The following review was originally published at Merikthorne Library, on June 23rd, 2017.
★★★★☆
3.5 stars
Greek mythology retold. A giant, man-eating serpent.
A rejected princess with a hideous curse and an astounding gift.
A rejected princess with a hideous curse and an astounding gift.
From the moment I first heard about H.L.'s upcoming novel to the moment I saw the cover, I knew this was a story I wanted to read.
A retelling of Eros & Psyche, as well as a Beauty & the Beast retelling in its own right, Coiled is the story of Laidra -- a girl forced into hiding by her own family, treated as if she was the child who was never meant to be, and thrown into political schemes as bait for a monstrous snake.
The characters -- Calen is so adorable! Which is saying a lot, because I hate snakes. But (thankfully!), Calen was no problem for me! He was such a cute, lovely
ZEPHIA. She was probably my favorite character in the entire book! A clever, powerful demigoddess, daughter to a wind god? Yes, please!
And Valen. Uhg, Valen. He and his father are both such terrible people that I love/hate it. The pair of them would both, without a doubt, qualify for Paper Fury's "best worst villain to hate".
The romance -- The romance was definitely sweet. As the story progressed, however, I felt like the affection between Laidra and Calen was starting to be displayed a little too physically. A good dose of innocence in the romantic area would've been preferred, but otherwise, the romance was considerably clean. (See notes below.)
The writing -- H.L.'s voice is fast-paced, but not too much -- just enough to keep the story going at a likable, adventure-ready pace.
The setting -- The mythology elements shown through just enough to deliver an allegorical tale evidently set in a fantasy land inspired by ancient Greece. And, being the Greek mythology nerd that I am, I loved uncovering the subtle little references to characters such as Theseus and Perseus!
The plot -- About halfway through, when a certain unfortunate event occurred to a certain primary character, an unforeseen journey came into view. I tend to prefer romance in a story when it's "all or nothing", so I personally would've liked that journey to... not exist? It was certainly enlightening and relevant to the story, but I would've preferred to focus on the relationship between the main characters.
This made for such a lovely read! I'd recommend this to anyone searching for a sweet, romantic read with mythological elements thrown in. 🙂
You may want to know: There are some brief and rather undescriptive references to nudity, as well as strong suggestions/implications. There is violence and references to warfare, along with the involvement of "gods", drinking, magical elements, and kissing. The "ba-word" is used once.
NOTE: I received a free ebook copy of Coiled from the author, in exchange for my honest review.
~Serethiel
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