Firstly, heck yes for more queer romance by authors of colour!! We need more intersection in representation where books are written by people who are BOTH queer and a PoC, instead of either/or that we usually get. It's always so beautiful to read such stories because a PoC's queer experience is never the same as a white person's.

The romance in this book was great, the writing rich in imagery, and the story full of poignant moments that made you stop reading to soak in everything completely. It was a brilliant reading experience and I'm so glad I read this!!

Just finished Palace of Eros by Carolina de Robertis, and I’m absolutely in awe! This novel is a stunning exploration of love, desire, and identity, all woven together with exquisite prose. De Robertis has a magical way of bringing her characters to life; I felt every emotion they experienced!

The setting is beautifully crafted, transporting me to a world that feels both timeless and vibrant. Each page is a journey, filled with rich imagery and poignant moments that linger long after you close the book. Loved the queer representation throughout the book.

What I loved most was how the narrative celebrates the complexities of love in all its forms. It's a reminder of the power of connection and the beauty of vulnerability. 🌈💞 If you’re looking for a book that will ignite your heart and make you reflect, this is it!

Thank you Netgalley and Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is a Greek mythology retelling of Psyche and Eros. Psyche is the daughter of a king (or a wealthy man) and she gets noticed for her beauty. This attracts many men to come visit her instead of the temples of Aphrodite, which makes the goddess angry. Aphrodite sends Eros to make someone fall in love with Psyche, but Eros falls in love with her instead, and takes her to their palace. Over the course of the novel, a romance intensifies between the two.

One thing that I really loved seeing was the representation. This book is written by a Nicaraguan-American author who is gender queer. Eros in this retelling is either nonbinary or genderqueer. The leading relationship in this novel is a sapphic relationship. All-in-all, loved seeing the representation in this novel.

I also really liked how accessible the writing style is. It made the story very readable;.

One thing that I didn't love about this book was the character depth. Though the characters did change over the course of the novel, I think that they did lack depth, which made it harder for me to connect with the characters. I also think that the relationship in this book was one of insta-love, which is a trope or type of relationship that I really do not like. The relationship did not feel one hundred percent convincing, as I didn't really get to see them build a solid relationship. We were told that they had conversations, and there were conversations that we were privy to some if the get to know you conversations, however, I don't think that there were enough moments of them together for me to believe their relationship.

I ended up not finishing this one after about 35% of the way in. I found myself zoning out between pages of prose, so this is unfortunately not the one for me, However, if you're a fan of Greek Mythology and retellings I would still give this one a try, and recommend reading some other reviews, as those who are more into prose found themselves enjoying this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely blazed through this beautifully written and faithfully adapted version of the Eros and Psyche myth. Both Eros and Psyche were such compelling characters, and their chemistry was incredible. I loved seeing the inner thoughts of both of them, and their reactions to their story as it unfolded.

The passages where Psyche mused on freedom, the taboo, love, and mystery were gorgeous and truly thought-provoking. I also enjoyed how Psyche addressed the reader on occasion, noting where the reader may judge her choices or how parts of the story send a message of self-love and queer acceptance to the reader. The choice to make Eros genderfluid was such a wonderful one. As the deity of lust and desire, this made complete sense and added such beautiful backstory to her character.

The writing style may be a little wordy for some, but I lowkey adore purple prose, so I had no problems with it.

Publication date: 13 August 2024

3/5 stars

Hmm i enjoyed this book! The writing was very immersive and kept me interested, but I found myself putting this down a bunch and wasn't able to finish by the deadline which i do feel bad about. However, a great book if you enjoy greek mythology retellings! I cant say that I do, but now i know.

Robertis writes in such a beautiful way, full of imagery and thought provoking metaphors. Lines like “I held the thought in the palm of my mind” have stuck with me since reading it! Every sentence flows like poetry into the next for a page turner I could not put down.

The love story of Eros and Psyche is one I did not know prior to reading The Palace of Eros. While I now understand many creative liberties were taken that strayed from the original legend it’s one I really enjoyed. The characters were well developed, imperfect, and lovable. I only wish that the Eros chapters were written in first person like Phyche’s.

The novel is of course a Greek mythology retelling, but at its core is a story of gender roles and expectations, and sexuality. My only criticism is that the messages here felt very on the nose. These issues could have been handled with more nuance and subtlety rather than smacking the reader in the face with a “moral of the story” written out so plainly.

I loved this book and devoured it faster than I read most books. I will certainly be reading more from this author.

3.5 stars rounded down.

i am a big CDR fan so i was really looking forward to this, but ended up just feeling a little empty about it all? i enjoyed it enough but i felt like there was going to be another layer to it and i just didn't see one. there were parts of it that were so literary--the shifting POV 1st person/3rd person stuff, the bleakness, the language--and then parts that felt really literal and i just had a hard time with the mix i think.

but if you haven't read cantoras, you def should.

thanks to netgalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for a review!

i was sold on sapphic retelling of eros and psyche, and sold even more when i heard there was some gender things going on as well. i found this book to deliver incredibly on some parts, and others i just felt meh about. not good, not bad, but meh. this novel balances so many complicated themes at once, and they are a certainly a lot to process. eros trying to make peace with their gender identity in the face of their family that sets strict rules about it, and poor psyche trying to escape the cycle women of her socioeconomic class are trapped in. this was really cool, highly recommend.

The Palace of Eros by Caro De Robertis is a mesmerizing and evocative exploration of love, desire, and the intricate dance of human relationships. From my perspective, De Robertis’s writing is lush and poetic, painting vivid imagery that transports readers into the heart of the story. The characters are richly developed, each embodying their own desires and fears, which adds depth and complexity to their interactions.

I appreciated how the narrative intertwines themes of passion and vulnerability, exploring the multifaceted nature of love in its various forms. The pacing is well-balanced, with moments of tension that kept me engaged while allowing for introspective reflection. However, there were sections where the prose felt a bit dense, which required me to slow down and fully absorb the language.

Overall, The Palace of Eros is a beautifully crafted and thought-provoking read that left me contemplating the nature of love and desire. It’s a perfect choice for readers who enjoy lyrical storytelling and rich character exploration, and it showcases De Robertis’s talent for capturing the complexities of the human heart.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria/Primero Sueno Press for this ARC Copy!

Sapphic retelling of Psyche and Eros, I was so excited to read this book but it was hard to follow at times. I am an avid mythology reader and am used to flowery language and long sentences but this one really took the cake. I may have just not been in the mood for it at the time so it rubbed me a bit wrong at times, but I all in all still really enjoyed the story.

Until maybe the last 15 pages of this novel, I intended to give it 3 stars. It was good, enjoyable, with some incredible commentary related to feminism, queer women, and our place in a world that has been ruled by men. The language and imagery were gorgeous, albeit sometimes a bit too meandering and a tad slow, and I deeply adored the gender bending of the famous tale and the way the story was adapted for the queer narrative being constructed.

What put me over the edge to bump up my score was about one page’s worth of text, right at the end. The novel is written with a frame story of sorts, which is that Psyche is the first person narrator telling the story to “you,” the reader. She refers directly to “you,” and brings the reader into the tale and the events that took place. And after everything is resolved, and this beautiful romance has been redeemed and saved, Psyche begs Eros to fight for women and girls and queers just like them. She says it is hard, but the world is cruel and violent and they deserve love too. Then, she turns back to the reader, and she says that her request is in service of “you.” You, the reader hundreds of years into the future. You, the person who would’ve fallen in love with her if you lived in the same time. You, the queer woman who never felt like you were normal or safe, but who deserves to be.

Trust me, the author writes it so much more beautifully than I could ever hope to approximate, but I was moved beyond anything I expected from this book. It was beautiful and powerful and I found myself deeply emotional, as if Psyche herself was talking to me. And that’s what books are meant to make us feel, no? I give this 4⭐, and cannot recommend it highly enough to other queer women and those beyond the binary who are just looking to feel a little more held, seen, and loved by literature today.

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I've never read a mythological retelling before, but the sapphic premise of The Palace of Eros was enough to convince me to start. Unfortunately, the novel missed the mark for me, and I can't say I'll continue reading in the genre.

It's undeniable that Caro de Robertis set up a tender and touching relationship between Psyche and Eros; I was particularly moved by Psyche's storyline of discovering her sexuality outside of male rule, and her attempts to put words to the sensations and experiences for which she had no language. Ironically, it was the book's language that put a distance between myself and the story: de Robertis's prose is beautiful to the ear, but often so floral that it lacked depth and meaning. For example:

"I longed for so much that I almost longed for everything, which is a feeling so vast it curves in on itself, toward the start of the circle, where everything becomes nothing, and the longing for everything blurs into the longing for nothing, a subsuming longing in itself, pure, raw, swallowing you whole." This sentence is lyrical, yes, but doesn't strike me as saying very much. Don't get me wrong, I love a long and complicated sentence--I'm a huge Virginia Woolf fan--but no clause of the long sentence should feel empty. I'm sure the above could have been distilled into something shorter, yet more striking.

This overwrought prose contributed to the sense that I was reading a young adult novel, as did the main characters' ages (I believe Psyche is in her late teens, maybe early 20s? I wasn't positive), and the cartoonish cover art (not that the cover is affecting my review). Of course there's nothing wrong with YA literature, and the novel probably wouldn't qualify anyway given the many explicit intimate scenes, but I still felt like I was too old to be the target audience, despite being sapphic myself. A sweet but surface-level coming-of-age story is just not what I'm looking for in literature; I suppose I was expecting something more challenging, or more thought-provoking.

Still, the story arc of The Palace of Eros is enjoyable enough in and of itself, and I'm grateful for every work of sapphic literature that sees the light of day. I have no doubt there are readers out there that will love the novel and even see themselves in it, but I was not that reader.

I knew from the first chapter that I was going to love this book solely based on the writing and feeling the book was giving me. I would honestly reread it again and not get bored. I loved Psyche’s as a main character and getting to see her development over the coarse the book and impactful and empowering. Also getting to get learn and understand Ero’s and how she navigates being non-binary and other struggles within the divine realm was everything. I can’t even fully put into words how much I loved this book, the best way to explain it is like a bright light and brings you happiness.


I would for sure need to get a physical copy so I can transfer my annotations.

Caro de Robertis' writing is, as always, lush and gorgeous. I enjoyed this queer retelling of the Eros and Psyche myth. They write about passion and freedom so well. The gender fluid/shape shifting/nonbinary aspect in the context of a Greek god/ess. is so well done too. The only critique I have is that the pacing changed quite a bit later in the book -- so much so that the middle of the book almost felt like a different book from the ending. But overall, I really liked this book and will keep reading their writing.

*The Palace of Eros* by Caro De Robertis offers a bold, queer, and feminist reimagining of the classic Greek myth of Psyche and Eros. In this version, Eros is reinterpreted as a nonbinary deity, and the narrative explores themes of gender fluidity, desire, and self-discovery. Psyche, a young woman resisting societal expectations, is at the center of this intricate retelling, where she and Eros engage in a secretive, passionate relationship away from the prying eyes of the gods. The novel grapples with secrecy, trust, and freedom, providing rich commentary on gender dynamics and self-expression.

loved loved loved this! I underlined so much. de robertis is a favorite author. I savored the flowery introspective prose and the queerness. I loved the dual POV. the resolution felt a bit rushed to me, esp compared with the rest of the book. I easily would have read 100 more pages

The Palace of Eros is a sapphic retelling of Psyche and Eros. I don’t really know the original myths but that didn’t hinder my ability experience at all. This is a beautifully written love story with a focus on freedom for women, freedom of expression, gender fluidity and the path forged by Queer elders.

I did find the pacing of this to be a little strange, there’s such a slow build up for a rushed trial by three and a very quick resolution that I’m not entirely sure why it was suddenly so simple. It’s also very heavy on the telling instead of showing.

Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for the copy in exchange for my review.

I've really come to love retellings, and this was one that caught my attention when I saw that Eros was nonbinary. Psyche is wanted by many male suitors, but she wants none of them. This angers the goddess Aphrodite who sends her child Eros to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest man. Instead Eros whisks Psyche away and the two, after some time, fall in love. The characters are complex and fascinating and this racy love story had me flipping the page to see how they were to deal with the expectations and tensions of the world around them and the growing feelings between them.

I loved this retelling of Psyche and Eros. The writing really pulled me in and the pathos that the characters were given shown through. My only complaint is that the supporting Olympians were not given more pages and interactions with Psyche.