Hannah Hull’s Reviews > The End Crowns All > Status Update

Absolute perfect ending.Helen being a badass and dealing her abusive ex-husband Menelaus a fatal blow.Helen and Cassandra hurling themselves from the tower in an effort to escape their fate at the hands of the Greeks but ultimately being caught and restrained.However the highlight of the entire book being the women of Troy coming to save them.Shout out to Briseis for stabbing Agamemnon.They truly deserve a lifetime.

Apollo may be awful but Zeus is the true villain in this narrative. It’s incredibly intriguing how even through these people are powerfully immortal gods and goddesses they are all enslaved to the will of Zeus, just as humans are to the gods. I adore the women planning to use the Greeks plans against them, using the statues to escape. Cassandra outsmarting Apollo is masterful and I prey that her and Helen are safe.

“‘The prophecies happen, love,’ Apollo says with a careless wave at the carnage below. ‘whether you want them to or not’“ (Page 367).Of course if Helen and Cassandra keep Paris from killing Achilles then Apollo steps in to do it himself.He is such a prick, his pride is scorned, he is in trouble with Zeus for his own actions,and since he can’t physically hurt Cassandra he takes away her voice. RIP Paris.

“Because one day you might fight and win […] Either way, we keep fighting, and we dream and we hope” (Page 380). Helen and Cassandra FINALLY KISS and in doing so change the cords of fate and weaken Apollo’s curse, “Her trust. My power. Our kiss […] we can change our future - we can carve one for ourselves”. (Page 390). Sad to see everyone grieve Hector, hopefully he is resting in Elysium.

Helen and Cassandra deserve all the good things in the world and the happiness they share on the roof is stunningly beautiful. Helen is an icon for the talk on consent. I feel awful for Cassandra and all the horrible visions she is forced to endure but I am loving the women of Troy deciphering her worlds and learning to sword fight from Helen. I hate that as soon as Paris returns Helen forces herself back into a box.

Aphrodite’s love is terrifying as she schemes for adoration. While emotionally distressing to see everyone partying like it’s there final night as they grieve the men going to war, it’s also heartwarming to see Helen’s belief of Cassandra and them bonding through the writing of Prophecies and the visions of the past. I adored the addition of Hades and Persephone with mention of the kidnapping of young Helen.

War is coming to Troy. Helen and Cassandra’s game of back and forth is amusing and it’s interesting the different modes of power they use to discredit each other. Cassandra weaponises rumours in an attempt to sway the masses into forcing Helen out, while Helen wields kindness as a self-defensive mechanism to destroy Cassandra’s reputation. Apollo is menacing in his scorned affection but Cassandra holds firm.

Man, Cassandra is handling this situation with much more grace then I would, I would be screaming from the mountaintops if I were her. While Helen is clearly in opposition to Cassandra they truthfully have a lot in common, both trying to escape certain relationships. Helen wants love and is unsuccessfully trying to find it in Paris while almost being murdered by Cassandra. Bring on Cassandra vs Helen vs Apollo.

I am sensing a theme of marriage being a trapping experience in Bea’s works, first Persephone running to the Underworld and now Cassandra escaping into the arms of the priesthood. Cassandra comes off as a rather self-righteous person caught in a dangerous game but it remains to be seen how much of that is a defence. Nevertheless, intimacy should never be promised and I am genuinely terrified for Apollo punishment.