The story flows well and keeps the reader invested in the main character's journeys. While hesitant about the two interwoven timelines, I ultimately found that they provided intrigue and the right amount of background knowledge. I also recommend reading the Endnotes for an explanation of specific Greek names used within the Roman mythological story.

Wow, I loved Those Fatal Flowers! The plot line is a mythological retelling of the sirens, specifically focused on Thelia. It gave background information of what happened in the past, going back in time and then back to the present, to show readers how Thelia and her sisters became cursed and what they are now trying to do to change their fates. The “now” portions of the book are set at the settling of Roanoke Island by white colonists. I liked that the author mentioned the brutality of the colonists and didn’t try to gloss it over, and I also liked the LGBTQ representation within the story. Overall, I loved how the story showed how the corruption of man leads to consequences for victims, and how we all need to fight against this corruption to make real change.

This really didn't work for me. The split timeline was really distracting, and it felt kind of like the author wanted to do both historical fiction AND greek mythology but couldn't decide, so they decided to do a mish-mash of both... meaning the story didn't stand out in either genre. I didn't feel for any of the characters -- the sirens themselves were pretty unhinged. I couldn't get behind the Cora romance because Cora felt kind of like a mean white lady. It felt kind of abrupt to go from "we're suffering women" to "let's murder all our husbands" too.

I also wish that the indigenous voices were more present as part of this narrative. It felt wrong to have them be a part of the backdrop but not include their story in detail.

Greco-Roman mythology with a historical fiction twist? SAY LESS. The cover grabbed my eye first, and then I stayed for the story and ended this book being very pleased with the end result.

It took a little bit to sort through the names of the characters not on Roanoke, as it was a mixture of the two (Greek and Roman) I would have liked to have seen only one being used as it would have allowed for an easier entry into the story. Less mental gymnastics at least.

That said….this was an absolutely beautiful sapphic story that I was not expecting. The characters were so well written, and I found myself raging at moments, crying in the next, and just truly pleased with how everything was wrapped up. I didn’t know how the legend of Roanoke and the story of the Sirens of Scopuli would combine, but goodness it just came together in such a beautiful and authentic way that honestly left me wanting this to be the true history.

4.5 ⭐️, but rounding up to 5

Thank you Penguin Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC read.

I’ll be the first to admit I burnt myself out on Greek retellings a while ago, but I couldn’t not pick this one up. I really enjoy the tales of the “villains” in mythology like Medusa and Scylla or in this case, the Sirens.

I’m so glad I did.

This was beautifully written in the way a lot of the retellings I read are. It flows and the descriptions are musical almost, which is nice as this is a book about the Sirens of Scopuli. The plot is split into two timelines, a before and a now. This is actually one of my favorite ways to keep me hooked in as I appreciate putting together the pieces of the puzzle myself. I also LOVE that she used a colony that mysteriously disappeared and has plagued historians ever since, it has a realness seeped into it I haven’t seen in other retellings.

The characters. Thelia’s development is top notch, truly. I love that she gets to have her cake and eat it too instead of the tragic ending I’m used to in these books. The revenge is sweet and Thelia’s ruthlessness (rightful at that) is perfect.

This book is very anti bad men. Not all men, but bad men. It was a fun journey to see Thelia realize the difference.

I’m very happy for the opportunity to read this ARC through Netgalley. 4.5⭐️

This overall was lovely. Admittedly, I have no real mythology knowledge but I appreciated how easy I was able to follow along with the mythology and enjoy the story and characters.

Link to full Good Reads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6652962463

WHEW.

Let's start with what I'm sure many others will say: I was immediately drawn in by the gorgeous cover and synopsis. Sapphic? Female rage? Historical in not one, but two different eras? SIGN ME UP. Once I started though, I wondered if this would be more than my current brain bandwidth could handle right now: it's been a long time since I read alternating timelines, and between that and the Greco-Roman mythology (that I recognize but am not super well-versed in) I just wasn't sure.

But this was so, so beautifully done. The writing itself is absolutely poetic, and Ives manages to make the mythology accessible while maintaining all of the gravity, tragedy, and beauty we're drawn to in the first place. There's a realness and depth to Thelia that makes her feel like a dear friend in need, and so I raged, cheered, and cried right along with her. Despite the moments that I wondered how she'd get out of her mess (as well as the moments that felt comfortably predictable), I was never bored. If you support women's rights but also their wrongs, please pick this up. When all is said and done, it is an absolutely satisfying read.

Oh, and I had no idea this is Ives' debut novel; I can't wait to see what else she does!

(Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.)

Defiantly a 5 star
In Ceres palace a huge banquet has been made to find a suitable husband for her daughter Persephone. Persephone & her handmaiden Thelia, are lovers, something Ceres had tried to put an end to with making sure they aren't alone. With the feast so not so guarded, Persephone has left a note to Thelia to tryst at unspoken old rendezvous spot next to a pool. Thelia is attacked & Persephone kidnapped by a God. Thelia flees to palace for help though wrath will be on her head as well as her two sisters Raidne & Pisinoe, all daughters of a Muse. They have been cursed for actions of Persephone, becoming Harpies to look for Persephone for years to not be able to get into Hades so cursed to be the Sirens in same form around the islands to lure sailors to their deaths to gorge on. Proserpina now, whispering hope of salvation to Thelia through signs & on the wind.
Thrust in the present, in a boat dying laying on jewels & found more dead than alive in the form of a woman. A wild tale concocted to lure men to the island for big enough sacrifice to give the sister life not Taratas. Why should we feel guilt for the actions of others we can't control & what depths of depravity exists in some & especially in a group situation against vulnerable & defenseless? Is there even any room for absolution in those ruled by greed & lust to abuse power? Another note based on erroneous pop psych peddled as spirituality is that people go through the same trauma time & again until they learn to get over or release it: no they don't this is another conscript, it is an indulgence & self-mortification. Don't accept guilt that isn't yours & assign the punishment to those that deserve it.

2.5 stars

Beautiful writing and a fascinating concept, but it was still lacking something. It never really grabbed my attention and I found myself feeling a bit...apathetic the entire time.

This book is not at all what I was expecting. I’m not a huge fan of split timelines- I had the same issue in which I would forget what happened in the alternate timeline with the switch between chapters. However, the two stories on their own were interesting. I was expecting Greek mythology similar to what you’d expect from Madeline Miller or Natalie Haynes. The secondary story in a newly settled Puritan colony added some depth to the story because it’s a new story unfolding. You can’t just look up what happened in the original myth, and I think that drew me further into the story, even if I didn’t love the jumping back and forth.

This story begins as Thelia and her two sisters, formerly lady maids for Persephone, are punished for her kidnapping. They find themselves trapped on an island and dependent on the deaths of passing sailors to stay alive. In the alternate timeline, Thelia washes up on the shore of the newly established Roanoke colony, sent to free her sisters from their island prison. Her arrival and the announcement that she is a lost princess in search of a husband sends the small community into a frenzy. As she gets to know the settlers, she figures out fairly early who she can and cannot trust.

The characters and the development they experience are incredibly written. Thelia’s continuous guilt for not stopping her first love from being dragged to the underworld and the compassion of some and cruelty of others in Roanoke are masterfully interwoven throughout this story. It was an interesting take on two fairly well-known elements of myth- Persephone and Hades as well as the terrors inflicted by sirens.

Thank you to the publisher and net galley for letting me read an early copy of this book! Those Fatal Flowers is , lightly, a retelling of the Prosperina (Persephone) myth that also delves into the disappearance of Roanoke. It follows Thelia who was one of Prosperina's handmaidens and was present when Prosperina was taken.

I really liked the concept of this novel, and I did quite enjoy the elements that followed Thelia and her sisters, and the way that Thelia connected to the human women of Roanoke. I was grateful that this book did not take the approach of making her enemies of most of the women. However, parts of this book fell flat for me. This book glanced over themes of anti-colonialism, but did not delve deeper into the mistreatments of native Americans. I understand the writer did not feel that it was her story to tell, but it could have been expanded upon in a sensitive way.

I also did not enjoy the element of "not all men" that got slipped in towards the 3/4 mark of the book, however that is likely me being a bit sensitive to that portion. Overall I did enjoy the book and I think a lot of people who love Greek/Roman myths will enjoy this!

Thank you to Penguin Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early.

Those Fatal Flowers follows Thelia, a former handmaiden to Proserpina, the goddess of Spring, as she navigates Roanoke Colony in the hopes of returning to her former mistress.

This book was an interesting look at a few familiar tales, that of Hades and Persephone and the colony of Roanoke. While it feels like it lacks some context because it is such a short book I really enjoyed reading it and getting a glimpse into the lives of Thelia and her sisters as well as Cora and the lives of those in Roanoke.

I was a bit confused with how some Roman names of gods were used and some Greek but an enjoyable and intriguing read all the same.

Thank you Penguin Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley again for the chance to read this early.

Compelling read but kinda predictable. I'm glad I refreshed my memory on the back stories of the Roman Gods before I started. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Those Fatal Flowers by Sharon Ives is wonderful!

I love the retelling of Greek and Roman mythology that is taking place now, it seems as if there is a new generation of writer’s retelling the myths I read in my childhood, and I am all in with these versions.

In this book the author brings together Sirens and the lost island of Roanoke and weaves a tale of love, mystery, and revenge in a story that is intriguing and left me wanting more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

At first I was a little concerned with how the plots of two story lanes would connect but holy moly, did they! Greek mythology has been gaining popularity, and I was worried this may end up as one in a mass of them, but I can honestly say this one not only stands out, but towers. Retellings with saphic romance, say no more. I foresee a future, upon book release, where the popularity of this book will soar and it will become an instant favorite of many, such as myself.

Note to the author: we want more!

What if the Roanoke colony disappeared because a queer ancient Roman misandrist siren washed up on shore and stole everyone so she could sacrifice them to her ex gf goddess and become divine again? If that premise doesn't hook you, I don't know what would.

This was an entertaining revenge fantasy full of female rage and sapphic love. There was also an interesting theme throughout of how being monstrous = safe whereas being beautiful = dangerous.

The writing style reminded me a bit of When the Moon Hatched: modern speech and grammar mixed in with kind of pretentious synonyms instead of normal words. Like the stars "scintillate", it's an "aperture" not a window, there were descriptions of a spider and lily early on that were VERY purple. I got used to the prose but it did take me a bit. I also thought there'd be more likeable male characters to show the MC Thelia that not all are evil, but there was only one (plus some small children).

I'm never really into "reincarnated" love interests. That's not the case here, the love interest only LOOKS like Thelia's former love, but that's even weirder maybe? Thelia clearly has a type.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell and particularly Kathleen Quinlan for allowing me to read a copy of this book! There are content warnings in the book, which I appreciated, and certainly my students would too.

Unfortunately, I do not think I am the type of reader for it. I was very excited-- sapphic Roman myth, assumed anticolonialism, and dual timelines-- but some of the things seemed... a bit over simplistic. There was very little mention of those who were being forcibly displaced and warred against, as the author had mentioned it didn't feel like her place to write-- so most of the mentions were from the island. There was very little of Thelia hearing any talk of Indigenous peoples in Roanake, only at Scopuli. Which in itself felt odd.
I'm... also not sure what the purpose of a certain death at the end of the chapter was. It seemed to have no true benefit-- there was no consequence, no pain other than "hmm it is sad I'm killing this person". To raise the stakes, maybe but. . . in that case it felt very artificial.

The misogyny too, felt very heavy-handed-- they believe she's a princess, and she will choose one of them to marry so a way to do that is to. Hold her hostage, assault her, and punish her for handing out what is believed to be some parts of her dowry because she's "stealing" from them, even as she'd chosen someone else before? At that point I would have made new rules, said there were further trials for husbandry, or said I'd be going to another colony-- even though the purpose of coming is well. to kill men.

The "mystery" of Roanoke also seemed. . . . we have oral histories of Roanoke peoples, a good amount of them marry Native people and integrating in. I'm not sure how I felt about this version.

Queer? Mythology? Sign me up! I really enjoyed this book. Took a little to get invested but once I was I loved it. It’s very unique and the characters are different and intriguing. I will be adding this to our library it’s a great debut!

Greco-Roman mythology meets American puritan colony history in this debut novel. It took me a while to feel comfortable with the alternating time line and I was puzzled as to how the two stories would come together. But I should have just relaxed and trusted the author because this is a very clever and interesting entwining of two worlds.

The retelling of Greek myths has been popular in recent years with authors such as Madeline Miller, this takes a different approach but I think would appeal to those who enjoyed Circe and The Song of Achilles.

Thank you to @netgalley @randomhouse for the ARC