While I have read many Greek mythology retellings, this is the first one where I can feel our main character diving in to her femininity. All too often, fantasies or mythology retellings can focus too much on making sure the female main character is a "badass" and Orphia and Eurydicius focusses on Orphia's journey as a woman and defying the standards and expectations put on her by her father (he may be a god, but we can still relate to her).

A gender swapped telling of the story of Orpheus and Euridice was right up my alley. I have been obsessed with Hadestown for two years and I was excited to jump into this story of Orphia and Euridicius. Else John has a way with words. The prose of this story was engaging and creative. There's a poetic, lyrical sense to the words of Orphia. Altogether this was an interesting take on a classic Greek myth. While it didn't hit everything I wanted out of it, it's sure to be a winning novel for many.

Orphia And Eurydicius by Elyse John invites readers into a world where reality and fantasy intertwine seamlessly. John's masterful storytelling keeps readers guessing until the very end, leaving them spellbound by the enchanting tale of love and redemption.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper 360 for this ARC Copy!

I was really excited going into this book and I did not really know anything about Orphia and Eurydicius story so I was excited to experience it for the first time. Though I enjoyed the book it was hard to stay interested in it for long. The writing was beautiful and lyrical, but it was also so flowy and poetic at times that it felt like as a reader we were just floating along with the story.

Firstly, Thanks so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC version of this book. Secondly, I would like to say that I am a casual Greek Mythology fan, so I feel like that might impact how I felt about this book. Overall, I liked it.

There were some parts that just didn’t work for me. Like Orphia is supposed to be the greatest poet of all time, but I felt like I didn’t get enough of her poetry. In some parts, it was just describing her poetry, rather than like… giving us the poem. While the author’s writing style is so beautiful and poetic, I think what happens in a lot of Greek retellings, is that the language feels a little forced in places where the “feminism” parts are more apparent. I also think the pacing could’ve been a little better, there were some parts that were happening so quickly, and other parts that felt like they were dragging, especially towards the end. On one hand, the messaging of women using their voices loudly was well received, there were some parts that were laying it on THICCCKKKKKKK. Finally, this is a small point, but some of the God’s powers were kinda all over the place for me – like Zeus is supposedly all powerful and his descriptions/actions just didn’t work. There were often parts where I thought Apollo was way more powerful, which isn’t necessarily true. Or like Hera being able to skirt around Zeus’s power so easily was kinda odd to me.

BUTTTTT, There were some things about this book I really enjoyed and loved, for example, Eurydicius’ love for Orphia and literally all the romance scenes were to die for. Like Eurydicius and Orphia’s love was so pure and was REALLY FELT in my soul, even when death came for both of them. I also liked the author’s choices in terms of the mythology and chronical order to tell the story in. I loved getting to know the Muses and all the parts where she was training her poetry skills. I loved the messaging of “women defying what is expected of them,” and the often-forgotten women’s perspectives of Greek Mythology. The even brief mentions of Medusa, Hera’s story, and even the Maenads illustrates this beautifully! I also really loved the bisexual and LGBT+ representations! Elyse put her foot in those parts – like it was so natural and flowed perfectly with this story, where there were times I was forgetting this was a retelling!

Anyways – I liked the story enough! There were things I liked about the book, and other things I didn’t like much. Elyse John is a wonderful author and storyteller!

If you’re familiar with Greek mythology and the myth around Orpheus and Eurydice, then you essentially know the plot of this book. What sets this retelling apart is the gender reversal and feminist themes.

In this book, the author has switched genders, with Orpheus, the poet and hero becoming Orphia, the poetess yearning for eternal fame and glory, while Eurydice his love interest becomes Eurydicius, the shield maker with the feminine touch. The book is from Orphia’s POV and takes the reader through her journey as she uncovers her true parentage, learns the art of poetry from the Muses, goes on adventures, and eventually falls in love with Eurydicius.

I adored the author’s writing style and pacing. The language is both beautiful and easy to consume at the same time. Every chapter and paragraph felt edited to perfection. There is no stray word or sentence. The plot itself of course is very intriguing, but I do attribute that to the rich Greek myth it springs from. However, I really appreciated the inner monologue of a woman who believes herself to be independent and a feminist falling in love (both romantic and familial) and starting to understand that life isn’t complete till you form deep relationships.

Overall, if you are a fan of Madeline Miller or other mythological retellings, do give this one a go. I think Elyse John’s writing is so engaging and worthy of your time.

Perfect for those who are both fans of greek mythology and queer, this is a Sapphic retelling of orpheus and eurydice. Beautifully written and crafted!

I could appreciate what the author was going for in this gender swapped retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, but it didn't work for me. Eurydice/ius felt flat and one dimensional and Orphia felt like a Mary-sue compared to the softer musician of Orpheus in cannon.

Thank you NetGalley for an free copy of this book

This book didn't work for me. If you're all for women can't do anything wrong and all men are villains then check this book out. It's probably up your alley and will be worth the read. As for myself I didn't like that we just sidestepped that Goddesses can be vial and petty. They can be just as awful when wronged and that part of them was taken away and replaced with over the top kindness. Not that kindness is a weakness but to take away the goddesses fire in this story just to make the Gods even worse. Felt like the whole book was more about men being sexist and less about the actual greek telling.
I found myself wishing this book had been shorter, a lot of the plot felt overdone or underdone and it made the reading process quite boring for the most part. I had to convince myself to keep coming back to finish.
All in all if you enjoy a greek retelling that depicts the Goddesses in a much softer light and don't mind the repetitive process of how this was written, you'll probably enjoy this.

I was so excited for this. Orpheus and Eurydice is my favorite Greek myth and I craved to see a different take on it. However, I found the feminism in this book to be childish and it never went deeper than "Women are better than men!" I see this problem a lot, where every single man other than the love interest is just pure evil and it oozes gender essentialism. It says that the one good man is an anomaly, and all the others will never learn or change or grow. And when it came to the myth, this ham-fisted account of feminism destroyed the core of it. Orphia kept spouting about how she wanted to show the world that there could be an "equal love" and I'm just like...where's my all-consuming romantic tragedy? It just didn't have the same impact. The author should have chosen a different myth for the story she wanted to tell. Also, the ending dragged ON. If you want a queer/feminist story that's inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice, stick to Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

2.5 ⭐️

EArc provided by Harper Collins and NetGalley.

Orphia and Eurydicius is the debut novel from author Elyse John. This is a genderbent retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice that crosses the boundary of historical to speculative fiction with its queer romance.

I really wanted to like this much more than I did, unfortunately. To begin, from page one of this novel the writing feels like it is trying too hard to be deep and meaningful. Orphia is of course supposed to be the greatest poet of her time but disappointingly, this is not how the poetry comes across in the book itself. Orphia’s poems come across as overly flowery and her narration has very little nuance. I saw other reviews mention that the commentary feels very “girl power” and a “juvenile take on feminism.” Sadly, I have to agree. Orphia’s internal monologue is a constant barrage of feminism 101.

The pacing of this book is also odd to me. At the 30% mark Orphia and Eurydicius had only met once from my understanding of the writing. That being said, I only have a very basic knowledge of the original myth so perhaps its not so strange if you have a little more base knowledge. I don’t think you should have to have background knowledge of any subject when going into a retelling, the story should be able to stand on its own independent of what it is based on.

In a more general sense, I hope that mythology retellings are not falling into the same hole as YA dystopia 10 years ago. Mythology retellings are not new, but I feel like The Song of Achilles (2011) began to regain traction in the last few years with BookTok and reinvigorated the genre. Now other authors are trying to chase that same success of TSoA sometimes but not always, to the detriment of the writing itself {see; Circe (2018) A Touch of Darkness (2019) Ariadne, Lore Olympus, Daughters of Sparta, LORE (2021) Stone Blind (2022) and Atalanta (2023)}

Overall, if you are not bothered by overworked prose, the love story is handled just as beautifully as the original and you may really enjoy this, it is more the technical aspect of the writing itself that took away from my enjoyment of this book.

REVIEW
This review is based on an eARC provided by the publishers via Netgalley.

Adaptations that breathe with love and appreciation for their source material are the only adaptations I am interested in reading.

Elyse John is a poet, and her respect for Greek myth but also the verses which preserved those myths is what makes Orphia and Eurydicius special. When Orphia uses epithets–”ox-eyed Hera”–or begins her poetry by invoking the Muses, I was in the audience going absolutely wild. John’s prose is vibrant; her descriptions of Mount Olympus, Mount Parnassus, and Hades, as well as those that inhabit them, are divine, jewel-toned, alive.

Orphia and Eurydicius’ interpretation of mythology does not concern itself with being “accurate” (which, in my opinion, is a silly thing to want anyway). Rather, John takes pieces of myth and reinterprets them, fitting and re-fitting the pieces to tell Orphia’s story. By flipping and questioning these original myths, John brings forth a version of mythology that is unique yet in conversation with what came before. One of my favorite moments of this was her interpretation of Medea; her little time on the page was enthralling, and I would love to see more of her from John in the future.

Speaking of the future, most, if not all, readers know what will happen to Orphia. The narrative plays with this foreknowledge through prophecy and fate by leaning into the tragic aspect of Greek poetry, where part of the tragedy is knowing what will happen/is happening but listening anyway.

I loved these gender-flipped versions of Orphia as a determined warrior-poet and Eurydicius as a gentle, kind shield-maker. Their chemistry was immediate in a way I can very rarely say I feel in a romance, and I loved the way they discussed their gender and bisexuality with one another. (It’s Greek myth, so it might be a given, but this is a very bisexual book.)

Now, while I do love a good character-forward, heavy-on-the-prose book, I did struggle to completely click with Orphia and Eurydicius, which makes me really sad! While I loved the characters and appreciated the well-woven prose, the pacing suffered under the weight of itself at times.

From around 20% to 40%, the pacing dragged. Elements, particularly Orphia’s motivations for pursuing poetry, were reiterated again and again, with little to no change from beginning to end. Hearing her restate her desires in the same words and with no change in her goal got stale. It felt as though the narrative didn’t trust me to understand Orphia without being told explicitly.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I believe that this is John’s novel debut (but don’t quote me on that). Orphia and Eurydicius is a very strong debut, and I’m looking forward to what she writes next.

If you love Greek myth retellings that love and challenge the source material, lush, vibrant prose, and bisexual, confident, brave female main characters, then I suggest Orphia and Eurydicius!

There’s also some lovely character art on the author’s website. (link included in Storygraph and Goodreads reviews)

Thank you to Harper 360 for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley. If you are interested in Orphia and Eurydicius, the novel is out now! If possible, support indie bookshops with your purchase!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper 360, and author Elyse John for providing me with a digital copy of this novel. All opinions within this review are voluntarily given and entirely my own.

Flowery, lyrical prose with heavy use of metaphor and simile, done in a way that makes it easy to imagine this work performed aloud— which does have me eager to (eventually) listen to the audiobook, and feels perfect for an Orpheus retelling. The relationship between Orphia and Eurydicius is very sweet (I love depictions of queerness in antiquity and appreciated the ways that Orphia’s and Eurydicius’s bisexuality was discussed), and Orphia’s grief is really beautifully portrayed. I did find issue with the pacing at times, which left the Underworld journey in Orphia and Eurydicius somewhat muted given the title, and also includes relatively little space dedicated to the Voyage of the Argo. I did also feel that the attempt at a feminist reimagining lacked needed nuance in certain areas— most moments with men (whether discussing them or actually including them) portrayed them as almost cartoonishly misogynistic, and at times in ways that, to me, further removed agency from the women of myth beyond what their original stories had done (e.g. Aphrodite and Hephaestus, the Maenads and Dionysus). Conversely, there are several moments where it works well (e.g. Orphia learning of Atalanta and wondering how many other women’s stories have gone untold or forgotten, Orphia describing how her attraction lies in the space outside of gender norms of the time). I do think that this book will be more positively received by a younger adult audience, especially those still seeking independence, and those who do not feel that they meet gendered expectations placed upon them.

The 1st quarter of this boom was very enjoyable, but it fell a bit flat for me after that and just felt a bit of a chore to get through unfortunately. The writing is beautiful so this just may be a case of bad timing and me not in the mood for the book.

Wow, for as many words as I read in this book, my ability to put my thoughts into words is eluding me.

I have a love of mythology and was somewhat familiar with the origin story of Orpheus and Eurydice. This was an interesting gender-bending twist to flip their sexes and show what the story could have been like had Orpheus been Orphia, a woman.

The language of this book was so poetic and beautiful that you are completely transported to another world and realm. I am so curious as to what John will write about next!

Thank you so much to the author, Elyse John, Harper 360 and NetGalley for the eARC of Orphia and Eurydicius!

I’m such a huge fan of Greek mythology retellings and Elyse John did a wonderful job of telling this story! Her prose is beautiful and did great with describing everything. Loved the gender swapping as well. Definitely revamped the whole story. Thoroughly enjoyed this read! 4 stars!

I had high hopes for this one but it missed the mark for me. I think as the genre expands, it becomes harder to nail down what was so special about feminist retellings in the first place. I didn't feel connected to the story or characters.

When I tell you I sobbed….I SOBBED. This was such a beautiful retelling that I will treasure forever. I have always loved this myth so I was very excited to see it get a novelized retelling. John does a fabulous job using the original myth to craft a new story. The characters were wonderfully developed and the love story was perfect. I have tickets to Hadestown in a week or so and can’t wait to dive back in to one of my favorite stories.

i've always had a soft spot for greek myth retellings, and i especially adore orpheus and eurydice's story so i'm so so so glad i got the chance to read this! and it definitely was one hell of a read. the writing was absolutely gorgeous and super engaging, and i could barely put down the book once i picked it up!

I always enjoy a Greek mythology retelling but this one was extra fun because it took the myth and bent the genders. I LOVED this!

This was a powerful retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice which basically told all of the gender stereotypes to get out because no one needs those anymore. Women can be awesome badasses and men can be softer and in touch with their emotions. Seriously, I can't tell you how much I loved this!

Thanks @netgalley and @harpercollins360 for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!