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However, I would also think that the author has more potential for her books to come. Her writing had definitely caught my heart at certain scenes. I would def read her next book. Overall, it was an okay read for me. I think I was just sad that I didn't like it as much because I had high hopes for it. But for those who is a first timer to read a Hades and Persephone retelling, this book might work out for you. As a self-confessed Hades and Persephone fan girl I knew I needed to get my grabby, Greek Myth-loving hands on a copy of this ASAP! It took awhile but I finally managed to win a copy in a giveaway (thanks again @imysbookshelf) and I’m glad to report that it lived up to all of my expectations. I can't say enough how much I love this book, I tabbed so many quotes and moments which I want to relive daily. There is only one book you must start with when wanting to try out Hades & Persephone retellings and it's this one. This is your introduction to the Underworld! Girl, Goddess, Queen is a feminist, fierce and fresh YA fantasy retelling of the classic Greek myth of Hades and Persephone with a hefty dose of steamy romance. Fitzgerald’s reimagining shifts the power dynamic and repositions Persephone as a heroine with agency to control her own narrative, with extraordinarily fun results.
Talking of these two MCs, they were a delight in their slow dance towards friendship and the even slower dance to more. Styx and Tempest were feisty side characters and I enjoyed the development of the underworld at the hands of Persephone and Hades. I feel like we got a lot of story but equally, there's so much potential here for more. I'm excited to see this will be a series. With a title like that, expectations were high, and fortunately, Bea Fitzgerald didn't disappoint. Also, this retelling gives new meaning to the expression : Hot as Hades ;) I went in kinda blind as my only knowledge of Persephone and Hades story was from watching Hadestown on Broadway last year! This is the perfect book for a YA lover like me to share with my teenage daughter. The YA genre has really enabled the parent-child reading crossover and I am so grateful for books such as this one, which spark conversation and create common ground between two utterly different generations! I liked how both Persephone and Hades had broken the streotype in this book. Its somewhat the fluidity in accepting that toxic masculinity and female oppression has made society had not be able to express what they like in the first place. I love how Hades was portrayed in here (soft Hades made me swoon) and Persephone was potrayed to be a stronger but is still feminine. I liked that the author had shown that it doesn't make you less of a man or less of a woman for liking something that didn't approve to the society's standards.What a fresh take on the Hades and Persephone myth. Gone is the dark, broody, night-club-owner/gambler Hades, and here is the new and artistically inclined god of the dead. I adored how fearless Fitzgerald was in creating a whole new profile for Hades and think she succeeded in bringing him to life in such a believable way. As for Persephone, we really saw a woman find her footing in HER realm - the fact the underworld also belonged to her in key to that statement. Where we are used to seeing Persephone fill in the gaps of the Underworld for Hades, THIS Persephone created new lands, reorganised her court and stepped into her public facing political role with effortless flair. Persephone discovering her power and literally just being power hungry and finding love along the way Sadly, this book is not for me. This book has all the right ideas. It's a fun retelling of Hades and Persephone, and the author tries to put a fresh new spin on the myth. It's evident the author has done her research and I applaud her for that. The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our
Persephone has way too much 'candy' in narrative terms and the plot does not offer her enough hardship to compensate. I think the books main issue was it’s length. It had no business being as long as it was and it was bogged down with a lot of filler. I felt like every scene was dragged out between chapters and it would have worked better if it was dual perspective for this. Fitzgerald’s story retells the myth of Persephone and Hades, in which Hades ensnares Persephone in the Underworld by making the ground split beneath her feet. In Fitzgerald’s version, our heroine is less easily fooled. We meet her as a young child: “When they asked me what I wanted, I said: ‘The world.’” But her father, Zeus, decides instead that she should be ‘Goddess of the flowers’, and she senses “all my hopes, all my lofty ambitions crumbling away… This felt like a punishment.”Pure joy and fun in book form. Girl, Goddess, Queen takes Hades and Persephone's tale and creates the ultimate rom-com drama with Persephone's growth and journey at its heart. This book was incredible! What an amazing debut by Bea Fitzgerald, I already want to read her next ten books. Our Persephone, traditionally portrayed as sweet tempered and kind, is transformed into a daring and fabulously fierce (Ancient Greek) Girl Boss, determined to seek out happiness by any means necessary—even if it means taking on the patriarchy in all its toxic, oppressive forms. Persephone's hang-up over sex = rape might be slightly justified (thanks Demeter etc) but it's boring as hell to read. Still, there’s something about hearing it on a day like today that pulls at a chord in my chest. I’m still disappointing her, even when I’m agreeing to the biggest thing she’s ever asked of me.
I seem to be in the minority with this review but I didn’t really enjoy this book and I at times, found it quite dull. I adore a Hades and Persephone retelling and I have read my fair share of them in my time but this just felt a bit flat. I think the premise was there but the execution just didn’t work for me. In het begin moest ik er een klein beetje inkomen, maar wanneer ik er eenmaal inzat lieten het verhaal en de personages me niet meer los.
This is story first, political issues second which is the way it always ought to be done. However it's also a pretty intelligent look at power, the desire for it and what it costs to be truly free. I also LOVED the personification of the goddess Styx - what a gift! I haven't seen a single other author in recent years take on the river gods of the ancient world and spin them into their own characters. The addition of completely new characters like Tempest offered a strong supporting cast that made this book stand out in creativity from the rest. I wanted to turn to my mother, to see if I’d answered correctly, but her hands held me in place, though her nails were less piercing. I am on the edge with anticipation for the second book as this ending was somewhat of a cliffhanger. The ending is bittersweet, but I won't be spoiling it ;) I read this book as part of a readalong and had so much fun discussing each chapter and sharing quotes. We received a plantable bookmark with this book and I'm excited to see which plant will grow. :) Mother jumps, glancing around like an Olympian could be lurking around the corner, like she hasn’t spent the last decade weaving intricate magic to bar the uninvited from our island. ‘Don’t say things like that, Kore!’ she scolds. ‘No one will believe that a woman who talks of attraction is virginal. Do you want people to believe you’re a whore?’
But you weren’t married when you had me.’ I furrow my eyebrows to really drive home my confusion. Remind me of how I was conceived, Mother. Mother’s face falls and she takes my hands in hers. ‘That’s not freedom,’ she says gently. ‘Men see a reputation as an invitation.’ The pace was fast, the scenes cute and I found myself engaged in the will they - won't they shenanigans you'd expect from a romance book. So why 3*? Marriage is protection, Kore. A ring on your finger binds you to one man and that’s all the gods respect.’ The brooding male, the woman determined to be something greater than her father expects, the fake marriage. I just loved it all.But regardless of my age, it was my Amphidromia, the day a child received their name. And as I was a goddess, I would also receive my domain – the aspect of the world that I would be responsible for. Funny, fierce and feminist; this is a refreshing romp through Greek mythology. Bea Fitzgerald draws on her extensive knowledge to create this imaginative retelling, turning everything we think we know about Persephone and Hades upside down and recasting them as the stars of this unexpected, meticulously researched, empowering rom-com. Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne
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