“You’re a light in the darkness, Penelope. I’ll always see you through the shadows”.

I love Greek Mythology — we should start here. And when looking for fantasy books, I always look for those that hit closer to home, that keep me in a comfort zone that will always keep me coming back for more.

That’s exactly what happened with “The Spring Maiden”. The world-building was amazing, and I got enthralled by the rules of that universe, how every place worked and, deep inside, I missed a map so much because I wanted to know more about the world where the story is settled. This was, by far, one of my favorite aspects of the book.

The story follows Penelope, a girl that was raised under the watchful eye of her Mother, kept away from (men) the world outside, even if she had no idea why, only clinging to her beliefs and the (terrible) reasoning her mom always gave her.

I loved Penelope and her growth arc. I loved watching her building connections and commanding her own life, asking questions. But at some point in the book, I got a bit bored over the fact that she kept going back to the same point, the same explanations; it didn’t make her a less nice character, but there were moments I found it hard to empathize with her, since it looked like she was just repeating herself over and again.

Lou, our male protagonist, was a whole other story. His character arc the plot twists involving him where so amazingly written that most of the time I wanted to see him, to know more about him, just to have his presence around. He was such a warm soul, a friend that I wanted to have with me (and way more than a friend, by the way).

Also, the position of ‘favorite character’ goes 100% to Angelica that, even only showing up over letters, held the comic side of the book on her shoulders, and whenever a letter came in, I was right to laugh as I’ve never had before.

“The Spring Maiden” is a good book about finding yourself, and stepping out even when people don’t want you to. And after that Epilogue, all I want is to read book two and understand WHAT THE HELL is happening.