Member Reviews

Such a beautiful spin on a timeless story. I loved every aspect of this novel and the prose was addicting.

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Another fantastic mythological retelling, this time about Psyche and Eros - two figures I knew very little about. Educational, entertaining and great on audio too! This is perfect for fans of authors like Madeline Miller and Natalie Hayes. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

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I really wanted to like this one, but it just didn't work for me. I grew up reading Greek Mythology and have been excited to see the resurgence of Greek Mythology inspired works and Psyche and Eros is a favorite of mine. However with this retelling I hardly recognized the character of Psyche - I felt like it was a name-drop of every single known Greek character from the Illiad and for what purpose? These characters did nothing to move the story forward. What I appreciated most about Psyche from the myths was her quiet strength, she was not Xena, Warrior Princess. In Madeline Miller's Circe, Miller does not change who Circe is fundamentally, but changes how the reader views her through her story and actions and I was hoping this rendition of Psyche and Eros would be the similar and it was not. One aspect I did like was using the Eros myth of him existing before the Olympus gods and being a servant of Aphrodite, not her son, as I think it propelled his story forward in a more positive and understanding way (instead of being a petulant child, he was frustrated with being subservient to a much younger being just by the whim of Zeus.) I did enjoy McNamara's writing style and will look to read her next book, however, this one did just not work for me. The narrator's were excellent and I will definitely look for their books in the future.

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I like this story to begin with so I'm a bit bias, but I loved this retelling of Psyche and Eros. Though its a common story that gets talked about I like that it got a retelling so it brings new life into the story,

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Although I couldn't really get into this book and had to stop, I see where it has a great set up that many other readers may enjoy. I plan to add this to our collection to suggest to readers looking for more greek mythology readings!

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I really love retellings, but I sadly found this one to be a bit underwhelming, though I did enjoy it enough to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I love a good Greek mythology retelling. This was and entertaining take on Psyche and Eros’ tale. I would definitely recommend this to someone looking for a mythology book

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After 25% I couldn’t get into this title. It sadly wasn’t the book for this reader but I greatly appreciate the chance to try it!

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I love a Greek mythology retelling, and was so excited for Psyche and Eros.

The writing was so lush and vivid, and such an entertaining read!

*many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

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thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

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While more of a re imaging of the characters instead of a retelling this was overall it was a good story.

I do wish that authors could write women who are strong in ways that aren't just outright physical. Women are strong in so many different ways and highlighting that is what makes us so special. I do get sick of women only being portrayed as strong if they mimic what is stereotypical male.

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I really loved this retelling of Psyche and Eros. Mythology is always to much fun and this book is no exception. It was very well written and held my attention the entire time.

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Thank you, NetGalley, for an audio-ARC of Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara, narrated by Rachel Petladwala and Joshua Riley.
I love Greek mythology, new books retelling the old stories. This book did not disappoint. Although McNamara took liberties with some of the mythology, this story was wonderful. Comedy, drama, romance and all the feels in between. I love when I learn a little more about this subject! The combination of Petladwala and Riley are perfect for the audio. Both voices sound like what ancient Greece should be!

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Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, and Harper Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara was a delight to read! I read a lot of mythology retellings and have recently found myself stuck in a web of Greek Mythology. I was starting to feel as if the same myth was being retold again and again. While Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara is not my first time reading a retelling of the great lovers, it felt like it was.

McNamara masterfully created a retelling that felt new and exciting. There are many familiar characters throughout this story and I really appreciated how McNamara shaped them. I would agree with other reviewers that McNamara does take liberties with the original myth, but I would also argue that is the beauty of retellings. If liberties were never taken, then what is the need of retellings anyways?!

I really liked how McNamara shapes the characters, Psyche, Medusa, Elektra, and Persephone! I could say so much more, but I am afraid that might be too much of a spoiler! If you are looking for a retelling with a fresh take, and an amazing love story - this is the book for you!

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Loved the narration.

Thank you so much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily listened and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

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“𝒲𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓎 𝑜𝓇 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝑒, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒸𝒽𝑜𝒾𝒸𝑒𝓈. 𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓌𝑒 𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒻𝓁𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓃, 𝓌𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒻𝓊𝓁𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓅𝒽𝑒𝒸𝓎 𝑜𝓇 𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎. 𝒲𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝓇𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

I love Greek stories so after seeing the cover I was excited to read this. I enjoyed the story as told from both point of views of Psyche and Eros with this retelling of their meet, love, and ultimate journey back to each other. Psyche in her original depiction is not as fierce as the story makes her out to be, but that is what I loved about it. She was building a name for herself, slaying monsters, participating in the Trojan War, aiding villagers and ultimately rescuing her love. If she wasn’t so bold I may not have been as interested in the story as I was. Eros felt more like a side character who was there to move her story along.

Read if you like…
Greek Mythology/Retellings
Dual Narrators
Fierce FMC
Adventure

I really liked that there is dual narrators, but there was not a lot of excitement or varied voices from either one though. I think if they had been a bit more animated and “into” the story I would have enjoyed it a bit more.

Thank you to the author, Harper Audio, and Netgalley for this arc.

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Psyche and Eros were entirely new characters from mythology to me, and Luna McNamara did not disappoint! This tale of deception from so many different directions and the great love that sprang from it was immersing from beginning to end. I couldn't stop listening!

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A very loose reimagining of the Psyche and Eros myth, this story explores what it means to be a hero and a lover. From a very young age, Psyche was told she would be a great hero one day, much like her mentor Atalanta and all the other hero's that came before her. But when she begins to gain attention not just for her skills but also her beauty, the goddess Aphrodite becomes jealous and orders her "son" Eros to shoot her with one of his enchanted arrows. From there chaos ensues.

While I enjoyed the storytelling and writing style despite being very very different from the original myth, I was honestly hoping for a little more romance. While the book is about Psyche and Eros' relationship, I felt that it was much more focused on Psyche's hero's journey. Eros honestly felt pretty two dimensional at times and it was hard to really track his journey of when his feelings for Psyche went from being a result of his accidental curse to being real.

I did listen to this book in audiobook format and felt both Rachel Petladwala and Joshua Riley narrated Psyche and Eros in ways that were very true to their characters and they both created an enjoyable listening experience.

Thank you to HarperAudio for the audio ARC. All opinions are my own.

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This book was a delight and I read it one sitting! Started on audiobook while cleaning and then sat down with the earc to finish! Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the advanced copies!

I have always enjoyed the myth of Psyche and Eros and overcoming trials and tribulations for your love. Like suffering together or supporting your partner through the rough patches. Of course their "rough patch" goes to the extreme that hopefully you or I never experience!
I wasn't sure at first how I was going to like the Trojan War setting for this story. I had to pause and look up if that was really when this myth took place in Ovid's account. But the more it unraveled, I really enjoyed that setting for this myth. All of that is going on and it is chaotic and Psyche and Eros find themselves amidst their own chaos.
I enjoyed some of the asides the characters made like Psyche mentioning Ovid's poetry and account of their story that was evolved beyond the truth. It clued me into the overall context of when Psyche and Eros might have been reflecting on their relationship's beginning and telling their story how it really happened in McNamara's version.
Also would like to mention that it really tugged at my heart how much McNamara overshadowed what was going to happen to Iphigenia. Devastating! Made it all the more impactful for me.

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This was an enjoyable listen and even though I don't know a lot about Greek mythology the author included enough back story that I found it easy to follow along. The challenges Psyche and Eros had to face were entertaining and the writing style was eloquent and flowed nicely. The narrator did a great job and I'm glad I had the opportunity to listen to this book.

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