Eros is going to be our newest book boyfriend :D


If you like...

- mythology retellings
- dual POV
- kickass FMC's
- Greek heros and Greek gods

... then you are going to LOVE this book

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

The last Psyche & Eros retelling I read was Katee Robert’s. This version, written by Luna McNamara, is quite different in execution.

While there is a romance, for me the most successful part of this story is just in the retelling itself, with the romance present but subsumed to the arc of the myth. There is little emotional intimacy, for example.

But there is an intriguing tale of a fated warrior legend—Psyche—a ticked off goddess, Aphrodite, & a god who curses himself with love & who has a lot to learn about the subject of his spell.

The plot moves along from one moment of tension to another, as Psyche & Eros both journey to great lengths to save each other. For me, the best part of the story is in Psyche’s realization about heroism & what actions the stories of heroes are based on.

In the end, Psyche & Eros is a quietly affecting retelling of the myth, great for people who want a story of growth & devotion, with a happy ending for the pair.

4⭐️. Out now!

CWs: death, imprisonment, violence. Reference to slaves, to rape, & suicide.

[ID: Jess's white hand holds the ebook over a lawn. In the background are a blue sky, trees, and to the right, a chicken coop.]

Feminist retellings of ancient myths are all the rage these days. I love a good retelling of a classic story, but I’ve found myself bored with all the feminist greek myth retellings that have been published over the last several years. It seems like every book is desperately trying to recreate the song of Achilles. This book was no exception. It was beautifully written, but nothing exciting

If you're interested in Greek mythology and retellings, I'd say this book is definitely worth a read. While I don't know that I'd say it's one of the better ones that I've read it's one of a lesser talked about myth and pretty well done.

This book is absolute magic. My bookstore is so excited about it that we have paired with a sweet shop for a pre-order campaign. We CANNOT wait.

This was such a great mythological retelling and it was on point! The writing style the author used was engaging and kept me entertained from the first to the last page! Amazing retelling of one of my favorite classical story!

If you like your Greek Mythology retellings to be copy and pasted from the original sources, then you will not like this one. If you don't mind some creative liberties and a parade of "who's who" in Greek Mythology, then you might enjoy this one!

I thought some of the changes were more interesting and effective than others, but what I really enjoyed about this was the writing. I highlighted multiple passages and phrases that were effortless and interesting. I also liked how sensual it was (after spending a lot of time consuming myth content appropriately censored for children, it's nice to have one for an adult sensibilities). It's still relatively tame, but it scratched that itch for me. The whole we share-a-bed-but-you-can't-see-my-face dynamic is ripe for a compelling love story.

I don't think this will be one of the Greek Myth retellings I'll return to often, it was pleasant to read, even with its quirks.

Admittedly I was not super well versed in the story of Psyhe and Cupid, or Eros as he is styled in this novel, prior to receiving the ARC, however I still found the changes the author chose to make early in the book fairly annoying.

Psyche is born an only child in this version, and allowed to become a "warrior", trained by Atalanta. Her father is the oldest brother of Agammemnon and Menelaus and son of Perseus and therefore this story overlaps with the story of the Trojan War, a change that honestly I felt was completely unnecessary. There have been a flood of books about the Trojan War in the last several years and I felt it added nothing to this particular book. The beginning of this book had so many changes made to the original story that I was initially put off and unsure I would enjoy this retelling.

For me, I enjoyed the perspective of Eros and his discussion of the evolution of Gods and humanity over time and his place as a primordial being. Once the book got to the point where Psyche and Eros meet and embark on their relationship together, the book really picks up. Her trials to break the curse and free Eros are only in the last 30% of the novel and from there it quickly ends.

With this mixed bag, I'm rating this book 3.5 stars but rounding down for the excessive changes that seem unnecessary to me.

Thank you to Book Club Girl, William Morrow, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

Psyche and Eros has always been a "no notes" story that I thought could really benefit from a modern retelling to add more sweeping depth and emotion to their timeless love story. I had high expectations for this novel, especially once I started getting acquainted with the author's voice. Her writing style felt very much in line with the other Greek myth retellings by some of my favorite authors.

However, I really didn't see a reason for most of the artistic choices the author took in changing the narrative of the story. Not giving Psyche her two sisters and fleshing out their complex relationship (which all families could relate to) and instead making her a tough tomboy trained by Atalanta and the cousin of Iphegenia, Agamemnon's daughter. Making her sort of abrasive in character so her arc can be to become well-loved when she was supposed to be that from the beginning. Including a whole extra storyline about the Trojan war that just didn't need to exist. Not building more of Psyche and Eros's relationship so it could feel deep and epic, like it's supposed to.

I think if you're not familiar with the original story, you'll enjoy this. But if you're a fan of the original, steer clear of this.

Lyrical and lovely! This is a thoughtful and intriguing updating of the Psyche myth. Psyche has a strong voice and an interesting emotional journey. I enjoyed Eros a lot, though I felt like his voice dropped out a lot more later in the book, and I discovered that I missed it.

I broadly enjoyed how McNamara wove other stories in as well, though the Trojan War element did feel somewhat extraneous. I think I might not have felt as much that way if there'd been more payoff. I could see the thematic harmonies and how the stories were in conversation with each other, but they didn't feel fully synthesized. The Demeter, Persephone, and Atalanta elements felt more fully resonant.

I love how many Greek retellings are out right now! Happy to add this one to my favorites. I love even more than we get new versions of not only Psyche and Eros, but Cupid as well!

This was a unique retelling!

I did think it is attempting to trail onto the path of TSOA, and it didn’t quite get there, but overall it was an enjoyable story.

There were a lot of aspects of the myth that were changed. Some I didn’t mind, others I didn’t understand how they better suited the story? Those are my only real hang ups.

The authors prose is incredibly done, and the overall verbiage used is poetic and delightful. I also really liked the dual POV. Brava! I had fun.

This was an enjoyable book based on the Greek mythology of Psyche and Eros were both have challenges that they need to face together. I don’t know much about Greek Mythology and its history so I’m not sure how accurate the information is. Though if you don’t care about its accuracy then this would be a great book to read. McNamara is a fantastic writer and I loved the way they described the world they have written. Everything was very specific and the world-building was well-built. Though there were points my brain would trail off when the historical stuff came in, I did like the many conflicts the author included in the story. The story was way more interesting than I thought it would be. But for this book, I was expecting a lot of romance and sadly it was very light in this book. Overall the story was greatly written in was written in dual perspectives.

Psyche is the FML whose duty is to marry and have children though she wants to be a warrior. I enjoyed the character she was built to be and how she wanted to be the hero. She was annoying at times but her development made up for it. Then there is Eros the god of love whose mission goes bad. I absolutely loved his character and he was my favorite in this book. His story and character development was so well written that I just wanted more of him. There are many side characters in this book and I loved how involved they were with the story. It was the perfect amount though Aphrodite was annoying. There is LGBTQ+ rep but the tropes in this book is forced proximity. The romance was cute but I wish the story was more romance-based then it was.

The ending was well done and readers get a cute epilogue of the characters. This story was well written but I know that some will disagree if they are into mythology. Psyche and Eros are my favorite Greek mythology gods so I was excited to read this book. I totally recommend reading this book if you are into historical Greek mythology romance that is mostly character development with a bit of romance

I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me a bit of Madeline Miller’s writing, which I love. I am such a fan of Greek mythology, and this was a great book to read when wanting that category!

There were a few points that lagged for me, but overall, I enjoyed this story and the journey it took me on.

This book is a treasure. A true love conquers all heroic tale. I was enraptured from the first page and couldn’t put it down. An epic in its own right about a rarely told tale of Eros and Psyche. A tale of a hero, forbidden love, and forgiveness! I was very pleasantly surprised at the intensity and depth of this book, everything flowed so well from both Eros and Psyche’s point of view… so much so that I am dying for another!I think I found a new favorite author and can’t wait to see what else she releases soon!

I'm not overly familiar with the myth of Psyche and Eros (and Greek myths, in general), but from what I know (and what I've seen in other reviews) this retelling definitely takes a big departure from the source material. That fact didn't bother me while reading this, however after sitting with this for a while I feel quite lukewarm about this book. The writing was good, although the pacing was both slow and fast at the same time. Some events would take place over the course of only a few pages, but overall it felt like nothing was really happening. I think my biggest issue with this is that it's labeled as a feminist retelling, but really they just went ahead and made Psyche a warrior and bam! Now you're a feminist. Yes, she's given more agency, but at the end of the day her story is based around the fact that she's the wife of Eros. And even their relationship felt forced and lackluster. I felt like they more had an obligation to each other rather than real love for each other. I did like the characters, but at the same time they felt shallow. Add in the fact that I want a Greek myth retelling that's actually a fantasy and not something that feels more like a historical fiction, and this just wasn't for me.

Y'all know that mythology retellings are my jam, and this one gives us a lesser known story but one that touches upon a lot of the major events and characters well known to us. Eros is the god of desire, going about the world shooting arrows that lead to intense love. He is generally uninterested in mortals until he is tasked with delivering a curse to mortal princess, Psyche. Psyche has been training under Atalanta and angered Aphrodite with her lack of reverence and respect. Eros has his first misfire and ends up cursing himself. He is forever doomed to not look upon Psyche, who is now the object of all of his desires. The two find away around the curse for a while but when they first gaze upon one another, they are forced apart seemingly forever. Psyche, not one to lay down and accept her fate sealing a deal with Aphrodite to lift it if she can complete three impossible tasks.

This one started off a little slow for me, perhaps because I'm a frequent mythology reader and some of the groundwork needed here gives you lots of back and side stories to familiarize the reader with the world. It does pick up mid-way and I really enjoyed Psyche as a character. The quests were epic and entertaining. 

Thanks to William Morrow for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

Thanks to William Morrow for the copy of this book!

I chose to DNF this one - the storyline is a little too far from the original mythology for my liking.

Twisty and dark and everything wonderful about the story of Psyche and Eros. A new to me author but not my last time reading her.

Read if you like
🇬🇷 Greek Mythology
♥️ Romance
✨ Fantasy
📚 Retellings

I have to preface this review with the fact that I really don’t know much about Greek mythology but I found this one so fun and captivating!

I loved the fantasy and romance aspects in this story as I felt it truly brought it all together so well.

I loved the tie with the Trojan war in this one as I feel like that is close to the extent of my Greek mythology understanding so it definitely brought in things I was familiar with to enjoy this one!

Thanks so much William Morrow for my ARC in exchange for my review!