2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

This is much more a reimagining than a retelling, and if you're familiar with Psyche and Eros, don't expect this to reflect the mythology that you know. McNamara plays fast and loose with mythology even changing well known family trees (which didn't feel like needed changes for the overall plot so I'm not entirely sure what the purpose was). There's a moment in the plot where the narration mentions how one piece of Psyche and Eros' love story would be shared for generations which is an acknowledgement of the known version of their story. To me, that makes all the changes McNamara made all the more frustrating.

While I enjoy badass warrior women, not every feminist story needs to feature a woman that can fight, there is power in quiet femininity too. I really liked the Eros chapters but I didn't like this version of Psyche.

Overall, we're flooded with Greek mythology retellings right now, some of them are done really well, but for me, this one is a miss.

Rachel Petladwala and Joshua Riley do a good job with the audiobook narration.

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

DNF. I thought this was going to be a sexy retelling of the myth. Instead, it was a complete overhaul of who Psyche (traditionally) was and she's replaced as a "bad-ass warrior girl". I only made it 25% into the story - the two characters had not met. I was also listening to this and the narrator reading Eros portions voice was so incredibly grating. Like I get he's portraying an arrogant cocky god, but ew.

This would be a great title for someone who's reading the Greek retellings like Circe + Song of Achilles. In the end, it was the narrator's voice, Psyche's persona + the enumerable additions of other Greek myths that I couldn't finish.

I absolutely LOVED this story and I can't wait for my copy to arrive! The narrator was fantastic and the story had a very nice flow! I will say reliving the wedding scene before they sail to Troy was traumatic and cathartic at the same time. I hate men...but Psyche is beautiful and I love her!

I found myself less enthralled by this book than I had anticipated. As someone pseudo-familiar with Greek myths, I couldn't help but notice that it seemed like a mishmash of various myths, with altered details and characters that didn't quite contribute to the overall story. Additionally, considering it's labeled as a romance, the central lovers didn't have much time dedicated to romantic interactions. For me, it lacked the necessary romantic elements to be classified as a true romance, and it didn't offer enough originality to be a compelling retelling. While I always appreciate delving into the realm of Greek mythology, I would recommend exploring other sources if you're seeking a fresh or more romantically inclined twist on a classic myth. On a positive note, I did enjoy the audio performances by both narrators.

I’m not super familiar with Greek mythology so I can’t vouch for any creative liberties that Luna takes with it.

The first part of the book starts off strong with the back story of both characters but especially Eros. I loved learning about the gods creation and finding his place amongst the gods. There was a large passing of time but it felt natural and organic. We checked in with Eros periodically weaving in Psyche’s story. I also liked how Psyche’s training to become a hero was over several years and not just a montage of a few weeks. But unfortunately those are the only parts I found enjoyable about the book.

Everything that Psyche does she stumbles upon by accident either through her own stupidity or external forces. I feel like Luna tries to make Psyche this fierce female heroine but she can barely hold her own in any situation. When fighting the griffins Psyche has a hard time coming to terms with killing them - something that she has been trained to do for years. Apart from the first task that Aphrodite gives Psyche (which I hardly think should count), the ants do the second task and a boon that Eros cashes in completes the third. I was thoroughly surprised when Psyches comes out of the underworld and successfully managed not to talk to anyone I felt like that was very out of character for her. She couldn’t even get enough votes to give her the apotheosis.

Psyche and Eros’ relationship also gave me the ick. It was built of lies upon lies. To start they never got “married” although Eros tells Psyche he’s her husband. He also never tell her his name and insists it’s Cupid. Even after they’re separated Psyche initially thinks his name is Cupid. He didn’t tell her about the curse either. She insists he loves him but she hardly even knows him.

I wanted to like this book so much. It had so much potential. But I was just so caught up in how Psyche never actually did anything for herself. I mean I guess she took it upon herself to finally glimpse Eros face. And look how well that turned out for her.

McNamara writes a beautiful retelling of Psyche and Eros’ epic love story. I loved the adventurous plot and the cast of characters in this story. McNamara’s reimagining of Greek mythology is a fun, riveting, and absolute delight of a book. I will highly recommend to fans of Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles. I only wish I had more time with Psyche and Eros since they were painted as such vivid characters.

(2.5 rounded up, sorry!)
This didn't quite have the lyricism of Madeline Miller's "Song of Achilles" and "Circe" (don't know how Natalie Hayne's retellings fare), and the narrators weren't as good as I had hoped for. (Rachel Petladwala sounds like young Hermione Granger reading a book report; I liked Joshua Riley, but not by much, given the material.)

I vaguely knew the myth of Psyche and Eros, so I suspected this retelling differed, but wow, I did not realize by how much. McNamara doesn't flesh out and enrich an ancient myth, the way some modern authors revisiting the classics do, but recombines and redesigns characters and stories into a frayed patchwork plot. The romance is also kind of lackluster. Don't think I'll recommend.

Psyche and Eros, for me, missed the mark. I struggled through the first 3/4 of it and nearly DNFed. The author missed so many opportunities for us to connect with the characters, instead choosing to not delve into their emotions or complex inner thoughts. The bulk of this book truly felt like a regurgitation of Ancient texts, rather than a contemporary novel retelling ancient stories. It wasn't a *bad* book, it just wasn't something I would normally gravitate to. I feel like, with so many of these Greek love stories out there right now, an Author really needs to put their mark on the stories, and unfortunately McNamara misses that mark. It wasn't until the last few chapters that I found myself caring what was going to happen next, and even then entire swaths of the journey were left untold, with McNamara simply telling us what the character accomplished instead of taking us on the quest with him. I found Psyche to be unlikeable and Eros to be unbelievable. A man in love doesn't send his lover to the Underworld to free him. I felt that the author tried to make Eros likable, someone to root for, but instead I found myself wishing the curse would take effect so I could stop hearing him whine about it. Psyche's cousin, Iphigenia, was just as contradictory and infuriating- jumping from one stance to the next with little or no explanation. Her death, unexplained, was wholly unnecessary. I felt like half the book was half told stories and beginnings that could have led somewhere great but weren't given the chance.

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. **

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

As someone who enjoys Greek mythology retellings, I was excited to get the chance to read this book via Netgalley on audio. While it was enjoyable, there were a few things that fell flat for me. First of all, it didn’t hold my attention quite as much as I would have hoped. I am typically a fan of dual points of view, but I found that I was more invested in Eros’ pov than Psyche’s. That’s not to say that Psyche wasn’t interesting though. I appreciated her bad ass nature and learning to be a warrior with Atalanta, but she just didn’t hold my attention quite as much as Eros did.

That being said, I also didn’t really believe in their love. I don’t know if it just was to “instalove” for me, which I suppose is the whole point, or if it was just lacking depth, but I found myself going “meh” when Psyche is going through her trials.

I also felt like there were a lot of side characters and side stories crammed in. It made the story feel cluttered. Perhaps the stories of those such as Iphegenia would have done better as their own book or novella, but they just felt stuffed in here for the sake of being there. I also do not know the story of Psyche and Eros well enough to be able to tell you if this was an accurate retelling, but based on other reviews I have seen, it may not be. That isn’t a deal breaker for me, but is worth mentioning as it may be for some.

Overall, for me, this was a good, not great, book. If you are looking for a fun romance with some mythology and traditional Greek trials then this one may be one you want to check out. I would highly recommend the audio, as the narrator was very good.

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.

To me, this felt lighter than a lot of retellings from Greek mythology, which may be why I didn’t rate it higher. The story is very well told and the characters well developed. I just personally enjoy a bit more of a dark and intense retelling. But if you enjoy more uplifting romantic tales, than this is definitely one for you.

The characters were all entertaining and fleshed out. Psyche is a fabulous heroine with grit who defies societal expectations and is easy to love. My favorite character however was, Eros. Both the writing and audio performance really showed how the curse changed him from bored and indifferent to filled with longing and true love for Psyche. He is who I found myself wrapped up in and rooting for as the story progressed.

The action scenes and major dilemmas were on the shorter side and overcome fairly easily, at least it felt easy because of how quickly the story moved forward. I think that is where the story was lacking the intensity that I prefer in this kind of tale. If they had been drawn out and more intense before being resolved, I think I would have enjoyed this more.

Read if you enjoy:
💘 Funny Meet Cutes
💘 Multiple POV
💘 Badass Female Main Characters
💘 He Falls First
💘 Male Main Characters who are helplessly in love
💘 Forbidden Romance
💘 Evil Stepmothers

Full review to come. This was overall a lovely story. It's rather rare for a classic retelling to not end so tragically. I love the growth that Psyche and Eros went through individually and as a couple. The writing itself was wonderful and the narration only made it even more so. There were liberties taken with some aspects of the plot such as the prophecies surrounding and the backgrounds of the main characteries.

A strong four out of four stars for me - the narration was very good. I will share the clear plotline, clever ideas, and trustworthy character development that made this book impossible to put down to all of my patrons!

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.

I definitely think this book was made for audiobook. The narrators are so soothing and tell the mythology in a really great way. Fans of Madeline Miller or Jennifer Saint would really enjoy this. However, personally, I don't think this book is doing anything new with the myth; it just felt like a standard retelling. I am generally more a fan of reimaginings, remixes, or commentaries on mythology. This was not that to me.

I wasn’t familiar with the story of Psyche and Eros before reading this book but wow, what a stunning portrayal. Mythology retellings are hot right now so there are a LOT of mediocre titles to sort through but this book is a gem. I loved the pace of it, the cameos from other gods, the adventure, and most of all Psyche herself.

I was underwhelmed by this book. I think the narrator did a great job, although I don't understand why a British narrator would be used for characters from ancient Greece. I thought the story was kind of slow moving and there were several points where if this had been an ebook instead of an audiobook, I would've just skipped a few chapters to get things moving. It wasn't really a romance, in my opinion, since it read more like a love story as opposed to a romance which is more happy and fluffy and HEA. I found Psyche's character to be a bit aggravating at times and Aphrodite was absolutely unbearable. I had higher hopes for this book but I think it fell flat. I wouldn't recommend it just because I thought it was pretty meh. Normally I have no issues getting through audiobooks, but even going at double speed I felt like my time was being wasted.

Psyche and Eros is a lovely retelling of a story in mythology that was already quite beautiful. The small shifts made to the story by McNamara show Psyche to be strong, willful, and intelligent - far beyond just her beauty and grace mentioned in the original myth. I appreciated the strengthening of Psyche's character, as it made her more relatable as a complex being, not just a one-dimensional beautiful damsel. I fell in love with Eros' charming cluelessness about humanity and willingness to learn and grow from his mistakes. Overall, it was such a fun read, and it will certainly be one that I return to when I need something to brighten my mood and transport me to another world.