Song of sacrifice- Janell Rhiannon (e-book, new read)
‘The heart of the Trojan War belongs to the women. Mothers and daughters; wives and war prizes all whisper to us across time… praying they be remembered alongside the mighty men of myth.
As the Age of Heroes wanes, the gods gamble more fiercely with mortals’ lives than ever before. Women must rely on their inner strength and cunning if they’re going to survive the wars men wage for gold and glory. They struggle for control of their own lives. Rise from the ashes of brutal assaults. Fight to survive… by any means necessary. In a world where love leads to war and duty leads to destruction, it is the iron hearts of these heroines that will conquer all.’ (Song of Sacrifice synopsis).
I hadn’t heard of this book until I listened to Rhiannon’s podcast on spotify Greek Mythology Retold (which I recently found and love). This is a retelling of the events leading up to the Trojan War based upon the Iliad, with an emphasis on the different perspectives and experiences of the main characters throughout. This is a long book, but I really enjoyed it and the detail allowed the author time to think about how each character would have felt and dealt with their different fates throughout- in her podcast, Rhiannon emphasises her interest in the perspective of the women in the war and the relationship between humans, fate and the Gods. This book is easy to read with interesting characters and I’d recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read the Iliad but would like to learn more about the Trojan War- I’ve read the Iliad but I built my way up by reading about 20 myth retellings first and without doing this I would have no clue what was happening hahaha. I think mythology is one of those things where it will always take a long time to get to grips with what’s going on, but I do think this could be an interesting starting point (with the help of Google or a map of the million characters haha). 😊 I think the author is planning for this to be a series known as the Homeric Chronicles with around four books, there are currently two out just now.
Favourite/meaningful quote:
‘While you live, hope exists. It’s only hidden beneath your pain.’
‘The gods love to cut us with their truths. We, busy with suffering, bleed for their amusement.’
Dreamless- Josephine Angelina (physical book, reread)
‘A story of love, destiny and feuding families with extraordinary powers, descended from the heroes of ancient Greece, Dreamless is the second book in the heartstopping Starcrossed series by Josephine Angelini.’ (Dreamless synopsis)
This is the second book of the Starcrossed trilogy from my nostalgic binge. I still found this book interesting and fast paced, but I don’t like this as much as the first book for three main reasons: this was somehow even more cheesy and the characters became progressively angsty, characters were texting and the text language used was SO BAD hahaha, and this book decided to follow the apparently necessary trope of young adult fiction by developing a love triangle. I enjoyed the setting of the book and introduction of the character Orion (based on Aeneas) and depiction of Morpheus, however, I didn’t really like the interactions between Hades, Ares and Persephone, I’d rather that they weren’t in the book. Overall, if you’ve read Starcrossed I think this is an interesting sequel although it’s quite cheesy with the addition of overdone tropes. I tried to read the last book in the trilogy (can’t remember it’s name at this point) but stopped after 30 pages because it got too annoying, sadly I think this series went downhill (but I’d still consider it far better than Twilight).
Favourite/meaningful quote:
‘Remember there’s always a grain of truth in the prophecies, no matter how much poetry has been frosted on top.’
The Switch- Beth O’Leary (audiobook, new read)
‘Ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, Leena escapes to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some overdue rest. Newly single and about to turn eighty, Eileen would like a second chance at love. But her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t offer many eligible gentlemen… So Leena proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love, and L Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire.
But with a rabble of unruly OAPs to contend with, as well as the annoyingly perfect – and distractingly handsome – local schoolteacher, Leena learns that switching lives isn’t straightforward. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, and with the online dating scene. But is her perfect match nearer to home than she first thought?’
For someone who claims not to like cheesy books (and I don’t hahaha) I end up reading at least one contemporary romance a month. I end up rolling my eyes at quite a lot of them, but Beth O’Leary is probably my favourite author of this genre. 😊 I like the subplots and characters in her books (I’ve read The Switch and The Flatshare) are quite interesting, adding more to the story than the romance element (that I would say is secondary to the plot in this book). I really liked the character Eileen and found the story interesting and I guess endearing would be the word? I liked Leena less, but her chapters were still enjoyable to read. I listened to the audiobook which I tend to do for this genre- I liked the narrators in this story and I love Yorkshire accents, so It was quite relaxing to listen to on my bike rides. I would say this plot was predictable but enjoyable. 😊
I think my favourite book this week was Song of Sacrifice. Please let me know what your favourite book you read in April was, I love talking about books. 🙂 Also, thank you so much everyone who’s been reading my ramblings and commenting, I honestly thought nobody would read this blog haha so thank you! I hope May’s a good month for you all. 🙂 Also, I’m sorry if the fact that this ‘weekly book’ thing being over a week annoys anyone else haha.
carly books 