E. J. Beaton

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Snuffing out the voices of women. It was how they set up the game so that we would lose, even as we convinced ourselves that it was our fault. If we could shout for help, then we might take the hands of our sisters, swim ashore, and manage to win.

Orphia and Eurydicius was a gender swapped Orpheus and Eurydice myth reimagining that had Orphia battling her father Apollo, men (gods and human), and systematic sexism. The beginning shows us an early twenties Orphia as she was taken by her father and placed on the Whispering Isles to learn combat and battle the men. This has lead to Orphia being looked at with some sneer in regards to, what is perceived in their society, as a more man like build, features, and mannerisms. Told she won't be able to leave until she beats the Prince, Orphia does have one friend Jason, who then introduces her to Eurydicius, a shield maker.

What I was looking, I realised, was a man who appreciated my manner. The desire in his eyes mangled with awe and something surprisingly soft.
Respect. That was the word.

It's instant attraction between the two and he gives Orphia some confidence to explore her wanting to burst free poetry side. Even though it's one of her father's powers, Apollo has forbid Orphia to take up the lyre, so when she does, she understands the danger but can't contain that part of herself any longer. Apollo, of course, finds out and it's godly anger, he whisks Orphia away to Mt. Olympus and destroys the Isle, leaving Orphia to think Jason and Eurydicius are dead. With a new setting of Mt. Olympus, numerous gods and goddesses come into scene and it becomes apparent that the goddesses also live in a sexist world, their stories, only told by men, are skewed and told through a lens of sexism. Orphia learns her mother is Calliope, Chief of the Muses and Orphia was not given up by her but taken. With some help from Hera, Orphia gets her wish to tell poetry and goes to live with the Muses.

The thrill of expressing myself had driven me into fresh imaginings, until I could not see the risk I took.

The middle of the story was a lot of Orphia spending time with different Muses and learning from them, always discussing how sexism comes into play. It's then learned that Jason and Eurydicius did not die on the Isle and we get some romance interludes, focuses on how Eurydicius likes to be lead by Orphia, exploring the general societal gender swapping, which eventually leads to them quietly and hurriedly married. While the story was mostly focusing on Orphia and introducing other characters through her journey, the second half begins with Orphia being betrayed into going with Jason on his quest (Argo, Golden Fleece) and separating from Eurydicius. I thought some of this veered a little bit too much into “see how much mythology research I did” and it felt less like Orphia's story.

I wanted to tell stories of men who were soft when they were supposed to be hard; of women who were loud when they were supposed to be docile; of people of every nature who felt scarcely visible, and wished to make themselves whole through my stories.

The ending brought us back to more of the love story and we get Orphia trying to rescue Eurydicius from the Underwold, the Underworld providing some good atmospheric setting. The vast majority of this followed the traditionally known myths, some events mixed around here and there but all told through a focus on sexism. A gender swapping adds some new angles and layers to this myth and if you're interested in some goddesses getting their due, some righteous anger, and challenging of sexist norms, then this could be a new one to pick up.… (más)

CW: drug addiction

I think it’s a 4.5 but I’m rounding up.

This book was nowhere on my radar and I hadn’t even seen much promos or reviews of it. But then I saw my favorite author Tasha Suri gush about it endlessly on Twitter and I couldn’t resist the temptation.

The author seems to be a poet and this is her debut novel, and that doesn’t surprise me at all, because the prose in this book is exquisite. It has been a long time since I’ve highlighted so many lines and paragraphs in a fantasy novel and I can’t wait to revisit this again because I’m sure I’ll find more gems on a reread. The author is also extremely good at creating tension and the buildup is intense, with me waiting page after page to see where the next strike would come from, who would live and who would die, who is trustworthy and who isn’t. The plot is quite a bit of slow burn, and there’s more of planning and scheming and thinking involved rather than action, so it may not be for fans of more fast paced fantasy. The only little gripe I had was that I could guess who the traitor was very early on and I think the gut punch may have been stronger if it was more of a surprise.

I also enjoyed the world building and magic system here. First coming to the magic, it’s elemental - so not something very new, and the magic wielders are persecuted, which is also a tried and tested trope. And while we don’t get to see a lot of magic in action, the few fighting scenes were excitingly written and I can’t wait to see how much more explosive it will get when the main villain shows up in the next installment. The world also is interesting here, with a new ruler of Elira being chosen from among the leaders of five city-rulers by an appointed Councillor. There are existing tensions with two border kingdoms as well as an older foe, the White Queen - and I loved how the author wrote about strategies to implement in the conflict, not just limiting them to war but also to trade. However, even within Elira, each city has its own culture and traditions, and there are old feuds between them, and the author creates great tension between all the representatives as well as letting us experience the shifting dynamics when they all get to know each other. And to round off everything, we have unexpected magical beasts making an entrance which only takes the excitement up a notch.

Lysande is the kind of protagonist I love - a scholar who has read all the classic literature, military and strategy accounts and probably even some of the banned stuff - and who thinks through everything twice over before acting on it. She is an orphan who made it as a palace scholar only due to the benevolence of the Iron Queen Sarelin. But the nobles don’t like seeing her position elevated because she is a commoner, and she has to carefully thread the needle of showing the power of her new position as Councillor, as well as pick the nobles who might not mind her being their new patron. It is a fascinating interplay between power and privilege, never knowing which one will tip the balance of the scales.

At times, I was frustrated with how much Lysande idolized the now dead Queen but also appreciated when she came to see her faults as well, and learnt how she could be a different kind of ruler, prioritizing all of her people who are in need. She starts off with only the good intention of wanting to protect her kingdom, and maybe make the lives of people better while fighting their prejudices - but power is heady and it was so engrossing to see her get slowly seduced both by the idea of being powerful as well as being an object of adulation for the people. But she also has a drug problem which she is in constant denial of and I can’t wait to see how that will affect her during the long run.

The story is essentially about how Lysande deals with the four city-rulers who are up for the throne next, while navigating treacherous waters within, as well as from outside the kingdom from an older and powerful enemy. I enjoyed her observations about whomever she meets, and how she analyses their behaviors and decides how much she can trust them. All of the city-rulers were fascinating in their own right but Luca Fontaine was an enigma right from when his name was first mentioned, and me along with Lysande only wanted to know more about him. Litany is another amazing young woman who starts off as Lysande’s personal attendant, but grows to her shadow and confidant and I couldn’t love their bond more.

In the end, this was an exquisitely crafted political fantasy from the perspective of a scholar. If you are interested in a book with slow burn Machiavellian politics, a whole cast of very contrasting characters, a smart protagonist whose mind will wow you, a queernormative world where there are dangers and betrayals at every turn - then this debut fantasy will not disappoint you. And now I’m just sad that I have wait atleast an year for the next one.… (más)

This is very much my kind of fantasy. Character driven, politics, some magic. I enjoyed it a lot. I didn't think all the characters were as clearly carved as they might have been but this is a first novel. There is a major character talked about a lot but never actually turns up at all in the novel. Which is a surprise. In fact, for a long time I thought Lysande was going to turn out to BE the White Queen!
If anything this novel reminded me of the Mordant's Need duology by Stephen Donaldson. It has the same twisty, deceitful politics & power theme.
This is a complete novel in itself but I suspect could easily get sequels.… (más)