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Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin, for the chance to read the ARC of this book!
Girl, Goddess, Queen is Be Fitzgeralds's debut novel that will be out on the 20th of July, 2023. This 496-page book is a clean Hades and Persephone retelling that attempts to restore agency to Persephone in a fairly creative way.
If you know anything about me, you know I love Greek mythology-inspired books! While my favorite myth is that of the Trojan war, I've read enough about Greek mythology to know a bit about the Hades and Persephone myth, including that one incredibly disturbing version where Zeus has three kids with her, and she's also still his daughter.
There are many things to like about this book. It's taken into account every myth about Persephone and Hades and turned them on their head. As we start the book, Kore is still trying to get out of her marriage, and going to Hades to invoke Xenia is the only way she knows how to delay things. As the book progresses and they become friends and allies, Persephone comes into her powers and figures out how to stay bound to the underworld and the person she has grown to love.
The book is super fun and very easy to read. I read in the span of a night. There are a whole host of interesting characters, and they're all rooted in greek mythology. I LOVED LOVED LOVED that Sappho reference (at least, I hope I'm not being an idiot and that was a Sappho reference). In general, I really liked how the author referenced greek mythology and how she had her own interpretations of what happened. It really is a fun book. But if you are reading the book, you should know that it's not very Song of Achilles, or Cassandra, or A Thousand Ships; it's incredibly modern in writing style.
That's also sometimes the book's most significant drawback; it's sometimes just so modern and just so girl-bossy that it can feel very shallow. Things are so spelled out that you're wondering if you really are the right audience for it or not. It's classified as coming of age on amazon, but when it's greek mythology, you should expect older readers (and not just YA readers) to pick it up.
This book will surely be a hit on BookTok and Bookstagram, not because of the author but because it is undoubtedly a fun, light read. However, the author can develop her style to produce books that are more mature (and I really don't mean smut wise). I will be reading more by Bea Fitzgerald!