The Hymn to Dionysus

I loved this book so much that I knew I had to wait at least a day before writing my review. Oh my god, this was so good.

I have a one-line pitch for it that immediately sold my sister so much that I preordered a copy for her birthday even though it doesn't come out until March, but it's a bit spoilery about the ending, so I'll put that at the end. But basically if you love books like Madeline Miller's or Greek mythology in general, and you love queerness and hope while still not feeling like a lighthearted fairy tale, this is the perfect book for you. I was so drawn in to the characters and their world, while also being so stressed the whole time about how it would end. I loved the way it was written, and the themes, and the things you come back to, and the resolution we get for all the questions and mysteries. Genuinely dare I say a perfect book??? Idk. I just know I'm going to be recommending it to everyone I can.

Spoilers ahead!! What I told my sister is that it has some Orpheus and Eurydice/Achilles and Patroclus vibes while also having a happier ending. Like, it's not just a HEA type thing, but the ending was much happier than I expected given how these sorts of stories usually go (and given how it wasn't marketed as a romance, at least not by the time I read it). Like, if The Song of Achilles and/or Hadestown broke your heart, this will put it back together again, just a little.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC!

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I really liked Mars House, but Pulley in this new book returns -- sort of -- to her m/m romance historical novels. Though, in fact, we're in prehistory in this one. The novel takes place in Thebes just after the Trojan War; Dionysus arrives, in the middle of a drought, and chaos ensues, but in an entirely therapeutic fashion. The main character, Phaidros, is delightful; he mostly outshines Dionysus, but I still enjoyed their romance.

This was wonderful, but I didn’t expect anything less from Natasha Pulley. Beautiful and complex and funny and sad and unflinching. This is what a myth should feel like.

WOW! What did I just read??? I love Greek myth retellings and this one felt like it was on another plane! Imaginative and tender filled with magic, adventure and longing with writing that just captivates you wholly! I am in awe of how beautifully Pulley reimagined Dionysus's story and I feel like it is no small thing to believe that Dionysus would be proud.