This is a beautiful retelling of an Irish legend. The writing style is so beautiful. It is captivating. The story is filled with magic

3.5 stars

SAVAGE HER REPLY is a feminist reimagining of The Children of Lir, an Irish fairy tale with an evil stepmother who is very much given the traditional role of being the villain (thus letting the men all be noble and gracious and good, when they're really not even without reading between the lines!) It's a tale I know very little about, so this was a nice introduction to it.

This is very much a literary novel. The style in which it is told is as important as the tale itself. It's a tale of someone written into a specific part in the normal tales, looking back on life with a detached, introspective manor. It combines narrative sections, retellings of the "traditional" fairy tale, and also shape poems.

The shape poems were very interesting. A note at the back explains how the shapes are the letters of a very old, runic Irish alphabet. Because the text is at at different angles, it was hard to tell which order the lines were meant to read in - horizontal or vertical first? I think this was the point. They made sense either way, but the emphasis was different depending on where you started. I am not someone who typically enjoys poetry, but I liked these because you had to work out which way you wanted to read.

This book is technically classified as YA but it felt much more like an adult novel because of how it discussed life and unhappy marriages. These things can and do come up in YA (though marriage less, and less about abusive marriages happening to the main character) but the tone and the emotional approach are different with different age ranges. Could an older teen/young adult read this book? Absolutely, but I think an adult would get more out of it than them.

I loved this so much, the folklore, the feminism, it was simply amazing. The writing was beautiful and so lyrical, I loved it I got lost in the story and could not pull myself away from it. Brilliant

The Children of Lir, an Irish myth, is retold in "Savage Her Reply". The tale is shared in a memoir-like format through the vice and recollection of Aífe, the wife of Lir. She is traditionally seen as the 'villain' in this mythological story, banishing her step-children out of jealousy, but through her account we reasses the line between perceived heroes or villains - and reflect on how we believe the versions of stories told to us.

We discover that each story is told to suit a certain purpose and that the real truth can be found in the cracks between the versions. Both from a literary and commentary on the experience of women perspectives, it is riveting. Sullivan has created a morally nuanced narrative and protagonist - Aife has committed heinous crimes, admits to them, and still advances arguments that lead her to a compassionate viewpoint.

Definitely recommend.

I listened on audio and really enjoyed the experience.

I love mythology and retellings so I was so ready for this book. I was a littler let down, I couldn’t get into it and the writing was very flowery. I didn’t feel connected to any character and I didn’t feel much emotion towards the story. I did finish it but honestly don’t think I would have if it wasn’t an ARC

I couldn't connect to this story at all. It just felt unemotional and I didn't have any sympathy for the character. I wanted to hear her side of the story but it was told so matter-of-factly that I just couldn't really feel for her.

The book was set out in a really interesting way and I really liked all the poems between the chapters, but the paragraphs detail what happened in the original story felt unnecessary. It was good to see when Aife's version diverged from the original, but a lot of the time it was just telling us what would happen in the next chapter.

I wish I could have enjoyed it more. I wanted to like it but it just fell completely flat.

I'm gutted that I didn't get to Savage Her Reply before it was archived. It's been on my TBR for literal years, and I was so excited to see it available for review on Netgalley. I will take this as a sign from the universe that I need to go out and purchase a finished copy so that I can finally read it.

So I was excited about this books as I love Irish folklore and mythology and so was looking forward to a good retelling.

This book was all I wanted it to be, once you got use the way the author writes (very flowery) the story is well researched and lovely.

Unfortunately I did not get to read this book before it was archived. I was really looking forward to it because I had seen other great reviews! I will definitely read this book in the future when I purchase it myself.

In the old days of Ireland, three little girls, sisters, were sent to the court of Bodhbh The Red to prove their parents loyalty. Aebh was the oldest and most beautiful. Aibhe was the youngest and determined to become a warrior. That left Aife, stuck in the middle and feeling left out most of the time.

The sisters grew to adulthood in the court with only each other as family. When they were grown, Bodhbh allowed Lir, a powerful chieftain, to come to his court and choose a wife from the sisters. He chose Aebh. Soon she had twins, a boy and a girl, and soon again, she was pregnant and had a second set of twins who were both boys. Having four children in such a short time was too much for her body and Aebh passed away. Lir demanded a new wife and this time took Aife.

At first Aife was happy in her role as wife. But as her husband started to neglect her and look elsewhere, she became bitter and vicious. She took her anger out on the servants and on the children of her sister. Finally, Aife determined to strike a blow Lir would never forget. She loaded the children in a coach and then stopped along the way at a lake. There she turned the children into swans and cursed them to remain so for nine hundred years. In return, Bodhbh turned Aife into a sky demon and cursed her forever.

This retelling of an old Irish folktale is sad but beautiful. The writing is lyrical and the reader is swept away into the tale of revenge and eventual redemption. Each chapter starts with a calligram which is a poem laid out in shapes and a tradition of Irish writing. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

This is a retelling of The Children of Lir, a popular Irish fairytale. I’ve never read this before so I have nothing to compare to but I did enjoy reading this very much.

In The Children of Lir, an evil stepmother turned her four children into swans to get revenge on their father, Lir, but in this retelling, it focuses on the evil stepmother, Aife, and her life that led her to make the decision that deemed her as evil. Her decision is aided by her jealousy for her children. When she turned her children into swans, she regretted her action immediately but it is all too late. Aife ended up feeling immense guilt and ultimately suffered for her unforgivable crime.

I love how the story portrayed the complexity of Aife’s emotions. She is not simply just an evil stepmother. She was constantly tormented by her choices and suffers between her love and hate for her children and Lir. I had alot of mixed feelings while reading this mainly due to Aife and her thoughts.

This was a quick read for me and I thoroughly enjoyed the writing which was charming and I love how this retelling centers around a marginalised female character that is very misunderstood in society. It reminds me of Madeline Miller’s writing which I absolutely love.

Thank you Netgalley and Books Go Social for the arc.

Why I picked this book: I have read one other book by Deidre Sullivan so far and quite liked it. Additionally, I am always looking for non-US authors and a retelling of an Irish fairytale sounds quite interesting.

Conclusion: Although I liked “Perfectly Preventable Deaths” by the same author, this book I could not even finish. The writing was too convoluted and flowery for my taste and felt pretentious. I was lost pretty soon and could not follow the story.

I was offered a copy of Savage Her Reply as an ARC via NetGalley. I am a fan of reading the mythologies of all cultures and although I had heard of the Children of Lir I wasn't familiar with the details of the story. As this is the first version that I have read I cannot comment on the authenticity however I really enjoyed the book and found the perspective it was written from highly engaging.

I received this as an eARC from BooksGoSocial through NetGalley. This book is a feminist retelling of the Irish Tale of The Children of Lir.

The writing in this book is so perfect; the pacing, the structure, everything. It’s absolutely captivating and hard to put down. The book discusses feelings of loss, grief, anger, revenge, cruelty. It tells the story in Aífe’s POV, who is an unreliable narrator, taking the reader through the story of her upbringing, her losing her mind and her rage.

The book shows how trauma can corrupt a persons soul and result in evil doing that only harms the innocent. This story is tragic and heartbreaking and so entertaining to read. The ending caught me so off-guard and I cried. This is easily one of my new favourite books.

I would recommend this to everyone who loves folklore, retellings, books about feminine rage, stories of tragedy - any of those things. I will be purchasing a physical copy for myself and convincing everyone I can to pick one up too. I will also be checking out the authors other works because this writing was beautiful!

TW/CW - Attempted sexual assault of a child (mentioned, past); War; Child warriors; Mutilation; Gore; Grooming; Death; Death cause by giving birth; Arranged marriage; Abduction (mentioned); Sex (off page); Marital rape (on page); Blood; Depression; Self-hatred; Body horror; Grave desecration; Childhood trauma; PTSD; Demons; Beheading; Coercive religious conversion; Christianity; Mind control; Pregnancy

Really enjoyed this. The lore, the writing and I read it so quickly too! Would recommend for lovers of lore, mythology or even just fantasy.

Absolutely beautiful, a look at a character who is always villianised. Deirdre has a wonderful tone, melodic and magical while still being matter of fact. The opening and closing are some of the best I've ever read. And I love the epigrams at the start of each chapter. Amazing read that I highly recommend, and I'll be watching out for more by Deirdre.

This is a dark and intense feminist retelling of the Children of Lir story from Irish mythology and it is an amazing piece of writing. Told from the point of view of Aífe, the antagonist of the original story and the OG evil stepmother, her melancholy introspection explores her motivations and regrets while telling her side of the story that sees her turning her sister's children into swans. Her voice is poetic and haunting, her recollections of her lost childhood deeply moving. There is a lot of sadness in this novel and if you're looking for an uplifting ending you're not getting one. I did find Aífe a complex character and I empathised with her plight on many occasions. I also admired her strength, self-belief and resilience. I'm glad I read this book but was also glad when it was over as I found the downbeat mood a little gruelling after a while and I failed to find any balancing joy or positivity in the text - it was my enjoyment of the quality of writing that kept me going.

A beautiful retelling of a fairy tale that I was unfamiliar with, but I enjoyed the book nonetheless. The writing and structure of the book added to the allure with a poem introducing each chapter. Beautiful book!

Rating: 2.5

This is a retelling of The Children of Lir, from the point of view of their stepmother, Aífe. I didn't know the story to begin with, and overall enjoyed this Irish fairytale. I read the first 40% very quickly and easily, but felt that the second half was a little too slow and dragged in places. I enjoyed that each chapter was introduced with the classic version of the tale, followed by the story from the view of Aífe - looking how events can be twisted to suit those telling the tale.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just a journey and I loved it. I had never heard of the story so I went in blind and I just enjoyed it so much. The storytelling was spectacular and the characters so rich and alive. I just highly recommend this book to anyone.