Very disappointing, but I will not be reviewing this book because of the racist and despicable behavior of the author.

yeah. i'm gonna have to say 'no' on this one - not after what happened. so. we're gonna pass on this and go read something far more interesting.

3.5 I enjoyed this book and this was a very interesting take on Greek mythology, especially because it is set in space. It was extremely different and I was happy it did not follow the Persephone/Hades that it usually does. I really enjoyed all of the characters in this one. The only gripe I had with this book was the pacing of it and the world building. 


Edited (12/7/23): The behavior that the author has displayed to other debut authors is despicable and disgusting. There has been proof and I hope that the publisher or author speaks out on their behavior towards BIPOC authors who will be debuting next year as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I will not be reviewing this book.
Do to the drama behind this author and her actions.
My star rating is accurate for the content of the book.

While I was enjoying the book, I will be DNFing in light of the overwhelming evidence that the author created fake accounts in order to downvote, one-star, and otherwise attempt to sabotage fellow debuts, specifically writers of color. I will not be giving more time to a jealous racist. I hope her publisher considers this when deciding whether to continue to work with her.

I cannot, in good conscience, finish this book. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book and I was 65% of the way in. Prior to finding out about the author allegedly reveiwbombing other authors, specifically those of color, I’ve decided that I won’t be finishing. I wasn’t feeling this book to begin with. The dialogue wasn’t the best and I couldn’t find it in myself to care about Ariadne. I’m just really disappointed by the way white queers weaponize their queerness to hurt other marginalized people. You should not project your insecurities onto authors. If you are worried about your book not doing good then you can always work hard and write harder. All those other authors put blood, sweat, and tears into the work. If it’s a skill issue, just practice. That’s really all it is. There’s no magic, there’s no cheat code. There’s only working harder to be a better author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions. However, I won't be reviewing this book due to allegations that transpired against the author for review-bombing fellow 2024 debut authors.

I was really excited to read this, but unfortunately, the author has shown herself to be not only unsupportive but actively attempting to ruin other authors' debuts. I hope she can take accountability for her actions, but so far it's not looking too good.

- i am not going to be finishing this read, as the author has proven herself to be an insecure person who is targeting her fellow debuting authors, mostly authors of color, and reviews bombing them for months. the information is on Twitter. i don’t want to support an author who tears down other authors, especially when it’s a white woman going after authors of color that are from her same publishing house. do better.

Thank you so much for NetGalley and the Author to offer me to read this debut novel. Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy or relate to any characters. I really had to push myself to read.

Due to allegations of review bombing, with massive evidence, I will not be reviewing this author’s novels.

This sounds like an interesting premise and the cover is stunning (yes, this is a selling point), but having learned this author reviewed bombed (or orchestrated it or something) BIPOC debuts and made efforts to negatively impact their careers, I can’t in good conscience read or review this book.

Was so excited for this, but unfortunately will not be reading and reviewing after finding out that the author has been review-bombing BIPOC debut authors. So disappointing!

Not interested in this author’s book, as she’s been outed for review-bombing BIPOC authors. I’ll be putting my energy into promoting them instead of her.

Thank you for the opportunity to get to review this ARC!
I went in a bit blind only really knowing that there was elements of Greek mythology and outer space. For me there was a lot of information dump in the first few chapters. I was interested in the plot and the main character but I was not intrigued by the world building. It felt like a lot of information was for the sake of having information about the world, but a lot of it did not play a bigger part in the story.

I liked the characters individually but I did not feel a lot of chemistry between the two mains and found their romance to be a bit lack luster. The banter was good and the main characters voice came out quite well along the way. I would recommend this to a friend who would enjoy both aspects of the book, but for me I would've preferred an emphasis on either or as the information just felt like too much combined.

Update (December 6): Yeah, no. I definitely can't support an author who review-bombs their fellow (mostly BIPOC) 2024 debuts. This is just embarrassing.

Original review:
Interesting concept, but I think my expectations were too high. The world-building was fun, and I liked the way the author re-interpreted the original myth of Ariadne and Dionysus, but the characters were kind of boring and one-dimensional.

4.28!

<b><i>Cait Corrain enters the bookish community with a stellar debut novel perfectly depicting Greek gods in space while throwing in court intrigue, action and profuse spice in this new retelling of Dionysus and Ariadne.</i></b>

This book had such a strong start, which definitely put Cait in my auto-buy authors because the writing was simply just beautiful and engaging, Vivid and poetic. I loved how the whole Greek gods weren't watered down. They were written in the perfect way showing their hypocrisy, cunningness and greed for power.

This story follows Dionysus and Ariadne. Their romance was perfect, it didn't feel rush and it wasn't a slow burn either but it worked so naturally which then complimented the book itself. i liked how the romance wasn't only spice...don't get me wrong this was a very spicy read but the moments of them together, their actions, their conversations are what made their romance so likeable.

Dionysus and Ariadne stepped up for each other and had battles that they themselves had to fight. both suffered negligence under the tyranny of their parents, both finding an excuse to just step away and find peace and that is what i liked. How they could relate to each other, comfort each other and love each other. Ariadne was a very strong character, no she was not bold or cunning but surviving in Olympus after being trained the exact opposite of what goes on there and as a human she did a pretty good job standing up for herself and surviving. Dionysus, the god of wine but also madness and revolution was pretty keen on his causes and did actually get them then. i loved him so much he really brought the book out, his charm and wit made me love this book even more.

the plot and the worldbuilding. The world building was done well in my opinion but where i struggled was the plot. Dont get me wrong it was good but it really messed with the pacing as there were two plots one was of the war and the other of the internal conflict, both very necessary but the author struggled a little there and that was the only thing that affected my reading experience other than that i loved it.
___
OMG!! Greek mythology but set in space! A marriage of convenience + Ariadne and Dionysus's retelling and if that wasn't enough it has enemies to lovers with an epic cover.

God bless the publisher for giving me an arc of this!!

This book is much more s*xual than I was expecting. The beginning was fantastic. It was fast paced and gripping. The voice of the first person PoV was fantastic and so unlike the norm. I just loved it.

And then the plot started to disappear into smut.

But that said, they are a very cute couple, and I loved how their relationship progressed. I just didn't care for the smut, revels, and unaliving and eating raw of animals.

I really wanted to love this book. The concept was fantastic. The fact that she accepted him/her/them fully and vice versa was just absolutely beautiful.

That said, if BDSM, *rgies, m*starvation, explicit s*x are for you, you'd probably really like this book.

I loved so much of this book! I loved that the author took a character that is normally reduced to a drunkard and made him a god again! I loved how the story unfolded and the fact that it was set in a futuristic world only added to the story. My only complaint is it could have ended sooner. It just went on and on with little action moving the story along exit at the beginning and the end. Still worth a read, tho! Especially if you like Greek retelling with a science fiction twist!

First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with a copy of this book.

This book was extremely charming. It was interesting to read a Greek retelling in a sci-fi setting, and I think this was a really creative choice for the author to make. The story heavily focuses on Ariadne as she navigates a cruel world, and a lot of the struggle she faces as a character is figuring out how to lower her defenses when she is safe. The plot discusses healing from trauma and the struggle of self-acceptance when you’ve been taught to feel ashamed of yourself. Ariadne’s internal battle with her own wants and desires because of her culture and its religion mirrors that of queer people everywhere, and these topics were handled with care. I also really appreciate that the story is unapologetically queer, both in terms of romance and gender presentation; after all, Dionysus canonically lived as a woman. Why wouldn't that factor into how he sees himself?

The only criticism I have for the story is that I found some of the sci-fi elements to be a little confusing. I had a hard time mentally translating cities or city-states to whole planets, or islands into space-ports, and I would find myself getting lost trying to wrap my head around the new logistics of these settings. However, this is a relatively minor gripe.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I found it quite refreshing. I'm excited for the sequel!