i really enjoyed this book!! i wasn’t super familiar with Psyche and Eros’ story prior to reading, so it was interesting to learn about. the retelling was fun and enjoyable to read, and also really easy to follow (not as confusing as some retelling a can be)

DNF @ 25%

I couldn't do it. I was so excited for a retelling of Eros/Cupid and Psyche, and I couldn't push through because this is just not their story.

I am not the most learned scholar, nor would I call myself a classicist. That said, I do have some academic background in Ancient Greek culture/history and a vested interested in the literature. This story is absolutely unrecognizable from the story I should've been seeing. There are so many needless changes to Psyche's story already by the first quarter; I'd hoped that maybe, just maybe they would serve a purpose. From other reviews, I can see that the things that concern me are not addressed at all by the end.

Psyche is more than a pretty face, but in the face of actual feminism, this did not need to be yet another attempt to take a girl and make her "not like other girls" and a warrior that she is not. The changes to her family are completely unnecessary and would indeed take away from key conflicts of the myth's story. Cameos by other mythical figures honestly felt like when a random celebrity is in a movie for no reason and have one cheesy line.

Eros, at the least, felt like he had an interesting angle that felt accurate to being a primordial god in a world of reigning new gods. However, I could not suffer the changes to Psyche. An absolute disservice to the source materials because the changes did nothing to enhance the character or provide nuance to her character.

This is just another publication in a line of many in the last year that have utterly failed to properly communicate with the stories they are "retelling" and come off shallow. I know there will be an audience for this book; there are many that indulge and love similar stories that I have read fully and loathed for the same reasons. But I personally cannot stomach yet another.

I will not be posting this as a starred review on platforms, as I feel it is unfair to give a rating to media I did not finish. But I think further analysis of the original story was much needed by the author before settling on this iteration.

Psyche and Eros, an unlikely love story. This was an inventive telling of their myth. The author gives Psyche more of an agency than just being a pretty face. Her father hears a prophecy from the Oracle of Delphi when he finds out his wife is pregnant, that states his child will be a great hero who slays a monster that even the Gods are afraid of. Imagine his surprise when he has a daughter instead of a son.He decides that he will go ahead and make sure she fulfills her destiny as a hero. When she’s old enough, she trains with Atalanta. She embraces her training and she does indeed slay some monsters, knowing that eventually she will be a great hero and meet her destiny.
Eros is actually a primordial God in this telling. He is not interested in the new Gods, but after the Titan battle, he finds himself in a situation and is “adopted” by Aphrodite. She, like many of the new Gods, is petty and spoiled. When she is “offended“ by some imagined slight regarding Psyche, she convinces Eros to let her curse one of his arrows to deliver a love curse to Psyche. One touch of the arrow and she will fall in love with the first person she sees, but then if they gaze upon each other she’ll be ripped away from her love forever. He reluctantly accepts the assignment, but it goes horribly wrong and he is cursed instead.
The story takes some fun swings at the myth, & there are many of the characters, Gods, & Goddesses from Greek legend making cameos & playing parts. There wasn’t a boring moment in this story and many moments that had me laughing or crying in equal measure. I think if you like Greek mythology, you’re probably going to love this. If that’s not your thing, I think you’ll still like the story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
**Thank you Netgalley for letting me read the ARC of this story. **

DNF @ 40% - I just really wanted to love this one more than it was written. psyche and eros are the underrated couple of greek mythology, and after being introduced to them in the DARK OLYMPUS series by katee robert, I wanted to consume all of the media about them!! however, this version completely demeaned psyche, and I was not here for it at all. I couldn't continue with the dialogue, and how all of the characters were written.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! I hope more reviewers loved this one more than I did!

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of this book. I was so excited to read it!

Psyche and Eros was a much anticipated book for me, and it left me feeling...not enough things, to be honest. I could not get into this book no matter how hard I tried. The writing was tedious, the plot was boring, and I just wasn't invested. This book was probably my most disappointing read of 2023 sadly.

If you are interested in reimagining of mythology etc, then I would still recommend this one...but be warned, it is slow plot-wise.

Rating: 2⭐️

I’m going to be honest and say this book didn’t work for me. That’s okay, not all books work for everyone. I’m always attracted to Greek myth retellings and this one was no different! I love the cover and I love the premise, I also loved how the myth was reworked here and there in a unique way. The writing was solid but where it lost me was the skimming over what I felt would’ve/should’ve been important parts. I felt like I would’ve liked to see more build up in the main relationship between Eros/Cupid and Psyche. She was raised to be different, getting the opportunity to learn to fight but then all of a sudden her parents who seems rather progressive changed suit and decided to arrange a marriage. That didn’t jive well with me. Then when she was taken by Eros i didn’t feel any of that warrior spirit… instead it was very much insta-love with a heaping side of mistrust. I totally get why he was in love with her due to the curse but with her I felt things happened fast and I didn’t get that build up between them that I craved. Ultimately that’s why this book didn’t work for me. I thank you @harpercollins for the arc!

For fans of Greek retellings, I think this one was pretty good. I enjoyed the two POVs, and was very happy with the ending. Overall I thought it was good and enjoyable.

I really wanted to like this one, but it just fell flat for me. I found the beginning somewhat slow and was really forcing my way through and I think the story was a bit lackluster. Some of the changes seemed to be made for no rhyme or reason and didn't really make sense to me. I'm usually a fan of retellings, but this one fell short for me.

This retelling of the Psyche and Eros myth is engaging. Psyche is a young girl who wants to be a hero and tries to make the prophesy that she would be come true. Love in the form of Eros derails her ambitions as she falls in love. The problem, unbeknownst to her, is she cannot see the face of her love or he will be stolen from her. Going back on her word to Eros has devastating consequences. Will she be able to overcome the consequences of her decision and also become the hero she was meant to be?

When she was born, a prophecy claimed that Psyche, the princess of Mycenae, would conquer a monster that even the gods feared. Due to this, Psyche was raised to fight from a very young age and honed into a fearsome warrior by none other than Atalanta herself. But when Psyche unintentionally offends Aphrodite, her skills with a bow and blade can't help her.

The goddess of love enlists the help of Eros, the god of desire, to bestow a curse on Psyche. Eros has no time for petty squabbles with mortals but can't refuse. But things take a dire turn when Eros accidentally pricks himself with the cursed arrow intended for Psyche. Not even the gods are above curses, and Eros is doomed to yearn after Psyche, who will be ripped away from him the moment their eyes meet. Eros and Psyche soon wed, and neither can help the feelings that start to grow. But when Psyche accidentally sees her husband's face, it sets off a chain of events that will change both of their lives.

The story of Psyche and Eros has always been one of my favorite myths, so I've been looking forward to this for a while. While it kept most of the bones of the original myth, you could tell McNamara took a lot of liberties. I was wary at first, but I think it worked in McNamara's favor. The writing was vivid and lush, and the world and the characters were well-developed. The dual POVs worked well because they let you see both Eros's and Psyche's growth and how their views on what's truly important in life changed. However, I did find Eros's chapters slightly more interesting. It did bum me out how McNamara brought in the Trojan War and characters like Achilles and Clytemnestra because there have been so many retellings focused on those stories already that it took away from this one. It felt unnecessary. Most Greek myths end in tragedy, but this one is hopeful despite all the challenges, and overall, I enjoyed it.

This book was incredibly well written. I would be giving a higher amount of stars, but I think the book ended hastily and without much sense.

I literally gave up halfway. I can’t even fairly review this because I lost interest so early that I couldn’t finish the book. I thought for a story about the diety of love and sex it would be more passionate but it was dull and disappointing.

As a lover of Greek mythology, this book grabbed my attention. I have not heard of either of the main characters so I was drawn to learning about them. Their story was, in my opinion, very moving. Psyche was given a prophecy from birth but grew into her own woman. Eros a god who withdrew himself from the world discovered the beauty in the mortal world. Their story also shows how with love anything can be done. Loved how the other gods and goddesses were intertwined into their story but in a new light. Recommend this book for lovers of Greek mythology and anyone who wants to learn more about greek mythology.

I have mixed feeling about this book. I liked the characters and their relationship, but I felt like there was never any growth or depth on the relationship. Things seemed to happen very quickly and didn’t cause any big emotions while reading. It read very much like the Odyssey or other Greek mythology works, so maybe it is fitting for the genre and I don’t know enough about it!

A wonderful modern retelling of a classic story
This one went quickly for me. I read it in only a few days.
Love the cover <3

I had hoped that I would really enjoy this book, but unfortunately I ended up DNF’ing. There was a lot of background at the beginning, which is necessary, but I didn’t really enjoy it. It was a huge information dump. The story was just also very slow moving for me so I decided to quit while I was ahead. I did skim through the rest of the book and it seems to pick up in pace. Going forward I’d recommend this to Greek mythology lovers since I believe that is the audience and it definitely caters to that.

The myth of Psyche and Eros has been one of my favorites for a long time. So when this book came across my feed, I knew that I was going to read it.

Psyche became one of my favorite heroes after this retelling and my heart was warmed by the love that is shared between Psyche and Eros (cupid).

Plus, this retelling had so much drama that I couldn't put it down. Out of all the greek myth retellings I have read in the past year, this one was VERY well done.

Lyrical and sweet, exactly the kind of story I hoped it would be, and one I'd read again. Comparisons to Song of Achilles are definitely apt, and I'm off to preorder a physical copy immediately. Love love love!

This was an entertaining retelling of Psyche and Eros. I think the author did a good job making the characters her own, but I did feel like she changed the original myth a little too much to the point that Psyche felt like a completely different heroine. At times the dialogue leaned a little more into YA which took me out of the story a little since I was expecting more adult characters. Overall I think it was a good story, just be prepared going into it that this is a very different tale than what we're used to from the original myth.

Psyche and Eros is a retelling of the Greek myth of the same lovers. The author provides a note at the end of the novel which gives more insight and explanation for the myth, legends, and other retellings.

In Luna McNamara’s version, Psyche is the princess of Mycenae and granddaughter of the hero, Perseus. Upon her birth, the king went to the Oracle who prophesied that Psyche would conquer a monster feared by the gods. The king circumvents societal expectations of women to have Psyche properly trained as a warrior.

Years later, Psyche has angered goddess Aphrodite. Aphrodite enlists her “adopted” son, Eros, to deliver a curse on the girl. Eros is one of the last elder gods from before the birth of the Olympians. He has become disgruntled with his purpose as well as many of the other immortals. When he is forced to deliver the curse, he accidentally strikes himself with the arrow.

The main thing I loved about this novel was how the description pulled me in and kept me riveted. The story was beautifully well written to the point that I understood Eros and his disdain for the other gods, as well as his weariness of his own power.

Although it is a retelling, I enjoyed the liberties that the author took. Specifically, making Psyche a warrior instead of just a princess. While I would have related with annoying siblings who get Psyche into trouble, I actually enjoyed the only child Psyche who loved her mentor and cousin like true siblings. It made it easier to understand how she could so quickly fall in love with Eros despite their rocky start.

Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.