Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Hijas de Esparta by Claire Heywood

22 reviews

lesemaus2303's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

bushbabybookworm's review against another edition

sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Maybe it’s because I read Costanza Casati’s “Clytemnestra” last year but this just didn’t measure up.

Mediocre in every way.

The writing  didn’t pull me in. The characters were flat & I just couldn’t care about them.
The story still had the dark and rough parts (cause mythology) but the writing & characters did not make it worth it.

Still, I’m glad I read it. I love Greek mythology & this had been on my TBR for years…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Rape, Medical trauma, and War

Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Grief, and Pregnancy

aylabell's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An interesting retelling of classic myth. It was a bit preachy in some places and the feminist lens felt a bit forced at times, but overall a beautiful take on Greek myth. Definitely makes more sense if you have decent knowledge of the mythos as there is lots of subtle nods to further mythology. Klytemnestra and Helen’s thoughts and feelings were hauntingly relatable for women through the ages and I felt a deep sense of connection and empathy to their plights. A must read for those that enjoy modern takes on classics. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death

annemoon's review against another edition

emotional relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

shan_lou's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

abhss's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Rape and Death of parent

hilly_em's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

alexiasophii's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I've been reading a lot of Troy retellings and this one is another on the list. I enjoyed it, it has a good pace and shows us closely the lives of the two sisters. Though I admit that the book did not make me like Helen (I still haven't found a book that does) but I did love Klytemnestra. And I'm glad that the author left out her fate, after the end. Ended it on a good note, instead of the actual tragic ending of the character. Overall, it's an interesting book that focuses more on their private life, inner monologues and feeling than the Trojan War itself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Slavery, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, Pregnancy, and War

nevdite284's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Medical content, and Kidnapping

withlivjones's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is a fantastic retelling of the stories of two of the most vilified women in Greek mythology. This book focuses heavily on Helen and Klytemnestra’s childhood experiences and how the small differences in them result in drastic differences to their behaviour as adults. The author provides us with a level of depth to their characters that isn’t provided in the source material, making them so much more sympathetic than many other interpretations have. Of course they have their flaws and make their mistakes, but since we clearly understand their motivations we have no choice but to root for them regardless. The prose is excellently written and gives a clear voice to both women’s feelings. And the men? We love to hate most of them, as it should be. 

My one gripe with this book is that the pacing is rather inconsistent. The start is somewhat slow, and I am grateful for the time skips to ensure that the narrative doesn’t get boring. However, Helen’s “abduction” occurs over halfway through the book and the actual war doesn’t start until three quarters of the way through. From there, the pacing is almost breakneck as the author attempts to fit the nine-year Trojan war, as well as its aftermath, into under one hundred pages. I appreciate that retellings of the Trojan War, especially the events covered in the Iliad, have been done to death in other adaptations, but I feel that Helen’s perspective of more parts of the war, or even Klytemnestra’s reception of the news of certain events, could have enhanced the story. I was half expecting Kalchas to somehow make a return, either during the plague (which isn’t mentioned) or when the Trojan Horse arrives (which is alluded to in a single sentence), since he plays a significant role in the first half of the novel and then completely disappears after Iphigenia’s death. The book barely touches on the events of the Iliad and the Agamemnon and doesn’t even cover the Libation Bearers (leaving both Klytemnestra’s and Elektra’s arcs feeling somewhat unfinished), and I think that the author really could have taken advantage of the opportunity to discuss the motivations of Helen and Klytemnestra in these stories where their actions are so significant. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and War

Period-typical attitudes towards women