Thank you Netgalley for granting me the opportunity of reading this book in preview!

"Winter Harvest" was such an unexpected surprise! I discovered it on Netgalley and instantly found it intriguing from the plot and what it entailed. Persephone's abduction but from Demeter's point of view? Motherly rage? A Greek myth retelling written by an actual Greek author? Oh my, I was definitely going to read it.

We're introduced to Demeter's life since her birth, from the moment she was eaten by her father, Kronos, to the consequences of her daughter's kidnap. The reader can easily enter into the Goddess's mind, her feelings are well-described and it's impossible not to empathize with her, especially after the first chapter which I found a bit too long. After Zeus came and rescued all his siblings from Kronos's stomach, Demeter made a difficult choice that gave her Kore and freedom. She became Goddess of the harvest and agricolture, but a darkest and far more dangerous power lived in her. A monster has haunted her since her birth, something she had always pushed away in fear and confusion. And yet, when Poseidon-- the little brother who had clung to her like a parasite since his birth-- rapes her, Demeter can't resist anymore and embraces her true nature. The Goddess starts understanding that the power of giving life is strictly linked to stealing it back.
From the moment of Kore's abduction, death falls over her beloved nature, causing distress not only among humans, but also between the Gods. But Demeter won't hold back and will not restore life until she gets her daughter back.

Demeter's action can't be neither demonized nor justified. After all, she isn't human and she made abundantly clear how she doesn't care about them. As a greater being, her morals can't be compared to that of humans. The author did a great job characterizing Demeter, she's a goddess through and through and her behavior proved her nature page after page. Not even an action she did was out of character. Her fear, anger, repulsion, and sorrow were able to jump off the pages, they were real and tangible even if felt by a higher being.

Before approaching this book, please beware of the trigger warnings that may affect you if you're sensible readers. A certain scene made my stomach turn in anger and disgust, it was so vivid and painfully realistic that I had to stop reading for a little while.

Winter Harvest is written in first person narration and it allows you to get closer to Demeter. Even though it's clear that the writing style is still slightly immature, it reached its goal.
I have finally found a book about Persephone that didn't romanticize her story, but narrated the events in a much more authentic way. Demeter's rage as a mother who lost her child represented the real protagonist of this book, a wild and vendicative monster that grew and grew until it took hold of her body. Demeter understood the extent of her powers and how they were essential to Zeus's reign and she used at her vantage.

But did Winter Harvest have an happy ending? I don't think so. Even after Kore returned to her mother, she wasn't her old self anymore, but the Queen of the Underworld. She changed her name into Persephone and kept death close to her. Demeter would never have her child back, she had forever lost her along with who she once was before Kore's abduction. Everything was taken from her and she took everything from the world in turn.

Winter Harvest is a tale of anger and grief. Of loss, both of family and dignity. Of life and hope. Feminine rage sweeps through those pages like a venomous snake, a reptile that will not hold back, but that will spread its poison until its agonizing wrath is soothed. And yet, it will never be enough.

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Ghost Orchid Press for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book incorporates Greek myth starting from the birth of the Olympians, to the marriage of Persephone and Hades, as told by her mother, Demeter. I thought it was very interesting to get into the mindset of Demeter, as despite being the goddess of the harvest, we can see how much rage and control she desires for herself and her own life - as well as her daughters’. I enjoyed getting into Demeter’s head, as there were multiple instances of the Greek myths I had never considered, and this gave a personal in-depth view of the situations and the emotions tied to them.

The story starts with Demeter being swallowed by her father, and we spent a lot of time in that dark place with her and her siblings. I really enjoyed this, as I had never considered the relationship of the gods and goddesses in their father’s stomach, and the differences in their relationships to each other versus with Zeus. I also enjoyed how calculating Demeter could be, with asserting that she would have more power than her sisters and that she would become a mother but not a wife.

When Kore is captured, we can feel Demeter’s pain as she stops the harvest and poisons the world, almost killing all life on earth in the process. I also thought it was interesting how, while she considers herself different from her brothers, she in many ways thought of and treated humans and lesser immortals the same, if only in a different way. She feels her pain is larger than anyone else could experience, and only her pain matters in the grand scheme of things. Personally, I really liked this selfish take on Demeter, as it helped the reader to understand that even though her pain and emotions are similar to ours, she is still a goddess and considers herself such.

Honestly, I was a bit worried about how the story of Kore/Persephone was going to go, as in this story she was kidnapped without her consent, but the evolution of Kore into Persephone was well done. I liked how originally Hades wished to marry Demeter, but when he found Kore he realized he loved her rather than her mother, and even though he “kidnapped’ her, he did technically go through the proper channels for a marriage by asking her father for permission. And then even after she was kidnapped, he waited until Kore accepted him as her husband and transformed into Persephone, becoming a different goddess altogether, with her newfound power.

If you like Greek mythology focused on the women in the storytelling, and always liked the retellings of Persephone and Hades, but always wondered what her mother felt about it all (other than forcing the changing of the seasons in her grief), this is a great book to read. The characters in this book are both realistic and larger than life, showing that while the gods and goddesses have the same emotions as humans - they are still divine and do not adhere to the same rules.

One of my top interests as a child was Greek Mythology. I read every book I could get my hands on. My interest has almost entirely died out because everything is about Hades and Persephone now. I loved the story when I was young, but I absolutely hate them now. Hades is always a creep the author tries to trick us into liking and Persephone is just irritating.

I went into this novel knowing that as we follow Demeter through her life that clearly Persephone and Hades would come up, but she kept the story about Demeter and that’s why it works so well. The author is a great job of showing the light and dark sides of Demeter, her desperation to get her daughter back, her rough life, and even showed her as a monster. She is not always a good person, but I can understand her pain and empathize with her actions.

The scenes we do have with Persephone are actually good, because the author didn’t choose to make her a cry baby who cannot make up her mind. Demeter is a strong woman, and so is Persephone.

This is one of the few mythology books I’ve read in the last ten years where it’s clear the author actually knows what she is talking about. She hasn’t read just one story and fabricated it into a novel. I am interested to see if she writes more about Greek mythology.

Special thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

The story of Hades and Persephone is one of the more well-trodden Greek myths in literature, but seldom do we get to see this story told from the perspective of her mother, Demeter.

However, Winter Harvest by Ioanna Papadopoulou finally chronicles and brings Demeter’s story to light—from her time spent trapped in the darkness of her father's stomach to her being pursued by Poseidon to her rage and grief over losing her daughter.

Overall, this is an introspective, heartfelt novel about identity, the complicated ties of family, and motherhood that will enthrall fans of mythology retellings along the lines of The Witch's Heart.

This was a stunningly dark and incredible retelling of the myth of Demeter, goddess of the harvest. I will admit that I was never particularly interested in this goddess when doing my deep dive into Greek mythology as a child, but this book has made me really rethink this formidable deity. 🥀

I just loved how dark this retelling was. Papadopoulou wasn’t afraid to get down to the nitty gritty of this goddess and how traumatic her upbringing was and how dysfunctional the gods are. She showed how petty they could be and I really felt like Papadopoulou portrayed them in a way that the Ancient Greeks saw them which were beings of incredible power, but also being some of the worst aspects of humanity on blast.⚡️

Demeter was made out to be more than the crazy mother-in-law, overbearing mother, and emotional woman. She was a goddess of complex emotions, and capable of a darkness that isn’t often shown in goddesses in recent retellings. Her relationship with her siblings were both what I came to expect with the children of Kronos and Rhea, but also still tender at times. Zeus and Poseidon were finally shown as the monstrous a-holes they are instead of more palatable version that some retellings will make them out to be. I also loved how Papadopoulou showed the progression and evolution of the deities as they changed from one aspect of their divinity to another. 🌾

I also found the fact that the author is Greek herself to be something that really added another level of complexity to this amazing story. I’ve noticed that there’s been a cultural element missing from the retellings done by primarily white British women; with those retellings, it felt more like a fantasy that could can be easily imagined while this felt like something that’s been lived for centuries. . . . If that makes any sense. 🖤

The one and only thing that stood out to me rather negatively (and even that is minuscule to how much I loved this book) was the interaction of Demeter with Despoina. While I can never understand the complex feelings of looking upon a child created from a traumatic rape, I still felt like it was a bit harsh. 🌱

All in all, I loved this book so much! It should definitely be on every Greek mythology lover’s radar, and even more exciting is that there’s a special edition of the book coming from Twisted Retreat. Definitely take a look at this! 🍂

Big thank you goes to Ghost Orchid Press and NetGalley for approving my request for an honest review, and to the lovely author, Ioanna Papadopoulou, for writing such a beautiful and dark story! 💛

Overall: 4.75/5 ⭐️

I picked this up and could not put it back down.

I really enjoyed Demeter's story from start to finish as she struggled with the loss of her daughter and the betrayal of loved ones. From the beginning, Demeter develops a great deal as she matures and experiences more than mere mortals like me, could ever fathom. The sheer force of her feminine rage was so compelling and heartwrenching to read, and Ioanna Papadopoulou wrote it all exquisitely.

Quick thank you from NetGalley and Ioanna Papadopoulou for letting me read an Advanced Copy that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Winter Harvest by Ioanna Papadopoulou is a story of Goddess Demeter, her love for Persephone, and her determination to get her back.

The book starts with her birth, her relationship with her siblings, the Titan war, and later as an Olympian. This book is very raw in its portrayal of the life of a Greek God. Demeter is known as the Goddess of Harvest, but she is known as the mother of the Queen of Underworld as well. This book, though, is a retelling of a mythology of a Goddess reads like the life of a woman who is told that she needs a man in her life to give protection.

This book is not an easy one to read. It's dark, disturbing, and very raw. Being a mythology lover, I really enjoyed reading this book.

Thank you, Ghost Orchid Press, for this book.

CW: Incest, cannibalism, rape, sexual assault, abduction, abuse

𝑶𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔: “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑲𝒐𝒓𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕.
“𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕?”

Rating: 4/5 stars ✨

As a Greek Mythology I absolutely loved this book and not to mention a book solely based on Demeter: who isn’t talked about as much in Greek Mythology 🙌

Read The Winter Harvest especially if you like:
- strong female characters
- unhinged and morally grey female lead
- family dynamics *the good and the bad*
- and the obvious Greek Mythology!

So where do I begin? Winter Harvest starts from the orgin tale of the Olympians and it was a great perspective. Reading how Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon and Hades felt in Kronos’s stomach was an eye-opening experience. Them escaping after, the war and their beginning as the Olympians was again very refreshing.

My favourite has to be Demeter though. I absolutely love and adored how her character was handled. Ioanna Papadopoulou crafted her character was such scrutiny and it showed. Zeus was…. Just as you’d expect Zeus to be. But Demeter was exceptional. Usually, in retelling of Demeter and her daughter: Kore you see perspectives of Demeter being an overbearing and toxic parent. That was and wasn’t the case here. Demeter was extremely overbearing, as expected of her to be seeing the circumstances of her life but toxic no. And I loved that.

Another thing I thought was great was the bonds between the women in Winter Harvest. Hestia and Demeter, Hera and Demeter and then Demeter and Kore/Persephone was amazing. You get a look at, a glimpse at the love and devotion mothers have for their children through Demeter. And I’m a sucker for great mother x daughter dynamics. In the case of Winter Harvest, another thing I enjoyed was how Demeter respected Persephone’s decisions and supported her in every way possible. It was refreshing. The take on how each chapter represented a different season for Demeter was also a great touch!

Overall such a fun and binge-worthy book. A 10/10 recommend ✨

Thank You to Ioanna Papadopoulou, Ghost Orchid Press and Netgallery for the arc!

Thank you Ghost Orchid Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this interpretation of the myth and I love how well Papadopoulou portrayed rage and power. I enjoyed Papadopoulou’s writing and the way she approached the myth of Demeter and Persephone. Her approach to the foundation of Demeter’s cult was really interesting, too, especially because I feel like the mystery cults aren’t often touched upon in retellings. I also liked how she established Demeter’s character, and I felt like it allowed her to be a deeply complex character—they all were, but obviously Demeter takes the center stage here.

I liked how unsettling it was to see the other gods from her perspective (especially Zeus and Poseidon, my god) and it was interesting to see how Papadopoulou showed us her power and the way she was able to defy Zeus, if only for a little bit. I also really enjoyed the transformation of Kore into Persephone, and I thought it was cool that the prose reflected Demeter’s mental state (during the winter chapters, for example, it felt much more brittle than the summer chapters). I liked the interiority of this and think it made for an interesting character driven novel.

There were a couple of places I felt were weaker—while I did enjoy the writing, I felt the dialogue was particularly weak and there were definitely some aspects like divinity that I wish were a little more fleshed out. But I didn’t think these things detracted from the story, and I do recommend this.

This might be my favourite ARC I've received so far!

The story of Persephone's abduction has always been, in my opinion, one of the most intriguing in Greek myth, and Papadopoulou's interpretation adds some stunning elements to this well-known tragedy. The character of Demeter, throughout her immortal life, as she struggles with the moral repercussions of immortality, and the cruelty of the gods by whom she is surrounded.

The characters of the novel are brilliantly well rounded. Demeter both takes on and subverts the role of the questing hero, and continually plays on the reader's feelings, and I particularly enjoyed the development of Hestia's role - she's one of my favourite Greek goddesses, and I was enticed by Papadopoulou's reimagination of her powers and personality amongst the Olympians.

While there were some places where the pacing seemed to drop, this never became too frustrating, and matched the structure of Demeter's own journey. Overall, this was a completely original take on this popular myth, and I would encourage any fans of feminist mythology retellings to give this book a go.

Books with similar vibes - Ariadne by Jennifer Saint, Circe by Madeline Miller, Clytemnestra by Constanza Casati

A big thanks to NetGalley and Ghost Orchard Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to RAGE.

Winter Harvest by Ioanna Papadopoulou is a feminist retelling of the myth of Demeter of Persephone. When her beloved daughter Kore vanishes, Demeter is distraught. Suspecting betrayal and mistrusting of her family, she searches across the world, unable to come to terms with such a loss. But Demeter is one of the original goddesses of Mount Olympus, and a force not to be underestimated. She is determined that she will find her daughter, even if it means destroying humanity in the process.

👏 This 👏 book 👏 is 👏 the 👏 very 👏definition 👏 of👏 feminine 👏 rage. 👏 And I thoroughly enjoyed it. Read this book. Whether or not you are fan of Greek mythology, you need to read this book. I am literally begging you.

This was fantastic!!! I couldn’t get enough of it and am in fact heading to go purchase a paperback copy now

Demeter is one of the Gods swallowed by her father Kronos and she grows in his stomach until she and her siblings break free. She joins her brother Zeus and his allies to fight in the Titanomachy and punish her father. When she becomes a mother things seem to change for her until her daughter Kore/Persephone is taken. She embarks on a journey that brings forth her darkness and changes the goddess and the world forever.

The internal monologue of the POV is of a soul-searching, taking-account-of-the-world nature. Demeter's questioning everything prompts us to question things too. Blunt honesty and intense emotions color the narrative, inner rage being a protagonist. Actually, female power and rage against the toxic male machine are both a driving force here. The writing bleeds a companionable silent power.

This may be Demeter's story from her point of view, but we get to see how the Gods of Olympus came to be in unexpected instances, like how they grew up in Kronos's stomach. Different myths played out through the protagonist's eagle-eye view and the author's respectful voice. I really like the scheming between the gods.

As we see the seasons created in their mythological way we know that they symbolize the seasons of life. Change is inevitable.

Sometimes Demeter's thoughts become longwinded & repetitive, some may even consider them whining. The story though does lag in some parts. I needed less contemplating and more time on acting out her plans.

This is about the complexity of growing up and growing into yourself. About sexism. The power of motherhood. A journey of self-discovery, a feminist book deeply allegorical, gifting you with so many meanings when you read it. I really enjoyed how thought-provoking it was. As a retelling of Greek mythology, this is quite different than anything I've read before.

Absolutely incredible. Dark, full of delicious feminine rage and taking power in situations where you have none. I absolutely devoured this book. Demeter at times reminded me so vividly of my own mother, trying to find her place and make her way in a traditionally patriarchal world, that I cried. Extremely well done.

I love Greek mythology. And one thing about me is I love a good Greek retelling even more. Demeter gets overshadowed a lot in mythology namely because of her daughter Persephone's stories and that of the other gods, but I'm so glad to see this character get her own spotlight. I hurt right along with Demeter when she was grieving for her lost daughter, and while I hate that so many people suffered, I felt rage right along with her and wanted everyone to feel Demeter's pain just like me. The way the gods were portrayed as actual gods (instead of human-like but with powers like so many other retellings do) was a highlight for me. And the absolute best part was how Demeter's story followed the myth instead of taking huge liberties. I would put this book with the likes of Madeline Miller in telling the myth correctly while still putting their own twists with it.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I'm not sure what I was expecting with this book, honestly. You always see Persephone's point of view, but never Demeter's. It was an overall enjoyable read, I just had a very hard time connecting with any of the characters. Which meant, overall, I didn't necessarily care what happened to them. Disconnect from characters is one of the greatest things to overcome in a book as a reader who is a very character/relationship/emotion based reader.

I was really excited for a look at Demeter, a goddess who gets dismissed or simplified far too often…but this is not a book for me. I think it’s legitimately bad writing to have ancient Greek characters using modern terms like ‘okay’, and I kept running into sentences that seemed very awkward; sometimes anachronistic, sometimes oddly immature, sometimes just clumsy.

making my eyes change into something different and scarier

the quieter and stiller I remained, the fake his laughter turned.

That would look bad on you.”

(That last one is intended to mean ‘that would reflect badly on you’, not ‘that would look bad on you’ like a bad outfit or something, to clarify.)

But the rest of my issues are more a matter of taste: I’m TiredTM of women being afraid of their monstrous sides, which Demeter spends a lot of the beginning being (afraid, that is, not monstrous), and I’m also sick to death of reading about rape.

(Yes, I know there’s a LOT of rape in Greek myth. Your point? These are RETELLINGS of FANTASY. The authors can do what they want. Papadopoulou chose to include a fair bit of rape in her story, and I’m not saying that’s not allowed, I’m saying that’s not something I want to read.)

Not to mention, I found the take on divinity itself confusing and dull, and wanted to bang my head against my desk when Zeus was the one deciding what everyone’s power/dominion was going to be. WHY? WHY DO THIS? I HATE THIS SO MUCH. I’m so sick of reading mythological retellings where women are given their powers by men! Even when they trick said men into giving more than they intended – I don’t want to read these stories, okay? If you’re giving me gods, I want beings whose dominions are innate, not things that are given to them. Especially when we’re talking about goddesses.

I think my review makes it clear that a lot of this is about personal taste – Winter Harvest was never going to be for me, it wasn’t written with readers like me in mind. And that’s fine. But I do also think the writing is not-great, and that’s what I’m rating it on.

First thank you to Ioanna for making this available on Net Galley and thank you Net Galley for making this a Read Now!!! I’m so thrilled I was able to read this.

If you are a fan of Greek mythology you should read this. If you love the mythos of Persephone or perhaps you are familiar with Lore Olympus, you should read this.

Ioanna does such a beautiful job of introducing Demeter, in her own right, as an amazing and formidable Goddess, with a capital G.

I loved the interactions between characters. I loved learning about the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were completely unknown to me prior. I loved Demeter’s arc. She’s so rich, complex, unexpected.

I would love for every literature class that explores Greek mythology to incorporate this book.

My only complaint was pacing, and that is a personal preference. At times, things felt slow, but that was limited to less than a quarter of the book and mostly took place near the beginning.

If you like Greek mythology and you want to learn more about Demeter this is a great read!

This was such a great retelling that really made Demeter shine as a complex goddess, full of female rage.

Ioanna Papadopoulou did a fantastic job of capturing the arrogance and superiority of all the Deities, and their almost alien nature. Somehow, the premise of "God eats his kids and they live in his stomach" didn't come across as too silly to take seriously - it was a sombre and emotional introduction to our main character and her siblings.

I love the development of Demeter's character throughout, as she tries to gain control over her destiny, and how my feelings about her changed so often! Definitely one to read for fans of a morally grey main character! I also loved the contrast between the sisters: Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, and how they each dealt with their traumatic childhood and the challenges of gaining and holding power as female deities who are treated as lesser beings by Zeus.

I was genuinely so excited for this book. What could be better than a Greek myth retelling from a Greek author? I had very high hopes because I love and read so many Persephone/Hades retellings, and I anticipated this book being that myth but from Demeter’s perspective. Maybe that was my own fault for making those assumptions, so that wasn’t too big of a deal.

What I couldn’t get behind was this author’s particular writing style. It felt primal and visceral which is great, but this felt a little too simplistic. I tend to enjoy more poetic writing.

Unfortunately, I could not finish the book due to the graphic sexual assault described.