Mythology

Herc / Phoenicia Rogerson

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
Herc
By: Phoenicia Rogerson
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 384
Published: September 5, 2023
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Dates Read: October 31, 2023 - November 6, 2023
Format: Library Book / Hardcover / Audiobook

Trigger Warnings: violence, death, murder, (ya know, Greek Gods’ stuff)

Herc is a retelling of Hercules told by the people around him and how he impacted their lives – for better or worse.

So, upon reading this, I realized that I only knew the Disney version of Hercules – totally and absolutely so much different. <spoiler> It was the children’s killing that made my jaw hit the floor </spoiler>

I mostly listened to this in an audiobook and it had a whole ensemble of characters and voices, which was great because it helped with keeping everyone straight. It also gave Hercules a layered and complicated life (again, one I did NOT know about because I knew only of the Disney version). The different voices also gave way to some humor with it too because everyone obviously had different experiences with him through his life.

Overall, I’m going to be recommending this to quite a few people, especially those who like mythology and retellings. Also, this is such a nice twist of the telling of Hercules because it’s not really about him, but more about the people he had interactions with throughout his life.

*Thank you Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Triology #1) / Katherine Arden, Kathleen Gati (Narrator)The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Triology #1) /

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Triology #1)
By: Katherine Arden, Kathleen Gati (Narrator)
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 347
Published: January 10, 2017
Publisher: Del Rey 
Dates Read: October 12, 2023 - October 19, 2023
Format: Audiobook, Library Book, Paperback

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year. Vasilia isn’t bothered much by the amount of time she has to spend indoors, because she gets to listen to her nurse’s fairy tales while huddled around the fire with her family. 

After Vailisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Vasilia’s new stepmother forbids the family from honoring the household spirits – all the family follows, except for Vasilia, who can see the spirits, knows they must continue. But because the others have stopped, crops begin to fail, evil creatures come closer and closer to their house and village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother is determined to groom the rebelliousness out of Vasilisa in order to marry her off or ship her off for a life in a convent.

I did mostly listen to this in audiobook because I wanted to make sure I could pronounce the Russian names correctly – I was not the first two chapters of the book – but the narrations of Katheleen Gati were amazing and really put me into the storyline of Katherine Arden.

Arden did a fantastic job of taking us on a journey into this magical, historical world of Russian folklore, mythology, and fairytales. She does amazing at teleporting you into the cold, bitter frost of their winters. It’s also so very much a page turner that keeps you hooked from the very beginning – a little slow, but still a page turner. I’m pretty excited to continue on with the series.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to those who love a good historical fiction mixed with mythology and folklore. This is also a good book to read curled up under a thick blanket with a warm drink in hand too.