As a history and historical fiction lover, I really enjoyed the mix of Greek mythology and the lost colony of Roanoke. I loved the authors take on what might’ve or could’ve happened. The epic love Thelia has for Proserpina spans history. I love the reminder of the power that women have. That WE are enough. That men don’t own us and can’t control us, no matter how much they’d like to. Especially important today in the US and throughout the world.

This is a book that has love, betrayal, and mythology. While I didn’t love parts of the book, I definitely enjoyed it!

I enjoyed this! This is a book for you if you're a lover of books that are character driven. Lots of interesting bits of dialogue, side characters, character history, etc. I'm not usually the biggest fan of shifting perspectives or time periods in a book but actually enjoyed the switch from past to present in this one. It made Thelia feel a lot more real to me, as well as her sisters. There were also lots of beautiful or unique descriptions of people, places, or things in this book. For some the descriptions might be a bit too long-winded, but I found them intriguing. While I found the pairing of Greek/Roman mythology with a U.S. colony to be a bit odd, it ended up working for me. Something about a story centered on sirens and their fates was just very mysterious and compelling to me. Also, if you like sapphic stories, there is a sweet couple in this that I loved rooting for.

Note to publishers: I will post the review to Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Tiktok, and my Goodreads on the publish date.

An interesting take on greek myths. Makes the goddesses seem real almost human. Makes me understand the the inhumanity of man and hoe vengeance does not correct wrongs.

A very interesting combination of history - Greco-Roman mythology and the Roanoke colony. As others have mentioned, however, I did notice the lack of Indigenous people within the story. While I can understand the author saying that it isn't her story to tell, that is still a rather major group of people to leave out of a colony that was known to have been part of North American colonialism.

As well, the mix of Greek and Roman names is very off putting, as someone who loves mythology. The Romans took the stories from the Greeks and changed many of the names - it honestly would have been better to stick to one set of name usage instead of trying to combine them.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Thelia has not made the best choices. She is hoping she can return with very little consequences. A nice read.

This book was surprisingly better than expected. Mythology, strong women and dumb men all packed into a short 380 page book. I do wish there was a bit more context to the Greek mythology characters. There were many obscure names used that I had to stop and look up because they just are not the "popular" names. I was so confused about a quarter through it made me want put it down and never come back. Since its an ARC, I pushed through it!

This book was not moving, did not change the way I feel, and was (speaking as a woman) TOO "man-hater" that I think that the author will lose an entire audience... the men.. I guarantee, no man is going to pick up this book and feel warm and fuzzy after reading it.

All in all, 2.5 stars rounded up to 3. The author does have a lot of time to re-work, which I think she should. The author is a beautiful writer, I just wish the context were better.

I would like to thank the Random House for approving me for this ARC, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Thelia made a mistake centuries ago that cause her the woman she loved. The goddess of spring, Proserphina, was everything to her. She was one of the handmaidens charged with protecting the goddess when Proserphina was kidnapped. Thelia and her sisters are banished to the island of Scopuli and cursed into the forms of sirens - winged half-woman, half-bird creatures who use their irresistible song to lure sailors to their deaths. This is Thelia’s story of passion and redemption.

I will admit that I picked this book up because it was marketed as a sapphic romance involving the Roman goddess Proserphina and I am a sucker for anything involving the Greek version of this particular goddess. That being said, the book was only so-so. The book was a completely different take than I’ve read before, and I’ve read so many books about Persephone/Hades and their Roman counterparts, but the book itself took me a bit to get into. The timeline flows back and forth as the story spreads out, and the story unfolds slowly between the past and the present in the small English colony Roanoke.

The biggest flaw in this book is that it does not take into account the fact that the only bodies of color in the story are dead. Nor does it make any apology for trying to minimize the role the white women in the book played in the consequences of colonization. The colony of Roanoke was a real place, and had real consequences within colonization. To shift focus from this, when writing a “historical fiction” piece is to ignore responsibility in spreading the truth. Yes, the Romans were also colonizers regardless of how much they were praised for their progress.

It is also frustrating for someone like me, who has a very clear picture of who and what Dis and Prosperina are supposed to be. They are not exact copies of Hades and Persephone. To mix the Greek and Roman mythos in ways in such a cherry-picking method pulled me out of the story multiple times. The sirens are Greek as well, coming from the epic Odyssey, and are somewhat different from the Romans who saw them as more of a warning against excess and temptation. Setting this aside, the combination of historical mythos with colonial American thoughts and beliefs was done much better.

There are some good things in this book as well. The love Thelia feels for her sisters, and for Proserphina, is well written. The sapphic elements may have been a bit heavy handed but worth it. It is heavy on the prose, but that never bothers me, and it’s well edited. I really wanted to love this book, but with all the emersion problems I had while reading I can only give this a 3 star rating.

Content Warnings:
Moderate - Violence, Misogyny, Classism

I really loved the concept of this book. A siren from Roman mythology winding up in the mysterious colony of Roanoke that is doomed to disappear. These are both stories that I love reading and learning about. The historical accuracy was on point for the most part with some creative liberties of course. There are some deep concepts discussed throughout the book, including gender inequality. The main character, Thelia, was such a well-developed character. She suffers loss and is able to work through it, as well as learn that her pre-conceived ideas are not always correct. This book was fantastic! If you enjoy fantasy, mythology, and/or history, then you will very much enjoy this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC of this book.

Those fatal flowers
4⭐️This book took me a while to get through but I really enjoyed it all the same. The writing is beautiful and feels very fitting for the time period. At times it was so descriptive and raw, it was beautiful. The incorporation of Greco-Roman mythology of sirens combined to the history of Roanoke, North Carolina was such a cool approach to historical fiction. I felt that characters were all very well developed. The plot is slow moving and I think that’s why it took me so long to read but it’s essential as Thelia gains the trust of the townspeople and more of her history is revealed. I like that women independence and empowerment was a prevalent theme within the book and enjoyed reading about Thelia’s the dilemma of determining good vs. evil found within the men and women of the town as she grows closer to them.

I would recommend reviewing trigger warnings as some of the content could pose to be difficult to read.

This was such a great read. Character and scene development was amazing. I could see every scene in my minds eye. Just blew me away.

The emotions that this book brought up in me were feelings I rarely have while reading a boon.

Thank you NetGalley and Randome House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

I was genuinely surprised by this book, and I'm really glad I read it. I found it difficult to relate to the stories and characters at first, but by the halfway point, I was engrossed. It touched on the universal experiences that women have shared throughout time and space and was masterfully written. Although I didn't particularly enjoy the timeline jumping, I do believe that in this instance it was essential to the telling of the story. The writing was a little dense at points, but I think that's part of the appeal of reading a retelling of a myth. Although laborious at times, the attention to detail was incredibly stunning and exquisite at other moments.

Sapphic Greek/Roman mythology meets early American history? Yes, please! This book is filled with satisfying female rage, a compelling protagonist, and a lovely romance. I can see why some people thought the language was dense, but I enjoyed the prose and thought it fit the story well. I flew through it.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I will say there hasn’t been an original settling like this in a hot second. Greek mythology and colonial America? What a combination and so interesting when reading. I really enjoyed this story but it did take very long to get into, mainly because of the timeline jumping which was at times very abrupt. And I can understand why the colonel parts of the story were difficult for others, I just love history. Overall a good reading experience albeit slow moving.

Honestly, this book is weird as hell. It’s definitely an original concept, but it swiftly dodges many of the moral complexities embedded in the story with convenient plot points (it’s fate or something). Some parts are more convincing than others. Overall, it’s promising but needs more sophistication to fully pull the concept off.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.
I’m sad to say this book was a DNF for me at ~25%. I was not a huge fan of the alternating timeline that took place in the book as it felt very clunky and made it hard for me to enjoy the story. Additionally, I was not a fan of the writing style, it was very dense which again made it hard to enjoy. While these things might be okay for others my biggest problem with this book is that one of the timelines is that it is supposed to take place in the Roanoke colony but there in no presence of the indigenous people of Roanoke, which is acknowledged in the Author’s Note at the end of the book. It feels weird to have a story set in a time and place with known contact with an indigenous group and not include them. I am sorry to say this book is not for me and I will not be finishing it or getting a finished copy once it is published.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Those Fatal Flowers was a very interesting book. It definitely has a slow start, but it is worth sticking with. I couldn’t put this book down! It has a very interesting premise and setting. I’ve not read another book like this one and I’m glad to have stuck with it!

This book was violent female rage and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about them. I feel like we definitely need more of this in sapphic historical fantasy.
I am not extremely familiar with all the lore and grit of the myths so some of the retelling was a bit confusing in the beginning, but I acknowledge that was probably on me. I enjoyed the writing style a lot, and the dual timeline, which I’m usually not a fan of, was done really well and I was intrigued by both timelines.

I will say, after reading some other reviews I see where there is room for criticism. Including the setting of colonial America and leaving out the racial aspect doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I wish that setting had been removed from the story. In the authors note, she states that it’s “not her story to tell” while fair kind of negates the purpose for putting it in the story.

This book is what I call "one to sink your teeth into:" If you looking for a strong story, this is for you. This is a time skip book with multiple trigger warnings, so be warned. Gods and monsters with curses to break make this a great read. Thelia is a strong character whose choices sometimes seemed childish, but the more you find out the more sense it makes. This is a stand alone which makes it even better.

The mix of Roman mythology and colonial Virginia was really interesting and well done, but the back and forth structure of the timeline never fully clicked for me. In addition, Cora’s character fell a little flat compared to the MC. The central themes and plot were still well formed and made for a good read.