Also the potion from Hecate that “illegally” turns Psyche immortal? DUMBEST THING I HAVE EVER READ AND IMPOSSIBLE, if you’ve actually studied Greek myth you KNOW Zeus must approve of someone becoming immortal and you must receive ambrosia/nectar, you cannot bypass him!! There’s no such thing as a magic potion. But oh yeah let’s just do it for the sake of *plot*. Ugh.

Unfortunately this book was a great disappointment and I couldn’t keep reading it. I DNFed it and the reasons are various. A stunning, exciting and hotly-anticipated feminist retelling of one of the greatest love stories in Greek mythology! Born into an era of heroes, a prophecy claims that Psyche – Princess of Mycenae – will defeat a monster feared even by the gods themselves. Rebelling against society’s traditions, she spends her youth mastering blade and bow, preparing to fulfil her destiny.A prophecy claims that Psyche, princess of Mycenae, will conquer a monster feared by the gods. Beloved by her family but at odds with her society’s expectations for women, Psychetrains to become a hero, mastering blade and bow. The middle section of the book starting after the arrow incident was really good. I especially liked every moment when Psyche and Eros were together. While I wasn’t super fond of each of them individually, their talks and their chemistry were really well written. Psyche’s stubborness and daring with Eros’ kind soul and protective heart made for a fun combination. Even the writing didn’t live up to my expectations. It proceeded too fast and it didn’t let us emphasise with the characters. They remained flat throughout the percentage of the book I read and there was nothing particular characterising them. This book took all of what makes Psyche a wonderful mythological figure, and basically switched it around.

For someone who wasn't familiar with Eros and Psyche's story, this book was the best Greek myth book I have ever read. When I requested for the arc I didn't expect to get the arc. Honestly, I didn't expect this book to be so good. I love Greek mythology and I know it's surprising that I wasn't familiar with this couple but eyyy maybe it was my destiny to learn about them in this book lol. This is not how you should handle a retelling. You can't just manipulate everything to make it do what you wish. WRITE YOUR OWN CHARACTERS IF YOU WANT THEM TO DO WHAT YOU WANT. Make a story that's "inspired by Eros and Psyche" then this is perfectly well as a novel. But not as a retelling.An enthralling tale of adventure, romance, and star-crossed lovers’ Sue Lynn Tan, bestselling author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess that being said, i quite liked this. i definitely think eros outshines psyche in terms of characterisation and development. maybe its because the nature of the gods is so unchanging, so it was refreshing to see his heart bend a little. i thought it was portrayed in realistic and relatable way. and psyche is an interesting character, but i struggled to connect to her at times. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book, but I think I overall enjoyed it. It was really messy and it had the potential to be a lot better, but it brought some great life to a Greek myth that not everyone knows about. I could write an essay on what I didn't enjoy about this book, but it all boils down to feeling like McNamara had no confidence that the Eros and Psyche story could stand alone. Psyche spends so much of her storyline bouncing between cameos of famous Greeks and being the most Special Woman To Exist (she's the granddaughter of Perseus! She's the only student of Atalanta! She's besties with Iphigenia! She shows Achilles that girls can run! She's as skilled as Artemis, as cunning as Athena, as beautiful as Aphrodite! She's briefly engaged to Nestor! She's beloved by all who meet her, including most of the gods and also Medusa!) that when she finally meets Eros, there's barely any time for them to bond in any meaningful way. And even that time is spent faffing about with Eros not telling her the nature of his curse or his identity and her just... not asking. A prophecy claims that Psyche, princess of Mycenae, will conquer a monster feared by the gods. Beloved by her family but at odds with her society’s expectations for women, Psyche trains to become a hero, mastering blade and bow.

overall, i enjoyed this particular greek myth reimagining and has me on the lookout to see what LM writes next! As I said before, I couldn’t finish this book. From the beginning, when Psyche’s character was irremediably changed, I knew that this novel wasn’t for me. Carol Gilligan analysed the myth and described it as the story of the woman against her reification that started with her veneration as a goddess because of her striking beauty. But the changing carried out in Psyche erased the real essence of her character. Overall a fun and thoroughly entertaining read that’s perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint. Startlingly lovely. Reading Psyche and Eros feels like starting down a familiar path, only to discover endless new wonders along the way. This is Greek mythology as it's meant to be told—witty, indulgent, deeply felt." — Grace D. Li, New York Times bestselling author of Portrait of a Thief Psyche and Eros (Cupid, in Roman mythology) is such an interesting story, especially this one. Luna McNamara is incredibly knowledgeable on Greek mythology and it’s very blatant with how she depicts the characters in this story.Bʏ ʟᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴛʀᴜʟʏ ʟᴏᴠᴇ sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴇʟsᴇ, ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴇᴀʀɴ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ. Aɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀsᴇʟғ, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴍᴀʏ ʙᴇ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ʜᴀʀᴅᴇʀ.”