4.5 stars!

One thing about Natasha Pulley is that she can write a story like no other, and boy is The Hymn to Dionysus like nothing else.

Usually I try to give a quick summary of the premise of the book here in my review but I could not tell you the plot of this book if I tried. Another reviewer summed it up well saying that you have no idea what's happening for the first 2/3rds but when it clicks, it clicks. I appreciate that I can be made to feel totally lost for so long, and yet when it counts I know I've caught everything I needed to. This is a haunting, honey-soaked, gear-clicking, heatwave of a book and I devoured it. Phaidros is quite different from most Greek myth retelling protagonists but his struggle with duty and fate fits right into a classical text. I really like how Dionysus was depicted as well and the parallels with color in different languages made my little linguist heart soar. Of course, you get your standard brand of Pulley magic with divine clockwork, viral madness, and reflective masks and they blend seamlessly with the blistering setting.

God, this was awesome. I stand by my belief that Natasha Pulley cannot write a bad book.

Thank you to Natasha Pulley and Bloomsbury USA for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!

Happy reading!

Oh glory, I loved this! I delighted in coming back to it each day and didn’t want it to be over. I’m going to have a book hangover after this.

We’ve all seen a lot of ancient-Greek-world stories covering the regimented military and royal side, and the tragedies therein. And this book does include that side of things. This novel, however, also smashes all of that regimentation and brings wild nature rioting back in. Which is far better, if you ask me, and exactly the type of theme we need in our current political era.

I love how Dionysus is portrayed here. His characterization sticks close to the delicious Greek mythology I grew up with—tales of ivy and grapes growing wild around him, sailors turning into dolphins, masked drunken revelers wreaking havoc, the works—but also makes him a thoughtful, compassionate being who neatly straddles the line between man and god. We, along with narrator Phaidros, are constantly suspecting he’s lying, but he brings such magic and life and sincere love that we want more of him anyway. We probably need more of him in our lives.

And I loved Phaidros too! His irreverent, snarky first-person narrative is a delightful voice I would follow around for a whole book no matter what was going on. I’ve seen some reviewers comment that it feels too modern, but I strongly disagree. I believe those people are missing a couple key points. First: the whole thing is in translation, so to speak. These characters are speaking a pre-Ancient Greek of some sort, which I sure can’t read and you probably can’t either, so Natasha Pulley considerately translated it all into English for us. And if someone is being informal and snarky in their own language, how else to translate that into English but into informal snarky English? Second: Phaidros’s honesty and earthiness dovetails nicely with the central theme of what Dionysus stands for, which is being true to nature—both one’s own nature and the greater Earth as a whole. If we’re going to smash the regimented, miserable life of soldiers and nobles and slaves and give everyone a sweet release filled with honey and wine, we’re sure not going to do it in uber-formal classical language. That wouldn’t fit.

Does it feel like The Song of Achilles? Somewhat, certainly, but I definitely liked the ending better and spent a lot less time feeling sad than I did with Achilles. It actually reminds me somewhat more of the Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner, which has a similar dazzling blend of tricksy gods, ancient-style civilization, political intrigue, brutal shocks, and adorable relationships.

Pure magic all around. Loved it. Will be buying a hard copy.

This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite books of the year.

The publisher comps it to Song of Achilles and to a degree, I agree, but I also think it's, dare I say, better. In typical Pulley fashion, the whole book is subtle and wind-y and confusing and sad and sweet absolutely lovely. I can't comment on any accuracy to standing mythology or stories, but it was as immersive and wonderful as the Watchmaker of Filigree Street with the typical Pulley sense of dry wit and humor (that I absolutely adore). I will certainly be ruminating on this book, and then re-reading it in a week to tease apart more and more of it.

(If you were personally victimized by Mars House, this book is absolutely without a shade of doubt, redemption.)

All in all, I am obsessed with this book and I will talk about to anyone misfortunate enough to be in listening distance

The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pully was such a fantastic and beautiful read. I am always amazed by Pulley's writing and think they do a fantastic job of creating the perfect atmosphere. I think it does a great job of exploring human connection. The characters were engaging and I just really enjoyed my time reading it!

4.5 stars for this.

I really really didn’t want this one to end.
I want to live inside the ivy covered labyrinth with lemon honey cakes and the bees and just never crawl out.

This was such an unexpected story. When it started I thought I could see where it was going but that fell apart pretty soon into it. Seeing the truth unravel and be revealed chapter by chapter really kept me holding on and intrigued. At no point did I guess correctly what was happening and I soon fell in love with these characters.

There was such small moments of true intimacy between so many people in this story it felt almost like an invasion of privacy. To open yourself up and be so vulnerable to someone all the while fearing they might see you as too much is such a real experience and Natasha Pulley does a phenomenal job at conveying this on paper.

I have a list of things that give me an existential crisis and at the very top is that we will never know how advanced society grew in lost civilizations and this story definitely triggered my brain lol

It would have been a perfect 5 but I had to take off a half point because of the way the dialogue went into random British vernacular and it would take me totally out of the story.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing for this digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was marketed as a read-alike for The Song of Achilles, one of my favorite books, so I just had to check it out. This story was interesting, although I didn't find the characters as relatable as The Song of Achilles. A definite read-alike though. That was spot on.

My only complaint was that the writing style was extremely colloquial, which would have been fine for me if this was a contemporary fiction. But it was a little jarring for a book set in 1200 BC.

I did enjoy it though. Thank you!

Picking this up, I was wondering how many more takes on Greek mythology in general and Dionysus in particular I can possibly manage, but as far as mythology takes go, this was on the more unusual side.

When it starts out, you think you understand what’s happening: Thebes, Semele, the baby, all that jazz. Except it doesn’t quite go the way you expect, leaning into other origin myths, introducing a plot twist that’s basically a long-term shell game and raising the question of what makes humans human. Center stage is taken by Phaidros - an experienced soldier raised in a legion and now raising young soldiers to follow the same mantra he’s been taught: “Obedience is strength, austerity is freedom, and duty is honor.” The mantra works well enough, occasional PTSD aside, until a terrible drought arrives and on its heels - political turmoil, uneasy alliances and a witch who seems to literally drive lots of people mad at his parties. Phaidros, drawn into the thick of it by the virtue of having been the ward (and later husband, very dicey point tbh) of the reigning Queen, is generally resigned to his fate and tries to do whatever will benefit his city and his ruler/sister-in-law. It goes about as well as you’d expect when the supernatural gets involved.

I definitely liked this book more than Valery K and Mars House, but I’m not sold on a number of things here. Plot-wise, it’d be the flashback from the ship that Phaidros is so hung up on and the flashback to Dionysus becoming, well, Dionysus back in whatever olden days. While the former explains some of the motivation, it’s given too much attention in my opinion, and the latter just felt a bit random and inserted there for the sake of sad-and-beautiful kind of writing that Pulley is good at - and maybe for the sake of leaving no questions unanswered, which, again, in this particular case I don’t get the need for.

Concept-wise I have my objections to the line of thinking that duty makes automatons of people and only a little (or a lot of) madness might fix that. I’m oversimplifying here, and of course being totally bound by duty has never been a recipe for a healthy life and mind, but in some cases (like at the very end with the Queen and her son), I felt like it was overkill and I couldn’t get behind it. And honestly from the blurb I assumed that “veterans losing their minds” would be more PTSD chalked up to divine influence and less actual divine influence, but in the end I suppose it turned out to be both.

I did enjoy the mystery with the baby, it was a great twist, and I think the idea of “wear a mask too long and you become it” was powerful and executed extremely well here, with just the right shade of creepy and inevitable. Phaidros’s head was mostly an interesting place to be in, and his loss and grieving that came closer to the surface from time to time felt like a very natural thing, easy to sympathize with.

So, not my favorite of hers, but certainly more enjoyable than the last.

If you're a fan of reimaginings of Greek and Roman mythology, you will enjoy this book. It's a sweeping tale of the soldier Phaidros Heliades, the ward of Helios, and his encounters with Dionysus, the god of revelry, madness, and wine.

The story takes place in Thebes, mostly, as Phaidros is in charge of a battalion of young soldiers. Thebes is undergoing a drought and famine, and just as they are at their most vulnerable, a bewitching man (who we later learn is Dionysus) shows up to stir things up. Many of the citizens fall to madness, including the Queen's son, who is meant to be traded for a delivery of grain from the Egyptians.

The author does an excellent job developing each character and the relationships between them. It's a story about power, love, loyalty, duty, and madness.

Absolutely excellent.

Thank you Netgalley and Natasha for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story intertwines mystery, queer romance, and Greek mythology, creating a compelling narrative that explores human and divine connections. I know other people may criticize the comparison to if you loved Song of Achilles you will love this book but I think anyone who just loves rich reimagining's of Greek Mythology will enjoy this story and I believe Natasha is a mastermind at mythic storytelling.

I loved this book! The prose is beautiful and descriptive of both places and people. This book is absolutely for people looking for queer stories in Greek mythology, but I wouldn't come here looking for a traditional romance. Phaidros' emotional journey and their growing relationship is gorgeous, and I would definitely call it a love story, but not a romance.

I love me some brutal fantasy and this absolutely delivers. Dionysus' godhood makes him simultaneously very human and very inhuman and capable of both great kindness and great cruelty. He's a human but More, with everything that entails. I would read more about him and Phaidros forever. I feel like I need to immediately read it again because I must have missed something the first time, not because it's impossible to understand but just because there's so much here to roll around in. (As soon as I have a physical copy in my hands, I will be reading it again to be sure.)

If you want beautiful prose, emotional healing, and a blast of divine intervention, this is absolutely a book that's well worth your time. I have a lot of feelings about this book that I can't get into without speaking specifics (all positives, and all full of love), so you're just going to have to read it.

I absolutely loved this novel and can't wait for it to be out in the world so I can tell everyone to go read it.

I think Natasha Pulley is a very gifted writer and I have loved what books I have read of hers in the past. This one unfortunately just wasn’t for me and I struggled to get into it.

Beautifully complex and thoughtful-- just what I've come to expect from a Natasha Pulley novel. If you enjoy books by Madeline Miller or Jennifer Siant, definitely pick this up and give it a try!

Thank you to Natasha Pulley, Bloomsbury Publishing, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

i really am a greek girlie okkkkk!!! i ate this up. i don't know much about dionysus, but the writing was so easy to follow i didn't feel like i was missing something. the author did a fantastic job laying the foundation and building up tension. this is my first book by Pulley and it won't be my last!

Heavily inspired by (though not a retelling of) Greek mythology, this book is really about what it means to be human and all the ways we release and come back to ourselves. Pulley's weaving together of myth and original fantasy and romance and humanity is brilliantly done.

Very conflicted about this book. Some of it felt very dreamlike and I enjoyed the imagery of nature, other parts dragged on for too long with too many disjointed scenes (maybe like a dream in that sense).

I’d recommend it for someone who enjoys mythology retellings, and while I finished the whole book I am unlikely to reread it

WOW! What did I just read??? I love Greek myth retellings and this one felt like it was on another plane! Imaginative and tender filled with magic, adventure and longing with writing that just captivates you wholly! I am in awe of how beautifully Pulley reimagined Dionysus's story and I feel like it is no small thing to believe that Dionysus would be proud.

This is another amazing and imaginative offering from the always intriguing Natasha Pulley. This one goes back into basically prehistory and reimagines the story of Dionysus. There is magic, adventure and a tender gay love story along with an interesting array of characters and creatures.

I loved this book so much that I knew I had to wait at least a day before writing my review. Oh my god, this was so good.

I have a one-line pitch for it that immediately sold my sister so much that I preordered a copy for her birthday even though it doesn't come out until March, but it's a bit spoilery about the ending, so I'll put that at the end. But basically if you love books like Madeline Miller's or Greek mythology in general, and you love queerness and hope while still not feeling like a lighthearted fairy tale, this is the perfect book for you. I was so drawn in to the characters and their world, while also being so stressed the whole time about how it would end. I loved the way it was written, and the themes, and the things you come back to, and the resolution we get for all the questions and mysteries. Genuinely dare I say a perfect book??? Idk. I just know I'm going to be recommending it to everyone I can.

Spoilers ahead!! What I told my sister is that it has some Orpheus and Eurydice/Achilles and Patroclus vibes while also having a happier ending. Like, it's not just a HEA type thing, but the ending was much happier than I expected given how these sorts of stories usually go (and given how it wasn't marketed as a romance, at least not by the time I read it). Like, if The Song of Achilles and/or Hadestown broke your heart, this will put it back together again, just a little.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC!

This had several of the elements that I love about Pulley's work: captivating and flawed characters, mystery, sweet slow-burn romance, and excellent world-building. The main characters, especially Phaidros, drew me in right away, and there were several supporting characters that were delightful (another Pulley characteristic). Lush, intense, thought-provoking, and both sad and hopeful, fans of Song of Achilles and Greek reimaginings will love this!

Thanks to NetGally and Bloomsbury for the advanced reader copy!