Hannah M. Lynn brings us the tale to Demeter and her daughter Core/Persephone in “Daughters of Olympus.”

Demeter, saddened after Zeus kills her human lover, retreats to an island on Earth to grieve. Core supports her mother for centuries, but soon grows restless. Core begins to wander the Earth on her own, and eventually disappears. Demeter stirs into action until she can find her daughter and be reunited.

I don’t know a lot about Greek gods and goddesses but I found this story to be engaging and interesting. I wasn’t sure where it was going, because I do not know the tale,, but it was pretty entertaining, and I enjoyed the book.

Thanks to NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Landmark, and Hannah Lynn for giving me the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a retelling of the Greek Goddess Demeter and her daughter, Core, mainly known as Persephone. This is a different kind of read for me, I don’t remember that much about Greek mythology, but I recalled them as I read. It is the story of spring. I believe that ancient myths were stories told in communities so that people could understand the world around them. There is also so much philosophical truth and lessons in them, an anthropological study in morals and values. The book reads easily and has beautiful descriptions and emotional dialogue. I can’t tell you if it varies from the story as I don’t completely remember them. But if you wanted to know this story this is a good way to summarize.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
Book to be published July 9,2024.

I had quite high hopes for this book as we finally get to read a greek myth retelling that focuses not only on Persephone and Hades but shows the point of view of Demeter as well.

However, overall, this book fell quite flat and characters lacked a lot of depth.

The first ~40% of the book is given from Demeter’s POV which for the most part I enjoyed. It was finally good to see her story being told and seeing how what Zeus did to her affected the rest of her life and the fear that she constantly carried. Throughout her POV, we see her reliance on Persephone and the strength she draws from that bond making Persephone’s capture that much more heartbreaking. It then made reading Persephone’s chapter that much more interesting and seeing the stark differences in their POV. Where Demeter saw a doting daughter, Persephone was actually feeling trapped and wished for a freedom she could never have due to her mother’s fear. The juxtaposition between the two was done really well.

However, that is as much depth as we get. Demeter being scared and Persephone being trapped. After that the rest of their stories are just them being sad over a mortal they loved dying (Demeter only knew her lover a few hours and grieved for centuries which I thought was a bit of a stretch). That’s all we get for most of the first 80% of the book.

It then get’s interesting again during Persephone’s capture by Hades and her eventually realisation of the power she holds and how much she wants that. I feel as though this bit was super rushed and I wish we got to see more of Persephone in the Underworld and her blossoming relationship with Hades. Most of the time, we are mainly told that Persephone feels powerful rather than being shown what’s made her feel that way.

Overall, I gave this book 3.2 stars. The pacing was a bit slow and the characters and their relationships could have done with more development.

A terrific read, I've forgotten more than I remember about Greek mythology but this more than the myths I read as a teen brought things to life, The story of Demeter, Core and Persephone is fascinating. More importantly, this has terrific storytelling and makes the story more accessible. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the provided ARC copy of Daughters of Olympus.

Daughters of Olympus shares the story of Demeter and Persephone. Demeter, the goddess of Spring, once loved the world and the people in it, until she was assaulted by her brother Zeus. Her life becomes one of isolation and fear, and her only solace is her daughter Core/Persephone. Demeter always keeps Core close, afraid to lose her to the same fate that she suffered at the hands of Zeus. Yet, Core longs to leave their home on Siphnos and explore the mortal world. She has become a centuries old goddess, but her mother still views her as the maiden daughter that she must protect. When Core is finally allowed the chance to leave, she begins a secret life that she keeps hidden from her mother. And, though she does not know it, she has caught the eye of Hades, and he wants her for his wife and to rule alongside him as queen of the Underworld.

Daughters of Olympus is told in three parts, the first part belonging to Demeter and the last two parts to Persephone. I really enjoyed the story from the view points of the two female characters. I think Lynn does a great job showing how Demeter's experiences led to such a long period of fear and grief. It affects every aspect of her life and creates an unhealthy relationship between her and her daughter.

I felt like some of the material in the first two parts of the book could have been shortened to allow for more in the third part. The pacing became a little slow in the first two parts and felt more rushed in part three. I would have liked to see more of the relationship that developed between Persephone and Hades, and spend more time with them in the Underworld. It also felt a little out of the blue, when Hades takes Persephone. I think that part of the story could have benefited from some kind of mention of Hades approaching Zeus to ask for Persephone to be his wife.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Daughters of Olympus. I felt like Lynn did a great job giving a feeling of immortality throughout the book, and showing how the gods interact with one another and humanity. There are the gods you love, the gods you hate and the gods that you feel sorry for. I did like the third part of the story the most, when Persephone finally starts to come into her power and chooses a name for herself, to be rid of the title of maiden. She finds the strength of her own voice, and develops her power as a goddess and a queen.

This was such a great read. Like I like the pacing and how it connected this parts of the stories. I was here for the Persephone and Hades parts. YAAS BABY!

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For some reason this book started really slowly for me. It was likely because I was so affected by what Demeter was going through. It broke my heart a bit and after the first third I had to take a break.

Upon coming to the second part it departed from mythos quite a bit, which was fine, but sort of blind sided me since so much of it to that point was basically mythology with more detail. I’m not sure I liked it. But it’s mostly opinion.

I really got hooked when Core was taken—from her own POV. The entire time in the underworld was great, I really loved all of that part, and I was anxious to see what happened in the end. That definitely raised the star level from me, seeing some depth to Core and Hades both.

I like character driven stories so much, but Demeter was a miserable life to watch (not bad, just her actual misery) that I felt so down while reading. So when it moved to Core and eventually even gave depth to the nymphs, Hades, and partially even to Zeus in the last third, it started to really roll along and I ended up enjoying the end a lot!



TW/CW: brief, not explicit sex scenes; death, natural and caused by various gods; rape; overbearing parenting;

This book took me awhile to read, because of how powerful it was. It worked through incredibly important and distressing topics with grace and clarity, - I felt like the book was almost presenting itself as a beacon of witness; saying "I see you, I hear you, I respect you." Which was incredibly profound,

I love Greek mythology, not just for the fantastical elements and dramatic feuds, but also for the way humans have, for millennia now, rendered their flaws in the divine. The Greek gods and myths are so compelling even after all this time because they are horrible and flawed and imperfect. And within that trauma and imperfection,

Hannah Lynn helps uplift the voices of the suppressed in Daughters of Olympus and weaves a poetic and immersive story full of generational curses, feminine strength, and the power of a mother's love.

3.5 stars and rounding up to 4 stars as I may have not given enough time to really appreciate this book. Though it is Greek mythology, and as mentioned, a story about both Demeter and Persephone that I personally have never experienced in anything else before. So with that being said, I did enjoy it overall.

Check out my goodreads for the full review.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.
This book is the transformation of Demeter and Persephone. It does deal with many heavy topics and is certainly a complicated narrative. There are multiple tellings of sexual assaults, infanticide, child abandonment, killing, and more. But as the story moves along, both Demeter and Core/Persephone are transformed by their experiences. In positive or negative ways, it is up to your interpretation because the book certainly gives the reader space to decide on their own.
The book is divided into three sections. The first part, which is basically half of the book, is from Demeter’s perspective. It starts with her childhood in her father’s stomach and follows her out into the world as she explores her powers, suffers trauma, and shifts her relationships with her family.
The second part is from Core/Persephone’s point of view. It is most of the second half of the book. It retells some of the narrative we already encountered from Demeter’s point of view, but adds on time that Core/Persephone experiences without her mother as well as the next stage of the narrative. I did appreciate that the “repeated” time is not belabored. Lynn moves quickly through that so that a reader gets the new perspective without getting bored by the same event being retold.
The third part is split between both Demeter and Core/Persephone. This is the culmination of all the transformations that both have endured. The relationships that both women have created and the effect of time on both of them. I enjoyed Lynn’s treatment of the Core/Persephone maturation, but I wish there had been more of Demeter’s transformation. What did unleashing winter cause to change in her?
Honestly, I wish there had been more focus on the negative aspects of their key life events because those sometimes felt a little glossed over. Lynn did focus quite a lot on Persephone’s internal transformation and gave us a good deal on that, but I was missing more of the darkness. And the ending did feel a little abrupt, personally. I enjoyed the focus on the power of love and what losing it can do to a person or god, but this read too positively for me.

3 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

I enjoyed this for what it was. A bit slow at times and the characters didn’t all feel fleshed out with their own personalities. Over all though it was a decent read

Demeter like you've never met before, and a Persephone who comes into her own regardless of anyone else.

I came to the book looking for another Hades and Persephone retelling, who isn't enamoured with that complicated love story, but I stayed for the women and their backstories and all the other forgotten details that get swept away by the big gestures.

The narrative style truly makes it sound like it's the great goddesses narrating their own stories. Beings of infinite time but not so much wisdom; the author really captured the Greek essence of the deities who still have a touch of human flaws within them.
However, it did feel at points that the story dragged just waiting for the action to take place. The long succession of days spent in rumination and contemplation dragged not only for Core when she was trapped on Siphonos with her mother but also for me as a reader. The sapphic elements came as an extremely pleasant surprise to me, and I liked the idea of Core's heart being already taken when Hades comes along (even if I couldn't find mythological references to this).
I really appreciated the depiction of Hades as someone who is shy outside of their "job", someone who is willing to make amends and bring out the best in the goddess he loves. There have been countless reimaginings of his figure but this one might perhaps be my favourite.

A beautiful retelling about the daughters of the Daughters of Olympus, Demeter, and Persephone (Core) and the choices they make in order to gain their sense of freedom.

I used to think Demeter was overbearing and selfish, trying to keep Core away from the sights of the other gods, but Lynn tells us a story about a sister who loves her brother dearly and would do anything for him until he betrays her and forces himself upon her, making her a mother. Demeter loses so much from her purity, children, and lover, and it's understandable why she ends up with an icy outlook on life, but that doesn't completely excuse her treatment of Core.

The romantic in me will always love Hades and Persephone, and I enjoyed seeing her slowly befriending and falling for Hades, who allows her to become the goddess and queen she was meant to be by giving her freedom. I love how understanding he was of her love for Ione, her first true love, and willing to allow her to keep her as close as possible with the understanding that the amount of time she spends with her love, she must spend with Hades. 

The only thing that really kept me from rating this book 5 stars was the fact that it falls off in the middle a bit as the pace slows down with some of the story falling flat, especially after having such an addictingly fast pace in the beginning. I definitely recommend this story to those who love Greek retellings, as Hannah Lynn is a beautiful writer, and I will absolutely be reading her other Greek retellings as well as any other books she puts out in the future.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.

Number 4 in Grecian Women series but they’re more interconnected, stand alone books that can be read separately/out of order.

I loved Lynn’s Athena’s Child and was so excited for a Demeter and Persephone story. Love getting Demeter’s story and some justice for her! She’s one of my favorite goddesses and doesn’t get enough love 💗 I also enjoyed getting to know other gods and goddesses too, like Hephaestus and Hecate!

The story is told through Switching POVs from Demeter and Core (Persephone) which I always love in my books! I was engaged most of the book, there were times it slowed a little in the middle but overall the pacing was well done. Atmospheric writing made me feel like I was in the Underworld and traveling the islands picking flowers with Core!

So far Lynn has done an amazing job of retelling myths and stories of Greek goddesses! This is only my second from her and I’ll definitely be reading her other books!

I loved the explorations of grief and love! The book could be dark at times given some of the topics but they were handled well in my opinion.

Characters are complex and flawed and multi dimensional! I could connect and feel for most of them (🖕🏻Zeus and Poseidon). I didn’t completely hate how Hades was portrayed? He was a bad guy but had a soft side so it felt weird but I’m not mad about that choice. I did however get a little upset by the last few chapters. I HATE when Persephone and Hades are romanticized and being put into this view of love when he KIDNAPPED AND IMPRISONS her?! It was a 5 star read up until this point and I’m kinda mad that Lynn took the same direction that everyone does with their story. I wanted Persephone to stay upset with begrudging respect for Hades not fall for the guy!!!

I think Hannah Lynn handled this retelling very well for the most part. Such an emotional, moving story of mother-daughter relationships, womanhood, grief, freedom, and claiming your power/voice.

TW/CW: rape, death, grief, child death, abandonment, fire/fire injury, kidnapping

As usual, Hannah Lynn delivers!

Demeter is the WORST. Like, just under Zeus in my ranking of which God/Goddess is the worst. But this retelling actually really made me feel sorry for her, at least for a bit. Why? Well....because Zeus is the worst. When reading Greek mythology, it's a pretty safe to assume that if something tragic happened to a character, there's an 80% chance Zeus is the reason why. Unfortunately, Demeter is no different--all of her struggle and loss results from her brother, and all she ever wanted was to be left alone in peace.

Similar to her other works, Hannah Lynn's prose is absolutely beautiful. The descriptions of the scenery, the emotions of the characters, the inner monologues--all are absolutely beautifully written and I'm a huge fan of her writing style. It works particularly well for the stories she tells, and I think this may have been my favorite of hers in terms of writing.

I've read just about Hades/Persephone retelling known to man, and it was really refreshing to get the backstory to Demeter and why she became the monster she was when it comes to defending Persephone. I still think she's awful, but the insight into her that the author provides gives a whole new layer to the myth that folks who aren't familiar with the source material may not know.

This book is incredibly emotional, and touches on a lot of tough subjects (sexual assault, abuse, death of loved ones, etc), so be prepared to be in your feelings for this one. Athena's Child may still be my favorite, but this is a close second. I loved this one SO much and will continue to read anything Hannah writes.

If you're a fan of Jennifer Saint or Natalie Haynes, you'll LOVE these books!

Thank you SO much to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the oppotunity to read this ahead of publication! I'm already on the edge of my seat for the next one.

Daughters of Olympus is a fantastic adaptation of the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone. The plot is wonderfully crafted, showcasing a women’s perspective. As the story progresses, you observe the influence of a mother’s love, the sorrow of heartbreak, and the commitment to staying loyal to one’s beliefs. This one is a must-read for fans of Greek mythology and retellings!

Thank you Net Galley and sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Daughters of Olympus is a Persephone (core) and Hades retailing with a twist. It starts by giving us the story of Demeter, which I will be honestly I have never read before. I felt that having the background on Demeter in the beginning helped to better understand Demeter's feeling and actions when it switched to Persephone's POV.

This is the 4th Greek retailing that I have read by Hannah M. Lynn, I have found them all to be well written, easy to follow and that they present the tale in a way that feels fresh and new!

If there is one thing this book has made clear, it's that I need to read more books by Hannah Lynn! In short: Daughters of Olympus is a story about freedom and choice where we get a strong queer Persephone and a Hades that made my heart melt. I'm here for it!

Longer review:

I'm a sucker for Greek mythology and Persephone and Hades are definitely one of my favorites to read about. Especially the less gruesome and more romanticized versions of their story, and I can now add Daughters of Olympus to that list. While this book is focused on Demeter and Core/Persephone, Lynn throws in many mentions of other Greek mythology characters and I thoroughly enjoyed this as well.

Daughters of Olympus is split into three parts. First, we get a little background on the goddess Demeter and I was immediately sucked into the story. Lynn's writing is simply amazing without being complicated. After seeing Demeter's POV, we get a part focused on Core's POV. As someone who is fond of this specific goddess, I loved Lynn's retelling of her life story. Then the story concludes with Persephone's part a.k.a. Core transformed into a badass goddess. I honestly loved everything about this book; from the mother-daughter relationship between Demeter and Core/Persephone to the sapphic love story between Core and Ione to the complicated relation between Persephone and Hades. If I had to give one comment, it would be that I wished the part of Persephone was longer. I would've loved to see more of Hades and Persephone together. I'm very curious how Lynn would write a longer story about them in this setting.

This is a book that explores the relationship between the Greek goddess Demeter and her daughter Core/Persephone and how the whole legend of their story came to be. I have always loved exploring mythology and that's why I snagged this one.

I think the author did explore and flush out her version of Demeter well. I liked the way Hades and Persephone's relationship was created. I think it captured the chaos that is everything related to Greek mythology and all the nuances. And she stayed true to the mythology, filling the book many mentions of rape and sex between the gods/goddesses and mortals--we know that's what makes up most of births of the various demigods and such anyways.

The thing that I didn't personally care for was the lesbian relationship that Persephone had with Ione. It was very very very heavy in the book and basically drove a good portion of the book. I chose to skip reading many pages referring to it because that's my personal preference. I had to skip a lot.

Again--same sex relationships makes up tons of Greek mythology--I just don't care to read it in detail.

2 stars because it just wasn't for me. It has nothing to do with the authors writing skills. But I disliked more than liked this book.

*I received a complimentary copy of the ARC from the publisher and netGAlley. I wasn't required to write a positive review and all opinions are 100% my own.

A deeply moving retelling of one of the most well known Greek myths through the eyes of the women who were most affected by the events.

We all know the story of Hades and Persephone, at this point it's been told and retold a thousand times with just about every spin you can imagine. But we don't always get the whole story. One extremely important point of view is often left out. That of Persephone's mother, Demeter.

Hannah Lynn takes us on the full journey - from the moment of Demeter's release from Kronos's belly until Persephone is returned to the land of the living. Every gritty detail, every little moment that makes Demeter and Persephone who they are is explored in detail and woven into a single cohesive tale of love, loss, pain, strife, and coming into one's own. We watch as Demeter is time and again victimized by Zeus. The defining moments of her character laid out bare for us to observe and understand just who she was by the time Hades steals Persephone away.

We see how those events also affected Persephone. How her Mother's trials and the actions of the other gods left her stranded and imprisoned in a veritable paradise, a cage without walls. How she was held captive by Demeter's grief and fear as much as she would later be by Hades' kidnapping her to the underworld.

I never found myself wanting for more while I read. If anything I found myself more and more intrigued with every passage. There are so many aspects to this story that I didn't remember from literature class in the past. I loved the inclusion of even the smallest myths and details. Any creative license taken in this retelling felt natural and only enhanced the tale further. I especially enjoyed the way Ms. Lynn was able to elicit emotion in me as I read. I felt Demeter's horror as she was violated at the hands of Zeus and later Poseidon. I felt her grief over the loss of Iaison, her rage. Over all, I think this was just brilliantly done.

I would absolutely recommend this book to others who enjoy Greek mythology and retellings. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Lynn.