Janell Rhiannon's Song of Sacrifice is easily one of my favourite reads of 2019. This book is the ultimate amalgamation of everything I love and want in a book. Forgive me readers, if I swoon and fangirl very hard as I write this review. I will try my best to keep it together and thoroughly edit, so I keep my love of this series succinct.

Song of Sacrifice is the first in the Homeric Chronicles series, a series detailing the Battle of Troy; this book is a precursor to the war and the events that set the war on its course. Rhiannon writes from the perspective of the women and lesser understood characters of Troy, and of Ancient Greece, weaving together mythological and historical stories about a war that has persisted in cultural knowledge for the past 3,000 years. Song of Sacrifice is beautifully written. Rhiannon effortlessly weaves the politics and games of the Greeks gods and the mythology of Ancient Greece into real events.

The book begins with the birth of Paris, and with his birth a warning that he will herald the destruction of Troy. It is only by the intervention of Athena that he lives after his own birth. Honestly, I have always viewed Paris as a bit of a selfish soul, one who sat in Hektor's shadow willingly, someone who allowed an entire war to happen because of his own wants. I have never really taken to him as a character… though I will admit, this book did have me empathising and caring about him a lot more than I thought I would, which is evidence of good writing and plot structure.

Now, Ancient Greece and the Battle of Troy have always held a deep fascination for me. I was that teenager that read The Iliad and The Odyssey, and that person who took Ancient History because I wanted to. I am well-aware of the history that Song of Sacrifice deals with. Rhiannon's research into the period is thorough and structured.
I can be sceptical of retellings in general and, although this book is a retelling, it offered a take on the Battle of Troy that I think I'll likely carry with me forever. I have a new appreciation of women like Clytemnestra, Hecuba, Briseis, and of course, Helen of Sparta.

The realities of the period and the rights and opportunities of the women were very real throughout. I was with these women and acutely felt their struggles. My heart was with Clytemnestra as she was forcefully and violently made the bride of Agamemnon, it was with Helen who seemingly had it all except the power to choose her own life and destiny. It was with Thetis as she tries to protect her newborn son, Achilles, from walking his predetermined fate toward Troy. As I was reading, I got a sense that sacrifice is what leads many of these characters through their character arcs. It is not just a sacrifice in the literal sense, but the myriad of choices in their lives that ultimately carry them to the impossible decisions that lead to war and loss. These women are just as fearless and powerful as the more famous men to which they are aligned. But, it is important to note that they are not powerful because Rhiannon writes it so; I realised as I was reading that these women were always this strong, they just needed a voice to show that.

Upon finishing Song of Sacrifice, I immediately checked the publication dates for the rest of the series and eagerly purchased Rise of Princes, book two of the series. I will be reading that very soon. I can't recommend Song of Sacrifice enough if you are familiar with the Battle of Troy, or if you just want to read something with some solid research and writing.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really tried to finish this book but I just could get into it.
I know this book is supposed to be a really big hit in the book community. But if I had to read "sacred cross" one more time instead of vagina, I was going to scream.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What is it about?

Song of Sacrifice focuses on the events leading up to the Trojan war and includes character perspectives of Paris, his mom, Helen, Briseis, Achilles, and a few others.

Was it good?

At first I thought the book was a little long, but when I got to the last page I was mad because I wasn’t ready to let it go, and I kept thinking about it for several days afterwards.

I especially enjoyed Paris’ perspective because my only knowledge of him was as the coward from the movie Troy and briefly mentioned in Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles. (It’s just come to my attention that I still have not reviewed that book yet – but I loved it!)

This book had a lot more detail about all the events and decisions that led up to the Trojan war, because of the wide range of characters and lengthy timeline, and I really enjoyed it. I will definitely be on the look out for book 2 next time I crave a mythology story.

I got about halfway through this book, but it just didn't catch my interest. The writing was beautiful and the story was a cool idea, but I feel like everything dragged way too much for my taste.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

"Song of Sacrifice" tells the stories that led to the Trojan War, starting before Paris' birth. Rhiannon combined as many myths as possible, letting the Gods play their game amongst the humans.

I liked the many different myths, I like how mythology was made more tangible by knowing more about characters, their backgrounds, everyday lives, and motivations.

However, I thought that there were too many characters that only had one or two short chapters, making it hard to follow. I know my fair share of mythology, about Odysseus, Paris, Helen, Menelaus, Cassandra etc. But there are so many minor characters, brothers and sisters, distant relatives that I got lost in places.

The other thing that was a bit too much was the enormous amount of sexually explicit scenes. Cassandra is raped and cursed, Zeus rapes Leda...it goes on and on. There is lots of consensual sex too and attention is paid to the female orgasm (which is definitely a good thing!) but the sex scenes were all alike and all the dicks are so excellent except those of unattractive people and well... It annoyed me. I skim-read parts of the book (which would make it a 2 stars read only), but other parts were well done and intricately interwoven, so...

...3 Stars it is.

This was a wonderful book. I was pleasantly surprised at the retelling of this epic story. Recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this time period .

A VERY interesting retelling of the Greek mythology that we all know.

I particularly loved the way the characters were constructed, the author making sure we all can see the fact that everyone makes mistakes, even gods.

The book plot takes place before the Trojan War. There are so many perspectives of the characters that play even a tiny role in the development of the war. It is all about the connections formed between them and all the events that led to a greater purpose than they expected.
A good book indeed, especially for the mythology lovers! It has a different perspective.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Generally speaking, it's a strong opener for the series. Despite their hefty number, the characters are well established, the romances (and inevitable heartbreaks) are believable, and there's plenty of emotional cliffhangers to keep the pages turning.

Janell Rhiannon's writing style suits the story well, simple and elegant like the ancient texts that inspired the work. With a strong timeline and plenty of research into both the historical and the mythological, Song of Sacrifice is an easy and engaging read, even as the subject matter dips into the more violent storylines.

Yet the simplicity of Song of Sacrifice's storytelling is as much its biggest weakness as it is its biggest strength. Staying so true to the original elements of the tale means that the room for the various women to really grow and shine is limited - it literally is just the same tale told the other side. There's much to be said for the powerful injection of personality and emotion into these forgotten characters - and you will absolutely find yourself rooting for these women, Clytemnestra in particular - but more could still have been done here.

For a fan of Greek mythology , this is a wonderful story highlighting some of the characters and their personal motivations and struggles through life. This was a very engaging and beautifully written story. I will soon be checking the next part of the story.

I really enjoyed reading this book I have read many books on the Trojan war but this was a new way of looking at it and we'll worth a read

After reading Circe this year and while waiting for Song of Achilles from my local library, I thought I would check out Janell Rhiannon since Song of Sacrifice had such good reviews. This was...a lot different than the Greek Mythology I'm used to.

After checking both Netgalley & Goodreads, neither acknowledge the insane number of sex scenes in this book. I'm already not a huge Romance genre person, but this was straight up Erotica. I didn't do a mathematical analysis, but it felt like at least 50% sex, 30% being terrible to women (lots of overlap here) & 20% God/Goddess shenanigans.

I'll admit I think most written sex scenes are just awkward af to read. And reading this only worsened my view of them. Every one of them seemed to follow the same beats. Young girl/virgin/new bride is nervous about their forced marriage to an old, aggressive rape monster. He tells her to lighten up. He licks nipples. He places erection against her unwilling body. She has a miraculous sexual awakening and must have him inside her immediately. Moaning. Trembling. Simultaneous earth-shattering orgasm. Pregnant.

This book wasn't what I was looking for. I'm sure Ms. Rhiannon is the perfect writer for someone, but just not for me.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I retelling of several different tales from Greek mythology? With what sounded like a heavy focus on the females of Greek legend? Count me in! This book, however, just did not do it for me.

The writing. *sigh* The writing... At times, it was engaging and easy to read, but, for most of the book, it was just a slog. There were bits were I found myself really enjoying how this author strung her words together, but most of it was a snoozefest. And can we talk about the copious sex scenes?! I have no problem with a well-written sex scene, you can throw those at me all ya like. But these were just... so cringy and distasteful and they would. not. stop. This is just my personal tastes, but I can't get behind a sex scene where the phrase "He felt his cock stiffen" is thrown in. Multiple times. Just... please stop. Also, it just wasn't what I was expecting after reading the synopsis so that threw me off, as well.

The characters and the plot suffered from too many things trying to be described at once. I didn't care about any of these characters because the author was trying to tell so many stories at once that everyone just got lost in the shuffle. I found myself having to remind myself of who characters were and where we were at in their story each time the prospective jumped around. It took me out of the story and, I think, contributed to why I found the whole book dull. I will say there were some characters I enjoyed reading about more than others. I really enjoyed the time spent in Troy at the beginning and following Hecuba's tale as well as Paris'. I don't know if that's because they were the first ones we start reading about or if their stories were just more engaging, but I wish that we could have gotten more into their characters. I honestly think this book would have benefited from being one narrative and sticking to it.

I did enjoy the mythological setting and how this author plays with traditional Greek mythology. I just don't think this book matched it's synopsis all that well and that was disappointing.

So... I'm a fan of Greek mythology - huge fan it was my fav book in school and my beloved time during history lessons.
Being said I wanted this book to be strong, fair and for sure making me feel like I was there in ancient times. Ms. Rihannon managed that.
This book will leave you wanting the next book ad it ends in the place where everything should begin. I had been gasping thru the book as Song of Sacrifice hadn't made the story of Paris a sweet one, but leave it bold and so accurate to these times.
There will be betrayals, swearing, and concubines. Yes, those things are a must when it comes to an ancient story. Same goes for the gods - I liked how the author played with their role.
I had a little problem at the beginning with the way the story was told, but when the story developed K got sucked in and it was the end - I fall for this book.

This book, if I'm being 100% honest, didn't capture me. I always want to like the books I read, but I don't think I tried as hard with any book than I did with this one. I couldn't get into it. I never wanted to read it. When I picked it up, it was like a chore. I wish so badly that I did because so many people loved it. Maybe I was in the wrong mindset when I started it.

4 stars
Another offering from the Greek God universe which has taken the reading world by storm it seems from sometime last year. From 'The Silence of the Girls', 'The song of Achilles', 'Circe', and one more that I am currently forgetting, the world seems to be inundated by fresh looks at Greek mythology. I only wish they would all release in order so that one can pick them up and get the story from the beginning. The Song of Sacrifice is the first book in the Homeric Chronicles and I suppose is following the Odyssey to a certain extent. The story that is unfolding in this book is something that I have no previous acquaintance with.

Essentially this is the story of Paris of Troy and how he landed his country in all that mess.

First, let’s talk about the cover. I loved this cover of deep blue, like the sea with the hieroglyphs and the dagger with a ribbon entwined in its handle. It seems to be trying to encapsulate beauty with the danger of life under the Greek Gods. I hope the publishers stick with this cover scheme and not change it halfway through.

The book grew on me as I turned page after page. Paris has always seemed almost benign even though he did steal another man’s wife and bring her all the way to Troy to start the fall of his home. Helen seems to occupy the center stage in the abduction and other characters always seem to take backstage in all retelling of this tale that I have seen (because I certainly haven't read about them). Here, when Helen enters the story almost halfway through the book, we have already been introduced to Paris for quite some time. We follow a lot of the lives of Paris, Odysseus and Achilles and uncover several facets that I was completely unaware of prior to this. Also it becomes evident as one moves through the book that the author is not really a fan of Helen unlike most other Greek mythologists who seem to almost revere her.

This book is a definite recommendation for Circe fans and in fact I would suggest reading this before reading Circe to acclimatize oneself to the world of Greek Mythology. I would go so far as to say I enjoyed this book more than Circe. Maybe it was because there was no reputation that this book had to live up - yet. I have not read ‘The Silence of the Girls’ which was long listed for the women’s prize for fiction 2019 and has been enjoyed by a lot of people whom I listen to for book recommendations. That book, however, deals with the aftermath of the Trojan War and the plight of the women who are taken as slaves. This book is more hero-centric it appears to me. Also, it pays passing attention to serious female characters who prop up these heroes in some way or other. I am not sure how true the relationships portrayed in this book are to the original but I would think it should be pretty accurate since there are obviously too many lovers of Greek Mythology to point it out otherwise.

Greek mythology is never easy to read. It is undeniably dark and distorted. The episode of Leda and the swan is so terrible in its suddenness and the calm acceptance of Leda afterwards that one is left reeling. Usually in mythology or even ancient texts and stories queens and princesses are safe from any horrors inflicted on lesser humans. But, of course, kings and queens are mere pawns where gods are concerned. The entire book strives to drive home this point with the actions of mortals constantly trying to appease the wrath or the boredom of the gods.

Certainly enjoyed this book and looking forward to the next installment.

This book was a DNF. It was not the book I was expecting. Here is a part of the description:

The heart of the Trojan War belongs to the women.
Mothers and daughters; wives and war prizes, whisper to us across time…
…remember our songs alongside the mighty men of myth.

As the Age of Heroes wanes, the gods gamble more fiercely with mortals’ lives than they ever have before. Women must rely on their inner strength and cunning to survive the wars men wage for gold and glory.

After reading that description what I expected was a re-telling of the original Homeric myths but with a female-centric spin. Kind of like the recent books by Madeline Miller. Grecian feminism. (ha) That is not what this book is.

There are a number of women in the book, but disappointingly they are shoehorned into the classic tropes … mother, whore, crone. There is precious little attention paid to their own motivations or personalities except as to where they intersect with the men in their lives. Oh they get plenty pissed or sad with their men, but that’s not enough to make this feminist. They need to have lives, thoughts, feelings separate from men. The women in this book do not voice those things.

They are also, in my opinion, overly sexualized. I’m all for a girl getting her groove on and owning her sexuality but in this book, unless you’re a crone figure, that’s pretty much all you do is get it on. It’s not what I came here for. That’s a different book than what I feel like I was sold on. I would have just not requested that book. Instead, I got this book, and it was not for me. All that being said, I’m definitely not looking into the next part of the series.

I adore Greek mythology so I was really excited to read this. It was fantastic! I loved how the author told a well-known story but focused on the journeys of the women as well as the men. It was beautifully written and the details were so rich and vivid.

The story is told from many different perspectives but it was never confusing. At times the story was brutal and I thought the author portrayed the Greek way of life brilliantly. Yes, I cried, oh my gosh that one scene (you'll know the scene when you read it) had me in bits!

The only downside for me was that I would have preferred to follow just a handful of people rather than jumping around as much as it did. Still a great read though and I will certainly be picking up book two.

Thanks to Xpresso Book Tours and NetGalley for the free copy.

First of all, I'd like to thank Netgalley for the e-arc of this story, Song of Sacrifice, by Janelle Rhiannon. As always, my thoughts are my own. I give this story 3 stars.


Synopsis:
The heart of the Trojan War belongs to the women.
Mothers and daughters; wives and war prizes, whisper to us across time...
...remember our songs alongside the mighty men of myth.

As the Age of Heroes wanes, the gods gamble more fiercely with mortals’ lives than they ever have before. Women must rely on their inner strength and cunning to survive the wars men wage for gold and glory.

Clytemnestra of Mycenae struggles for control of her life after Agamemnon ruthlessly rips it apart. Leda of Sparta survives a brutal assault by Zeus, shouldering a terrible secret in silence. Penelope raises Ithaka’s sole heir alone, praying for Odysseus’ swift return. Thetis, the sea nymph, despairs of her son’s destiny and resorts to forbidden magic to save him. Hecuba of Troy mourns the loss of her second son to a dark prophecy. And Shavash of Pedasus prepares her daughter to marry the greatest warrior who ever lived.

In a world where love leads to war and duty leads to destruction, the iron hearts of heroines will conquer all.

Sing, Muse, sing their song of sacrifice...

Replaces Song of Princes as the first book in the Homeric Chronicles.


I'm sadly unfamiliar with most of Greek mythology and lore. For some reason, I never learned it in school, except for a few names of a few gods and goddesses and maybe what they represented. So please take my review with a grain of salt: I couldn't keep characters straight and didn't know enough legend to puzzle through the stories. To me, it felt like there was no central character (except maaaaaaaaaaybe Paris) and no central plot (except maaaaaaaybe his fate), but that would have taken probably 50 of the more than 500 pages. I was lost, confused, and somewhat frustrated at spelling and punctuation errors the entire book.

While it did teach me some about the Greek myth I'm attempting to learn about, there was so much going on, with so many characters telling the stories, that I couldn't keep track of the weave. If you're familiar with myth, you'd likely enjoy this story very much.

I greatly enjoyed this novel! Janell Rhiannon is a new-to-me author, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with Song of Sacrifice. But I am so, so glad that I took a chance on something new because I absolutely LOVED this novel! I literally devoured it. The writing was superb, the story was excellent. The characters were unique, perfectly flawed and grew with the plot. The story itself moved quickly, built upon itself and had me hooked from the very first page.

Dear Janell Rhiannon,

I am your new superfan. I apologize for any fan-girling I do in the future, but seriously, I now need everything you have ever written.

xo,

Stacie

I did not get the opportunity to download the book before it was archived. Very sorry.

Thank you!