Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

Absolutely yes! I really enjoyed reading this novel. The characters were fun, it held my interest, and provided an escape from reality. I would definitely recommend!

I Never Liked You Anyway offers a modern-day retelling of the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, a tale renowned for the song sung for its hero and its unfortunate muse. In this recent work, Jordan Kurella tracks the spotlight at the muse in this beloved tale as we are taken back and forth her daily routines in the Afterlife (whatever in the worlds that meant) and her musings over her mortal life and the events that lead to her untimely death.

Eurydice is a student in both timelines. In her recollections, she’s a budding musical artist poised determined to make a mark of her own not until Orpheus, the genius musician, swept her off her feet with the promise of love and fame in tow. Enamored and offhanded, what ensues is a tangle of music, art, dating, and drama as she gets sucked into the trappings of their wild, possibly destructive polyamorous group. In the Afterlife, Eurydice attends Hauntings, Baking Disasters, and Thread of Fate lessons, of which, is meant to prepare her for what’s coming. That occurrence though is yet be revealed to her.

Kurella’s writing style is easy to get used to. There’s a clever use of alliteration that pays homage to the musical nature in the story. It also helped that the chapters were short, so the experience is more dynamic. Between the two timelines, I am partial to the ones in the Underworld due to the more interesting personality evoked by the narrator.

I appreciate the novelty of taking this established literature and forging it to one that introduces contemporary elements. Who would not want hotdogs in the Underworld? More so, the choice to center queerness is a much-needed flair to the tired binary championing in Greek mythologies. I still like heroes and damsels loved and despised by the gods yet it’s refreshing to read these characters as members of LGBTQIAplus community. I am proud to be represented in media where we are often relegated to the sidelines. And despite these tinkering of the prose, it still respects the source material.

This book also tackled issues that I may have not been acquainted if I have not picked this up. The topic of polyamory is something new to me and although this book depicted that, I am not sure that this has represented it accurately. I may have to read more on this or check reviews from readers who have firsthand experience in these kinds of relationship. I also acknowledge the attempt to examine the haunted halls of co-dependency and toxic relationships. Despite that, the execution leaves me wanting more. It felt like the relationships were underdeveloped or we were not shown enough interactions for me to care. I dig the swooning over the genius, edgy archetypes like Orpheus but even the course of their relationship, I kept wanting to be convinced that Eurydice loves, or at best, liked him for the overarching conflict it be believable. I understand that it could be a stylistic choice given that that section of the narration is considered a recollection of past events. Even so, there was so much telling than showing and it ended up the bane of the book for me.

Notwithstanding, I still enjoyed majority of my time reading this book. There were relationships that stood out for me such us Penelope’s grounding friendship and the genuine romance shared with Andi. I also loved the message that forgiveness is not something that is required of us but ours to give by our choice. This book inspires to have us take ownership of our fates. If you are a fan of Greek mythology and retellings, this one is a turbulent yet navigable ride for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and Vernacular Books for the digital, advance reading copy in exchange of an honest review.

I should premise this with, I love retellings, lgbtqia+ lit, and mythology. So this book had a leg up before I even started reading. I mean, if it had sucked I would have no qualms in saying so, but I adored this one!! Eurydice is such an intriguing character and I related to her quite a bit. Orpheus is not my favorite character, but he was interesting too. I thought Andi was cool as well as obviously Hades and Persephone. And there’s a love square?!?! Yeah, that’s right, a love square!!

Then there’s the drama, add in some gods, love, comedy, and death. We can’t forget the death… But basically there’s a lot of awesome going on. It’s quirky, fun, and so damn entertaining!! I had trouble putting this one down once I really started reading it.

I recommend this to those who enjoy mythological retellings with lgbtqia+ lovin!! Such a great read!! Do watch out for the triggers though, there’s suicide in this one.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Vernacular Books, and Jordan Kurella for the opportunity to read this for my honest opinion!!

This was a fun modern retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Most times this book felt very loosely based on the myth, but I loved the liberties the author took and it was certainly unlike any other retelling I've read.

Admittedly, I wasn’t too familiar with tale of Orpheus and Eurydice from Greek mythology, but I did enjoy going back to reference it after reading “I Never Liked you Anyway” to compare and contrast some of the storylines.

Set in modern times, Eurydice is a piano prodigy who gets swept up by fellow student, Orpheus. While their relationship becomes one of passion, they become codependent which takes a destructive path. Told from Eurydice’s perspective, we start with her in the afterlife as she learns the tasks of being a ghost. From there, the story bounces between flashbacks to current events where we learn the ups and downs of the couple’s polyamorous relationship and the events leading up to her eventual death.

Because the chapters are so fast, it took me a second to get used to the back and forth timelines and narratives. But once it was established who was telling what, it was smooth sailing from there. I thought it was fun, and I really enjoyed Eurydice and Orpheus’s other partners as they both pulled the characters in different directions which added to the chaos of their relationship.

Even if you zero reference of the original story, you’ll be able to follow along quite easily!

This book was unlike any classics retelling I've read in its style, language, and format, and, of anything I've encountered, most like the musical retelling (also of Orpheus and Eurydice) Jasper in Deadland. My least favorite part of the book was the way the author treats Hades' kidnapping of Persephone as a simple arranged marriage; this is one of my least favorite things in any retelling. However, I loved the writing of the friendship between Eurydice and Penelope. Especially the ways that the author wrote her changed relationship to Odysseus after his too-long journey were new to me and thoughtful. I also loved the ways in which Kurella reimagines death and life (although, not really) after death. By the end, I just wanted more, especially to learn more about the mechanics of Eurydice's current path.