A quirky botanist helps demigods fight climate change.

Summary:
Ryan Bell is a passionate botanist with a habit for awkward dad jokes. She's managed to develop an entirely new kind of flower, the Weeping Diana, that purifies air better than a whole forest of trees. The only hiccup, no one else has been able to replicate her process. That is until she gets a curious letter from a group of Greek scientists. They claim to have grown the Weeping Diana's and invite her to come to their island lab to compare notes.
When Ryan gets to the island, their ruse doesn't even hold up a day. The island houses descendants of the ancient Greek gods. And they are convinced that Ryan is one of them, the long lost descendant of Artemis.

Characters: 2/5
Ryan Bell - Our protagonist and botanist extraordinaire. She adores her cat Lester (just like Farrari) and is a bumbling mess when talking to all the godly men she meets on the island. Her commentary was, at many points, a bit too cringy for me. I also couldn't feel her connection with Kosta or Cyrus the Creep. That may have been because of the dialogue or because I didn't find either man likeable.
My biggest beef with Ryan during this book is that she is constantly going back and forth. One moment she's trying hard to unlock her powers and the next moment she won't at all. In one conversation she'll go from wanting to free the Gods to saying the world is better off without them. It was very confusing as the reader to figure out what she wanted at any given point.
Greta - What is not to love about Greta! She's a wacky old lady with love to spare. Greta is the star of this novel, you cannot convince me otherwise.
Kosta - Off the top of my head, I can't even remember who he is a descendant of and I feel like that is an important detail that should have been made clear. He is very hot and cold with Ryan. He was so quick to snap at anything. And don't even get me started on the swimming scene.

There were plenty of other side characters like Elias, Melina, Nicholas, and Cyrus. The first three were overall pretty likable and decent characters. The latter was a creep and I don't know why Ryan put up with his constant (and OBVIOUS) asking about where the island was.

Plot: 3/5
Despite my overall dislike of the characters, I thought the general plot was clever. The way Farrari incorporated climate change and natural disasters with Greek mythology was very well done, in my opinion. There were several lulls with the numerous attempts at training to open up her magic. But the concept was a fresh take on modern Greek stories. Also, the message that humans have utterly trashed (and are currently trashing) the environment was very clear.

World: 3/5
This was set in a largely modern "world" but with the climate change disaster about 30-50 years advanced and of course Greek gods. It wasn't perfectly sound logical all the way through but it was alright.

Other: 2/5
- I am a big dialog fan and, to me, the conversation was stiff and repetitive.
- As I mentioned before, Ryans constant (and unpredictable) opinions drove me up the wall. It's one thing to learn something and change your mind but I swear, she just opposed whatever the person she was talking to wanted.

Overall rating: 2/5

I wish I liked this book more than I did. I really wanted too. I was sitting at three stars when I was ~75% done but that last bit was just not up to 3 stars. The final kiss, a whole books worth of building, was short, fleeting, and not memorable. The final battle was mostly a series of monologues between the two sides. There could have such amazing detail and imagery in the end but there wasn't. The whole book was drawn out slowly for the peak of the plot to happen way too fast.

Side note: "The woman who stood before her was anything but motherly. Her skin had an earthy brown tinge, making her look unwashed and rank." Does this line rub anyone else the wrong way?

Less Greek tragedy and more beach read, this book is light-hearted and fun in a way the other books in this emerging little sub-genre of “mythology retellings and tie-ins” generally are not.
I really enjoyed it; it’s a nice take on Normal-Girl-Saves-The-World and I like that it deviates from the “norm” and focuses on the lesser-acknowledged goddess Artemis. The main character is relatable (a young woman who works hard but has fun, silly moments), the world-building is complex enough to be fascinating but without the threat of overwhelming the reader, and trials she faces are intriguing enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.
This book is a quick read, but an enjoyable one. I’ll definitely be buying this book so I can reread it whenever I’m in the mood for a fun story that will captivate me for a few hours.

I thought this book was great. 4 stars because I personally didn’t like the narration that much but I pushed through and I was not disappointed. I love books about mythology, but this one is a new favorite. I loved the idea that she was able to help the planet become better. I would probably read this book again but I would definitely buy it for my shelves.