Evocative and lyrically spun... Psyche and Eros is a pure delight' Rebecca Ross, #1 internationally bestselling author of A River Enchanted

overall, i enjoyed this particular greek myth reimagining and has me on the lookout to see what LM writes next! This book took all of what makes Psyche a wonderful mythological figure, and basically switched it around. This is a riotous adventure through the ages of Greek mythology, populated by a cast of vivid, glittering characters. Luna McNamara strikes the perfect note of irreverent humor and furious emotion in this fabulous novel. An absolute joy!" — Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne and Elektra

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book, but I think I overall enjoyed it. It was really messy and it had the potential to be a lot better, but it brought some great life to a Greek myth that not everyone knows about. A riotous adventure . . . McNamara strikes the perfect note of irreverent humor and furious emotion in this fabulous novel. An absolute joy!” — JENNIFER SAINT, bestselling author of Ariadne A joyous and subversive tale of gods, monsters, and the human heart and soul, Psyche and Eros dazzles the senses while exploring notions of trust, sacrifice, and what it truly means to be a hero. With unforgettably vivid characters, spellbinding prose, and delicious tension, Luna McNamara has crafted a shimmering and propulsive debut novel about a love so strong it defies the will of Olympus. The middle section of the book starting after the arrow incident was really good. I especially liked every moment when Psyche and Eros were together. While I wasn’t super fond of each of them individually, their talks and their chemistry were really well written. Psyche’s stubborness and daring with Eros’ kind soul and protective heart made for a fun combination. As I said before, I couldn’t finish this book. From the beginning, when Psyche’s character was irremediably changed, I knew that this novel wasn’t for me. Carol Gilligan analysed the myth and described it as the story of the woman against her reification that started with her veneration as a goddess because of her striking beauty. But the changing carried out in Psyche erased the real essence of her character.

Psyche is introduced to the reader as a soon-to-be hero, she doesn’t have sisters, and if in the original tale she’s the daughter of unknown royals, in this book she’s the princess of Mycenae and she’s even related to Agamemnon and Menelaus. Not to mention the historical periods that are completely wrong and used only to bring up characters such as Achilles, Patroclus, Clytemnestra, Elena, etc… They have nothing to do with Psyche and Eros since their historical time doesn’t match with the Trojan War period.

We knew we needed to move fast to snap up Luna’s brilliant novel and we’re so thrilled that she’s chosen Orion to be her publisher." Even the writing didn’t live up to my expectations. It proceeded too fast and it didn’t let us emphasise with the characters. They remained flat throughout the percentage of the book I read and there was nothing particular characterising them.

McNamara writes interesting characters and fleshes this myth out in a way that adds meaningfully to the current trend of exploring the lives of women in antiquity." — Book Riot The story becomes a name-dropping marathon of Who's Who in Greek mythology. Everyone worth a mention in the heroic cycle appears here. The author decided this story would take place during the Trojan War timeline, because why not, a time where human sacrifice was still practised, but somehow making a feminine girl a tomboy so she's properly feminist is more important than the horrific customs of the time. You get a catwalk throng of heroes and gods sashaying around here, and all changed from how they are in the myths. Why? Because "myths are always evolving and adapting." Yeah? Is Greece your culture and are those myths part of your modern culture? No. The author is American, and as many Anglophone authors recently, seems to think they can take another culture's mythology and do as they please with it in the name of "reclaiming it" or making it feminist. Aphrodite, who reads an awful lot like the version of the goddess as seen in Xena, is the book’s only villain, by the way, as McNamara has removed Psyche’s jealous sisters from the equation here.On top of that, the characters were flat, the passage of time was difficult to follow, and everyone is so painfully aware they're in a story (6-year-old Elektra very eloquently and accurately prophesying her entire life immediately after the sacrifice of Iphigenia -- which Psyche is present for, naturally -- nearly made me throw the book) that it robs the emotion out of every possible moment.

Fiercely feminist and deeply romantic, Psyche and Eros has the allure of an old fable and the epic quality of ancient myth, tinged with a provocative, modern wit. Passionate and deftly-told.” — AVA REID, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning and The Wolf and the Woodsman Like she stood up to Aphrodite, and lived to tell the tale, and got everyone’s blessing once she and Eros reunited and had their marriage ceremony. She’s even depicted in mosaic art with colorful BUTTERFLIES for crying out loud, in the company of her husband Eros. Her name literally means “soul” in Greek (psūchē - Ψυχή) Thrown together by fate, headstrong Psyche and world-weary Eros will face challenges greater than they could have ever imagined. And as the Trojan War begins and divine powers try to keep them apart, the pair must determine if the curse could become something more . . . before it’s too late. Anyways yeah I’m done ranting. Pretty disappointed, if anyone has any recommendations for Psyche/Eros retellings that are good, please let me know! Evocative and lyrically spun, Luna McNamara's Psyche and Eros is a pure delight. Bright as a constellation on a moonless night, this reimagining limns the ancient myth while also granting us vibrant insight into the hearts of both Psyche and Eros. Romantic, poignant, and spellbinding * Rebecca Ross, #1 internationally bestselling author of A River Enchanted *First off, I do want to mention that there are quite a few big changes made to Psyche and Eros’ tale both character and plot wise, which you may be disappointed by if you prefer your retellings to stay 100% faithful to the source material. Personally, I actually didn’t mind the changes and really enjoyed the modern take on this classical Greek myth. I loved the vibrant visualization of the story and the Gods and mortals, the world building and character development. Having said this: all of the characters are reinvented in ways that don’t make sense, the author took from an actual primary source like from Hesiod, mixed it with retellings from Euripides and Apuleius , and decided to add her own twists too, which made absolutely zero sense: Fiercely feminist and deeply romantic, Psyche and Eros has the allure…and the epic quality of ancient myth, tinged with…modern wit’ Ava Reid