“Those Fatal Flowers” 4.5/5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book!

I should preface this review by saying I adore sapphic romance and Greek mythology. Naturally, this book was right up my alley. Shannon Ives did such a magnificent job capturing the anger, despair, and longing necessary for a story like this. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.

The story follows Thelia, a handmaiden to Proserpina, between two different timelines. First, when she is banished to the island of Scopuli, as a siren, and later, as she travels to the colony of Roanoke on Proserpina’s orders.

I felt so connected to Thelia as she grappled with the consequences of her actions and the loss of the woman she loved. I also felt so validated by reading Thelia get revenge on the men who have harmed her.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Greek mythology, sapphic love stories, and historical fiction! 10/10 read 🫶🏻

Those Fatal Flowers explores what might occur should one of the monsters of Greek mythology find herself in colonial America. It is well written, but there is a lot going on here that made it hard to continue to suspend disbelief. There were so many times when I found myself wanting to cheer on the protagonist, Thelia (monster or siren), but I found it difficult to relate to her rage and barbarism. Some of the acts described was inhuman and hypocritical- a self declared monster presiding as judge and jury over the monstrosities some men commit in their lust for power. Additionally, inviting colonial Christian themes into a story steeped in Greek mythology created dissonance that I personally found distracting more than it added to the story.

Some will love this book, but for me, it was too brutal and graphic.

I’d like to thank Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thelia and her sisters are banished to an island after failing to protect Proserpina from her fate. They are slowly starving to death when they receive a gift from Proserpina, a chance to break the curse. Can Thelia save herself and her sisters by bringing people back from the Roanoke colony?

This was an interesting intersection of Greek mythology and colonial America. It felt a little buy one get one free. It was a little slow to start, but sped up mid-way and kept my interest to the conclusion. I liked the take on sirens which is a little different from the typical and the whole theme of men versus women and inherent goodness and evil fit both timelines well.

However, there were points where I felt the views of the main character were a little simplistic and could have maybe some more back story on why she felt the way she did. Some parts of the story dragged for me. Overall though I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Dual time with colonial American and Greco - Roman mythology. Female empowerment, the fight to survive and how tragedy can turn people into monsters.

The writing is rich and the story flowed well. I love how the time periods came together and were woven so well.

However, I don’t enjoy when female empowerment is laid on too thickly, I like it to feel more organic. We got that women could be both good and evil but mostly just saw men being evil. We are all human and have the capacity for both, often at the same time.

Check the content warnings on this one.

Greek mythology meets colonial America, yes, that is a must read for me! This novel alternates from the past and present. The past is Thelia's life as a siren having been banished to an island when she failed to protect Proserpina. The present is Thelia in Roanoke, on a quest to save her sisters and herself.

This was such a unique book filled with action, mystery, violence, and a little romance. It was a story of survival and women empowerment. The writing flowed and I was completely invested in what was going to happen. I did enjoy the Colonial America setting more than when Thelia is on Scopuli. The author did a great job of showing what it would be like for a former Greco/Roman woman who was turned into a monster, to become a Colonial American woman. The entire premise was engaging.

If you enjoy historical fiction novels especially ones with mythology and strong female characters this is a unique book that you will definitely enjoy!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this Arc.

Shannon Ives' excellent debut novel, "Those Fatal Flowers," masterfully weaves together Greco-Roman mythology with the mystery of the lost Roanoke colony, creating a spellbinding and unique narrative. Thelia’s transformation from a cursed siren to a determined survivor infiltrating Roanoke is a journey filled with intense emotion, intricate plotting, and vivid imagery. Ives deftly handles alternating timelines, enriching the story with historical authenticity and mythological wonder. The characters are deeply developed, with Thelia's fierce determination and complex relationships adding depth to the tale. This novel is a stunning exploration of love, power, and redemption that will captivate fans of historical and mythological fiction alike.

"How many nymphs survived a god's assault only to fall prey once more to the misplaced wrath of his wife?"

An ancient siren, long-cursed by Ceres for the crime of losing her beloved daughter, travels to the colony of Roanoke to lure its men back to her island.

What a weird and fascinating book. I was skeptical at first, but the seemingly discordant time periods manage to weave together surprisingly well.

Beautifully written, though a tad slow at times. Unsurprising in a sapphic story set in the brutal colonial era, the longing and yearning is thick.

In sea of Greek and Roman retellings, this one is absolutely delightful in its uniqueness.

Take the content warnings seriously.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Ballantine Books

Giving this one a 3.5 out of 5 stars for female rage and sapphic longing. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The premise of this book really intrigued me because it took the popular mythology retelling genre and added a historical mystery to it. You alternate between timelines to learn about how Thelia was cursed, how she came to the Roanoke colony, and her future.

At it's core, this is a story of pure female rage that is primarily directed towards men. The story does briefly delve into a "not all men" subplot that I wish had been delved into more, especially given that there are moments where this female rage is rightfully directed back to other women. Thelia ultimately realizes that "evil is made, not born," but her epiphany gets steamrolled by other plot lines.

While in theory this book checks off a lot of the boxes for things I look for in books, it took me longer than expected to get through it. Especially in the middle, I just kept waiting for something to happen and I began losing interest in the story. I was close to DNFing this book but wanted to see it through (and I am glad I did).

Unique take on a Greco-Roman myth with a lot of violence.

This was a beautiful book and I was into it from the first page. The mythology was well done and not too complicated, it was full of adventure and longing and love. The alternative timeline story was Intriguing and I ate it up. Beautiful.

5 Star (rounded up from 4,5)

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, did I enjoy this book! What a refreshing change of pace from some of the other books I’ve been reading. The writing style is so well done and so beautiful. I found myself highlighting words on every page just to celebrate the beauty of the prose.

The story itself is extremely captivating and righteously divine in its feminine rage. I feel the beginning was a little slow, but once the “domino fell,” I was gripped. I read the last 50% in a single sitting.

The romance was such a believable slow burn. I loved the justice and retribution in this tale. I would strongly recommend this to anyone who enjoys books like Circe, or feminist historical books.

I requested an arc of this books based on the cover and general synopsis. After reading it, I can say that I would recommend it to readers who enjoy a complex character and complicated choices. The first few chapters were a bit slow, however, I found that sticking through and allowing the plot structure to settle in made for an enjoyable reading experience. Readers with a hyperfixation on folklore across generations and continents will find much to enjoy in this mashup of myth.

The writing itself was well done but it needed more Indigenous representation. I felt like this was a very one sided tale, even with the multiple POVs.

Thank you to NetGalley and PRH Ballantine for giving me an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!

I loved to much about this novel— the myth/history retellings, the sapphic yearning, the unapologetically (for a time) evil women, the winged women, did I mention the sapphic yearning? It was beautifully and lyrically written, and I binge-read the last fifteen percent of despite telling myself at the end of each chapter that I *really* should go to sleep.

What I didn’t love about this book was essentially just one thing— the misandry. At first, it felt warranted— then it felt gratuitous. It would have been different if at the end of the story Thelia had unlearned her misandrist ways, but we didn’t really ever get that. She met *one* good man, but other than realizing that women can also be evil, she never really got to the other side of the coin— that men can also be good.

This book was, at its core, about the wrongs done to women at the hands of men, so I absolutely understand why Thelia’s realization of “monsters are made, not born,” wasn’t really dwelt on, but it still felt disingenuous to her character growth to not give that growth room to breathe. The misandry absolutely had a place in the book, it just felt like it was taken a bit too far.

This was a good read and it used the source material well. I had never read the combination of myth is that were brought together in this book and it makes me want more like it!

I enjoyed this book, but I found that I struggled to really delve into it at times. The author certainly has a beautiful writing style, and I think someone who is an avid enjoyer of mythology will get some enjoyment out of this book. That being said, sometimes I was a bit bored! The story didn't resonate with me as fully as I had hoped, but I think it's still a very acceptable story with a very decent narrative.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Dell, Shannon Ives, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

In Those Fatal Flowers, Shannon Ives weaves Greco-Roman mythology with historical fiction to retell the story of Thelia and her sisters, handmaidens to Proserpina (Persephone), the goddess of the spring. When Proserpina is captured by Dis (Hades) and taken as his queen to the Underworld, Thelia and her sisters are punished by Ceres (Demeter), transformed into half-bird, half-woman monsters and banished to the island of Scopuli.

The story is told between two alternating timelines - Before, on the island of Scopuli, and After, in the City of Raleigh, the ancient lost colony of Roanoke where Thelia must carry out a plan to free herself and her sisters from their curse.

I was really intrigued by the idea of combining mythology with early American history, the underlying theme being bad men doing terrible things. I found the alternating timelines easy to follow, and actually adds to the suspense of the story, trying to figure out how the two timelines come together.

Thelia’s story is beautifully written, the way she grapples with her own monstrosity while seeking to punish the men for their wrongdoings, and trying to reconcile the guilt she carries about her role in losing the girl she loves.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys Greek or Roman mythology retellings, specifically told from the perspective of women.

I think this book will either be loved or dnf’d. I came in somewhere in the middle. I thought this book had such potential at the beginning but by the middle I was forcing myself to stay to stay interested.

This one is hard for me to write a review about. If it wasn't an arc, I may not have finished it, but I'm glad I did because the last 15% of the book was the best part. The story has some good lines about how tragedy can turn people into monsters, but aside from that I wasn't particularly moved by it. Maybe my opinions of this will change after some time has passed, but as of right now it just doesn't really sit right. Maybe it was the extreme hatred of all men that went as far as including an unborn baby that rubbed me the wrong way. That was a wee bit too far for me.

A very interesting retelling of the story of Proseperina's handmaidens, who became the Sirens. This story centers the story of women - and highlights the many ways they had/have to pay for being who they are. Ives draws vivid scenes and characters, and we're drawn into their lives as if we were part of the story. There's an interesting angle and connection to colonial-era America as well, and I appreciate how Ives tied together the ancient Greek tale with much later history.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher (Random House) for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this novel. I recommend this read if you like stories of strong women, enjoy mythology and appreciate speculative fiction.

🌸✨ "Those Fatal Flowers" by Shannon Ives is an absolutely mesmerizing read! If you’re into stories where mythology meets historical mystery with a twist of sapphic romance and fierce female power, this one’s for you. Thelia’s journey from cursed siren to her adventures in Roanoke is so gripping—I couldn’t put it down! Ives’ writing beautifully captures the longing, rage, and resilience of women, and the dual timelines are handled masterfully. It's like Madeline Miller's "Circe" meets Jennifer Saint's "Ariadne" with a touch of Natalie Haynes’ wit. A must-read for anyone craving a fresh, empowering take on myth and history! 💫📚❤️