This story was a gender-bending version of one of my favorite myths and Broadway musicals. It was absolutely beautifully written, but it was not different enough from the original story for me.

I’ve been sitting with Orphia and Eurydicius for a long time. I finished the book on March 15th and began, as I normally do, the first version of my review a day later. Today, as I’m typing this, is March 20th. Even then, I’m not sure if my thoughts will have firmly settled into something coherent.

Books like these are generally set apart by their prose. On the whole, this is where Orphia and Euydicius should shine. Several reviewers have pointed out that the author is a poet, and the book has a lyrical, highly-detailed, emotive way of describing scenes that is equal parts gorgeous and incredibly frustrating, depending on the context of the scene. I will admit, however, that a few lines strayed too close to The Song of Achilles for comfort. Phrases aren’t copyrightable, and even if they were, I don’t think that’s what happened here. I do think, however, that when you write in a niche microgenre (like mythology retellings) and you use phrases that remind me of another, better (imho) retelling, it’s another sign of how parasitic the Greek mythology retelling microgenre has become - we are no longer just referencing Ovid and Homer; we are referencing Madeline Miller.

That said, the mythology was handled incredibly poorly. Many of the elements that made the story so impactful were rushed, altered, or removed altogether. I want to stress that I don’t have a problem with reinterpreting old stories. I don’t have a problem with changing details from one version of a myth to the next. This isn’t Star Wars. There is no “canon.” But, the thing is, when you make changes to mythology, you (the author) are presumably doing so for a reason. These aren’t random tweaks - otherwise, presumably, you would’ve left well enough alone. You are changing details to fit some kind of narrative (plot, theme, or otherwise). Orphia and Eurydicius was chock-full of so many bizarre twists that I almost don’t know where to begin.

The book’s treatment of Hera really exemplifies my problem. Here, Hera isn’t just the queen of the gods: no, she’s a “mother goddess” who protects all women and girls (which is Artemis’s role in the original mythology, but… sure). Long before Orphia even meets Hera, she constantly offers up prayers for protection. Orphia’s awestruck reverence for Hera is especially bizarre considering her father, whom she talks to basically once a day, is Apollo. Orphia isn’t some wide-eyed innocent; she’s fully aware of her divine heritage. How and why did she choose to devote so much time to what basically ends up being monotheism?

No, seriously, I’m asking. That’s not rhetorical. Hera doesn’t even interact with Orpheus in the Metamorphoses. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to make Artemis Orphia’s protector? You know, being Orphia’s aunt and all? And, you know, the actual, mythological protector of women and girls?

I digress.

Hera has some additional responsibilities, too. According to the Muses, the Pythia at Delphi was originally Hera’s priestess, until Apollo came along and “stole” her. Apollo introduced the priestly class at Delphi; originally, the Oracle spoke directly to her audience. Later, when Orphia goes on her mission to the Maeands, we learn that those are Hera’s, too. Why does everyone think they’re Dionysus’s worshipers, you ask? Well, you see, a group of women gathering together without their husbands would naturally be called “mad women,” and it was just convenient to use Dionysus’s name as a cover story.

(Sidenote: the Dionysus thing is especially stupid given the connection between Dionysus and Orpheus in the Orphic Rites grumble grumble)

Hera in Orphia and Eurydicius is more powerful than all of the male gods combined. We know this because we’re told so explicitly… which makes it a little strange she has to protect brutalized women in secret. As Hera explains to Orphia, every time “the poets” claimed a woman was hurt by a goddess, the goddess was actually just a scapegoat for a male god. Hera, like all of the goddesses, is utterly incapable of hurting a fellow woman. Elyse John doesn’t just dismiss the petty rivalries between the gods and goddesses that littered the stories of Greek mythology; oh, no. This is a world without Arachne, Callisto, Echo, or Scylla. This is a world of Good Gender ™ and Bad Gender ™ . Women are hurt, and men do the hurting.

To be fair, Orphia and Eurydicius is a little more complicated than that. Gender is not purely binary: nonbinary and trans people exist… as Sirs-Not-Appearing-in-this-Book, sure, but Orphia and Eurydicius have heard of the concept, at least. I also want to make it abundantly clear that I don’t care about ~positive male representation.~ Truly, I don’t. It’s not what books like these are trying to do, and it’s not what I want them to do. Moreover, both of our main characters are explicitly bisexual. Their relationship is undoubtedly queer, both in terms of gender roles and power dynamics, but it’s also just very, very sweet. It’s great! I’ve been very critical of this book so far, but I really, truly, find their relationship very cute. The sex is also very good. You’ll hear no complaints from me on that front.

At the same time, beyond our main couple, it gets a little messy. Love between women is valorized as noble and pure; love between men is sexual, and even pederastic. We see three male/male couples on-page: Zeus and Ganymede, Heracles and Hylas, and Jason and Eurydicius. The former two encounters are examples of erastes/eromenos relationships; the latter, a meaningless fling. Contrast this to the way that love between women is described: Orphia’s relationship with a nameless other woman is soft kisses and waking up in bed together; Melpomene and Thalia’s romance is almost PG. Obviously, female/female relationships didn’t have anything remotely similar to the male/male culture in Ancient Greece, but given the gender politics of this book, well… It paints a troubling picture.

I won’t discuss the ending, the ‘twist’ to the mythology, or how utterly bonkers and out of left field it felt. I do, however, want to mention the vaguely Christian cosmology: Hades is both psychopomp and judge, two roles typically filled by Hermes and Minos/Rhadamanthus/Aeacus, respectively; Tartarus/Asphodel/Elysium seem to match up with Hell/Purgatory/Heaven. With that in mind, that absolutely balls to the wall ending and Orphia’s “martyrdom” makes a little more sense. It doesn’t mean it’s good writing, though.

And that, in the end, is my biggest problem with Orphia and Eurydicius. I can see what it’s trying to do. I read sentences about Orphia wanting to speak for women, and I understand what Elyse John thinks she’s doing with them. But this isn’t nuanced, well-written storytelling. This isn’t giving a voice to the voiceless This is just girlbosses and gender essentialism all the way down.

(Link will go live on March 29)

Fans of Madeline Miller may enjoy this beautifully written book. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to connect emotionally to the characters.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I am about half way through this book and so far it is an entertaining story! I am excited to see how it all ends!

Thank you Netgalley and Harper 360 for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so beautifully written I got swept away so quickly. The prose is soothing, gentle, heartfelt and lyrical, which is very fitting given we follow the poet Orphia.

This one’s a very well-known myth (albeit gender-swapped in this retelling) but I will confess to knowing little of the details of Orpheus and Eurydice aside from the quest through the Underworld, so discovering the rest of their story was a joy and I got a much better understanding of their love.

I really appreciated the conversations about gender roles and queerness. This book really beautifully handles two people who do not conform to their “gender roles” and the way they navigate life with that in mind. It also explores both characters bisexuality which was lovely.

I also loved the strong female presence and the strength of female familial ties throughout the whole book.

However, something was missing for me. That hook wasn’t there and I found my attention waning in parts of this book. I can’t even tell you why. I can’t find a specific fault, only that it didn’t hit the mark for me.

That being said, I do definitely recommend giving this one a go if you enjoy Greek mythology retellings.

Gender swapped Orpheus and Eurydice? Yes, please! I'm VERY picky about gender swapped stories, because so many authors do it without a really good reason, but Elyse John did it just right. By making the Orpheus character female John got to play with the role of women in the arts in ancient Greece. Female poets were almost unheard of, so making a daughter of Apollo who stood up against the cultural norms (and her godly father) was a really interesting twist. The prose style was appropriately lyrical and the romance believable. This is also, probably, the most realistic version of Hades in current popular literature. We don't have many myths about him, but those we do have don't show him as a romantic hero. John does a great job with this, showing the complicated relationship between Hades and Persephone (and all the other goddesses with their male counterparts). We really see this long line of women to struggle to have agency. And while historic, it's still a story that's relevant today.

This book was a case of awesome concept, so-so execution for me. I loved the idea of a gender-reversed Orpheus and Eurydice. And there were times it really worked for me, but there were also a lot of times it didn't.

This was one of those weird books where I simultaneously felt like there was too much and not enough going on. It took me awhile to get into it and then it fell kind of flat for me.

The writing is lovely though and the story is definitely epic. I just wish it had flowed a bit more smoothly and made me feel more.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

The prose in this book is gorgeous, but the pacing is a bit off - some sections felt a bit too repetitive, and others too quick. I loved the writing itself though, and I finished reading it in a day, so rounding up to 4 stars.

I'm not familiar with the original myth - my only exposure to Orpheus & Eurydice had been in the musical Hadestown - so I can't speak to the retelling aspect. But I enjoyed how the author brought certain mythological figures to life, specifically Hera and all the Muses.

This was a fantastic queer retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The genderbent twist was lovely and made me love this version better than the original. Orphia’s struggles felt very real and I sympathized a lot with her character, especially when it came to how the gods treated women and even other goddesses.
Overall this is an adventure story that will make you feel the full range of emotions.

A beautiful and lyrical read. Orpheus and Eurydice is one of my favorite stories, it’s haunting and beautiful and this retelling made me feel like I was experiencing the myth again for the first time.

I think what made it so enchanting to me was the fact that this was a genderbent story. It brought upon a unique way to analyze the gender roles and sexism in Ancient Greek. Orphia constantly has to prove herself because of the fact that she is a woman, and she is headstrong and powerful.

The romance is a slow burn. And I was so scared nearing the end of the book because we all know how the original myth goes. But I was truly pleased with the ending. I’m pretty sure some tear drops landed on my screen as I was done.

There’s not much I can fault the book on but I really wish we had seen more of Eurydicius near the start of the book. We see him briefly at the very beginning but then it takes a while before we see him again. The story really focuses more on Orphia. But her path is extremely interesting, so it wasn’t too much of a con for me!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This was a fun feminist spin on Orpheus and Eurydice’s love story- with Orphia and Eurydicius as the characters. The boom had strong women in every setting Orphia was in, and the message of strong women ancestors was visible throughout. Having Eurydicius be soft and the opposite of what “typical” men should be was refreshing to read, and the discussions of lovers and their sexes as a natural part of the human existence is what every conversation should be.

I enjoyed getting to hear from Hera, Persephone, Gaia, Calliope and other prominent women in Greek mythology and hearing how some of the tales from mythology are clearly and blatantly wrong, but how women did not seek to correct it, because they were safer being thought of as mad, or in Heras case, the vengeful wife troupe actually kept Zeus’ victims safer since she would take them and hide them and help them recover. What a wonderful interpretation and back story. I’m going with that from now on!

I very much wanted to like this more than I did. The writing was well done and enjoyable, but I had a hard time building momentum throughout the novel. I do think that some of the feminism felt ham-fisted.

I want to preface this with the fact that I am not too familiar with the original myth regarding Orpheus and Eurydice, so my review will not be able to provide much insight into the accuracy of this retelling/interpretation.

I enjoyed this book and the writing was beautiful. It was an easy book to read, which I was grateful for as someone who struggles a bit when it comes to poetry. I found it very to imagine the book in my mind while I was working through it. There were some parts where I lost a bit of interest, mainly around when Orphia was on Mt. Parnassus learning from the different muses, but that's not a fault of the book. I think that might've been the timing of when I was reading it. There were some descriptions here and there that felt repetitive, especially relating to the scent or feeling of things, but that's a fairly minor issue I had.

As a result of the story being genderbent, Orphia embodies the traits that a man in society typically would, and Eurydicius embodies the traits that a woman in society typically would. That is one aspect that I absolutely love and it very quickly drew me in. I am not drawn to media where the man upholds societal gender roles and domineers over women, but that is the most common portrayal in romances between men and women, so the dynamics in this book are so refreshing.

I'd recommend this book to anyone with an interest in retellings of Greek myths and relationships that defy societal gender roles.

What a great book! Mythology retellings have long been some of my favorite reads and Orphia and Eurydicius by Elyse John was no exception. Her poetic writing style is so well suited for this tale. Two souls, unbound by gender norms and fated to be together in life, and death. What a love!

This was a fun retelling of a well-known myth. I loved the gender-swapping and felt like it added another layer of depth and interest without taking away from the original tale.

“He was picking flowers for you.”

*Thank you to Harper 360 and Harper Collins for providing me a review copy through NetGalley*

I will try my best to avoid spoilers for both the novel and the original myth on which it is based.

In a powerful exploration of gender roles in ancient Greek mythology, the fierce poet daughter of Apollo and a timid shield-smith spark a romance that defies the gods. This book is not just a ‘gender-bent retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice’—it is much, much more.

I think the style of language this book is written in often runs the risk of sounding flowery, stilted, and pretentious. Orphia and Eurydicius never did. You will want to read every word, and each one makes it evident that the author is a poet in her blood. After reading such a beautiful work of art, it feels like no words can truly encapsulate how it made me feel.

Near the beginning, I held some dread for what was to come. Knowing the original myth of Orpheus and Eurydice as closely as I do nearly caused me not to get invested in Orphia’s and Eurydicius’ relationship at first. However, the lyrical prose and beautiful romance between them soon made me almost forget what was coming. When it happened, I was shocked alongside Orphia.

No one does bisexuality like Orphia and Eurydicius. I kind of wish Eurydicius was more present, especially for the first third-ish, since it is the story of both of them. The scenes with him were the best and most enjoyable to read in my opinion, because Orphia’s poet’s tongue really shone through her love for him.

Jason maintains his inter-media status of making me so angry. The plot did feel like it dragged most when Orphia was with him, but the prose was good enough that I didn’t mind it as much as I might’ve. The prose definitely makes up for any lapses in the pacing.

And the ending! I was satisfied, and that’s all I can say without spoiling anything.

I definitely encourage everyone to pick up a copy once it hits international shelves. I usually pick a favorite line from every book I read to add to my reading journal, and this one is going to be so difficult to narrow down. It’s that good in every line. I knew very early on that it would be an easy five stars.

Review crossposted to GoodReads

Like many, I always love a good Greek retelling, especially one that takes some aspect of the original myth and takes a new perspective with it, and this book definitely accomplishes that! Orpheus being a woman allows this story to take a good look at all the hurdles that women must overcome to be recognized as great. There is also something very powerful in the love between Orphia and Eurydicus being equal, and Eurydicius being allowed to be gentle and soft. The prose in this book is also gorgeous, flowery, and powerful all at once. The one issue I had with this book is that unfortunately the pacing was odd at times- some less important moments seemed to drag on, while others passed in the blink of an eye. Overall though, I greatly enjoyed this book and highly recommend to fans of Greek mythology.

Thanks to NetGalley and HaperCollins for the ARC!! From the first line of this book, I was hooked: “I sharpened my sword with poetry and hardened my arm with the memory of lyre strings.”

Orphia and Eurydicius is a gender-flipped retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, one of my personal favorite Greek myths. Orphia is the daughter of the god Apollo and the muse Calliope. A warrior-turned-poet, she strives to tell the stories of women, from Medusa and Hera to the washerwomen of the Whispering Isle. She meets Eurydicius, a gentle shield-maker, and the rest is history.

First, the writing in this book is beautiful. It made the scenery of Mount Parnassus and the Whispering Isle come to life. I also enjoyed how the author positioned Orphia as a multifaceted woman, it felt very real and relatable to me. Orphia desires to hone her craft and gain fame through her work, and is strong enough to lift grown men and beat renowned warriors in duel. She is also open to love, and eventually uses her love for Eurydicius as inspiration for her poetry, which makes her work even more powerful. She doesn’t have to choose between fame and love, she is able to find a way to have both.

I loved her relationship with Eurydicius, and thought that the representation of their unique gender roles within their relationship was powerful. Orphia’s grief over Eurydicius’ death (spoiler if you don’t already know the Orpheus myth) also touched me deeply. I was brought to tears and the way she grieved also felt very relatable.

I wish we had gotten to know Eurydicius a bit more. Sometimes it seemed like he was just there as a foil to Orphia, and we didn’t get to know much about his history or what Orphia saw in him other than his support of her and her craft.

The only other thing that kept me from giving this book 5 stars was that sometimes the writing felt a little bit heavy-handed in its theme of telling women’s stories. It was repeated time and time again that Orphia wanted to tell women’s stories, and some of the twists were easy to predict because of that repetition. And when Orphia came up with a poem about a woman, we only got a stanza or so. I feel like I missed some of the impact of Orphia’s work because the author described her mission more than actually sharing what she had come up with. In the same vein, I felt that some of the female characters in the story were a bit underdeveloped, though I understand that the side characters weren’t the point of the story.

Overall, this was a great read! I loved the emphasis on female agency, the writing style, and of course, the twist on one of my favorite Greek myths. 4 stars!

I am sobbing. This book is so beautiful and sweet, I went through a range of emotions.

I received this ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love Greek retellings. Something about hearing a different version of things intrigues me, especially when the stories in question are already legend and mystery. This one did not disappoint.

The plot is entirely based on Orphia and Eurydicious’s love and their journeys in love. I appreciate the swapping of gender roles, especially in Ancient Greece. We follow Orphia through life and love and death, and each chapter is beautiful and poetic.

The characters. THE CHARACTERS. Orphia is strong willed and resilient and lyrical. Eurydicious is soft and kind and gentle. The Muses each have their own personality and quirks. Most men in this novel are trash, but in mythology most of the Gods are… well…. Trash. There’s representation of all walks of love in this book as well.

The writing style is flowy and poetic and lyrical. It is a mood read, and not a fast read if you want to absorb the truth and meaning behind every word. I wouldn’t consider this easy reading, but it most certainly is beautiful reading.

I can appreciate a book that brings me to tears multiple times. I loved the journey I embarked on reading this book. 4.75⭐️

Good writing and an inventive take on a mythological story. Overall, I really enjoyed the prose, which leans a bit flowery. but not to the point of being annoying. If there is a mythological retelling out there, I am likely going to read it, and this ranks pretty highly in the list of re-tellings I have come across.