Hello Readers,
I will confess I have both the paperback and hardback
copy of this book because this book is stunning. I love how bright pink it is
and the matching sprayed edges, one of the main reasons I got the paper back
was because the cover is stunning, and I missed the from “To Hell with Love”
quote on the hardback.
I would be lying to you dear Reader if I said I wasn’t a
fool for the enemies to lover’s trope. Bea demonstrations this in Girl, Goddess,
Queen by having Hades and Persephone go from barely tolerating each other to
friends to creating a fake relationship to genuine lovers. It’s a believable character
motive there is not insta love, things naturally progress.
Persephone's journey from being a dutiful daughter named Kore
meaning pure, beautiful maiden, little girl (Girl, Goddess, Queen pg.3) and
being mocked by Zeus for choosing the power of flowers during her Amphidromia. Into
a confident young woman and eventually becoming an admirable Queen is beautiful
to watch, and I was cheering her along every step of the way. Once she learns
the true ability of her powers you can’t help but laugh at the ignorance of Zeus
for mocking the Goddess of flowers choice of powers.
I loved her fury and rebelliousness side when it came to
Zeus and Demeter’s plans for her future by forcing her into a marriage like Persephone
was just some prize. She even mocks Zeus after he calls her called her chaos
bringer by changing her to Persephone which as you can guess means chaos
bringer (Girl, Goddess, Queen pg.181).
Persephone is a badass main character while we get a softer
Hades which I adored with my whole heart. He is completely different to most
Hades depictions I have read, he is portrayed as a kind, gentle and introverted
person with a love of art and heaps patience and compassion for Persephone and
the situation she has been put in by Zues and Demeter. Super nerdy I know
but I like the nod to the orginal myth, Persephone I would have done the same
thing.
In this retelling it’s Persephone who runs away to the
underworld and she invokes xenia. Slight history lesson dear Reader Xenia is the ancient Greek concept
of hospitality. Xenia consists of two basic rules: The respect from hosts to
guests. A Hosts must be hospitable to guests and provide them with a bath,
food, drink, and safety. If either the host or the guest was to break a Xenia
rule, there would be severe penalties dealt by the Gods.
Persephone starts to explore Hades' realm of the
Underworld. The underworld in this book is just rocks, Hade’s palace, Tartarus
and the five Styx, Phlegethon, Lethe, Acheron and Cocytus. The Asphodel Meadows
and Elysium/ the Elysian Fields don’t exist yet the dead are just there in one
huge jumbled mess. Talking of the rivers in this book all the rivers have a physical
form in the form of a God, Styx is now one of my favourite Goddess and I adore
her, she’s witty, sarcastic, and just the perfect friend for Persephone.
I cant wait for Bea’s next book and I have pre-orderd The
End Crowns All coming out July 18 2024 and its being published by Penguin.
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