Firstly, I'd like to thank NetGalley for giving me access to this as an ARC!

As much as I love the idea of Proserpina and the ill-fated colony of Roanoke, by the end of this book, I discovered that while I still like those stories, I seem to like them separately. After finishing the book, I can't say these stories work well together. We have a dual timeline, which was hard to understand initially. I also share the opinion of a few other reviewers that you cannot tell the story of Roanoke without the representation of the Indigenous people and without making subtle comparisons of Indigenous people to the main character. I did enjoy the feminine rage in some aspects of the narrative, but it was dreadfully hard to get through. This will be the perfect book for someone else, but it wasn't for me.

This story had a lot of fundamental flaws for me under a very interesting premise.

I was initially entranced by the dual timeline from two very distinct places and times. Ancient Roman myth and American history? What a combination! However it became clear that the two timelines were just that - too distinct to relate to one another. A great dual timeline story has a clear reason as to why they relate (or why the reader should care) and this book did not have it for me.

The plots themselves are also underwhelming and confusing at best. I imagine this was in an attempt to make it interesting and mysterious, but it was simply not realistic nor consistent enough to make sense.

I was extremely entranced by the sapphic yearning that was mentioned on the summary. I'm always looking for wonderfully sapphic stories that make my inner queer woman smile, but the romantic aspects were not it for me. My pet peeve with romances is when a MC falls in love with someone because they remind them of a past lover, mostly because it takes away from the character that they are longing over. They deserve much better than that.

As someone who has studied American history and politics in their academic lives, my biggest concern that I would be remiss to mention is that there was no mention of Native American characters other than in the background as antagonists. This juncture in history is where racial dynamics of our modern day are born and perpetuated and it needs to be addressed. A sensitivity reader was incredibly needed here: Colonial America was when white settlers stole land from the indigenous populations by genocide, and that needs to be addressed when we write about that time of history in the modern era. The author includes a note that its not her story to tell, which, no, it isn't, but we are not asking for a story - we are asking for basic representation of what historically happened at that time and having her characters engage in the racial dynamics. Having white women get their victories at the expense of native lives does not excite me as a reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Admittedly, I knew very little about mythology, so I approached Shannon Ives's Those Fatal Flowers without comparing it to the original versions from which the inspiration was drawn. The combined Greco-Roman mythology and American colonialism seemed a novel and intriguing prospect. I was swept up in the story immediately and stayed engaged throughout. I was on the edge of my seat in suspense until the very end. 
The writing style was lovely, easy to read and follow, not overly wordy but just enough to really paint the settings, and a bit gruesome at times. I noticed a lot of symbolism as well. Dialogues were clear, and I never lost who was speaking. The characters were complex, and our main point of view was introspective and insightful. 
I enjoyed the sapphic romance between Thelia and Cora. It began with Thelia's infatuation with Cora because she resembled her first love but ended with her understanding the person of Cora as an individual, not just because of her initial impression. I believed the tension between them.
I recommend heeding the trigger warnings that the author gives.
The suffering was long but, ultimately, there was a payoff that I found satisfying. Now we know what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke...

"The divine, the profane. They’re two sides of the same coin."

The main theme seemed to be a relevant and universal cry of feminine rage from mythological history to the world we find ourselves in today, with hope for justice for the endurance of the misdeeds of evil men (and female enablers).

“'Monsters are made, Thelia. Not born.'”

I read some of the mixed reviews, and I can appreciate the criticisms regarding the lack of depth regarding the plight of the natives during this time. 
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this author's debut novel, and I will look out for more of their work.
#mythology #colonialism #epilogue #historicalfiction #sapphic #sirens #godsandgodesses #patriarchy #religiousoppression #HEA #dualtimeline
I received this free ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.

A beautiful and powerful blend of history, mythology, and feminist rage. The weaving together of Greco-Roman mythology and the mystery of the vanishing Roanoke colony was done so well.

When I first heard about this book I knew I had to read it because greek-colonial mashup, what? While the concept was very interesting and the writing engaging (yearning for days!), I don't think even saying that it isn't an author's place to tell indigenous stories excuses not grappling deeply with the erasure of natives in a colonial setting.

This was an interesting read for me, and I’m still processing.

Things I loved:
-The time hopping in storytelling was done beautifully! Sometimes it can be disorienting, but in this book it all fit so nicely to weave the story the way the author wanted us to experience it.
-Thelia’s growth and realization that monsters are made, not born. A great message and one that I think we call can be reminded of.
-The concept: Greek mythology meets colonial America? Yes! I think that this idea is incredibly marketable for people like me who love the history and mythology of both eras.


Things I didn’t love:
-The historical representation of Roanoke really kept pulling me out of the story. Some of the dialogue and events just felt too modern to fit in that setting. Further, the lack of indigenous peoples representation in a time and place where that was a major factor felt off. I understand it was intentional, as the author felt it was not their place to speak to those stories, but the complete absence I fear was damaging as well.


That’s it, though. Just the one drawback. As a debut, this definitely holds a lot of promise. And being a new author, I’m hoping Ives begins to find some footing in tackling historical issues rather than avoiding them OR creates a completely fictional setting to avoid this type of concern altogether. The writing style and storytelling were beautiful. It was the history I struggled to get over, so if this was wholly fictional, it could have been a nonissue.

I was super intrigued by the premise of the book, as a long time lover of Greek/Roman mythology retellings I thought this was right up my alley. When coupled that with the American tale of the Roanoke Colony, I was double intrigued.

The story follows Thelia in both the past and present, following her as a Siren in Scopuli, and in “present day” —the colonial Americas on a quest to find her sisters.

I struggled with the representation of Colonists and Indigenous folk, there seemed to be a lot ignored on behalf of some of the white characters, which I did not love. I appreciate a sapphic, feminine rage story, but not at the expense of the portrayal of Indigenous people.

I did like the pacing and representation of both mythological stories, but needed a bit more depth to some of the characters and a bit more care and nuance in the colonial setting.

What a stunning story but Trigger warning for SA. This book was something new and different from anything I had read before. The story follows a character, who we find out is a siren, to the new world. This is a story of love, loss, struggle, and the plight of women for thousands of years. It was a beautiful book with very keen character building, and a timeless story we have heard again and again. However, this book takes a look at both mythology and history with a new lens, and provides a stunning tale for it.

This book was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC!

This is one of those books that you have to be in the right frame of mind for. I attempted to read it when I first got granted the ARC but I couldn't get into it. The second time around was much better.

I went into this with heavy expectations, hoping for a similar reading experience as "A Song of Achilles" (ok, that's a high bar), "Circe" (another high bar), or any of Pat Barker's books. This wasn't quite it.

That said, I did enjoy the blending of the lost colony of Roanoke with Greco-Roman elements. As many other reviewers have mentioned, despite the note at the end, it feels negligent to not mention the colonization of the Americas.

This is a beautifully written story of Thelia, handmaiden to Prosperina (Persephone). Thelia feels she has betrayed her goddess/first love when Prosperina is kidnapped and taken to the Underworld. Her mother punishes Thelia and her sisters by banishing them to the island of Scopuli, where they are turned into the sirens and must use their monstrous gifts in order to survive.
After deciphering Prosperina's signs, Thelia is made human again and sails for the Americans, landing among the Roanoke Colony. She is sent to bring men back to Scopuli, to sacrifice to her goddess so that she may free her sisters and herself.
Told in dual POVs, before coming to Roanoke and while there, Thelia must learn to once again maneuver the treachery of men and make sure she saves her sisters and herself.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for this digital e-arc.*

4.5 stars. This is a powerful read about female rage and forgiveness.

Dual timelines can be tricky but it’s done well here, exploring the sirens of Ancient Rome as one leaves their exile to end up in the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Thelia’s story in Roanoke is depicted as just as brutal if not more so than her time in exile. And while it could’ve very easily made the statement that men = bad, it touches on the idea that bad people are made and not born.

Thank you to NetGalley, Shannon Ives, and Dell Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to receive this as an ARC! Overall, this had some interesting elements but was not my cup of tea.

The content warning was WILD. I have not read a book with ritualistic sacrifice and cannibalism before, so this was a first! This led to intense imagery: sirens luring sailors to their death, gore, domestic and sexual violence against women.

This is sapphic Greco-Roman mythology combined with an imagined explanation for the disappearance of the lost colony of Roanoke. If it sounds like a lot, IT IS.

We are shown several references of women solely being sexual objects to men: "looking like a monster but still being human between the legs". The word " flower" was also used to reference both love and hate, which was clever.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of “Those Fatal Flowers”.

As a North Carolinian, if I hear the words “The Lost Colony”, I’m immediately locked in. Interweaving the legend with Greek mythology AND queer representation was something I never saw coming, and I was really worried that this book was not going to make sense. Glad to say I was wrong!

Ives did a wonderful job making those two distinct historical periods come together and while it took me a few chapters to get into it and understand what was happening, it was worth it in the end!

Would I have ever expected Greek mythology to be combined with the Roanoke mystery?? No, but somehow these combinations + sapphic longing worked. Really enjoyed the split timelines between past, cursed Thelia and the "Lady" Thelia in Roanoke. My only unanswered question is I really wanted to know why Cora and Will looked so much like Thelia's past love.

The best part of this is the last 25ish%. I liked the combination of Grecco-Roman with the lost colony of Roanoke. Bringing these two pieces of history together was original and a really cool concept. But something about the story itself was off for me. I think it was the pacing. It did get better as the book went on though. This is definitely a book about feminine rage. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. This was a just okay read.

thank you NetGalley for the arc!

sapphic longing, feminist rage, greek mythology, and the roanoke colony.. a lot going on and the writing was quite pretty, but i just couldn’t really get into the story, honestly.

A rare miss from me. This tries too hard. Retelling myths is a popular genre lately but this one goes an additional step by throwing in the mystery of the lost Roanoke colony. It just didn't work for me. And, as others have noted this is missing a key element of the New World story-the indigenous people. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I DNF but I suspect there's an audience for this.

The writing was top notch. This book was interesting because its individual parts interested me but I think the execution was lacking. I enjoyed the alternating timelines though their connections could have been a bit tighter. I didn't really see the connection between each section-- but each were interesting.

The setting I did not care for. If a book is going to be using historical places during a period of time that is easily tracked-- excluding the people that actually lived there, glossing over their existence outside of detailing the horrors that happened to them does not sit well with me. For this reason I do think the story would have been plausible in any other location. I do understand why the location chosen would be desirable, however.

The relationships between the two main characters was very thin. If I wasn't aware of their backstory there was no reason for me to see why one of the characters would even give the other the time of day outside of proximity. It felt more like instant lust/longing. Speaking of those characters, the turn they make was jarring. It felt like the story dramatically came to a conclusion like a meal with no meat/protein, just sugar.

Thank you to Shannon Ives, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for an eARC of Those Fatal Flowers!

2.5 out of 5 stars - rounded up to 3 stars.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and thought combining Greco-Romany mythology with the lost colony of Roanoke was a very clever concept. For me, though, it fell a little flat. The book was really slow to start off because we had to get through world building for two separate time periods. Towards the middle things started to pick up but by that point I wasn't very invested in the story. Even then, bouncing back and forth from two time periods made everything seem dragged out and I found my attention wandering until the last 10% of the book.

I found the main character, Thelia, fairly unlikable. She was brave..... but also very whiny about it. I actually enjoyed learning about the side characters from the colony of Roanoke more that I enjoyed Thelia's story.

This may be the book for someone else, but although it had an interesting concept, it was not for me.

I feel like I can't rate this book as highly as I'd like to because the choice to set it in Roanoke and then not actually engage with the setting leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. It legitimately could be set in any other early colony in any other location and have the same effect, and instead we get a double erasure of the Croatan people, both in the story and in the history of the Roanoke "mystery". It also doesn't do itself any favors by making its antagonists just so unambiguously evil towards everyone, never actually confronting colonial mindsets and giving all the "good" characters fairly modern mindsets towards settler colonialism and land rights.

Anyway, this is a book full to the brim with female rage, particularly at men and society and how women get trapped in the endless cycles of being used, only broken when we actually look out for each other. Thelia gives as good as she gets, eventually, but there's a lot of heavy subject martial in between, particularly around sexual assault and miscarriages.

I'm also not sure how I feel about Cora looking so much like Proserpina when Thelia is still so hung up on her, only for it to be resolved with a "time to move on, I forgive you".