Thank you so much to @readforeverpub for the gifted copy!

I have so much to say about this book that utterly enthralled me! Let me begin by saying that retellings aren’t usually my cup of tea, however, retellings that I’ve been exposed to aren’t often sapphic urban fantasy.

Our FMC, Psyche, starts off in a seemingly typical version of New York City. A therapist who has had her fair share of trauma, Psyche is terminated for a mistake that she made with the best of intentions. As the book goes on, we learn more about the urban fantasy aspects of this universe, through Psyche’s exposure to it. While this may seem frustrating when compared to other fantasies that have rich world building at the start, I actually enjoyed the glimpses and nuggets of knowledge that the reader learns along with Psyche. I was somewhat confused by this at times, but that was in line with what Psyche was feeling too. Psyche’s role as a therapist is essential to her character and I loved the inclusion of healthy boundaries and communication between her and Eros (not something you always see in fantasy).

The pace of this novel was fast, and precisely what I needed as I was deep in a reading slump. A lot of this is pure vibes, and I loved it. There is a plot, but it takes a backseat to the romance and the overall feel of the book. Definitely an instalove trope, but it makes perfect sense seeing as this is a retelling. This was so different from anything else I’ve read, the journey was so fun and I was just as enamored with the book as Psyche was with Eros. I am beyond excited for the next book in the series (it’s looking like interconnected standalone books - yes!)

I thought this was a pretty enjoyable read. If you like Greek mythology, I think this will be right up your ally. I wish there gad been a bit more exploration or the world these characters are in. I also thought their relationship developed pretty quickly. I’m more of a slow burn fan so it was a little fast for me. But it was a fun read so I do still recommend.

Psyche and Eros contemporary retelling but with a bit of a twist in that this retelling does include the gods who interact with mortals. The gods and their offspring all live in magical courts to which Psyche gets an invitation after a terrible day. She decides to go and there she meets Eros, who is captivating and beautiful and instantly attracted to Psyche. They swear and oath to each other and Psyche is brought deeper into the worlds of the gods.

This was so so so much insta-love which I guess makes sense with Eros but I felt that Psyche often thought more logically about the absurd things happening around her unless it came to her romance with Eros. The world-building did leave a lot to be desired as did a lot of the plot and character development. This book was absolutely saved by how beautiful the prose was - there were paragraphs of gorgeous description that I devoured. I would love to read more of this and hopefully the next book in the series helps with the world-building and characters as we have already met them both.

2.5/5

“But, come on—a friend named Eros?”
“You’re a therapist named Psyche. I thought you were joking at first, too, but here we are.”

This is a richly imagined sapphic retelling of the Psyche and Eros myth that takes place in modern New York City. This version blurs the lines between courtly Fae and Greek gods and also manages to incorporate mental health, social media, and videogames into the story. I loved the juxtaposition between Eros’s immortal world and Psyche’s modern one. I appreciated Psyche’s online community, but I wish her sisters had had a slightly more active role. I particularly found Sid fascinating.

I’m somewhat familiar with the Psyche and Eros myth. It’s not necessary to know the backstory to enjoy this novel, but I liked seeing how elements of the original story were woven into a contemporary novel. I thought the merger between Greek mythology and courtly Fae was intriguing. Overall, I enjoyed this book.

I enjoyed this book, though it didn't seem as rich as The Tiger's Daughter trilogy. I kept wanting more out of the story than Rivera was giving me, more depth and more dimension to the characters. All in all, though, an enjoyable read.

This book was okay. I liked the idea of a queer retelling of the classic myth and it was a pretty dark fantasy. I thought that it was good in some parts and that is why I am giving it 3 stars. The characters were mediocre.

This book is a fever dream and I honestly loved that about it. I know that won't work for everyone but it was rooted enough for my in reality to just go with the flow as the real world slowly devolved as the main character Psyche interacted more with Eros.

I loved that this was a fantasy in which the world builds at the same time for us as it does the MC. Psyche is just existing in city life, getting eaten up and spat out with being recently fired from her job. No magic to be had. Then she gets an invite and decides to go to an exclusive party and that's when we get to see that this world is not what it seems. Again I just went along with the insanity and it was never confusing, the prose is straightforward and literal in my opinion, but the plot starts mixing the God world with the human world and it's just a ride.

My reason for 4 stars is that unfortunately the love was a bit insta-love in a "not like other girls way". I can read and like insta-love, I hate slow burns. And yet this one wasn't sold enough to me as it seemed the reason Eros was so interested in Psyche that way was due to how Psyche didn't act like "everyone else" upon first meeting her. I just needed a bit more even though I did eventually love them together.

I appreciated Psyche being that boy who cried wolf/black sheep of her family. I am withholding more specifics of the plot because I think it's fun to just experience this book if you're interested! Thank you to Forever for the ARC.

2.75/5

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this book, I was excited as I thought the concept of the book was really cool. However, the execution of it did not meet my expectations.

I did think the video games and streaming were a cool addition, I do think that it ended up being a small portion of the book and more could have been explored with that.

I felt like the world building was confusing/lacking and there were several parts in the book that I didn't fully understand what was going on. I think the story being in third person made it more confusing. I'm not sure if some of my confusion comes from not knowing much about Psyche and
Eros and greek mythology in general.

I'm sure there are people out there who would enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it ended up not being for me.

Oath of Fire review

Basically:

I didn't expect that Psyche would be such a bottom

Eros redefines the term "service top"

Love a book with a healthy amount of characters self reflecting and growing themselves

Spoilers:

Psyche teaching Eros about the human world was really cute and the little like, mistakes that she makes where she's not totally wrong but adjacent (red and green traffic lights instead of red and green flags) was really endearing.

I liked the exploration of Psyche's insecurities of not being as accomplished as her sisters and in her that manifests in like, lack of trust or risking life and limb to get the immediate gratification that she seeks. This especially at the end when she looks at Eros' eyes and gets to within an inch of going mad. Knowing people in my life who are like this I found the depictions accurate. And all of the times where she was 100% projecting and called herself the family fuckup was so real

Laura was hilarious. In real life, getting set up on a date without my knowledge, and someone trying to make it easy for me to marry into wealth would make me livid. But otherwise, that's just good fiction.

"Poseidon you asshole." cracked me up so much I busted a gut.

"A familiar wave of envy rolls over Psyche, tamped down only by years of practice."

Ah yes those years of practice. Building up infrastructure and fall back mechanisms and any other defenses that would help you healthily withstand the onslaught of human insecurity. But again, her insecurities are very well portrayed

The garden date was awesome! Very lesbians, much tropes.

Eros telling Psyche she was the bravest woman she'd ever met, and then Psyche actually going on a journey of self improvement to really become the greatest woman Eros ever met - bro, girl, sis. My heart.

Psyche's special interest being the video game she's hyperfixating on atm tracks.

The sketch yearning scene, very lesbian, but not much tropes, because what kind of stage of lesbianism is making your gal pal a whole model sheet? And an in game character? And her sudden appearance, God that was hilarious.

Eros' uncompromising commitment to Psyche's consent and safety is a huge green traffic light.

The exploration of Eros' self hatred, because she's/her domain is the start of so many wars, and subject to poetry but really she's just a little baby and wishes she was smaller. I stan a queen.

Levying a favor with Poseidon for a date with a cute girl, tracks.

"Love inspires projects, spite finishes them," is such a raw line.

Love Artemis' cameo, she's just so done and wants to go home.

But the most important part is that BigBootyTiefling gets a happy ending.

Overall I loved it. Fae courts was a really cool reimagining of Greek mythology and the relationships between all the Gods. As mentioned above, the exploration of Psyche's and Eros' insecurities and self loathing was really well done and accurate, at least to my experiences dealing with them in my own life. Bottom!Psyche was a pleasant surprise. And there are so many lines of dialogue and philosophical nuggets that I will be taking with me. Looking forward to book 2!

A new take on Psyche and Eros but with a modern day twist and a fae court feel. Psyche is a therapist who's only goal was to help people and she's also an online influencer. Yet after being fired from her job she gets a strange invitation by the most handsome man she's ever met, asking her to help his friend and she can't refuse... soon she finds herself whisked away into a world she's never imagined filled with magical beings and a mysterious masked woman named Eros who asks her to swear an oath to her. Psych finds herself drawn to Eros and can't resist. She makes a bargain with Eros: they must touch each other for two months while also getting to know each other at Psyche's Brooklyn apartment. Yet the more she gets to know about Eros the more she is beginning to realize that the woman she is falling in love with has a lot more she's hiding... such as a dangerous family of gods and a mother who will do anything to get rid of Psyche. This was definitely one of the weirder Psyche and Eros retellings I've read in a while and it was nothing like I was expecting it to be. The only way to describe it would be chaotic and all over the place. The romance doesn't really feel well fleshed out and the story just jumps around from one thing to the next. In a weird way it just felt a bit "too modern" ??? It just kind of missed the mark for me unfortunately and I wish I did like it more. Though I would definitely say give it a go if you want a sapphic greek mythology modern day romance because maybe you'll like it better than I did.

Release Date: August 13, 2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I would like to start this review off a bit differently than I normally do. I applied for this book as an arc from netgalley and was lucky enough to be chosen. Even though the premise of the book was interesting enough for me to request, when I started reading the book, I literally only remembered that it was a Psyche and Eros retelling.

Psyche loves to help people, it doesn’t matter how she does it, what platform or audience she has. After an upsetting event, she gets a mystery invitation to help a charming strangers friend and Psyche could not refuse. When she arrives at the strange court, she meets Eros, a masked woman who needs the help. In order to help Eros, Psyche swear an oath to Eros. Now, Psyche has to figure out how to honor her oath while trying to not fall for Eros.

I personally don’t know much about Psyche and Eros so I essentially came in blind. I did not remember that this was going to be a sapphic love story so when Eros was introduced, I was very pleasantly surprised. I personally liked how the story was set in modern times but I did find parts of it to be a bit unrealistic. Everyone just magically accepts Eros even though she is a strange masked woman who has absolutely zero knowledge of anything related to the modern world. The banter between Psyche and Eros was fun to read. I did like how we got to see some other courts but I wish there were more courts we got to visit. The book wasn’t the most serious so I found it to be a relaxing book where I don’t have to think really hard or worry a lot.

Unfortunately, I think this was the first NetGalley book I did not finish.

The writing was rather rambling, chaotic, and overly descriptive. I'm all for modern retellings, but this felt *too* modern? I know some people don't mind it, but I don't enjoy seeing so many internet and pop culture type references in a book that is a retelling of mythology. Kasey Musgraves, Jujutsu Kaisen, live AMAs, Paul Mescal, "finance bros", and choosing to eat a Hi-Chew over a Kit Kat because it made the MC feel better (was this almost an ED reference, or what was this meaning?) were all mentioned in the very first chapter alone.

Just not really the book for me, and I'm sorry to give a bad review on it! I appreciate the opportunity to read it.

I thought this book was okay. It did take me a little bit longer than usual to finish just because I couldn't fully get into the book. I feel like the world building could have been done better. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't my top read of 2024. I hope others will enjoy the book though!

This is one of those books that had an amazing premise but that’s about it. I wanted to like this book, but I just could not connect with the story or the characters. There’s barely any plot and minimal world-building. The writing was odd. I found myself taken out of the story when the author says things like “What do you do when…” in third person. This book ended up being a chore to read. Hopefully others will enjoy it!

I really don't know what to say about this book. Perhaps I am not the target audience for it? However, I refused to DNF and wanted to see how this book played out, what was underneath Eros's mask, would I find out WHY the book is written in third person present POV.

Let me start with the positives: the writing is good. It's crisp, it's witty. HOWEVER, why (!?!?!) third person present POV? This was incredibly frustrating and annoying and took me out of the book. I thought perhaps we would learn at the end that one of the gods, Zeus, etc. was narrating this story. But no. And maybe it's how Greek mythology of old was written and I'm just an ignoramus.

I also found myself pulled into the story BUT then I would get pushed out in the next chapter. I could never get a feel for who Psyche was. And *this* might be where "the book is not for me" fits. Maybe I am too old to understand her life as an influencer of self help tips and . . . planners ?!!?!? When she goes to set up her livestream, again I almost DNFed because it just felt TOO pop culture for me. I don't know if this book will age well but then maybe it doesn't matter. Psyche had a "real job" that she lost that was the catalyst to the book but then it's over, done. No resolution to it. AND STILL I KEPT READING. I needed answers.

The instalust was the fastest case of IL I've ever read in my life. But then again, Eros is a god who has been around a long time and knows what she wants. But it took me a long time to understand what, if anything, Psyche felt for Eros. Like I said, I could never get a handle on Psyche. She felt very all over the place and maybe that was intentional too.

I enjoyed the last few chapters where the book wrapped up and how Psyche was able to "one up" Aphrodite. It proved that being kind to others and treating people well can reap rewards.

Lastly, I was very into Bondi AKA Iffy and Artemis's story and may have to pick up the second book to see if they make amends. But please for the love of the gods, do not make it third person present. WHY!?!?!?

I honestly only got through 50% of the book and it's just not my thing. It's very slow paced and I'm not familiar enough with the Greek mythology of these two. Is give it a 3 star for what I read

Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an eARC of this title.

I'll admit, I wasn't super familiar with the story of Psyche and Eros but this was an entertaining take. Brought into modernity, we meet Psyche, a therapist slash internet personality who has a bit of trouble holding down a job? This bit was a bit odd and IMO didn't really get developed to be a key plot point like it was set up to be. She gets fired from her job and her internet gaming friends encourage her to go to a super exclusive party.
Psyche and Eros meet and what follows is a lesson in bargaining with Gods.

This story had a lot of potential and I'll definitely look out for the next book (I believe this is a duology?) and am eager to see how the author moves forward.

All in all I enjoyed Oath of Fire. This was the first book of K Arsenault Rivera's that I have read. I will preface this by saying I am not usually a huge fan of Greek retellings so the fact that Oath of fire piqued my interest enough to read all the way through speaks for itself. I enjoyed the pacing and the story itself although it was a bit of a struggle connecting to any of the characters. I enjoyed the imagery the author elicits and found myself interested enough that I wanted to know what happens. Overall an enjoyable read!

This was a thoroughly enjoyable sapphic Psyche and Eros retelling. I really loved these characters! Their love story was wonderful and the writing drew me in from the very beginning. I'll be on the lookout for more from K Arsenault Rivera.

I did not love the character building of Psyche. I felt like she made some wrong choices and she's a bit hard to enjoy and understand throughout the book. Being that this is from her POV, I struggled to stay focused and engaged. I was often frustrated with her, for example, when she essentially outs her trans client, I just couldn't get behind her choices and stay involved. I did enjoy Eros as a character.
The concept that the characters are just finding out about the Greek Gods felt a bit off, and that was a struggle for me to connect to the plot. The world building is a bit choppy and disconnected from the plot at times as well.
The best parts of this book to me were the relationship with Eros because I enjoyed him, and the pace. It does read quickly, but I wish I could have been more connected.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this. It is a 2.5 for me.