WOW!  What can I say, this book caught me totally off guard.

It's been years since I read any Greek mythology and so I wasn't sure whether I was going to like this book. I should have not worried. The story captivated me from the start and I fell in love with the two main characters, Atalanta and Kahina. 

Kahina disobeys the orders of the Goddess Artemis and kills Artemis' boar in order to save Atalanta. Everyone believes Atalanta killed the boar herself as she already had the reputation of a fierce warrior, being brought up by hunters in the wild. Kahina detests Atalanta for taking credit for killing the boar and hiding the truth. Atalanta is soon reunited with her father, King Iasus, who is keen to find her a suitable husband. Atalanta has no interest in marriage or men and grows more and more fond of Kahina, and Kahina reciprocates.

I'm giving this book 4.5 stars and highly recommend to anyone who is into Greek mythology, or anyone looking to venture from their usual genre like myself. 

I received an advanced copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book and I did like it, I just didn't fall in love with it. The two leading ladies were great characters that were developed well but I found myself struggling to finish the book. I can't put my finger on what this book was missing but I was glad I finished it.

I loved this book, I really did. I love Greek mythology, and everything about ancient Greece. If this book was missing anything, it would most certainly be this. Everything was great, but there's not much world building. If you switched up the names, it wouldn't really fit in Greek mythology anymore. The dual POV of Atalanta and Kahina was great, but their voices were so similar I would sometimes get the "I"s mixed up because they're voice sounded almost the same. The gods' personalities also made me a bit apprehensive, but don't get me wrong, I loved the writing, but it was written a little <i>too</i> well for me if that makes sense.

I really enjoyed this story, despite the negative aspects I mentioned. Really, I would take any book with strong women, Greek myth, and a female/female romance, but this was really written well and I had a great time reading it.

This probably won't be my last Elizabeth Tammi book. I look forward to reading more of her work!

So I tried to read this on my kindle and the first 75 pages are blank. I was really looking forward to reading this but since it’s not working I can’t. I even tried to delete it and redownload it.

This book was such a treat, honestly!
Badass MC? Check. A great love interest who has an actual character and is also badass? C h e c k. No insta-love, love triangle or romance that takes over the plot? Double check.

Also, this is kind of a retelling based on greek mythology so HOW AWESOME IS THAT????? I don't read nearly enough of those and Outrun the Wind was so good and enjoyable! I'm not giving this five stars though, because I do think that the novel missed some things. I feel like the worldbuilding could've been elaborated much more, and that the plot moved kinda slowly. Also, I was initially super intrigued but it took me a few chapters before I got hooked. Maybe it was me? I honestly don't know, but one thing I do know for sure is that you should definitely give Outrun the Wind a try.

Wow apparently I know nothing about Greek Mythology because before this book I had never heard of the story of Atalanta. Thanks to wikipedia I was introduced to a whole new world of Greek figures and was then blown away by what the novel does with them. I love the idea of reinventing Atalanta's story. Despite the ancient setting, the book's themes are very timely. It's a story that's both sweet and slightly dark with themes of abuse hinted at, but not in much detail. However, there's literally a warrior goddess who saves a princess and so that's pretty much the best.
The writing is simple, but not always easy to follow. At times I had a hard time remembering who was narrating each chapter because the girls had similar voices. I also wanted a little more background on some of the characters who weren't Kahina or Atalanta like Isadora and Nikoleta and what exactly Apollo's plans were with all the girls he kidnapped. But I loved the romance. Oh the romance. It was so sweet and tender and young and innocent. I loved the characters finding each other and themselves in the process. That alone was worth the read.

This story has my heart.

From the first page, let me share a sentence -
"Sunlight glimmers like a jewel through the shifting leaves."
This sentence captures the beauty of something we see all the time perfectly in a few and simple words.

Outrun The Wind takes you back in time to when gods walked the earth and women had to fight for the right to live their lives as they wanted too. To leather sandals and wild huntresses, you will feel each whisper of wind against your cheek and smell the heat of sun-dried earth.

We meet our two heroines, each with personalities the opposite of the other.
Each with histories that have molded them but not broken them.
Kahina; fierce, wary and dry humored, she can be as aloof as she can be warm once her walls are let down and only a precious few see the beautiful kind soul beneath.
Atalanta, (mind yourself here or you may get punched) our proud, wild and dangerous huntress is like a wolf, she will protect her pack to the death but those she's loyal to will never ever have to fear for their lives.

This story takes our heroines on a journey of discovery, of family and betrayal, of desperation and hope, through the struggle against those who will oppress women for their own selfish gain, and ultimately of love, and loves of many different colors.

There is nothing I would change about this story, the writing is balanced and paced so I am always left wanting to know what happens next.
The characters develop beautifully over time as do their relationships.
The world and Mythology feel as realistic and fantastical as they are meant to be, the magic of gods and goddesses taking away none of the believability of the ancient world around them.
The love story within this story is important but is written so it does not drown out everything else yet will have your heart completely in it's grasp from the first chapter.
Outrun The Wind has representation at its core with two main LGBTQ+ characters that are written realistically and relatably, I was particularly pleased to see a bisexual character fully explored as this color of love seems to be something I have read very little of in my time reading books.

I desperately want read more about Kahina and Atalanta in this beautifully realized ancient world and will hold out hope for a sequel!

So, if mythology, romance and action are your thing, read this now, (you will not regret it).

Thank you too NetGalley and Flux for sending me this digital ARC of "Outrun The Wind" in return for an honest review.

The premise of this book was interesting. The author's writing style is simple and easy to follow. However, the story is a bit predictable, there were no great twists for me or need to read more, more, more. Overall, I think it was a great attempt but I might be growing out of my love for YA fantasy...

This review is posted on goodreads as of 6/12/18, and will be posted on my blog the-knights-who-say-book.tumblr.com on 11/27/18.

One question: when you first heard the myth of Atalanta racing her suitors and announcing she would only marry the man who could beat her, did you also sort of hate the guy who won by distracting her with golden apples? Yes? Good, this book is for you.

Because this is the story of Atalanta falling in love with a disgraced huntress of Artemis and the plan they make to keep Atalanta from being married off for politics. It's about how gods suck, how girls deserve better, and finding someone who will always come back for you.

In that respect, this book is great. I love the concept, and I like Atalanta and Kahina together. But it never shaped up to a great story overall. The plot needed more work.

Kahina has the power of prophecy, for reasons I won't spoil. There is definitely some thought put into keeping this power from being the magical solution to everything (for example, Kahina can only magically speak the answer when other people ask her questions, she can't do it herself), but I felt it needed more boundaries and more fleshing out.

And when there are gods involved I think there needs to be more explanation of the limits of their power, because otherwise they can just do random things with no limits and it's bad for the story. This becomes relevant in the epic final battle, when there are gods involved and very vague god powers. Literally deus ex machina. At least the gods weren't present for most of the book, so Atalanta and Kahina were using their own skills.

But frankly, the part with Kahina trying to figure out how to fulfill Artemis's quest could have used more development too. Atalanta just sort of hits on the answer and then we find out it's right without showing us much actual development.

Anyway, it's a book with some flaws that are saved by two girls falling in love and protecting each other from crappy men and gods.

A fun and refreshing twist on Greek mythology, Outrun the Wind was a truly enjoyable read from start to finish (and oh my god, that cover! So stunning!). I especially appreciated how nuanced the gods were - even Artemis, who we're meant to feel positively about isn't all sunshine and rainbows. As someone who studied Classical Civilisations and often marvelled at the general state of f*cked-upedness of the entire pantheon, it was nice to see that none of them were shown to be all good or all bad. An absolutely lovely retelling of the Atalanta story, and one which I will definitely (and happily) accept as canon from now on :D

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

It was the summer between third and fourth grade when I fell in love with Greek Mythology. It was actually part of the mandatory summer reading and I found myself utterly fascinated. So as a general rule I like all things that incorporate those myths.

"Outrun the Wind" is a wonderful retelling of Atalanta’s story with a LGBT spin on it. From the very start it was obvious that this story will be very different than the original myth and that it will explore some difficult, heavy themes. Personally I don’t think they were handled well but I’ve read worse. Actually that handling and the way most men are portrayed are the main reasons why I gave it a 3.5 rating. However, it has that special thing that makes you want to keep reading despite the flaws. So I’d recommend "Outrun the Wind" to people who love retellings and the Greek Myths. I promise you won’t regret giving it a chance.

Thank you to Notth Star Editions for the Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this book started out promising, Greek gods, mythical beasts, but I soon got bored and felt the book went a little flat, I struggled to finish it.

I really try to like this book at the beginning. It took me a while to get into it, because the alternative pout of views of Kahina and Atalanta. Both characters are very similar and it was confusing at the beginning but I have to say that the story grows on you, as things begin to unravel. Is a book that for sure will recommend to the book club I belong to.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I found the pace of the book good. The MC was easy to get into. I don't know this enough about greek mythology to say if this is somewhat true to it, but I still found it engaging and the story quite pretty. i'm glad i read it. the writing will draw you in and wanting for more, at least from my perspective.
I also like that it is a f/f romance which i enjoyed a lot.

i would recommend this to those who have been on the look for an LGBT book and maybe likes a bit of greek mythology.

3.5 stars

I liked this book and especially for a debut I think the author did a great job, but there were also things I was looking for in a book set in ancient Greece that simply weren’t there, and that’s the reason why this isn’t a five star, but let’s slow down a little.

The book is narrated from two alternating POVs, Atalanta’s and Kahina’s. I think this type of narration was the best choice for it, but one problem I had with it is that the two voices weren’t distinct enough. I think it makes some sort of sense, because the two characters are kind of similar on many levels, but that made it difficult to differentiate their internal monologues. But other than that, I think they were both well-written, just like well-written was the whole book. Sometimes, dare I say, a little too well written. This might make no sense, but I don’t know how else to put it. I just felt like every sentence was thought over meticulously, with great attention paid to the show, don’t tell and other rules, but sometimes that made the narration a little dry and perhaps impersonal. That’s obviously a very minor thing and it’s not really something I even thought about until writing my review, and it didn’t influence my rating negatively.

My favorite aspect of the book was probably the f/f romance, and not just because it’s f/f. It honestly wasn’t even a huge part of the book, it’s just something that happens within the book, but that’s what made it special. I don’t really want to say much about it because it should be experienced while reading the book.

The plot was at times a little slow and I think a few elements could have been removed or made less relevant in order to focus more on other aspects. Something else I didn’t necessarily agree with is the characterization of Artemis and Apollo, but I respect the author’s choice, and it’s true that Greek mythology isn’t always consistent and that there’s not two versions of a god or a Greek hero that are the same.

But speaking of ancient Greece, I didn’t find it in this book. If you replaced the names of places and people with random ones, this would read as a generic fantasy. I didn’t see Greece in the culture, in the way gods were worshipped, in the way men and women related to each other, I simply didn’t see it anywhere. The author note explains that liberties were taken, since the mythological Atalanta belongs to the first generation of heroes, even before the Trojan war, and not a lot is known about many aspects of life back then. This, in my opinion, resulted in a worldbuilding that’s not here nor there. You could tell me it’s set in the same universe and time period as Cinderella and I’d believe it. I think that a retelling of a Greek myth loses a lot of its value if it doesn’t transport the reader back to ancient Greece, and that’s truly what bothered me most about an otherwise above-average book.

All in all, I would recommend it if you can look past the missing ancient Greece and are looking for a f/f romance that’s not the focus of the book.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this book.

I love books that deal with retellings of myths, legends or history, and that is what first drew me to Outrun the Wind. What made me devour this book from start to finish was a strong action packed opening you did not want to tear your eyes from all the way to an end that was fit to be a Greek myth in its own right. The author really did her research on Greek mythology, and while the story does not go along with the actual tale of Atalanta it does hit on all the key parts of her tale and weaves them in a more compelling story for current readers. The problems that the characters face also touch on a lot of the problems that existed in Greek society at the time, and some issues that are still current to today.

I would really say this book reminded me a lot of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller which is perhaps one of my favorite books of all times. I would say this book is not quite as good, as the love story in Achilles really makes you feel the pain, while this love story does seems to rely on the archetype of fate and they were destined to be together but does not really develop why they like each other. This does not mean I did not like the relationship of the two main characters, I just felt it could have been developed a little further. However, I really would strong recommend this book as a must read.

Do you like ancient sibling rivalries? Books that are a big “screw you” to the patriarchy? Sapphic themes? Then Outrun the Wind is the perfect book for you. This fantasy inspired by Ancient Greek mythology tells the story of Atalanta and Kahina as they navigate and kick ass in a world that denies them agency.
“I swear I’ll gut him”
While, we appreciate the art, history and culture of Ancient Greece I think we can all agree that this was not a great time to be a woman. But don’t worry our main characters don’t let this stop them. Atalanta is a warrior that men treat like an object and pawn to be married off. Kahina is a huntress of Artemis and runaway oracle of Delphi. They both fight for their freedom and respect and in the process their lives intertwine and a solid partnership forms. In the end these two don’t let anyone get in the way of their safety and happiness. #MadRespect

In typical Ancient Greece style the men are the most frustrating part of this novel because honestly there’s only one good male character in this whole book. But, that’s the whole point of a novel like this and it doesn’t take away from the plot. Having to suffer through these misogynistic fools that treat women like pawns and trading cards is almost worth it when you get the badass scenes from Kahina, Atalanta, Artemis and her huntresses.

While the writing was gorgeous to read, the two main characters, Atalanta and Kahina blended together quite a bit and sometimes we had to look back to see who was even speaking. Kahina was also quite a brat through the first half of the book, continuously blaming Atalanta for things she did herself.

Our only significant complaints about this novel was how slow and dragged out the middle part of the book was and the underdeveloped romantic relationship between Kahina and Atalanta. We needed more action in the middle and a more fleshed out relationship between our badass ladies.

If a fun female-female romance that takes time involving Artemis and her Huntresses doesn't convince you then I don't know how.

I'm very sad to say that I had dnf the book about 50% through it. I liked the idea of the book. It was really interesting but I don't think I was in the right headspace to read it in order to give it a proper review. The parts I did read were good but it was hard to stay interested in the book.

** 3.5 but rounding up **

A fast pace retelling of a Greek myth with a few twists to make it a story highlighting the strength of women when faced with adversity and that love can be found in the strangest of places.

“Outrun the Wind” tells the shared story of Atalanta, a girl determined to prove herself among the men and Kahina, a huntress for Artemis, who cross paths on the Calydonian Boar Hunt and as a result of that meeting find themselves desperate to seek the approval and redemption of those closest to them. As they struggle with their respective tasks they find they have more in common than originally thought and when their pasts catch up to them they have to team up in order to make sure they have a future worth living.

I have to say I knew very little of the Atalanta myth going into this book and decided to keep it that way until after I finished so it was interesting to have this version first and I have to say I like it a lot more than the original, though that’s probably because some of the characters in this are painted in a much different light than the latter so I’m probably biased.

There was also a change in the God playing the antagonist that I also think is a strength to this novel given the overarching theme of the treatment of women at the hands of men and having Aphrodite be the villain so to speak would lessen the impact of that message.

I really enjoyed this story and it was a great idea to have each of our leads share the narrative because both were understandably distant and cautious while navigating this world and without that insight into their minds this could have read very differently showing us two characters made of stone when in reality they each have fire in their hearts and the determination to live for themselves and no one else.

If you’re looking for something that highlights Greek mythology but with less angst granted to that of Madeline Miller’s work this is perfect for you and it doesn’t hurt that this comes with a great romance between two amazing women.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**