I’m always intrigued by a retelling of the myth of Orpheus Eurydice, and R.M. Romero has succeeded in putting an entirely new twist on the tale while also echoing the classic heart of the story (and giving off some Hadestown vibes in the process). The book is told through the perspective of Andres Santos, who starts off angry and leaves his rage behind after a trip to meet Death. When he moves to Miami he meets two girls and they become an inseparable couple until one of the girls gets in an accident and the other two must travel to Death’s Country to get her back. Partially because it’s in verse, this book feels like so much while you’re reading it and it’s almost astonishing how quickly it goes by. Romero’s writing is beautiful and so vivid as always, and she continues to have a beautiful grasp on the intersections of love and grief. It’s a lovely retelling and makes a story that feels so queer distinctly so. I would definitely recommend it!

This book is nothing short of beautiful while also feeling incredibly human. It’s absolutely a story of feelings, both trying to escape them and trying to deal with them. The story it’s retelling is one that feels as old as time (and a personal favourite of mine), and I truly think it captures the tumultuous yearning, and centers Orpheus’ telling of the tale in a way that slightly differs from what we usually see. That said, there are already so many great retellings of this tale that it’s not ever truly able to break from them (see: Hadestown), so it’s absolutely a great read while also feeling more reminiscent of great things than truly original at times.

World-wise, I think Romero has created an intriguing view of the Underworld and the afterlife, a different kind of haunting than expected. The story is fast-paced and holds you inside of it while you’re reading, and I’m still a little bit surprised at everything that I read in the time that I did. Still, I think it does some great things in telling a polyamorous Orpheus & Eurydice with the sheen of Miami and current strife and longing.

First thank you for the early copy.
I give this 3 stars, I got some reasons for it. It is kinda written like a poem, I do not like Poems. But. I did enjoy this! It was very creative in my opinion how it was written. Sadly that it was kinda like a poem ( how the sentences was like in a poem form) but i give some points to it because how sometimes it was written it was very creative i will give you that. I do not hate this book, i like it. This is also my first book by this author. No hate to this author of course. If i like poem then i was then the right audience.
No hate to others who really enjoy it!

“Love doesn’t need to be divided between only two people. There’s enough of it to go around.”

If you like mythology and Elizabeth Acevedo you will like this book. A nice modern twist on Orpheus and Eurydice that doesn’t make you want to rip your hair out at the end. How far would you go for love and are you able to let others see your cracks, scars, shadows, and your past?

I think the writing is beautiful. I didn’t realize this book was written in prose. I don’t mind prose but I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea. I would make sure it is more prevalent in the book description so that people know what they are getting.

Thank you to Netgalley and Holiday House/Peachtree/Pixel+Ink for the arc.
The most important thing to mention about Death's Country is that it's written in free verse. The style is very flowery and dramatic and full of metaphors and similes and nearly homeric epithets. This style isn't for everyone but it worked for me because it makes me feel like I'm reading an ancient Greek epic poem.
This is not just unusual and refreshing. The novel is about katabais, a descent into the underworld. Andres drowned and struck a deal with Death before moving to Miami, where he falls in love with Renee and Liora. When Liora falls into a coma, Andres and Renee have to save their girlfriend. The story draws heavily on not only Orpheus and Eurydice but also the Divine Comedy and the Odyssey.
The verse style makes it a very quick read (I read it in one sitting) and you definitely have to accept it as a verse novel with all the limitation that brings. The characters feel complex but of course you can't expect the same complexity as a prose novel.
I think the mythological comparisons were sometimes a little too much (Orpheus plus Odysseus plus Dante plus Persephone plus occasional comparisons like Peter Pan or the Wizard of Oz) but I quite enjoyed the world building surrounding the actual City. Some of the writing was also incredibly beautiful and stuck with me while some of it felt like geared towards a slightly younger audience, which isn't bad, it's just making me think about how I'm growing out of certain things.
3.5/5 ⭐

I loved that there were so many types of diversity in this book, and loved the representation of different relationship structures as well. The crossovers between different mythological structures were also really fun to read about. However, this was a pretty dark story line for a YA book, TW for suicide and eating disorders.

I’m not usually a fan of many retellings, I think that they are a hit or miss. When I read a retelling I want something that is unique and new and something that that the author took and really made their own. I what the original inspiration to be there, but not necessarily in your face. (Albeit there are some exceptions to this, but I always look forward to seeing what the author really turns on its head and adds their own personal touch to the stories). I think that Romero did a great job at taking a known myth that is becoming increasingly popular (especially with mythology constantly being used as a base for story retellings - I’m looking at you Hades and Persephone) and putting her own creative spin onto it that makes it her own. Romero remade it into a story about polyamorous teens (which I personally think we need more poly romance stories) in Miami trying to save their girlfriend’s soul. While it is very clear what Romero is retelling, I don’t actually mind it. It’s a story that is easy and straightforward, but also written is a poetic form that makes it very romantic and emotional and compelling in a way that an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling should be. I’m not a big fan of poetry, however I actually enjoyed the written prose way more than I thought.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick mythological retelling, as long as they don’t mind poetry.

Thanks Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I have very mixed feelings about this book. Overall, it was a positive experience, there are a few lines that really stuck with me, and I liked how certain themes were explored. The way Andres, Renee and Liora learn to love and accept themselves in their entirety, to not shy away from the parts of themselves that they fear was really nice.

I did find at times the prose was a bit too flowery for my liking, and the pacing from around the 20-70% mark of the book was a bit all over the place.

All in all, it was a good mix of myth, and I love to see the poly rep :)

I would recommend this to anyone seeking a story that covers themes of trauma, grief, love and acceptance.

While there is so much to love about this book, especially the gorgeous writing and tinge of magic running through everything, I found that it just wasn't for me. This doesn't mean the book is bad, but is rather because of my taste (or lack thereof).

3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for the e-arc!

This is a story told in verse following a boy, Andres, who has a seemingly endless pit of anger that consumes him and everyone who crosses his path. After an incident leads to him drowning and making a deal with Death for a second chance at life and a fresh start, he ends up meeting Renee and Liora. The trio fall in love and just as quickly, Liora is snatched away to the underworld. Andres and Renee forge a plan to follow Liora into the City of the Dead, and return her soul to her body before it's too late. However, on their journey, Andres will end up having to confront the parts of himself that he left his first time in the underworld.

To start, this is such a gorgeous cover. When I requested this, I didn't realize that this was a book in-verse or one that included polyamory, so both were a pleasant surprise. I mainly went into this excited that the book was a retelling of Hadestown/Orpheus and Eurydice, since I am a huge fan of the musical. Though this book is short, I understood the pull that the main characters felt towards each other and why they all fell in love. I also really liked that each character had their own personal struggles that they were dealing with, as well as their specific shame that came with it. Seeing our main character's constant battle between staying the person he is and becoming the person he wants to be was a very interesting arc as well. I also found the setting of the city of dead to be really eerie and atmospheric.

There are moments that I wasn't very connected to the story and struggled to pick it up. That being said, there were many moments that I really enjoyed and lines that stuck out to me. I especially really enjoyed every parts with a character named Virgil.

R.M. Romero wrote this with such care and empathy towards young teens and the many complexities that come with being that age. I really appreciate that and I am happy that I got the chance to pick this book up.

"We can wipe our minds clean...but we can't scrub our experiences out of our souls." - "Death's Country"


MANNNNN. What a great first read for 2024. An ode to Eurydice and Orpheus told in a polyamorous and queer way and told in the form of novel-in-verse...what a beautiful and captivating experience. Reading this book was beyond reading, it was finding things within oneself, it was thinking about what it truly means to love, and it was such a beautiful experience. Andres, Liora and Renee will live in my mind rent free for the rest of forever.

Romero has such a way with words and descriptions and novel in verse has always been one of my favorite ways of reading a novel. Ever since reading Ellen Hopkins when I was a teenager, it has always been such a beautiful form, and Romero really takes the idea here and RUNS with it. I am very honored to have gotten an ARC of this, and highly recommend it to anyone searching in their own darkness for a shred of light.

R.M. Romero is one of my auto=read authors. I adored the novel-in-verse format of this mythical retelling. Beautiful prose, as always. Perfect for fans of Hadestown. Thank you for the ARC!

“They tried to outrace a girl made out of life. And neither of them won”.

This is a must read for fans of the Broadway show ‘Hadestown’ and lovers of Mythology. It wraps itself in a beautiful, poetic, romantic bow.

utterly fantastic poly eurydice-orpheus retelling with some amazing protags, you could really feel the love from them. thanks for the arc

When I say this story danced in my mind like a song the whole way through- I mean I could feel the sorrow and torment like it was mine!

This queer reimagining of Orpheus and Eurydice also features a poly trio and it’s LATINE! Set in Miami this verse writing style will drop you right into those humid tropical beach nights in full spectrum!

Andres Santos, a young Brazilian boy is full of anger and angst over his turbulent home life. One fated day the mighty Tietê River pulls him under and takes him all the way to the underworld where he makes a deal with death. He wishes for his shadow to be taken, and with it his anger is stripped away. He wishes for a new version of himself, one that is not full of the hate he’s held on to for so long. In exchange Death declares that she will take what he loves most.

Soon Andres moves away from his home in Brazil, to the shores of Miami. This new version of himself is lighter and uses music to cope through his troubles. He meets two girls, two mermaids on the beach, Renee and Liora. One is like night, mysterious and magical, the other like day, a ballerina sweet and soft. With Andres in love for the first time, Death comes to collect. Renee determined to save their girlfriend Liora, insists to Andres that they must travel to the underworld to find her soul. The only problem is Andres has been there before, and Liora will not be the only one that he will reunite with in the city of the dead.

Written in Verse
Magical Realism
Latine Rep
Polyamorous
Greek Retelling
Latine Folklore

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy I received in exchange for my honest review!

This book is a polyamorous retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice - told entirely in verse! The premise instantly had me sold, but the writing style was such a shock when I started, seeing as I didn’t do any research on the book beforehand.

I was worried it would read too much like poetry (don’t like poetry), but I’m so glad that I pushed through because I ended up loving it. I really enjoy “purple” prose and stylistic writing, so it worked well for me. I like how it manages to still read like a normal book while maintaining this fun style.

One minor pet peeve: please calm down on the parentheses. (I found many of them to be unnecessary, and it really took me out of the writing a few times.)

I really wish more authors played with formatting like this, though - it was refreshing and wonderful, and I am absolutely going to buy this book the second it comes out so I can see what it looks like on paper.

The plot was really interesting, and I was so invested that I tried to read it in one sitting. My attempt was in vain, however, for I started it very late into the day and I was unfortunately very sleepy, but someone with better time management skills and more willpower than me could easily read it in a few hours. Don’t let the 400 pages scare you.

The plot reminds me of House of Hades by Rick Riordan, and the writing is similar to This Is How You Lose the Time War - a mishmash that you’d never think of, but one that worked SO well. There were so many amazing lines that I just had to highlight (107, to be exact), and some parts were hilarious. I also loved all the references to various mythologies.

I definitely want to read all of Romero’s other books now.

(thank you, Netgalley, for the arc! I loved it)

I didn’t know this was a novel-in-verse when I requested it from NetGalley, but it turned out to be a beautifully written surprise, a story painted in spare strokes with vivid colors, and featuring lovely polyam representation as a bonus! I read the entire thing in one sitting, desperate to know if Andres and Renee would manage to rescue their girlfriend and return to the living world. Short, but well worth reading, in my opinion.

Beautiful. Heartbreaking.

This absolutely stunning novel-in-verse had me captivated from page one. Death's Country is about a violent teenage boy who has been given a second chance at life. After swapping out his anger for a future IOU with Death herself, Andres returns to the living and soon falls in love with girlfriends Liora and Renee.

When Liora is later taken down to the underworld herself, Andres and Renee risk everything to rescue her. The love the three characters feel for each other jumps from every word, and you can't help but to travel along with them in the hopes of them being able to rescue their girlfriend.

This book is a hard one to put down, and I will be purchasing a myself a physical copy as soon as I am able.

★ ★ • 2

Did my best, but I just couldn’t bring myself to keep reading. It should probably be mentioned in the summary somewhere that this book does not read like a standard chapter book, it’s more like a story written in the form of a long poem. If you’re someone not expecting and unaccustomed to reading poetry—especially someone who does not enjoy poetry, you will not like this book.

This book has a beautiful cover and interesting story concept, but it just… Wasn’t for me. Without it being made clear that this book does not follow standard interior formatting as it does not read as an average chapter book, and having read no prior books by the same author, I had no way of knowing that until I got to the first page.

That aside, just because this book wasn’t for me, that does not mean it was bad. I just was thrown off by the formatting, but despite that I did get myself about halfway through before deciding that I’d tried it… And couldn’t anymore.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was accepted for this e-arc last night and immediately, upon download, consumed it.

This story is so prettily written, full of magic and hope and love, so so much love.

The tale of Orpheus and Eurydice is one that is as enchanting as it is sorrowful and this novel combines lyricism with second chances and offers the story something fresh and exciting. Its own second chance, written with care, compassion and the ever infused demonstration of love.

This book also fills so many boxes for things I love. Loving polyamory, music, novels in-verse and has also been compared to one of my favourite musicals, Hadestown as well as a favourite novel, Lakelore. So there was never any doubt in my mind on whether or not I'd adore this. It was written in the stars that I would. Of course I would.

The characters themselves are so complex, all hiding secrets from one another, seeking forgiveness, seeking a love that ignores the things that make them, but throughout the novel we get to see an acceptance of something so fragile. Love in its gritty parts, healing yourself, seeing the world through how others see you as a way to shape yourself.

This is a story I will definitely find my way back to, I can't wait to purchase a physical copy.