Young, headstrong Psyche has captured the eyes of every suitor in town and far beyond with her tempestuous beauty, which has made her irresistible as a woman yet undesirable as a wife. Secretly, she longs for a life away from the expectations and demands of men. When her father realizes that the future of his family and town will be forever cursed unless he appeases an enraged Aphrodite, he follows the orders of the Oracle, tying Psyche to a rock to be ravaged by a monstrous husband. And yet a monster never arrives.
When Eros, nonbinary deity of desire, sees Psyche, she cannot fulfill her promise to her mother Aphrodite to destroy the mortal young woman. Instead, Eros devises a plan to sweep Psyche away to an idyllic palace, hidden from the prying eyes of Aphrodite, Zeus, and the outside world. There, against the dire dictates of Olympus, Eros and Psyche fall in love. Each night, Eros visits Psyche under the cover of impenetrable darkness, where they both experience untold passion and love. But each morning, Eros flies away before light comes to break the spell of the palace that keeps them safe.
After many nights of pleasure, and days alone in the palace, Psyche starts to have doubts. When she finally dares to see the person who is loves her, she ends up breaking the spell that keeps them from being seen. Now Psyche must survive trials sent by Aphrodite while Eros must answer for what they have been doing.
I really, desperately wanted to like this book more than I did. The prose were well written and the story was unique, but it got to the point where I wanted something to happen. Similarly to Psyche stuck in the palace. I do understand the repetitive nature is similar to what Psyche goes through, but I wished for just a bit of faster pacing. The beginning of the story I also found slow at times, the set up to having Psyche be 'taken' by the monster, etc.
When it came to the end of the story, and them being 'found out' I wish it focused more on what Psyche had to do, instead of Eros who was 'stuck'. The end of the book felt like it went really quick compared to the rest, and I think I just wanted a little bit more.
That being said, this book was beautifully written and I liked reading a different kind of Greek retelling.
I gave it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
This book is scheduled to come out August 13, 2024!
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