This book was all over the place. Greek/Roman retelling of Persephone (or Proserpina in this one) and Thelia (a siren) juxtaposed with the mysterious disappearance of the colonists of Roanoke. How these two ended up in unholy matrimony is still a mystery to me as it simply did not work.

I will preface by saying I thoroughly enjoyed all of the Greek mythological scenes. They were well-written and I felt like I was on the island along with them. The 16th century Roanoke storyline however was a hot mess. The language, the actions of the colonists, the queer love stories were all just wrong for that time period. The breaking of betrothals, the acceptance of some distant foreign queen looking for a suitor - none of it made any sense whatsoever. Also the fact that there wasn't a single Native to be found was strange - even if the author felt it wasn't her story to tell, then don't use a colony on Native land as your setting. Having multiple queer Puritans was also eyebrow raising as Puritans are going to be...well, puritanical. The love stories themselves were highly confusing and everything about the Roanoke chapters just felt like a headscratcher.

Overall, this felt and read like poorly constructed fanfiction and was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dell, and Shannon Ives for an advanced readers' copy in exchange for an honest review.

what an interesting book about flowers and gods and trying to find someone. loved that she lost her memory and in this town and finds what she is looking for.

The novel is about transporting figures from Roman mythology to the lost colony of Roanoke. In the timeline labeled “Before,” Thelxiope and her sisters are handmaidens to Proserpina, Ceres’s daughter and the goddess of spring. Thelxiope, called Thelia, has a special relationship with Proserpina that grows into a romance. When the women sneak away from Ceres’s home for a tryst, Proserpina is stolen into the Underworld, leaving Thelia and her sisters to face Ceres’s wrath. She transforms them into sirens and traps them on the island of Scopuli. In their new forms, the women spend centuries feeding on the men who shipwreck on the island and sacrificing them to Ceres in hopes of appeasing her. These scenes are intercut with the timeline labeled “Now,” in which Thelia lands in Roanoke hoping to bring help to her sisters. The colony is starving, and Thelia figures out a way to use that to her advantage, though she must first face the of a cruel man’s schemes and his crueler mother. Complicating things is Cora, a colonist who looks uncannily like Proserpina and threatens to pull Thelia from her purpose. Why?

The author blends old and new legends while lovingly crafting a characterized cast of women. I liked the story detailing the lives of Thelia and her sister sirens on the island of Scopuli. Much of this novel is brutal and bloody. This adventure is filled with sapphic longing and female rage.

I was really interested in the concept especially I always love a good retelling, and this one seemed especially unique. The idea of linking sirens to the lost colony of Roanoke had so much potential, and the first few pages actually drew me in. The writing was decent and it was interesting to see how the sirens came to be and how they ended up there. But as the story went on, I found myself struggling to stay engaged.

Most of the middle felt overly drawn out, and I just couldn’t bring myself to care. The pacing dragged, and I grew anxious for the story to simply end. The romance also didn’t land for me especially since it leaned into instalove, which felt unearned since Thelia’s supposed centuries of wisdom.

Then there’s the handling of Roanoke itself. The book tries to critique patriarchal violence but completely sidesteps the larger implications of colonization. There’s an attempt to draw parallels between the suffering of the white women under the colony’s men and the treatment of Indigenous women, but it feels shallow and unexamined. The only Indigenous presence in the story is as nameless victims, which makes the whole revenge narrative feel uncomfortable at best.

That being said, I did mostly like how the ending came together. It made me wish the rest of the book had maintained that same level of engagement. But overall, while the concept was intriguing, the execution left me wanting more.

This book may have taken me longer to read than a typical book, but not in a bad way. The writing was languid and gave such rich detail that it wasn't a book I could easily come in and out of, wasn't a book I could just put down and move to another task. The characters were believable and relatable, and the way of dealing with trauma was definitely relatable. Definitely a book I'll recommend to others!

I have more familiarity with Greek mythology than the Roman renaming, so it took a while to realize that Proserpina is Persephone. That is the name of one of my dogs, so I have a bit of familiarity with the myth but not with the role of her handmaidens and their curse.

Thelia and her sisters are cursed to become Sirens on an evermoving island after Proserpina is taken to the underworld. After many centuries of luring men to their deaths, she is able to become human and leave the island. She plans to bring men back to sacrifice directly to Proserpina instead of her mother. She lands in the lost colony of Roanoke. Having grown up in North Carolina and regularly taken vacations in the Outer Banks, I am familiar with the lore. This was an interesting twist.

This is truly about feminine rage. There are good men depicted in the book but they are few and far between in times when there was nothing to hold them accountable. The bubbling rage is justified and sings throughout the book.

The duel timelines were surprising, I preferred the Roanoke timeline but the other brought in all the pieces. I loved the ending.

All in all, a reader must be ready for feminine rage and be ready to suspend disbelief fully!

Thank you to Net Galley, Random House Publishing- Ballantine, and Dell for the DRC. All opinions are my own and are influenced by my own rage.

Those Fatal Flowers by Shannon Ives is a unique blend of dark mystery and complex characters, but unfortunately, it doesn't quite live up to its full potential. The novel centers around an intriguing premise involving secrets, danger, and blossoming relationships, which keeps the plot engaging enough to pull you through. However, the pacing can be a bit uneven at times, with some moments dragging while others rush too quickly.

Ives does a commendable job of building a moody atmosphere, and the writing style is rich, though at times overly descriptive. Some of the character developments felt a bit forced, leaving certain relationships feeling flat. The ending, while satisfying, left me wanting a little more clarity in terms of emotional payoff. Overall, it's an enjoyable read for fans of atmospheric thrillers but lacks the depth and momentum to make it truly unforgettable.

I was close to DNF. I really struggled through the first 35% Everytime I opened the book I would fall asleep shortly after. The beginning was also a little confusing with the character hierarchy. It does make sense after a while and the dual timelines sometimes got annoying (the one back in time was a lot slower than the other). After halfway it does pick up and the end is ok.

“The divine, the profane. They’re two sides of the same coin.”

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. This is a queer Greek/Roman/colonial retelling with “sapphic longing and female rage” in the byline. The prose is descriptive and engaging, living up to both the title and cover art. By all accounts, this should be right up my alley.

I just can’t get over the Roanoke storyline. Most retellings with Greco-Roman Gods work best in a specific culture, time, and place. The violence of the Gods and their byproducts (re: the sirens) are a direct foil to humanity. Removed from their mythical context and placed in a historical settler colony, the siren’s violence is suddenly equated with the tangible violence of English colonizers. While I believe the author meant for the two storylines to illustrate “female rage,” where then are the Native American characters? Surely they would be more entitled to rage when encountered with men colonizing their shores? Why are they relegated to narrative devices?

There are also elements of misandry that felt misplaced throughout the story. The one that comes to mind is the scene around pregnancy loss. I won’t go into details, but Thelia is a very complex character. For better or worse, I’m still piecing through this one.

I really enjoyed this take on the mystery of the lost colony of Roanoke. Unfortunately, I was not as familiar with the mythology so found some parts confusing. However, I appreciated the creativity and enjoyed the narrative throughout the “Now” chapters. I really enjoyed the idea of “female rage” and hope to continue reading more books with this theme. Thelia endured a lot in her human form and the reader can really sympathize with that perspective on the female experience.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Shannon Ives for the opportunity to read this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is an intriguing mash-up of mythology and a colonial mystery full of female rage. Women, cursed to live forever as monsters, the struggle and the journey of one who tries to save her family.

Incorporating the mysterious disappearance at Roanoke with Thelia’s story, it gives the reader a fantastical view of what might have happened if vengeance were a person (if, indeed, vengeance was needed to be paid).

My thanks to Ballentine for this gifted DRC

I loved the mythology tied in with the mystery of Roanoke and the women ultimately getting their revenge. It was occasionally hard to follow and there were a ton of trigger warnings but I really enjoyed overall. Thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

I’m not *quite* sure what I expected when I picked up this book, but a combination of the classic Greco-Roman siren (read: bird-like and kinda scary, not deadly beautiful mermaids) and the lost settlement at Roanoke wasn’t it. 😅

I really enjoyed Thelia’s story once I got used to the back and forth of the timeline format and wrapped my head around the whos and whats of it all. There are some dark themes and trigger warnings, so definitely read those before going in so you’re prepared.

Overall a solid 3.75 out of 5. Good for mythology fans and those of us who prefer the fun “what ifs” of history rather than (typically boring) reality.

I received an advance copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own, and a review was not required.

This is a dual timeline story. Weaving Greco-Roman mythology & Roanoke, this is a unique story that had me hooked from the beginning. These are 2 very different stories, at least on the surface, but the dual timeline somehow works wonderfully.

Those Fatal Flowers explores what if a siren is the reason for the disappearance of Roanoke settlers? It is as intriguing a premise as any regarding America's Lost Colony. The blending of mythology and Early American history was an unlikely pairing that drew me in. The names are taken from Roman mythology, which threw me a bit as I'm much more familiar with Greek terminology. Even so, the ideas here were interesting. What lost me a bit is the pacing. I felt lost in that Roanoke winter for far too long, and it was there that the mix of setting in time and place became to feel disjointed. I think fans of mythology and American history will enjoy this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for this ARC!

2 Stars
This book was too much for me and I was not able to finish it.

Thank You to Random house and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

While a strong feminist imagining of the siren myth and an interesting tie in to the lost Roanoke colony, this book suffers what I’ve seen in others of the genre. When attempting to bring these ancient stories life, what you often end up with are dry, slow narratives that plod along, punctuated with long, repetitive inner monologue to try and bring superficially famous characters to life. We get this here in both the “then” sections that portray Thelia in the myth and also the “now” sections that are set in the colony. The Roanoke story is much more compelling, but the style persists and the pace suffers. I found myself skimming throughout which was frustrating and disappointing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

This book took me a bit to get into. Once i got into the book it was a very clever mix of Greek mythology and the mythology/mystery surrounding Roanoke. It was a bit convoluted and hard to follow at times especially if you don't have a solid mythology base. It was a clever mixing of stories and time periods with a strong female lead.

Those Fatal Flowers is a brilliant story that blends mythology, history, and feminist rage, creating a story creating a story of the sirens set within the myster of Roanoke. Shannon Ives crafts a gripping tale of longing, revenge, and redemption, following Thelia as she grapples with her past mistakes and the monstrous power within her.

The alternating timelines between Scopuli and Roanoke create a dynamic and engaging narrative, with rich, lyrical prose that brings both settings to life. The sapphic romance is beautifully woven into the story, adding emotional depth to Thelia’s journey. While the pacing occasionally slows and the Roanoke sections sometimes feel underdeveloped compared to the mythology-rich siren storyline, the book remains a compelling read.

I don't think I've ever read a book that combines Greek mythology and the lost colony of Roanoke. Although this combination works better than I expected, the story overall felt disjointed in places. With that being said, I don't necessarily wish that the stories had been kept separate--they kind of fit together, but not perfectly.

The book opens with Proserpina's kidnapping, and establishes her handmaidens (Thelia, Raidne, and Piscinoe) as the main focus of the story. Chapters alternate between "before," which describe her handmaidens' lives on the island of Scopuli, and "now," which follow Thelia's time in Roanoke. At first, the events of how and why Thelia came to Roanoke are unclear, and I definitely preferred the "before" chapters, which made more sense and were overall more interesting plotwise. However, the story eventually came together to the point where I understood where it was going and how it got there.

I do think that the three handmaidens' characters were more developed and compelling than the Roanoke colonists. There were some interesting conversations and interactions, but as a whole, I was more invested in Raidne, Piscine, and Thelia in the aftermath of losing Proserpina. Although there was some romance, I wasn't too convinced by one of the relationships, and the other one was just okay. I do appreciate the alternative explanation that this book gives for the disappearance of the lost colony of Roanoke, but I am still not sure whether it really works in the context of a Greek mythology setting. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories inspired by Greek myths and the lost colony of Roanoke.