I'm not a mythology person so this being far from the original has no weight in my review.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a bit slow, but it's done artfully, and there's a happy ending which makes my heart full.

As much as I wanted to like it…this book just wasn’t for me! DNFd. The beginning didn’t draw me in at all and I just found the rest of the material underwhelming.

Ah I was so excited to read the retelling of the goddess that I was named after, but sad to report that it didn’t meet my expectation.

There’s not much of the “retelling” but more like trying to stuff other Greek myths into Psyche and Eros’ story to make it more interesting. I’m very familiar with Psyche’s story and would’ve preferred to have more retelling on her and Eros’ romance but that’s not the case here. Even the parts where Psyche had to perform three impossible tasks felt like an afterthought of the story and were brushed over rather quickly.

Maybe time to stop this influx of Greek myth feminist side of the retellings?

3 ⭐️

This book was just not for me. I now confidently can say Greek retellings are just not my style. This was boring and confusing. But I’m sure people who enjoy this kind of story are loving it. I’m the problem not the book!

One of my favorite books of all time is Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, which is a retelling of this very myth. Psyche and Eros couldn’t be more different in tone and telling, and yet I thoroughly enjoyed this iteration, as well. McNamara made some interesting choices in terms of setting and character inclusion that baffled me a bit, but her style was easy and engaging and a lot of fun to read.

This is one of my favorite Greek myths, as it’s one of the few where the female is the hero in her own tale and wins her own happy ending. She fights for it, and hard, but she does see victory in the end. I thought that McNamara presented it very well. The romance was fun and sweet with just the right amount of tension for the story to really work. Psyche is a strong character, and even though she is not generally a warrior in classic tellings of the tale, I thought her ferocity balanced well with her kindness, and both worked beautifully for the story. Eros was presented as more likable and fleshed-out that is typical, which I appreciated, as well. And I love how thoroughly the author embraced the magic of the time and place.

The things that threw me were largely the timeline and family ties. McNamara decided to have this tale take place at the same time as the prelude to and beginning of the Trojan War, which made the story feel a bit too jam-packed with important characters. Agamemnon and Menelaus were given a third brother, who became Psyche’s father, and all three were the sons of Perseus in this tale instead of Atreus. Penelope was Helen’s sister instead of cousin, and Clytemnestra became merely the surly sister-in-law. It was weird for me, and took me out of the story a bit. McNamara explains her decision in the afterword, but I think this book would work best if you could divorce yourself from what you know of Greek myth and enter the story as a clean slate, so to speak.

The writing of this book was excellent, but in a far different way than Circe or Clytemnestra or weightier books in the Greek myth retelling world. Psyche and Eros is an incredibly fast, easy read, one that felt young adult or new adult, but in the best of ways. It was all about the story, not about the prose or the philosophy or the emotion. It was a compelling story very well told, and that was all it needed to be.

I very much enjoyed this book, even though some of the writing decisions tossed me out of the story for a while. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re less familiar with Greek mythology, or if you’re looking for a fun, fast read. I’ll definitely be reading more of McNamara’s work!

this book was entertaining and if you are not really informed on the myth of psyche and eros you'll enjoy it more than if you know it. there is something in the wiriting that i liked but overall something was missing and i don't know what it is...

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read this work in exchange for an honest review. Honestly, I’m a sucker for Greek Mythology, and anything that involves Greek and Roman culture and history. I understand this is a work of fiction, however, it fell a bit too flat for me. I wished the author stayed true to the original character’s personality and history. I don’t agree with changing cultures and history, even if it’s for a fiction book. I believe maybe my expectations were too high, and I was planning on reading a completely different story. I simply believe this was twisted into a feminist retelling when it did not need to be. If you are not one who has studied Greek and Roman history and mythology, I would recommend this book.

I have a degree in Classics and generally love retellings of Greek and Roman mythology. I thought this book was going to be right up my alley and something I loved so much, however I was quite disappointed. My major criticism was the way mythology was handled. I believe it was done to create a more connected form of mythology and reference people the reader was familiar with, but adding mythological figures not connected to the story even remotely just muddled the story in my opinion. Being familiar with the source information, it really bothered me and distracted me while reading. I could not get over this and it clouded everything I read.

DNF @20ish percent.

It's unfair of me to even rate this book because I usually do not enjoy myth retellings and this one might be the catalyst for not picking another one up. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, I just found the beginning incredibly info-dumpy and it was unclear how much would actually be relevant to the book vs giving a history of the entirety of Greek myth history.

The writing was very beautiful though. I think people who enjoyed Circe will really enjoy this one.

Psyche & Eros
Written by @luna_mcnamara_writer

First, thank you @netgalley for allowing me to read this.

This Greek mythology retelling is dramatic, humorous, dangerous, magical and beautiful 😍
I loved the great adventure and love story that McNamara wove between Psyche and Eros. I also loved that it's historical and not set in modern times.

Here is the description from netgalley:
"Who said true love is a myth?

A prophecy claims that Psyche, princess of Mycenae, will conquer a monster feared by the gods. Beloved by her family but at odds with her society’s expectations for women, Psyche trains to become a hero, mastering blade and bow.

When Psyche angers Aphrodite, the love goddess enlists Eros, god of desire, to help deliver a cruel curse. Eros is the last born of the eldest gods, dry-witted and jaded, unsure of his place in the cosmos. The last thing he wants is to become involved in the chaos of the mortal world, but when he pricks himself with the arrow intended for Psyche, Eros is doomed to yearn for a woman who will be torn from him the moment their eyes meet."

Psyche & Eros was released in June, so go get you a copy!

“We were not in thrall to destiny or fate, but merely the weight of our own choices. When we turned toward each other like flowers facing the sun, we were not fulfilling some prophecy or old story. We were writing our own.”

There is something about greek mythology retellings that just consistency hit for me. They are some of the most lyrical and beautiful book and this was no different. I love the story of Psyche and Eros and while there were a lot of creative liberties taken by this author, I thought that every choice seemed intentional and as though it added to the story. This author just has a level of creativity in terms of taking a story many know and somehow keeping true enough to classify it as a retelling while changing it for the better that I think is unmatched. I thoroughly enjoyed and will be definitely reading more from this author.

Luna McNamara presents a retelling of Psyche and Eros.
When a prophesy about Psyche angers Aphrodite, she sends Eros to shoot her with an arrow that will separate her from her love forever. However, Eros accidentally pricks himself. Now Eros is in love with Psyche, but they will be parted as soon as they look at each other.
This was a very interesting retelling and I love the changes the author made to the original myth.

I highly enjoyed this retelling of Greek mythology! I want to start off by mentioning that I am in no way a mythology expert. So I am not one that knows all the details of the “correct” versions. I just simply enjoy the stories that are written about mythology.

I did enjoy the amount of characters we got introduced to. Some I am familiar with and some not so much.

Surprisingly, this book didn’t have as much romance as I was expecting in it. I might have been a bit more intrigued if it had.

As for the pacing, it felt good. It didn’t take long for me to get into the story and it never felt like it got boring like some other retellings have for me.

I’ll definitely be recommending this one to anyone who just wants to enjoy a retelling or reimagining of Psyche and Eros.

I enjoyed this retelling of the Psyche and Eros myth. I didn’t get a chance to take Greek mythology when I was in high school, but I have always enjoyed learning about it. Once I started reading it, I was pulled into the story. I’m glad that Psyche had more agency in this retelling, as well.

This book was a delight and I read it one sitting! Started on audiobook while cleaning and then sat down with the earc to finish! Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the advanced copies!

I have always enjoyed the myth of Psyche and Eros and overcoming trials and tribulations for your love. Like suffering together or supporting your partner through the rough patches. Of course their "rough patch" goes to the extreme that hopefully you or I never experience!
I wasn't sure at first how I was going to like the Trojan War setting for this story. I had to pause and look up if that was really when this myth took place in Ovid's account. But the more it unraveled, I really enjoyed that setting for this myth. All of that is going on and it is chaotic and Psyche and Eros find themselves amidst their own chaos.
I enjoyed some of the asides the characters made like Psyche mentioning Ovid's poetry and account of their story that was evolved beyond the truth. It clued me into the overall context of when Psyche and Eros might have been reflecting on their relationship's beginning and telling their story how it really happened in McNamara's version.
Also would like to mention that it really tugged at my heart how much McNamara overshadowed what was going to happen to Iphigenia. Devastating! Made it all the more impactful for me.

I think if you're looking for something that's close to the original story, maybe this isn't for you. I am a Greek Mythology girly so I was hoping for that, however after I'd read a few reviews, I mentally prepared myself for that not being the case. I think it's okay that it didn't go that route, but just prepare for the differences. Once you do, I think there's a lot to love about this book and the homages to the original story it makes. It's romantic to its core and that's felt throughout, which I think is the most important piece of the story. Where I ran into some problems were just a few of the liberties the author decided to take. I wasn't a fan of some of the narrative choices, but overall this wasn't a bad read!

Psyche and Eros summons Lore Olympus in this romantic Greek retelling of Cupid and warrior princess Psyche. Set in Ancient Greece, Luna McNamara weaves the story of how Eros met Psyche–from the formation of the gods to the princess born to slay monsters. One can’t help but fall for the characters when Eros, upon first looking at Psyche, whispers a hilariously doomed “fuck.” A lighthearted book that gives readers a glimpse into the gendered world of Olympian gods by adding a little bit of a sociological flavor to ancient mythological magic.

By now, I’ve read heaps of retellings and novels inspired by Greek mythology, including The Song of Achilles, Atalanta, and Clytemnestra. I knew this particular one was billed as a love story, though I don’t think I altered my expectations enough beforehand; I thought it would be much more solemn. Additionally, while authors take liberties with all of these retellings, other reviews have noted that Psyche and Eros is more reworked that most. McNamara does address her changes in the author’s note, so I would treat that as a disclaimer.

I didn’t have issues with the writing style. I highlighted many pretty lines, though they veered into feeling heavy-handed, especially since the subjects were otherwise sidelined. I was interested in Psyche developing alongside her prophecy, though I don’t think it lived up to its potential. Again, I’m not very familiar with the original story, but her broad disdain of “feminine” pursuits, especially romance and marriage, was unappealing—especially since she then fell so quickly in love with Eros.

Eros’s point-of-view was more enjoyable. His development seemed very natural, and although his timeline spanned centuries more than Psyche's, it was more nuanced. He was sweet, albeit very misguided and naive, and his affections drove the central relationship. I wouldn’t have minded if the entire novel revolved around his perspective.

If you’re looking for a novel reminiscent of the retellings I mentioned above, this novel isn’t for you. If you’re looking for a lighter take without accuracy as a requirement, then Psyche and Eros is worth a shot.

I've read a great deal of mythology in the past, but somehow I wasn't completely aware of the full story of Psyche and Eros. What a heartbreakingly beautiful love story it is.

This story gives the reader the full back story of both characters and how the eventually cross paths and fall for one another. It's good to see the overlap from other mythology I've read previously to see how it all ties together. I'm always intrigued by it.

If you're a reader who enjoys Greek mythology like myself, you may want to give this one a try. I recommend it with no hesitation. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy of this book.

I keep telling myself that I need to take a break from myth retellings... and I think this may put me over the edge to actually doing it. While the story was entertaining and the pacing was well done... I found myself annoyed by the tropes and traits that I saw repeating themselves.

It wasn't bad! It just wasn't everything for me.