Genre: Mythology
When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.
As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.
Destined is a fresh and heart-achingly romantic retelling of the Cupid & Psyche myth from debut novelist, Jessie Harrell.
Review:
Destined is an original twist on the myth of Cupid and Psyche. In Jessie Harrell's version Aphrodite actually asks Psyche to marry her son. However, after meeting the selfish jerk Psyche refuses. Aphrodite then manipulates the couple, with a "mother knows best" attitude, and the couple falls in love in typical myth fashion.
When I was a young girl of only 8 years old (cue sappy elevator music) I found a beautifully illustrated book about the mysterious and fantastical Greek Pantheon. Greek mythology quickly became an obsession and I studied the characters and stories for years. This love for Greek mythology followed me to college, where I took multiple mythology classes for my English degree. During those classes I realized that while I knew the myths backwards and forwards, the humanistic flaws that plagued the gods, along with the symbolic tie to moral and principles (much like in fairy tales), still appealed to my love for lore. During my student teaching earlier this year, I had the privilege of reading Destined.
Honestly, I was afraid Destined would read like fanfiction, but I was pleasantly surprised. I loved Psyche's spunky attitude and Eros was, as expected, a heartbroken swoon-worthy sexy hunk of man-flesh. Jessie Harrell incorporated aspects of the actual myth while adding some spice and sass. It was the perfect book to read on Valentine's Day. I look forward to reading more from Jessie.
 |
| Rating: 4 out of 5 owls |
Book Trailer:
thank you so much for the fabulous review! Glad you enjoyed it and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with others.
ReplyDelete