coming out till the 18th of july, but I feel like this book could have been double the pages and it still would have devoured it.
This book is not as fast paced as Girl, Goddess, Queen, and might be a tad harder to understand without prior knowledge of the story, but I would still 100% recommend this book. Especially if you are into greek mythology, but do not care for the same old, same old. Or are just looking for a well known story with a unique spin; this is for you! I was on the edge of my seat till the very end!
Bea Fitzgerald again managed to turn a tale as old as time into unique story of her own. I am super grateful to be one of the first people to read this book! 🫶🏻✨
The End Crowns All is a sapphic re-imagining of the Trojan War. When the gift of prophecy, and all the power that comes with it, is offered to Cassandra, princess of Troy, she can’t possibly refuse. But when she can’t uphold her end of the deal Cassandra finds out just far she can fall. No one believes her visions.
Helen, the girl who is about the start a war according to these visions, seems to be thriving in Troy. She is slowly but steadily wrapping everyone around her finger. Though, things might not be as easy as they seem to be for Helen, the love she left Sparta for is starting to feel shallow. And Cassandra trying to drive her out of the city is getting on her nerves.
“Strong men become heroes immortalized in the starts. Strong woman are snapped quicker, punished harder, fall futher”
The way Cassandra’s curse was portrayed. Helen’s strength, cunning and determination! The sheer audacity of men. The ace representation! The direct references to the Iliad *CHEF’S KISS* I do not want to give away to much of the book as it’s not coming out till the 18th of july, but I feel like this book could have been double the pages and it still would have devoured it.
This book is not as fast paced as Girl, Goddess, Queen, and might be a tad harder to understand without prior knowledge of the story, but I would still 100% recommend this book. Especially if you are into greek mythology, but do not care for the same old, same old. Or are just looking for a well known story with a unique spin; this is for you! I was on the edge of my seat till the very end!
Bea Fitzgerald again managed to turn a tale as old as time into unique story of her own. I am super grateful to be one of the first people to read this book! 🫶🏻✨
August 26, 2024
Do I like stories about the battle of Troy? Yes.
Do I like it when those stories are sapphic retellings?
Yes.
Did I love this book?
YES YES YES
Do I like it when those stories are sapphic retellings?
Yes.
Did I love this book?
YES YES YES
August 4, 2024
Ik vergeet in fysieke boeken altijd quotes op te slaan oeps.
Ik had oprecht moeite met in dit verhaal komen. De laatste keer dat ik me heb verdiept in Griekse mythologie en Goden was tijdens KCV op de middelbare school en toen Taylor Swift met het nummer Cassandra uitkwam. Hallelujah, want nu wist ik in ieder geval genoeg over een van de twee hoofdpersonen uit dit boek. En gelukkig is Helena ook geen onbekende.
1000 maal dank aan de persoon die een namenlijst aan het begin van het boek heeft geplaatst. Die had ik dus in het begin erg nodig om mijn geheugen weer op te frissen. Toen ik eenmaal de smaak te pakken had, las het een stuk vlotter.
Het begin is al vrij snel duidelijk en schetst goed het verhaal. Toch vond ik het midden enorm lang duren. De tweede act was heel veel van hetzelfde en ondanks dat er van alles gebeurt in de wereld, wordt het alleen benoemd. Waardoor je eigenlijk alle echte actie mist en alleen het naslagwerk meekrijgt. Waardoor het heel veel tell, don't show is. Ook duurde het enorm lang voordat er was spanning, sensatie en tension was.
Was het een echte sapphic love story, jawel, maar met heel veel geduld. En doordat er voor een bepaald personage is gekozen, kan het zijn dat anderen de romance iets te veel slowburn vinden. Toch vond ik het een prachtige retelling. Het einde maakte enorm veel goed. Love de power van twee vrouwen (en de anderen). Ik vond de scènes met Apollo fantastisch, die brachten echt meer leven in de brouwerij. Give me more banter please. Ik vond het jammer dat het wel meer om Kassandra draaide dan Helena, ik had het gevoel alsof Helena's karakter wat teniet werd gedaan en dat vond ik jammer.
Trouwens. Ook hulde aan de dual POV en de korte hoofdstukken. Dat maakte een wereld van verschil qua leesbaarheid, want de grote pagina's in combinatie met mini letters en marges, waren soms een killer.
Ik had oprecht moeite met in dit verhaal komen. De laatste keer dat ik me heb verdiept in Griekse mythologie en Goden was tijdens KCV op de middelbare school en toen Taylor Swift met het nummer Cassandra uitkwam. Hallelujah, want nu wist ik in ieder geval genoeg over een van de twee hoofdpersonen uit dit boek. En gelukkig is Helena ook geen onbekende.
1000 maal dank aan de persoon die een namenlijst aan het begin van het boek heeft geplaatst. Die had ik dus in het begin erg nodig om mijn geheugen weer op te frissen. Toen ik eenmaal de smaak te pakken had, las het een stuk vlotter.
Het begin is al vrij snel duidelijk en schetst goed het verhaal. Toch vond ik het midden enorm lang duren. De tweede act was heel veel van hetzelfde en ondanks dat er van alles gebeurt in de wereld, wordt het alleen benoemd. Waardoor je eigenlijk alle echte actie mist en alleen het naslagwerk meekrijgt. Waardoor het heel veel tell, don't show is. Ook duurde het enorm lang voordat er was spanning, sensatie en tension was.
Was het een echte sapphic love story, jawel, maar met heel veel geduld. En doordat er voor een bepaald personage is gekozen, kan het zijn dat anderen de romance iets te veel slowburn vinden. Toch vond ik het een prachtige retelling. Het einde maakte enorm veel goed. Love de power van twee vrouwen (en de anderen). Ik vond de scènes met Apollo fantastisch, die brachten echt meer leven in de brouwerij. Give me more banter please. Ik vond het jammer dat het wel meer om Kassandra draaide dan Helena, ik had het gevoel alsof Helena's karakter wat teniet werd gedaan en dat vond ik jammer.
Trouwens. Ook hulde aan de dual POV en de korte hoofdstukken. Dat maakte een wereld van verschil qua leesbaarheid, want de grote pagina's in combinatie met mini letters en marges, waren soms een killer.
November 6, 2024
I´m still not sure if I will continue to read this, because so far in, I´m a hater (so sorry guys). Let me explain why:
First of all, the plot. This is a retelling of an epic, one of the biggest stories of all time, and even though I know this focuses on the women of Troy and the romance between Cassandra and Helen instead of the war itself, it mustn´t mean the plot has to be boring? The trojan war still is a crucial point of the whole story in itself, and the pacing made it come so short as far as I´ve read. The novel generally has a weird pacing, everything rushes by so fast and at the same time there´s nothing happening at all?
Another point that REALLY bugged me were the inaccuracies. Yes, I know this is a free retelling and most details don´t bother me since there are so many different versions of the original story that it´s mostly impossible to choose a `right` one.
I especially loved the idea of a romance between Cassandra and Helen (even when its execution and marketing (Rivals to lovers? Really?) weren´t really it as far as I´ve come.
But there are some points that spoke of the author not knowing the epic in the detail that is actually required for writing a retelling instead of creative freedom of changing certain aspects of the story. As an example, such a small but important detail struck me directly in the beginning (I know it is a really small detail, but it showed me the authors expertise of the myth and the work she has invested into research within the first chapter): besides the scenery of Paris´s return, which is the plot of the first chapter, being completely false, it was the fact that Cassandra said that Paris was his birth name that really threw me off.
Like- what? I thought it was a set fact that this name was given to him by the man who raised him, since it means `basket` and is based on the basket he was carried in to be left to die after his birth?! And this was only the first of many mistakes the author made.
What also annoyed me were the characterizations of the actors in the war. Come on, these characters are such nuanced and interesting personalities already, how could you turn them into one dimensional caricatures of themselves?
This already happened with the gods in Fitzgeralds first book, here, it happened to Apollo who was merely depicted as cruel and evil, though he is one of the most interesting gods in the original myths, and while he of course has a cruel and vengeful side as all ancient greek gods do, this is not all that is to him . So why reduce him on... well, this version of him?
The absolute same counts for the main characters. Helen was blank and boring, and Cassandra...
I can´t even begin with Cassandra. First of all I have to say that Cassandra of Troy is one of my fav characters of myth of all time. I am obsessed with her story and character.
But this... this is a bratty one dimensional character who absolutely seemed to be based off off Fitzgerald and her experiences herself. I don´t mind putting your own experiences, feelings and life into a retelling, it is what makes it art after all. But when you do, you have to do it right. Christa Wolf did it right in her retelling of Cassandras story, which was richly interwoven with the matters of propaganda and growing up in post-Second-Worldwar-Eastern Germany. Her version of Cassandras story shows Cassandras suffering as a metaphor of being a woman without a voice in a corrupt regime, it was a deeply upsetting but well-thought-through lyrical story.
Fitzgeralds Cassandra on the other hand is the typical protagonist of a romantasy YA novel, and while I appreciate her exploring asexuality as an important topic as far as I´ve read, I just think that this Cassandra can´t compare to any of the original depictions and other retellings of her character- and so did the other characters in this novel.
Anyway, after yapping and yapping, I´m still not sure if it gets better (I´m about 60% through), but since reading other reviews that stated the exact opposite I think I might leave it as it is and go read- and maybe rage about something else. I think a possible happy ending of the trojan war (yes, you´ve read it right, Fitzgerald already had the term HAPPY ENDING in her trope selection on tiktok) might heal me written by another author, but in this case it might or might not destroy me and make me feel even more pissed off as I already do <3
First of all, the plot. This is a retelling of an epic, one of the biggest stories of all time, and even though I know this focuses on the women of Troy and the romance between Cassandra and Helen instead of the war itself, it mustn´t mean the plot has to be boring? The trojan war still is a crucial point of the whole story in itself, and the pacing made it come so short as far as I´ve read. The novel generally has a weird pacing, everything rushes by so fast and at the same time there´s nothing happening at all?
Another point that REALLY bugged me were the inaccuracies. Yes, I know this is a free retelling and most details don´t bother me since there are so many different versions of the original story that it´s mostly impossible to choose a `right` one.
I especially loved the idea of a romance between Cassandra and Helen (even when its execution and marketing (Rivals to lovers? Really?) weren´t really it as far as I´ve come.
But there are some points that spoke of the author not knowing the epic in the detail that is actually required for writing a retelling instead of creative freedom of changing certain aspects of the story. As an example, such a small but important detail struck me directly in the beginning (I know it is a really small detail, but it showed me the authors expertise of the myth and the work she has invested into research within the first chapter): besides the scenery of Paris´s return, which is the plot of the first chapter, being completely false, it was the fact that Cassandra said that Paris was his birth name that really threw me off.
Like- what? I thought it was a set fact that this name was given to him by the man who raised him, since it means `basket` and is based on the basket he was carried in to be left to die after his birth?! And this was only the first of many mistakes the author made.
What also annoyed me were the characterizations of the actors in the war. Come on, these characters are such nuanced and interesting personalities already, how could you turn them into one dimensional caricatures of themselves?
This already happened with the gods in Fitzgeralds first book, here, it happened to Apollo who was merely depicted as cruel and evil, though he is one of the most interesting gods in the original myths, and while he of course has a cruel and vengeful side as all ancient greek gods do, this is not all that is to him . So why reduce him on... well, this version of him?
The absolute same counts for the main characters. Helen was blank and boring, and Cassandra...
I can´t even begin with Cassandra. First of all I have to say that Cassandra of Troy is one of my fav characters of myth of all time. I am obsessed with her story and character.
But this... this is a bratty one dimensional character who absolutely seemed to be based off off Fitzgerald and her experiences herself. I don´t mind putting your own experiences, feelings and life into a retelling, it is what makes it art after all. But when you do, you have to do it right. Christa Wolf did it right in her retelling of Cassandras story, which was richly interwoven with the matters of propaganda and growing up in post-Second-Worldwar-Eastern Germany. Her version of Cassandras story shows Cassandras suffering as a metaphor of being a woman without a voice in a corrupt regime, it was a deeply upsetting but well-thought-through lyrical story.
Fitzgeralds Cassandra on the other hand is the typical protagonist of a romantasy YA novel, and while I appreciate her exploring asexuality as an important topic as far as I´ve read, I just think that this Cassandra can´t compare to any of the original depictions and other retellings of her character- and so did the other characters in this novel.
Anyway, after yapping and yapping, I´m still not sure if it gets better (I´m about 60% through), but since reading other reviews that stated the exact opposite I think I might leave it as it is and go read- and maybe rage about something else. I think a possible happy ending of the trojan war (yes, you´ve read it right, Fitzgerald already had the term HAPPY ENDING in her trope selection on tiktok) might heal me written by another author, but in this case it might or might not destroy me and make me feel even more pissed off as I already do <3
May 9, 2024
In the author letter the publisher included with my ARC, the author says she wrote Girl, Goddess, Queen for her sister, but this one for herself. This makes a lot of sense, considering both books have the same heart, but they're very different.
The End Crowns All is heavier and more serious than Girl, Goddess, Queen. It's an absolutely amazing retelling of the Iliad (about the Trojan War), but this time told through the perspective of two women who haven't always been granted the same agency in the past: Cassandra and Helen.
I have read this story in several iterations before, including several retellings, and The End Crowns All is so different from all of those, and I loved it so much. It was wonderful to get to know Cassandra and Helen so well and to see them grow from allies to romantic partners over the span of the book. I especially loved seeing how Cassandra's asexuality impacted the plot and how it was explored.
The writing struck a perfect balance between not shying away from the horrors of the war, but also not describing them in vivid detail, so the book never becomes gory. The writing simultaneously managed to suit the source material and time period, as well as current day, with language that's poetic at times and modern at others. I think it's a huge feat that this never became jarring.
The End Crowns All is heavier and more serious than Girl, Goddess, Queen. It's an absolutely amazing retelling of the Iliad (about the Trojan War), but this time told through the perspective of two women who haven't always been granted the same agency in the past: Cassandra and Helen.
I have read this story in several iterations before, including several retellings, and The End Crowns All is so different from all of those, and I loved it so much. It was wonderful to get to know Cassandra and Helen so well and to see them grow from allies to romantic partners over the span of the book. I especially loved seeing how Cassandra's asexuality impacted the plot and how it was explored.
The writing struck a perfect balance between not shying away from the horrors of the war, but also not describing them in vivid detail, so the book never becomes gory. The writing simultaneously managed to suit the source material and time period, as well as current day, with language that's poetic at times and modern at others. I think it's a huge feat that this never became jarring.
September 19, 2024
This book was absolutely phenomenal and a great 5 star read for me. I'm not very well known with every Greek myth but the way Fitzgerald made her story about the Greek myth of the Trojan war was so beautifully written.
The beginning of the story was a little slow paced in my opinion but not annoying, but after you hit part 3 of the story it's going in a big tempo with a lot of tension and epic battles.
There was great character development aswell. I didn't liked Cassandra in the beginning but at the end my opinion was changed. Helen was also a very powerful woman which i very liked.
This book definitely gave me good reasons to pick up ''Girl, Godess, Queen'' from Bea and i can't wait to start in this one.
I would like to give a special thankyou to Tandemcollectiveuk and Tandemcollectiveglobal for being a part of the team! And also to the amazing Instagram people who participated the read-a-long.
The beginning of the story was a little slow paced in my opinion but not annoying, but after you hit part 3 of the story it's going in a big tempo with a lot of tension and epic battles.
There was great character development aswell. I didn't liked Cassandra in the beginning but at the end my opinion was changed. Helen was also a very powerful woman which i very liked.
This book definitely gave me good reasons to pick up ''Girl, Godess, Queen'' from Bea and i can't wait to start in this one.
I would like to give a special thankyou to Tandemcollectiveuk and Tandemcollectiveglobal for being a part of the team! And also to the amazing Instagram people who participated the read-a-long.
August 7, 2024
you ever anticipate a book so much and it just...
LIKE this book sounds like it was made for me (lesbians and cassandra) and it just...
LIKE this book sounds like it was made for me (lesbians and cassandra) and it just...
January 19, 2025
This book is the epitome of Tiktok (booktok) brainrot and therapy-speak and it is absolutely the worst of both worlds. Consistently, consistently, I could not get over how selfish these main characters were and a lot of that is fueled by their inability to consider other people because they are so busy wrapping themselves in layers upon layers of therapeutic jargon that only considers one person - themselves - in that equation. The ultimate moment for that is when both Cassandra and Helen are like: I would do it again, even if I could change the outcome I would still let thousands of people (my brother and husband included) die so I could be here.
Really you would? REALLY. It's hard to accept that, especially like..... even if you somehow are not inundated with actual wars going on in the world right now (or maybe, like, a Palestinian genocide?), you have a decent idea that that's a pretty shit thing say, right? But I do absolutely believe they would condemn thousands of people to death, inhumanity, assault, torture, etc. if it made their lives one percent better. Because that is consistently the characters they were throughout.
Cassandra is introduced as someone who does not care about anyone not on her level (doesn't know servant names, what they do with their time, or care about them), does not take her priestess duties seriously and shows up whenever she wants and even though there's not meant to be a hierarchy amongst the priestesses.... well, she is Princess Cassandra, yeah? (And clearly wants you to be on her side when she mentions Herophile not liking her????? Like, of fucking course she doesn't! You treat the thing she's devoted her life to like a joke and corrupt the equality of it on top of that. You are a GINORMOUS ASSHOLE. Especially as Cassandra only became a priestess so she wouldn't have to marry, do you think maybe some of these other women joined so they wouldn't have to serve anyone and then you show up and act like a fucking Princess there????) Every time she was on the page I was thinking 'Eat theRichRude' and hoping Hannibal would show up. I hated her. Hated. Hated. HATED. And for her to give that fucking speech to Paris where she called him selfish? I wanted to SCREAM.
Then there's Helen. Who is so so so so smart and yet.... never tried to escape Menelaus at any point in time before? Makes.... zero sense, considering it seems to be the only thing she's ever cared about so, weird, she never appeared to have any thought about it previously, pre-Paris? Then she COMPLAINS about Paris' behavior towards her when she already tells us: everything I've ever done in front of him is a front, I am playing a part, I am trying to make myself nothing more than easy to fall in love with because I need him to simultaneously not consider me too deeply but also consider himself to be deeply in love. Then she accomplishes pretty much exactly that and then is like: he never asks me about myself or how my day was. Of fucking course he doesn't!!!!!! You've made yourself into someone who is entirely surface, you can't then be bothered when people treat you that way! Maybe if you had told him a single true thing about yourself, you could've been allies. But YOU made that choice then BLAMED him for it. Meanwhile, she's like: well the only way any of this works is if people believe we're deeply in love and then..... never, not one moment in time was she not openly flirting with Cassandra? Bitch, what?
Like. This was not feminist. This was people being bad people and then going: you only don't like it because I'm a lady. I don't like it because you're treating other humans like garbage!!!! And couching it in terms you do not have an understanding of to make it seem like that's what people should do??? No, it's not. WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY.
Oh my God, and just the whole premise was...... *sigh* So. Apollo approaches Cassandra and says: I'll give you the gift of prophecy. The cost of that is you sleeping with me. Cassandra considers and says: Yep, I want that, price accepted. Cool. Then she changes her mind after she's already been given the gift of prophecy. One: not believable Apollo didn't rape her after that, the Greek Gods are content warnings personified (...... don't even get me started about the fact that there are content warnings in this book, that is coddling readers to a degree that makes my brain hurt. If you've gotten all the way to this book in your life and don't know the general idea of the Greek Gods by now.... HOW) because Gods have no concept of mortal pain, fear, lifespans, etc. There's a reason they're capricious and cruel and uncaring and it's because your suffering lasts the blink of an eye, their perspective is literally too wide to center you in it.
But, whatever, okay, she says no and Apollo lets her (sure?), Helen is later talking to her about how in no way is Cassandra responsible for anything that's happened to her and says: "he put you in a position where [saying no] wasn't an option that could go unpunished." And that's just straight up not true. That is a position Cassandra put herself in. She knew the terms of the deal when she agreed and she knew - when the deal was presented - what happens to women who defy/challenge Apollo (we know this because she consistently throws his history back at him after this). I am completely with Helen that a woman should be able to say no at any point whenever and have that respected but, SIS, YOU MADE A DEAL WITH A FUCKING GOD WITH YOUR EYES ALL THE WAY FUCKING OPEN. That shit has consequences and you knew that. Also, if she'd said: No, I don't want that deal and then Apollo had cursed her afterward, then you would have no culpability in that scenario but because the punishment is so disproportionate to the action (being cursed vs saying no), the book wants to rewrite that as Cassandra has never done anything wrong ever but.... she still knew what she was doing?? You can't take away her agency because you don't like what she did with it? She wasn't helpless, she made a deal and she also chose not to go through with that deal. Those were BOTH her. You can't only accept one. Apollo's actions are his actions but SO ARE CASSANDRA'S.
I mean Girl, Goddess, Queen had some of these issues (the BookTok and therapy-speak influences mainly) but those characters are so well-trod and them and their plot has been stretched and warped and twisted like taffy all over the place so the changes were more acceptable because..... A LOT of changes have been made to their stories.
This one? No. You can't change the ending, I'm sorry, you can't, that's not how this works. You can make it feminist still; you can't change the ending. Read Women of Troy by Pat Barker instead of this, it is leaps and bounds better and everything about those books feels earned rather than like she's just hit upon the right zeitgeist at the right time. Even in the pages before the book started, there were warning signs for what this was going to be: the fact there were content warnings really feels like it's expected that readers can't do one iota of critical thinking and the way this woman has to out herself and her experience of sexual attraction so she won't get flack for her ace representation...... like all of that is a DEAD GIVEAWAY that this is too aware of BookTok and its co-opting of prescriptive language and ownvoices.
Really you would? REALLY. It's hard to accept that, especially like..... even if you somehow are not inundated with actual wars going on in the world right now (or maybe, like, a Palestinian genocide?), you have a decent idea that that's a pretty shit thing say, right? But I do absolutely believe they would condemn thousands of people to death, inhumanity, assault, torture, etc. if it made their lives one percent better. Because that is consistently the characters they were throughout.
Cassandra is introduced as someone who does not care about anyone not on her level (doesn't know servant names, what they do with their time, or care about them), does not take her priestess duties seriously and shows up whenever she wants and even though there's not meant to be a hierarchy amongst the priestesses.... well, she is Princess Cassandra, yeah? (And clearly wants you to be on her side when she mentions Herophile not liking her????? Like, of fucking course she doesn't! You treat the thing she's devoted her life to like a joke and corrupt the equality of it on top of that. You are a GINORMOUS ASSHOLE. Especially as Cassandra only became a priestess so she wouldn't have to marry, do you think maybe some of these other women joined so they wouldn't have to serve anyone and then you show up and act like a fucking Princess there????) Every time she was on the page I was thinking 'Eat the
Then there's Helen. Who is so so so so smart and yet.... never tried to escape Menelaus at any point in time before? Makes.... zero sense, considering it seems to be the only thing she's ever cared about so, weird, she never appeared to have any thought about it previously, pre-Paris? Then she COMPLAINS about Paris' behavior towards her when she already tells us: everything I've ever done in front of him is a front, I am playing a part, I am trying to make myself nothing more than easy to fall in love with because I need him to simultaneously not consider me too deeply but also consider himself to be deeply in love. Then she accomplishes pretty much exactly that and then is like: he never asks me about myself or how my day was. Of fucking course he doesn't!!!!!! You've made yourself into someone who is entirely surface, you can't then be bothered when people treat you that way! Maybe if you had told him a single true thing about yourself, you could've been allies. But YOU made that choice then BLAMED him for it. Meanwhile, she's like: well the only way any of this works is if people believe we're deeply in love and then..... never, not one moment in time was she not openly flirting with Cassandra? Bitch, what?
Like. This was not feminist. This was people being bad people and then going: you only don't like it because I'm a lady. I don't like it because you're treating other humans like garbage!!!! And couching it in terms you do not have an understanding of to make it seem like that's what people should do??? No, it's not. WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY.
Oh my God, and just the whole premise was...... *sigh* So. Apollo approaches Cassandra and says: I'll give you the gift of prophecy. The cost of that is you sleeping with me. Cassandra considers and says: Yep, I want that, price accepted. Cool. Then she changes her mind after she's already been given the gift of prophecy. One: not believable Apollo didn't rape her after that, the Greek Gods are content warnings personified (...... don't even get me started about the fact that there are content warnings in this book, that is coddling readers to a degree that makes my brain hurt. If you've gotten all the way to this book in your life and don't know the general idea of the Greek Gods by now.... HOW) because Gods have no concept of mortal pain, fear, lifespans, etc. There's a reason they're capricious and cruel and uncaring and it's because your suffering lasts the blink of an eye, their perspective is literally too wide to center you in it.
But, whatever, okay, she says no and Apollo lets her (sure?), Helen is later talking to her about how in no way is Cassandra responsible for anything that's happened to her and says: "he put you in a position where [saying no] wasn't an option that could go unpunished." And that's just straight up not true. That is a position Cassandra put herself in. She knew the terms of the deal when she agreed and she knew - when the deal was presented - what happens to women who defy/challenge Apollo (we know this because she consistently throws his history back at him after this). I am completely with Helen that a woman should be able to say no at any point whenever and have that respected but, SIS, YOU MADE A DEAL WITH A FUCKING GOD WITH YOUR EYES ALL THE WAY FUCKING OPEN. That shit has consequences and you knew that. Also, if she'd said: No, I don't want that deal and then Apollo had cursed her afterward, then you would have no culpability in that scenario but because the punishment is so disproportionate to the action (being cursed vs saying no), the book wants to rewrite that as Cassandra has never done anything wrong ever but.... she still knew what she was doing?? You can't take away her agency because you don't like what she did with it? She wasn't helpless, she made a deal and she also chose not to go through with that deal. Those were BOTH her. You can't only accept one. Apollo's actions are his actions but SO ARE CASSANDRA'S.
I mean Girl, Goddess, Queen had some of these issues (the BookTok and therapy-speak influences mainly) but those characters are so well-trod and them and their plot has been stretched and warped and twisted like taffy all over the place so the changes were more acceptable because..... A LOT of changes have been made to their stories.
This one? No. You can't change the ending, I'm sorry, you can't, that's not how this works. You can make it feminist still; you can't change the ending. Read Women of Troy by Pat Barker instead of this, it is leaps and bounds better and everything about those books feels earned rather than like she's just hit upon the right zeitgeist at the right time. Even in the pages before the book started, there were warning signs for what this was going to be: the fact there were content warnings really feels like it's expected that readers can't do one iota of critical thinking and the way this woman has to out herself and her experience of sexual attraction so she won't get flack for her ace representation...... like all of that is a DEAD GIVEAWAY that this is too aware of BookTok and its co-opting of prescriptive language and ownvoices.
November 24, 2024
*plays here come the girls sugar babes version* 👯♀️
paris has and always will give me the ICK like ur a prince, u stole a girl, u started a war baddie!!! own up to ur shit (hector is superior)
“maybe, in troy, love will endure”
“connection is what matters, not what form it takes. especially at a time like this. the only thing that’s important is having something worth fighting for”
“sometimes I shrug. mostly hes still trying to seduce me. he’s decided hes in love with me - wants to take me to Olympus, make me a goddess and marry me: helen steadies herself on the narrow bench. 'I'm sorry, could you repeat that?'
i mean, that's the general gist.
and you've said?
some variation of "fuck off and leave me alone" 🤭
paris has and always will give me the ICK like ur a prince, u stole a girl, u started a war baddie!!! own up to ur shit (hector is superior)
“maybe, in troy, love will endure”
“connection is what matters, not what form it takes. especially at a time like this. the only thing that’s important is having something worth fighting for”
“sometimes I shrug. mostly hes still trying to seduce me. he’s decided hes in love with me - wants to take me to Olympus, make me a goddess and marry me: helen steadies herself on the narrow bench. 'I'm sorry, could you repeat that?'
i mean, that's the general gist.
and you've said?
some variation of "fuck off and leave me alone" 🤭
June 25, 2025
⋆˙⟡ 5 stars ˙⊹
⋆˙⟡ — incoherent review ˙⊹
zeus really needs to get some healthy hobbies instead of his current ones aka "let's topple cities because it sounds fun to me" and while we're on the topic, apollo please fall off a very high cliff and onto a very sharp ridge, thank you 🤗 full rtc
⋆˙⟡ dates read ˙⊹
⤿ 09/04/2025 - 28/04/2025
.☘︎ ݁˖ very well, apollo, if you want this to be a game, then you’ve designed your own undoing.
you’ve created an opponent with nothing to lose.
⋆˙⟡ — incoherent review ˙⊹
zeus really needs to get some healthy hobbies instead of his current ones aka "let's topple cities because it sounds fun to me" and while we're on the topic, apollo please fall off a very high cliff and onto a very sharp ridge, thank you 🤗 full rtc
⋆˙⟡ dates read ˙⊹
⤿ 09/04/2025 - 28/04/2025
June 22, 2025
The storyline was phenomenal. I always wanted this — and Bea Fitzgerald finally gave it to me in paper form, packed up and tied with a bow.
I wanted this book to be my favorite book so bad — you don’t even understand. Bea Fitzgerald’s writing is great, the storyline is all I ever wanted, and her spin on the myth was brilliant.
And now comes the thing where you will call me crazy instead of Cassandra: I don’t know how I feel about the ending. The ending is great and hopeful, and they all deserve it so much — but I was waiting for the tragedy to end this book.
I was not prepared for that ending, and I’m still confused and conflicted about it. That makes no sense at all. Maybe it’s because I was not expecting this ending and I’m still left with the feeling that this is not the end of the book - still waiting for tragedy to strike.
Or maybe it’s because I don’t like my myths changed as much as this (Bea Fitzgerald always tangles the line between too far away from the myth and the perfect spot). Or maybe — as sick as it sounds — I like tragic endings?
I have the hope that in a couple of years I will return to this book with a slightly different mindset, and that time it will hit so much harder, and I will love the ending as much as I loved every word before that.
Until then, it just does not sit right with me to give 5 stars.
Cassandra is one of my all-time favorite characters from Greek mythology, and I am so glad this book exists. I saw so much of me in her, and her standing up to Apollo and overpowering him in the end was so empowering in so many ways.
Thank you, Bea Fitzgerald, for writing my dream storyline. I promise: someday I will love the ending as much as every word before the final chapter.
I wanted this book to be my favorite book so bad — you don’t even understand. Bea Fitzgerald’s writing is great, the storyline is all I ever wanted, and her spin on the myth was brilliant.
And now comes the thing where you will call me crazy instead of Cassandra: I don’t know how I feel about the ending. The ending is great and hopeful, and they all deserve it so much — but I was waiting for the tragedy to end this book.
I was not prepared for that ending, and I’m still confused and conflicted about it. That makes no sense at all. Maybe it’s because I was not expecting this ending and I’m still left with the feeling that this is not the end of the book - still waiting for tragedy to strike.
Or maybe it’s because I don’t like my myths changed as much as this (Bea Fitzgerald always tangles the line between too far away from the myth and the perfect spot). Or maybe — as sick as it sounds — I like tragic endings?
I have the hope that in a couple of years I will return to this book with a slightly different mindset, and that time it will hit so much harder, and I will love the ending as much as I loved every word before that.
Until then, it just does not sit right with me to give 5 stars.
Cassandra is one of my all-time favorite characters from Greek mythology, and I am so glad this book exists. I saw so much of me in her, and her standing up to Apollo and overpowering him in the end was so empowering in so many ways.
Thank you, Bea Fitzgerald, for writing my dream storyline. I promise: someday I will love the ending as much as every word before the final chapter.
July 4, 2025
This book is everything.
The writing was beautiful, intricate and yet pleasant to read without needing to take breaks.
The characters were all fleshed out with complicated personalities that made them interesting and a true enrichment to the story.
There were so many issues and social injustices brought up in this book and discussed in a way that did not feel forced or too on the nose, which - in my opinion - is really hard, so props for that!
The love story, oh my god, the love story. I don't think I've ever read about any other like it. And the fact that Cassandra and Helen really hated each other in the beginning, but still respected each others boundaries/struggles (more than any man a marriage ever has)??? I loved every interaction they had.
It was a perfect book. Funny, lovable, devastating, maddening and fulfilling. There were so many complicated emotions I felt while reading, which makes the story so much more believable. Because humans are messy and that was perfectly portrayed here - like even horrible acts could be understood when thinking about the reasons behind them (EXCEPT FOR ANYTHING APPOLLO DID, HE CAN GO ROT IN HELL, AND SCAMANDRIUS, I JUST REALLY DON'T WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY HE ACTED LIKE A LITTLE BITCH FOR THE ENTIRE BOOK).
And the end... I cried. Then I stopped to read the last chapter and then I closed the book and I cried some more. That certainly never happened before, so yeah, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!
The writing was beautiful, intricate and yet pleasant to read without needing to take breaks.
The characters were all fleshed out with complicated personalities that made them interesting and a true enrichment to the story.
There were so many issues and social injustices brought up in this book and discussed in a way that did not feel forced or too on the nose, which - in my opinion - is really hard, so props for that!
The love story, oh my god, the love story. I don't think I've ever read about any other like it. And the fact that Cassandra and Helen really hated each other in the beginning, but still respected each others boundaries/struggles (more than any man a marriage ever has)??? I loved every interaction they had.
It was a perfect book. Funny, lovable, devastating, maddening and fulfilling. There were so many complicated emotions I felt while reading, which makes the story so much more believable. Because humans are messy and that was perfectly portrayed here - like even horrible acts could be understood when thinking about the reasons behind them (EXCEPT FOR ANYTHING APPOLLO DID, HE CAN GO ROT IN HELL, AND SCAMANDRIUS, I JUST REALLY DON'T WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHY HE ACTED LIKE A LITTLE BITCH FOR THE ENTIRE BOOK).
And the end... I cried. Then I stopped to read the last chapter and then I closed the book and I cried some more. That certainly never happened before, so yeah, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!
July 23, 2024
Aantal sterren: 4
De schrijfstijl van Bea Fitzgerald heeft me aangenaam verrast. Fitzgeralds manier van verhalen vertellen neemt je al een droom mee in het verhaal. Haar uitgebreide en tevens duidelijke omschrijvingen zorgde ervoor dat ik echt het gevoel had dat ik de straten van Troje aan het bewandelen was met de hoofdpersonages.
Ondanks dat vrijwel het gehele boek actie bevatte, kwam het verhaal echt op gang rond de 40%. Tot de laatste pagina bleef het verhaal enorm spannend. Ik was al bekend met de mythologie van dit verhaal, maar dat maakte het extra leuk om het op een fictieve manier te beleven.
Op sommige punten vond ik echter wel dat er een aantal pagina’s minder hadden gekunt. Dit zou het verhaal net wat vlotter kunnen latern verlopen, maar het heeft zeker niet ondergedaan aan het verhaal.
Ik ben zeer te spreken over het werk van Bea Fitzgerald en zal dan ook zeker in de toekomst meer van haar boeken willen lezen!
De schrijfstijl van Bea Fitzgerald heeft me aangenaam verrast. Fitzgeralds manier van verhalen vertellen neemt je al een droom mee in het verhaal. Haar uitgebreide en tevens duidelijke omschrijvingen zorgde ervoor dat ik echt het gevoel had dat ik de straten van Troje aan het bewandelen was met de hoofdpersonages.
Ondanks dat vrijwel het gehele boek actie bevatte, kwam het verhaal echt op gang rond de 40%. Tot de laatste pagina bleef het verhaal enorm spannend. Ik was al bekend met de mythologie van dit verhaal, maar dat maakte het extra leuk om het op een fictieve manier te beleven.
Op sommige punten vond ik echter wel dat er een aantal pagina’s minder hadden gekunt. Dit zou het verhaal net wat vlotter kunnen latern verlopen, maar het heeft zeker niet ondergedaan aan het verhaal.
Ik ben zeer te spreken over het werk van Bea Fitzgerald en zal dan ook zeker in de toekomst meer van haar boeken willen lezen!
September 6, 2024
I am conflicted about rating this one. Let me lay it out for you.
What I loved was that the retelling focused on women empowerment in a very clearly stated men’s world.
”Every woman in this city might as well carry a part of that curse in her: that we will always have to fight to be believed, to matter, to be heard. And maybe, together, we’re getting a little louder.”
Themes of sexuality and consent were displayed in such a mindful way I truly believe is an important message to give to a younger audience. For Helen to focus on the actual problem ~the entitlement of men~ is empowering AF. The importance of the word ’no’ and that changing your mind at whatever point is normal and okay. You are valued and your perception of how to love is your own and no one should tell you otherwise. It is the type of storytelling more girls, boys and others should grow up with.
”Yes, but I’ll be beautiful the way I want to be, not the way they want me to.”
I also liked the smart solutions Helen keeps coming up with. How she and Cassandra defy the (g)odds and how they create a network of women that changed the course of the war. ”It is not just men waving swords that win wars.”
Now to the conflicting part. The book dragged for the majority of it. The middle part went on for so long without actually helping the story along. We get repetitive mentions of time skips and the overall story just goes very, very slowly. I had trouble picking it up again, soldiered through it with reluctance and debated DNF’ing it.
I also was not a big fan of the mean girl vibes Cassandra gave off at the beginning of the book. She makes a complete 180 which could count as a plus for character development but just the bratty entitlement didn’t give me much to connect with. But maybe I am not the right audience / age for that trope since it felt very high school.
In conclusion a book with major quotable lines about the importance of women, sexuality and consent. I truly and wholeheartedly believe this is a YA book that needs to be read by future generations, if they can keep their attention throughout the middle parts of it.
Thank you Tandem Collective for providing my copy for the Global Readalong and for hosting the daily prompts.
What I loved was that the retelling focused on women empowerment in a very clearly stated men’s world.
”Every woman in this city might as well carry a part of that curse in her: that we will always have to fight to be believed, to matter, to be heard. And maybe, together, we’re getting a little louder.”
Themes of sexuality and consent were displayed in such a mindful way I truly believe is an important message to give to a younger audience. For Helen to focus on the actual problem ~the entitlement of men~ is empowering AF. The importance of the word ’no’ and that changing your mind at whatever point is normal and okay. You are valued and your perception of how to love is your own and no one should tell you otherwise. It is the type of storytelling more girls, boys and others should grow up with.
”Yes, but I’ll be beautiful the way I want to be, not the way they want me to.”
I also liked the smart solutions Helen keeps coming up with. How she and Cassandra defy the (g)odds and how they create a network of women that changed the course of the war. ”It is not just men waving swords that win wars.”
Now to the conflicting part. The book dragged for the majority of it. The middle part went on for so long without actually helping the story along. We get repetitive mentions of time skips and the overall story just goes very, very slowly. I had trouble picking it up again, soldiered through it with reluctance and debated DNF’ing it.
I also was not a big fan of the mean girl vibes Cassandra gave off at the beginning of the book. She makes a complete 180 which could count as a plus for character development but just the bratty entitlement didn’t give me much to connect with. But maybe I am not the right audience / age for that trope since it felt very high school.
In conclusion a book with major quotable lines about the importance of women, sexuality and consent. I truly and wholeheartedly believe this is a YA book that needs to be read by future generations, if they can keep their attention throughout the middle parts of it.
Thank you Tandem Collective for providing my copy for the Global Readalong and for hosting the daily prompts.
September 17, 2024
A little slow to start but oh my god it was so beautiful. The relationships feel so authentic and I found myself constantly unable to put the book down as I was cheering for them so fiercely.
July 29, 2024
Didn't feel as strong a connection to the charecters as I felt in Girl Goddess Queen but the plot was addictive
September 13, 2024
"Princess, Prophet, Saviour" ist eine queere Enemies-to-Lovers-Geschichte vor der Kulisse des trojanischen Kriegs der griechischen Mythologie. Als großer Fan von Enemies-to-Lovers Geschichten und Retellings der griechischen Mythologie klang das für mich fast zu gut, um wahr zu sein. Leider konnte die Geschichte deshalb auch nicht ganz halten, was sie versprochen hatte...
Zuerst mal wieder ein paar einleitende Worte zur Gestaltung. "Princess, Prophet, Saviour" zeigt einen blauen Himmel mit Schleierwolken sowie Schiffe auf einem glatten Ozean vor einer stilisierten Sonne, von der goldene Strahlen über das gesamte Cover strahlen und an Kassandras Schicksalsfäden erinnern. Der Titel prangt in großen modernen Blockbuchstaben über der Gesamtkomposition. Damit passt das Cover sehr gut zu Band 1, "Girl Godess, Queen", welches man allerdings nicht dringend gelesen haben muss, bevor man in die Geschichte einsteigt, da bis bis auf kurze Erwähnungen am Rande, die Figuren hier nicht vorkommen und eine eigenständige Geschichte erzählt wird. Erwähnenswert ist auch der toller Farbschnitt, der in dunkelblau die goldenen Fäden und die Wolkenmotive des Covers aufgreift und ringts um den Buchschnitt fortsetzt. In den Buchinnenseiten sieht man jeweils eine Illustration von Kassandra und Helena und hilfreich ist auch das Personenregister, das zu Beginn eingefügt ist.
Erster Satz: "Ich habe nie darum gebeten, Visionen zu haben, ich war eine Vision."
Die Geschichte setzt einige Monate vor Beginn des Trojanischen Krieges zwischen den griechischen Verbündeten Spartas und der Stadt Troja ein und erzählt zunächst aus Kassandras Sicht, wie sie durch ihren Wunsch nach mehr Macht an Apollo gerät und von ihm verflucht wird. Fortan hat sie zwar die Gabe der Prophezeiung, allerdings glaubt ihr keiner, was sie sieht. Umso belastender ist für sie, dass ihre erste Vision von einem heranziehenden Krieg handelt, der ihr Leben und das ihrer Familie zerstören wird. Im Zentrum dieser Vision steht eine junge Frau, die ihrem spartanischen Ehemann geraubt und nach Troja gebracht wird, was ein zehnjähriges Blutbad zwischen den beiden Städten auslösen wird. Als die Frau - Helena von Sparta - tatsächlich vor den Türen der Stadt steht, lässt Kassandra nichts unversucht, um zu verhindern, dass in Erfüllung geht, was sie gesehen hat. Doch mit weder hat sie damit gerechnet, dass Helena alles andere ist als eine willenlose Trophäe, noch mit den Gefühlen, die sie in Kassandra weckt...
"Ich habe ihr Bild ein Dutzend Mal gesehen, aber es ist anders, ihr leibhaftig zu begegnen - so als würde man aufwachsen mit Geschichten über Naturwundern und erst eins erblicken, wenn man den letzten Atemzug tut. Sie ist ewiges Staunen, ein Mythos, der dir Kraft geben kann. "Sie ist wunderschön", sage ich, weil es mir die einfachste Übersetzung der Springflut scheint, in der ich gefangen bin."
Die Grundidee der Nacherzählung von Homers "Ilias" als Romantasy-Geschichte finde ich großartig und an vielen Stellen geht das Konzept von Bea Fitzgerald auch wunderbar auf. Allerdings werden an vielen Stellen der Handlung ähnlich wie im zugrundeliegenden Epos viele der Schlüsselmomente nur am Rande angedeutet und es geht vielmehr um die beiden weiblichen Hauptfiguren als um den Krieg. Dies ist auf der einen Seite toll, da so viel Raum für die Figuren geschaffen wird und handelnde Helden wie Odysseus, Achilles, Agamemnon, Patroklos ja nun wirklich bereits genug Aufmerksamkeit in der Literatur erhalten haben. Auf der anderen Seite geht durch die Ausblendung und Verdrängung des Krieges aus der Handlung die Tragik und Epik der Geschichte stark verloren. So entsteht eine beinahe gemütliche Atmosphäre, in der die Figuren unbehelligt vom Krieg über den Markt schlendern und gemeinsam Stoffe weben können.
"Langsam denke ich, dass wahre Stärke nicht davon kommt, dass man ständig gegen diese Welt ankämpft, sondern davon, dass man sie aushält. Vielleicht sollten wir nicht die Geschichten der Helden erzählen, sondern die der Frauen, die sie überlebt haben."
Dementsprechend gemütlich ist auch das Erzähltempo, nach dem in den ersten 200 Seiten beinahe gar nichts passiert. Bis der Krieg startet, beobachten wir lose Kassandras sozialen Abstieg und erst nachdem nach 8 Kapiteln die Erzählperspektive der zweiten Hauptfigur Helena eingeführt wird, wird überhaupt absehbar, wohin sich die Geschichte bewegen könnte. Auch im weiteren Verlauf der Geschichte gibt es zahlreiche Wiederholungen von ähnlichen oder alltäglichen Szenen, und wenn dann doch etwas Entscheidendes geschieht, erfahren wir es oft nur im Nachhinein, anstatt es erzählerisch miterleben zu dürfen. Darüber hinaus wird der rote Faden durch Zeitsprünge und sprunghafte Szenenwechsel zerfasert, sodass sich für mich trotz vieler toller Szenen und des flüssigen Schreibstils der Autorin nie ein wirklich spannender Lesefluss oder eine Sogwirkung aufgebaut hat. War ich in der Geschichte, habe ich mich nicht gelangweilt, habe ich es jedoch zur Seite gelegt, war ich aber nicht sehr verlockt, es wieder zur Hand zu nehmen.
"Die Fäden geben nach, irgendetwas löst sich. Plötzlich ist es ganz leicht. Ich bin nicht Prophetin, nicht Orakel; ich bin etwas anderes. Ich bin eine Göttin ohne Unsterblichkeit, ohne Menschen, die sie verehren und ich habe nur eine einzige Domäne. Prophezeiung ist nicht etwas, was man haben kann, sondern das, was man ist. Ich stehe nicht in einem Gewitterregen. Ich bin die Wolken. Ich bin der Donner. Ich bin jeder einzelne Tropfen, der fällt. Ich sehe alles."
Auch das Worldbuilding ließ in vielen Bereichen zu wünschen übrig. Zwar ist die griechische Mythologie für viele LeserInnen ein wohlbekanntes Terrain, ein wenig mehr Erläuterungen zu den handelnden HeldInnen, Halbgöttern, Göttern oder der gesamten Welt der Achaier und Trojaner hätten dennoch nicht geschadet, um die Geschehnisse besser einzubetten. Auch die spezifischen Rahmenbedingungen zu Kassandras Gabe, ihrem Fluch oder Helenas Kräften haben viele Fragezeichen aufgeworfen. Dies hätte durch detailliertere Beschreibungen und klarere Regeln besser ausgearbeitet werden können. So blieb die Welt, in der die Geschichte spielt, trotz toller Vorlage, diffus und schwer greifbar. Vielleicht hatte ich angesichts der Vorlage etwas zu hohe Erwartungen, für mich konnte die Geschichte aber leider nicht ihr Potenzial ausschöpfen.
"Sehr gut, Apollon, wenn du unbedingt spielen willst, dann rennst du in dein eigenes Verderben. Du hast eine Gegnerin erschaffen, die nichts zu verlieren hat."
Ein weiterer Punkt, der mir den Einstieg erschwert hat, ist, dass die beiden Hauptfiguren anfangs schwer zu mögen waren. Während Kassandra sich als verwöhnte, egozentrische Prinzessin präsentiert, der nichts wichtiger ist als ihr Ansehen und ein angenehmes Leben, erscheint Helena manipulativ und rückgratlos. Diese Eigenschaften machen es anfangs schwer, sich mit ihnen zu identifizieren oder Sympathie für sie in ihren schwierigen Lebenslagen zu empfinden. Zwar ist es spannend, die Entwicklung der beiden von diesem Ausgangspunkt zu beobachten, doch die Charakterschwächen der beiden Figuren hätten für meinen Geschmack etwas weniger übertrieben dargestellt werden können, um die spätere Charakterentwicklung glaubhafter und weniger forciert wirken zu lassen. Denn der Wandel von zwei Einzelkämpferinnen, die sich dem patriarchalen System unterordnen und von diesem aufgestachelt gegeneinander vorgehen zu zwei sich liebenden Heldinnen ist das absolute Kernstück der Geschichte und ging mir trotz des starken Fokus der Handlung und des Seitenumfangs durch diese anfängliche Übertreibungen etwas zu schnell.
"Mit jemandem verbunden zu sein, ist das, was zählt, nicht, welche Form es annimmt. Vor allem in Zeiten wie diesen. Das einzig Wichtige ist, dass man überhaupt etwas hat, wofür es sich zu kämpfen lohnt."
Davon abgesehen ist es genau diese Entwicklung, die die Geschichte für mich trotzdem zu einem lesenswerten Leseerlebnis gemacht hat. "Princess, Prophet, Saviour" zeigt eindrücklich, wie Frauen bereits in der antiken Welt von den Männern (und Göttern) ihrer Umgebung unterdrückt und klein gehalten werden. Kassandra und Helena kämpfen auf unterschiedliche Weise gegen patriarchale Rollenbilder an, was dem Roman eine starke feministische Perspektive verleiht. Die Art und Weise, wie sie schließlich zueinanderfinden, um sich und andere Frauen in ihrer Umgebung gegenseitig zu stärken, ist eine Feier weiblicher Solidarität und Empowerment, die der Geschichte einen moderneren Anstrich verleiht als die zeitgenössische Sprache der Autorin.
"Das war immer die wahre Tragödie von Kassandras Fluch: Sie hätte sich abgemüht, damit die Männer ihr trotzdem zuhören - aber die hätten der Wahrheit in Kassandras Worten niemals mehr Bedeutung beigemessen als ihrem Stolz und ihrer Prahlerei. Vielleicht liegt auf jeder Frau dieser Stadt ein Teil dieses Fluchs: Immer müssen wir kämpfen, damit man uns glaubt, damit wir zählen, damit man uns zuhört. Und vielleicht werden wir zusammen ein bisschen lauter."
Positiv hervorzuheben ist in dem Zuge auch die Repräsentation queerer Charaktere und Themen. Klar, die Beziehung zwischen Kassandra und Helena, die vorsichtig von Feindseligkeit zu Freundschaft und Liebe übergeht, während um sie herum der Krieg tobt, in dem tausende Männer um ihre Hand kämpfen, ist fesselnd und fast schon schadenfroh inszeniert. Besonders toll ist allerdings die respektvolle Darstellung von Konsens und die Einbindung von Asexualität in die Liebesgeschichte und Kassandras Charakterisierung – beides Aspekte, die in vergleichbaren Romantasy-Büchern nur selten zu finden sind. Diese Themen werden subtil und natürlich in die Handlung eingeflochten und heben sich als klare Stärke des Buches ab. So kann man gut darüber hinwegsehen, dass die Nebenfiguren neben Kassandra und Helena recht flach sind, sodass es mir schwerfiel, sie auseinanderzuhalten und ich ab und zu im Glossar nachschlagen musste, ob es sich bei einer Person um Kassandras Mutter, ihre beste Freundin oder eine Dienerin handelt.
Insgesamt kann ich also mit folgender Schlussfolgerung enden: Wer Geduld mitbringt und sich auf die Reise der beiden Protagonistinnen einlässt, wird mit einer starken, feministischen Botschaft und einigen faszinierenden Momenten belohnt, auch wenn das volle Potenzial der Geschichte nicht ganz ausgeschöpft wird! Ob ich die anderen Bände der Reihe - Band 1 über Persephone und Hades soll deutlich besser sein, habe ich den Rezensionen entnommen - lesen werde, weiß ich demnach noch nicht, würde es aber nicht kategorisch ausschließen.
Fazit
Trotz der erzählerischen Schwächen ist "Princess, Prophet, Saviour" eine unterhaltsame und emanzipierte Nacherzählung der "Ilias", die besonders durch ihre queere Repräsentation und feministische Perspektive überzeugt.
3,5 Sterne
Zuerst mal wieder ein paar einleitende Worte zur Gestaltung. "Princess, Prophet, Saviour" zeigt einen blauen Himmel mit Schleierwolken sowie Schiffe auf einem glatten Ozean vor einer stilisierten Sonne, von der goldene Strahlen über das gesamte Cover strahlen und an Kassandras Schicksalsfäden erinnern. Der Titel prangt in großen modernen Blockbuchstaben über der Gesamtkomposition. Damit passt das Cover sehr gut zu Band 1, "Girl Godess, Queen", welches man allerdings nicht dringend gelesen haben muss, bevor man in die Geschichte einsteigt, da bis bis auf kurze Erwähnungen am Rande, die Figuren hier nicht vorkommen und eine eigenständige Geschichte erzählt wird. Erwähnenswert ist auch der toller Farbschnitt, der in dunkelblau die goldenen Fäden und die Wolkenmotive des Covers aufgreift und ringts um den Buchschnitt fortsetzt. In den Buchinnenseiten sieht man jeweils eine Illustration von Kassandra und Helena und hilfreich ist auch das Personenregister, das zu Beginn eingefügt ist.
Erster Satz: "Ich habe nie darum gebeten, Visionen zu haben, ich war eine Vision."
Die Geschichte setzt einige Monate vor Beginn des Trojanischen Krieges zwischen den griechischen Verbündeten Spartas und der Stadt Troja ein und erzählt zunächst aus Kassandras Sicht, wie sie durch ihren Wunsch nach mehr Macht an Apollo gerät und von ihm verflucht wird. Fortan hat sie zwar die Gabe der Prophezeiung, allerdings glaubt ihr keiner, was sie sieht. Umso belastender ist für sie, dass ihre erste Vision von einem heranziehenden Krieg handelt, der ihr Leben und das ihrer Familie zerstören wird. Im Zentrum dieser Vision steht eine junge Frau, die ihrem spartanischen Ehemann geraubt und nach Troja gebracht wird, was ein zehnjähriges Blutbad zwischen den beiden Städten auslösen wird. Als die Frau - Helena von Sparta - tatsächlich vor den Türen der Stadt steht, lässt Kassandra nichts unversucht, um zu verhindern, dass in Erfüllung geht, was sie gesehen hat. Doch mit weder hat sie damit gerechnet, dass Helena alles andere ist als eine willenlose Trophäe, noch mit den Gefühlen, die sie in Kassandra weckt...
"Ich habe ihr Bild ein Dutzend Mal gesehen, aber es ist anders, ihr leibhaftig zu begegnen - so als würde man aufwachsen mit Geschichten über Naturwundern und erst eins erblicken, wenn man den letzten Atemzug tut. Sie ist ewiges Staunen, ein Mythos, der dir Kraft geben kann. "Sie ist wunderschön", sage ich, weil es mir die einfachste Übersetzung der Springflut scheint, in der ich gefangen bin."
Die Grundidee der Nacherzählung von Homers "Ilias" als Romantasy-Geschichte finde ich großartig und an vielen Stellen geht das Konzept von Bea Fitzgerald auch wunderbar auf. Allerdings werden an vielen Stellen der Handlung ähnlich wie im zugrundeliegenden Epos viele der Schlüsselmomente nur am Rande angedeutet und es geht vielmehr um die beiden weiblichen Hauptfiguren als um den Krieg. Dies ist auf der einen Seite toll, da so viel Raum für die Figuren geschaffen wird und handelnde Helden wie Odysseus, Achilles, Agamemnon, Patroklos ja nun wirklich bereits genug Aufmerksamkeit in der Literatur erhalten haben. Auf der anderen Seite geht durch die Ausblendung und Verdrängung des Krieges aus der Handlung die Tragik und Epik der Geschichte stark verloren. So entsteht eine beinahe gemütliche Atmosphäre, in der die Figuren unbehelligt vom Krieg über den Markt schlendern und gemeinsam Stoffe weben können.
"Langsam denke ich, dass wahre Stärke nicht davon kommt, dass man ständig gegen diese Welt ankämpft, sondern davon, dass man sie aushält. Vielleicht sollten wir nicht die Geschichten der Helden erzählen, sondern die der Frauen, die sie überlebt haben."
Dementsprechend gemütlich ist auch das Erzähltempo, nach dem in den ersten 200 Seiten beinahe gar nichts passiert. Bis der Krieg startet, beobachten wir lose Kassandras sozialen Abstieg und erst nachdem nach 8 Kapiteln die Erzählperspektive der zweiten Hauptfigur Helena eingeführt wird, wird überhaupt absehbar, wohin sich die Geschichte bewegen könnte. Auch im weiteren Verlauf der Geschichte gibt es zahlreiche Wiederholungen von ähnlichen oder alltäglichen Szenen, und wenn dann doch etwas Entscheidendes geschieht, erfahren wir es oft nur im Nachhinein, anstatt es erzählerisch miterleben zu dürfen. Darüber hinaus wird der rote Faden durch Zeitsprünge und sprunghafte Szenenwechsel zerfasert, sodass sich für mich trotz vieler toller Szenen und des flüssigen Schreibstils der Autorin nie ein wirklich spannender Lesefluss oder eine Sogwirkung aufgebaut hat. War ich in der Geschichte, habe ich mich nicht gelangweilt, habe ich es jedoch zur Seite gelegt, war ich aber nicht sehr verlockt, es wieder zur Hand zu nehmen.
"Die Fäden geben nach, irgendetwas löst sich. Plötzlich ist es ganz leicht. Ich bin nicht Prophetin, nicht Orakel; ich bin etwas anderes. Ich bin eine Göttin ohne Unsterblichkeit, ohne Menschen, die sie verehren und ich habe nur eine einzige Domäne. Prophezeiung ist nicht etwas, was man haben kann, sondern das, was man ist. Ich stehe nicht in einem Gewitterregen. Ich bin die Wolken. Ich bin der Donner. Ich bin jeder einzelne Tropfen, der fällt. Ich sehe alles."
Auch das Worldbuilding ließ in vielen Bereichen zu wünschen übrig. Zwar ist die griechische Mythologie für viele LeserInnen ein wohlbekanntes Terrain, ein wenig mehr Erläuterungen zu den handelnden HeldInnen, Halbgöttern, Göttern oder der gesamten Welt der Achaier und Trojaner hätten dennoch nicht geschadet, um die Geschehnisse besser einzubetten. Auch die spezifischen Rahmenbedingungen zu Kassandras Gabe, ihrem Fluch oder Helenas Kräften haben viele Fragezeichen aufgeworfen. Dies hätte durch detailliertere Beschreibungen und klarere Regeln besser ausgearbeitet werden können. So blieb die Welt, in der die Geschichte spielt, trotz toller Vorlage, diffus und schwer greifbar. Vielleicht hatte ich angesichts der Vorlage etwas zu hohe Erwartungen, für mich konnte die Geschichte aber leider nicht ihr Potenzial ausschöpfen.
"Sehr gut, Apollon, wenn du unbedingt spielen willst, dann rennst du in dein eigenes Verderben. Du hast eine Gegnerin erschaffen, die nichts zu verlieren hat."
Ein weiterer Punkt, der mir den Einstieg erschwert hat, ist, dass die beiden Hauptfiguren anfangs schwer zu mögen waren. Während Kassandra sich als verwöhnte, egozentrische Prinzessin präsentiert, der nichts wichtiger ist als ihr Ansehen und ein angenehmes Leben, erscheint Helena manipulativ und rückgratlos. Diese Eigenschaften machen es anfangs schwer, sich mit ihnen zu identifizieren oder Sympathie für sie in ihren schwierigen Lebenslagen zu empfinden. Zwar ist es spannend, die Entwicklung der beiden von diesem Ausgangspunkt zu beobachten, doch die Charakterschwächen der beiden Figuren hätten für meinen Geschmack etwas weniger übertrieben dargestellt werden können, um die spätere Charakterentwicklung glaubhafter und weniger forciert wirken zu lassen. Denn der Wandel von zwei Einzelkämpferinnen, die sich dem patriarchalen System unterordnen und von diesem aufgestachelt gegeneinander vorgehen zu zwei sich liebenden Heldinnen ist das absolute Kernstück der Geschichte und ging mir trotz des starken Fokus der Handlung und des Seitenumfangs durch diese anfängliche Übertreibungen etwas zu schnell.
"Mit jemandem verbunden zu sein, ist das, was zählt, nicht, welche Form es annimmt. Vor allem in Zeiten wie diesen. Das einzig Wichtige ist, dass man überhaupt etwas hat, wofür es sich zu kämpfen lohnt."
Davon abgesehen ist es genau diese Entwicklung, die die Geschichte für mich trotzdem zu einem lesenswerten Leseerlebnis gemacht hat. "Princess, Prophet, Saviour" zeigt eindrücklich, wie Frauen bereits in der antiken Welt von den Männern (und Göttern) ihrer Umgebung unterdrückt und klein gehalten werden. Kassandra und Helena kämpfen auf unterschiedliche Weise gegen patriarchale Rollenbilder an, was dem Roman eine starke feministische Perspektive verleiht. Die Art und Weise, wie sie schließlich zueinanderfinden, um sich und andere Frauen in ihrer Umgebung gegenseitig zu stärken, ist eine Feier weiblicher Solidarität und Empowerment, die der Geschichte einen moderneren Anstrich verleiht als die zeitgenössische Sprache der Autorin.
"Das war immer die wahre Tragödie von Kassandras Fluch: Sie hätte sich abgemüht, damit die Männer ihr trotzdem zuhören - aber die hätten der Wahrheit in Kassandras Worten niemals mehr Bedeutung beigemessen als ihrem Stolz und ihrer Prahlerei. Vielleicht liegt auf jeder Frau dieser Stadt ein Teil dieses Fluchs: Immer müssen wir kämpfen, damit man uns glaubt, damit wir zählen, damit man uns zuhört. Und vielleicht werden wir zusammen ein bisschen lauter."
Positiv hervorzuheben ist in dem Zuge auch die Repräsentation queerer Charaktere und Themen. Klar, die Beziehung zwischen Kassandra und Helena, die vorsichtig von Feindseligkeit zu Freundschaft und Liebe übergeht, während um sie herum der Krieg tobt, in dem tausende Männer um ihre Hand kämpfen, ist fesselnd und fast schon schadenfroh inszeniert. Besonders toll ist allerdings die respektvolle Darstellung von Konsens und die Einbindung von Asexualität in die Liebesgeschichte und Kassandras Charakterisierung – beides Aspekte, die in vergleichbaren Romantasy-Büchern nur selten zu finden sind. Diese Themen werden subtil und natürlich in die Handlung eingeflochten und heben sich als klare Stärke des Buches ab. So kann man gut darüber hinwegsehen, dass die Nebenfiguren neben Kassandra und Helena recht flach sind, sodass es mir schwerfiel, sie auseinanderzuhalten und ich ab und zu im Glossar nachschlagen musste, ob es sich bei einer Person um Kassandras Mutter, ihre beste Freundin oder eine Dienerin handelt.
Insgesamt kann ich also mit folgender Schlussfolgerung enden: Wer Geduld mitbringt und sich auf die Reise der beiden Protagonistinnen einlässt, wird mit einer starken, feministischen Botschaft und einigen faszinierenden Momenten belohnt, auch wenn das volle Potenzial der Geschichte nicht ganz ausgeschöpft wird! Ob ich die anderen Bände der Reihe - Band 1 über Persephone und Hades soll deutlich besser sein, habe ich den Rezensionen entnommen - lesen werde, weiß ich demnach noch nicht, würde es aber nicht kategorisch ausschließen.
Fazit
Trotz der erzählerischen Schwächen ist "Princess, Prophet, Saviour" eine unterhaltsame und emanzipierte Nacherzählung der "Ilias", die besonders durch ihre queere Repräsentation und feministische Perspektive überzeugt.
3,5 Sterne
September 8, 2024
Ik heb dit boek als een tandemread gelezen met een hele boel andere boekstagrammers. Helaas raakte ik achter door vakantie waardoor ik niet helemaal op schema liep met de rest, maar alsnog een hele leuke ervaring. Dan het boek. Dit boek is allereerst prachtig. De cover verklapt niets over de inhoud, maar past er perfect bij. De schrijfstijl is prettig en daar lag het tempo van het boek dan ook zeker niet aan. Ik kwam alleen erg moeizaam in het verhaal. Het is een Griekse mythologische retelling en al die termen maakte het lezen vrij moeilijk. Het begin was erg politiek en ik kon er maar moeilijk inkomen. Het boek zelf is erg dik en had van mij een stuk korter gemogen. Er werd veel verhaallijn te veel uitgerekt, waardoor het onnodig voelde. Ik heb zelfs een tijdje aan een dnf gedacht, maar ik ben blij dat ik doorgelezen heb. Ongeveer halverwege het verhaal (280 bladzijdes in het verhaal) komt er tempo in. Er zit spanning en actie in en het verhaal komt eindelijk tot zijn recht. Ik vond het ook verfrissend om een romance te hebben die niet alleen om seks gaat. Het boek gaat ook heel erg over hoe vrouwen worden onderdrukken op verschillende manieren en het was mooi om te zien hoe ze eindelijk voor zichzelf opkwamen. Er zitten ook heftige onderwerpen in, zoals overhalen tot seks door een God en het zien van een vrouw als prijs. Lees dus wel even de trigger warnings! Het verhaal was dus erg goed, maar er had wat meer tempo in mogen zitten. Ook was het verhaal top geweest als het wat minder lang had geduurd, voordat er spanning en actie in kwam.
July 28, 2024
I’m a sucker for a good Iliad/Trojan War retelling and after adoring Girl, Goddess, Queen, I had high hopes for this one and it did not disappoint. I thought Bea did such a fantastic job at making this story her own, whilst keeping close to the myth’s origins. This is a retelling that feels just as epic as its source material, whilst viewing it through the eyes of the women at its centre.
I absolutely loved the exploration and discussion of Cassandra’s asexuality throughout the book. It was incredibly moving and made for a really tender and empowering romance. The writing style was a perfect balance of contemporary and easy to read, whilst not being jarring in its modernness in a way that removed me as a reader from the ancient setting.
This was a truly epic and beautifully told tale and I think I’m a little in awe of Bea’s ability to tell it.
I absolutely loved the exploration and discussion of Cassandra’s asexuality throughout the book. It was incredibly moving and made for a really tender and empowering romance. The writing style was a perfect balance of contemporary and easy to read, whilst not being jarring in its modernness in a way that removed me as a reader from the ancient setting.
This was a truly epic and beautifully told tale and I think I’m a little in awe of Bea’s ability to tell it.
August 21, 2024
I hate man
September 18, 2025
5 stars ⭐️
I’ve always known that the Trojan War could’ve been solved by the addition of lesbians
I’ve always known that the Trojan War could’ve been solved by the addition of lesbians
September 23, 2024
Mythology is one of the more niche genres I love and now I remember again why🥹. A few years ago I read Circe and absolutely loved it, this one is completely different but so so good😩
I won’t give away too much but there’s so many good things in this story! It took me a bit to get into it but it was so worth it! The characters are so well developed and I absolutely adore how the feminine aspect and pov plays a central role in this. Honestly all the women in this book are amazing🏺, I love them. I love how @chaosonolympus took this well known story about the Trojan war and made her own retelling of it🩵.
Before this book I’ve never really consciously read a sapphic book with representation of different sexualities but I absolutely adored it. I really need to read more of those!💗 Girl, goddess, queen is already on my tbr, and now I’m even more excited hihi
I really recommend this book it you’re into mythology or want to try it, and if you are looking for a very unique story!🥰
I won’t give away too much but there’s so many good things in this story! It took me a bit to get into it but it was so worth it! The characters are so well developed and I absolutely adore how the feminine aspect and pov plays a central role in this. Honestly all the women in this book are amazing🏺, I love them. I love how @chaosonolympus took this well known story about the Trojan war and made her own retelling of it🩵.
Before this book I’ve never really consciously read a sapphic book with representation of different sexualities but I absolutely adored it. I really need to read more of those!💗 Girl, goddess, queen is already on my tbr, and now I’m even more excited hihi
I really recommend this book it you’re into mythology or want to try it, and if you are looking for a very unique story!🥰
Read
May 28, 2025I think maybe I just wasn’t in the right headspace…? But I couldn’t click with the writing and I do think, once again, my intolerance for YA is creeping out.
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