Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the ARC.

I was really excited for this as I am a huge mythology nerd, and this story certainly has potential.

For me, there are two main issues with this book.
1. The pacing was so slow and even though the characters were each unique, none of them elicited any form of emotional attachment for me. Which made the story drag even more - I had to drudge my way through this one.
2. If you were to go into this book with no prior knowledge of Greek myths, legends, and customs you would have no idea what was going on. The multiple names of the gods are used interchangeably, the academic terms for customs are used, and it reads more like a textbook. Again, I think this affected the pacing. I also understand the vibe here is dark academia, which was done decently well, I think crossed the very fine line into being too academic and some of the pleasure was removed because of that.

All that being said I do think the idea is great and a unique twist on a classic Greek story. Just not for me.

A really different retelling of the Hades and Persephone that you can see how has been thoroughly researched. A fabulous read from start to finish.

I love Greek myth retellings and try to get my hands on as many as I can, so I was excited about this since the premise made it seem like it would do something different than other Hades and Persephone retellings out there. What initially drew me in was how the main character is studying Greek myth in her Classics master's program, which I had just been doing about a month before picking up this book. I was excited to dive into a story with a main character who was studying the same thing as me. However, I DNF'd at about 15%. The writing style was difficult for me to follow and get into, and there were a few errors that I couldn't get past. The structure was also very confusing and I did not enjoy the initial characterization of the female character. Maybe with another few rounds of editing, I would be willing to try reading it again. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

Amanda L. Rautio’s The Tale of Kore is an imaginative and richly layered modern myth that reimagines ancient Greek lore with a fresh and compelling twist. Combining academic intrigue, cosmic stakes, and personal growth, the novel offers a thrilling journey through the Underworld that’s both epic in scale and deeply personal.

Corey, the protagonist, is a relatable and vividly drawn character. Her dissatisfaction with her life as a master’s student and her yearning for something greater provide an accessible entry point into the story. Corey’s transformation from an ordinary scholar to a vital player in a cosmic struggle is both exhilarating and poignant. Her growth feels earned, as she confronts not only mythical beasts and ancient mysteries but also her own fears and insecurities.

Rautio’s portrayal of the Underworld is mesmerizing. It’s a realm of shadows and secrets, full of labyrinthine passages and haunting imagery. The setting is both beautiful and terrifying, a fitting backdrop for the high stakes of Corey’s quest. The author’s ability to seamlessly blend modern sensibilities with ancient mythology is particularly impressive, making the story feel timeless yet relevant.

The novel’s plot is fast-paced and engaging, driven by Corey’s mission to restore balance to a world on the brink of collapse. The reimagining of figures like Demeter, Persephone, and the goddesses of justice, memory, and spring adds depth to the story, exploring themes of renewal, loss, and the enduring power of myth. The stakes are tangible, and the twists keep readers guessing.

One of the novel’s strengths is its thematic richness. Rautio delves into the nature of justice, the importance of memory, and the cycles of life and death, weaving these ideas seamlessly into the narrative. Corey’s quest is as much about self-discovery as it is about saving the world, making her journey resonate on multiple levels.

If there’s a minor critique, it’s that some aspects of the mythology might feel dense for readers less familiar with Greek lore. However, Rautio does an admirable job of providing context without bogging down the story.

Corey is in her final year of her master´s degree in classics. She has the feeling all her friends know exactly what they´re doing but she feels a bit lost.
She has an ordinary life, shares a flat with her childhood friend Kat. All of this is changing one day when Corey and her friends recreate the Eleusinian Mysteries for fun and she ends up taking Persephone´s place. Who would have thought she is ending in the underworld and Hades is awaiting her?

This is a really great re telling of Persephone and Hades. I like that this old story gets such a modern twist here. Persephone is a strong person, the one with the real power and she is making hard decisions.
I really like that we get glimpses to Persephone in the past and have the current story unfolding in front of us. The idea that not everybody is who they seem to be at first is well written.
Lots of myth is woven into this story and with all the names (also the different ones for the same person) and all the background information is given here. Sometimes this was a bit too much for me as in my opinion it slowed down the storyline and I had the feeling it dragged in some places. It took me a bit too long till Corey got what was happening and how all is linked but then when the story has picked up speed I couldn´t stop reading as I wanted to know how it ends.
I really liked Hades. For me he is such a wonderful character here and I am so happy that he is not the bad guy as usually in the story.
Aiden is mysterious but for me a really wonderful character.
With Corey I had some issues. I think it took her quite some time to read the signs and accept what is going on but then I liked her a lot.
Persephone is here a strong female character who doesn´t want to accept fate or what everybody is saying what her fate is. So this is really a great new view.
A good book I enjoyed reading. I really like the amount of knowledge woven into the story and how interesting the characters are.
I deduct stars as for me it dragged in some parts and it slowed down the story before it took off really well at the end again.

This is such a great read. The amount of research and thought that has gone into the story is clearly evident. I’m really looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A Percy Jackson for adults! A dark academia retelling of Greek Myth. The mythology used in this book was well researched, I particularly liked what the author did with Hades. I tend to have a soft spot for Hades so I enjoy when authors give him more to do then just be the villain. This book was my first dip into the world of dark academia and after reading this book I am ready to read more books in this genre!

I was really excited for this Greek mythology retelling, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. The pacing was slow, with large chunks of filler and unnecessary explanations, making it feel drawn out, and at times, the writing felt a bit amateurish. While the concept was interesting, especially with the feminist take on Persephone, the execution just didn’t work for me, and I found myself more frustrated than engaged throughout the story.

Cawpile 9.00
This book was absolutely what I needed. It was soo good this was everything what I needed, A fresh look at a story we know for all how hades and Persephone came but this voice was so unique and I cannot wait for more in this series because I am in love with Aidan and Carey and cannot wait to see where their story goes and how it proceeds. It is stunning how much I knew in this book but did not feel as if I was being taught just that I was experiencing it with the characters.

If you like Greek mythology give this book a try and trust me you will not be disappointed as it had me gasping, tearing up and rooting for the two main characters throughout.
I have already recommended this to my friends because it was that good.

Going up on Instagram today

This book really puts the history in historical fiction...
Parts of it felt more like a text book than an actual novel.
There are some really amazing plot moments and character development it just feels like it's sandwiched between teaching us history and cutesy friendship building moments that were plot filler and didn't really add much value to the story.
I feel like 10% of the first 30% of the book is needed to get to where the story ends. 30%-80% was more enjoyable then the last 20% was mostly unnecessary until the last chapter.
When the story was progressing it was really good! I really did enjoy it but I was skim reading to get to the meat of the story. The underwood sections were by far the best part. I wish there was more mystery around Corey discovering her heritage and less about the others who don't come into play in this story (even if they do later that should've been done in their own books).
In saying that I think anyone who wants to learn about Ancient Greece and their myths and folklore as they read would really enjoy this book.
thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. This is my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amanda L. Rautio for the arc.

This book features cults centered around Greek myths. The main character is obsessed with Persephone, and honestly, I have no words for that because I can't stand her. I always do my best to push through ARCs, but I had to stop when it was revealed that the FMC was actually a reincarnation of Persephone.

While the story had an intriguing concept, the writing felt amateurish to me. That said, I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys Hades x Persephone retellings in an academic setting. Even though it wasn’t for me, I know that’s a “me” problem.*

This was a really unique greek mythology retelling. I enjoy any Hades and Persephone retelling but this one was very unexpected. It had a great blend of academia and fantasy with a mystery element that kept me hooked. It reminded me somewhat of the Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy.

I loved that this rewrote Persephone’s story in a very feminist way and deviated from the classic myth retelling that (whilst entertaining) is somewhat overdone. I liked the way that we were taken on a journey with Corey, discovering the truth alongside her. Weaving Persephone’s perspective through the story at just the right points to either entice the reader with more mystery or give further explanation when needed complemented the narrative well.

I do feel like the pacing could have been improved. 100 pages or so could have been condensed as it did feel slow at points with quite large chunks of filler and some things were overly explained. It felt fairly low stakes considering the discussions around the possibility of Cronos raising and stopping world destruction, I’m assuming this was to focus more on Corey’s journey of self-discovery. I would also have liked more time focusing on the romance between Corey and Aiden because it was so sweet, I just wanted more of it.

Overall, a really good book, I'm looking forward to reading the next one as I hope to see the other gods/goddesses stories unfold.

As a lover of Greek Myth (especially Hades and Persephone) I was excited to read this. While the book had a great concept, I don't believe it was executed quite well. I'm not usually one to nitpick on grammatical errors either but there were quite a few and it was difficult for me to overlook. Perhaps with a rewrite, this could be a better read but it fell flat at the moment.

The Tale of Kore
Amanda L. Rautio
2 stars

Well. I absolutely adore a Greek retelling, and I have read every possible one out there, so I was super excited to jump into this one. But, unfortunately I just could not get on with it.

Firstly, the errors in this were a mess. Did this go through Beta readers at all? Secondly, there was no structure to this at all. It was all just thrown in together and that was that.

This was a quick DNF after 17%. I can deal with some errors here and there, especially in ARCs but this was just unreadable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm a sucker for a Greek mythology retelling, especially with Hades and Persephone. I thought the story went at a very strong pace, and I loved how all the characters interacted with each other. The main character, Corey, was very well-written, and I thought her evolution throughout the story made a lot of sense. I can't wait to get my hands on the next one.

The Tale of Kore by Amanda L. Rautio

The concept of The Tale of Kore immediately caught my attention—a fresh spin on Greek mythology? That’s right up my alley! Unfortunately, this book didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

The premise of Master’s students diving deep into Greek mythology and guiding readers along their academic journey was compelling in theory. However, the execution felt disjointed. While the scenes featuring conversations between classmates were loaded with an impressive amount of knowledge and detail, these were often followed by completely unrelated moments, like the FMC vividly describing her male classmates playing chicken at the beach. The abrupt shifts between dense intellectual discussions and arbitrary, superficial scenes gave me literary whiplash.

It’s clear the author is deeply passionate about Greek mythology and brings a wealth of expertise to the table, which I truly respect. Unfortunately, the story itself felt scattered, making it hard to fully immerse myself in the narrative.

That said, I can see this book finding its niche among readers ready to embrace its unique structure and deep dive into mythology. It wasn’t the right fit for me, but I hope it resonates with others who can appreciate its ambition.

Thank you, NetGally, for allowing me the opportunity to read this title.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

A deeply engaging take on the tale of Persephone and Hades, Amanda L. Rautio breathes new life into this often adapted story with fantastic characters, an intriguing mystery, and a modern flair! Highly recommended to any lovers of Greek mythology! Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was provided a free copy of this book from NetGalley.

This was a DNF for me. I usually give a book about 10% before I decide if I’m going to continue. The writing just seemed off. The story did not catch my attention at all. It kind of just seemed like an info dump. The premise had my attention, but it just didn’t deliver. If I hear otherwise, I could always jump back in. I’ll keep an eye on the reviews, and update my review if I dive back in.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you very much for the ARC!

This book has a fantastic premise, and was one of the ARC's I was most excited to receive this year. Greek myth retellings have been big for the last couple of years for good reason, and bringing in a modern element to tell an entirely new myth is a very creative way to innovate and introduce something new in the genre.

I think this could be an incredible book, but it needs several more rounds of editing first.

There are many grammatical and line level edits that need to be made, with several instances of typos, missing commas, tense changes, and places where a sentence was clearly changed halfway through but the first half wasn't corrected to match the end throughout the book. There also seem to be many places in which there are two to three sentences which all convey the exact same thing, which need to be pared down to a single sentence.

There are also developmental edits that need to be made. Some themes and ideas are inconsistent For example: Hades doesn't know what a telephone is, but he knows enough about the Lord of the Rings to name Cirith Ungol when Corey says something reminds her of LOTR; does he know about the modern world or not? It says Gods don't need to sleep, but they're often sleeping despite that. Corey is an MA student in Classics, but from time to time needs things explained to her that one would think she would know. There is no acknowledgement of the fact that the main conflict is not solved during the climax until the last page, which results in a bit of a strange wrap up, in which it seems like everyone is treating it as though everything has been fixed despite the fact that it hasn't until one sentence at the very end. Quite a bit of the exposition throughout the book is rather info-dumpy, and needs to be pared down.

Though it's clear that the author spent a lot of time reviewing the mythological basis for the book, it seems she didn't spend as much time researching the setting. Corey is a second year MA student, yet she doesn't know which professor is the Greek expert in the classics department, not only does it seem like she would have found that out instantly upon starting classes, most graduate programs require you to state which faculty members you would like as advisors in your applications. She also talks about a class with a M/W/F schedule, though virtually all graduate classes meet once a week, rarely twice a week. The book also takes place in Athens, GA, which I think could have been researched slightly more. For example, when deciding to go camping they go to "the national forest" which is just over an hour away, despite the fact that there are several national parks (i.e. it seems like when discussing it they would specify which one) only around half an hour away from Athens. There is also a bizarre moment in which Hermes indicates that the invention and use of birth control is causing casual sex to become a societal problem, despite the fact that the ancient greeks used forms of birth control.

Lastly, the prose could use refinement. There is a fine line between the flowery prose that has come to be expected from Greek mythological fiction and stilted overly formal prose. There is something to be said for simplicity, and at times the prose gives the impression that most of the words were looked up in a thesaurus to make them sound more formal rather than sounding like natural speech. This causes some passages to come off as awkward, and is highlighted by the way it seems to swing wildly between very casual modern speaking and extremely formal.

Again, the premise is spectacular. The plot is engaging and is a really cool innovation on the current state of the genre. I really think that with more editing this could be a book that could land Amanda Rautio's name among Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint as a pillar of modern greek mythological fiction. It has a LOT of promise as a story and series concept, but it needs quite a bit more editing.