BOOKWORM REVIEW: Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara
The problem with intimately knowing the source material is that we often approach retellings with bias. As someone who has loved the tale of Psyche and Cupid dearly since a friend gifted me a collection of Greek mythology in middle school, the challenge for me was to approach this with an open mind.
My conclusion: This was definitely a unique take on my beloved classic. It was hard to ignore the liberties taken in terms of timeline and characterization, but once I set those down and take in the story for what it is, I found a similar lesson about love that captured me about the original myth.
Psyche is a princess of Mycenae who would rather spend the day practicing her swordsmanship and archery skills instead of serving as a royal. It is all in preparation for her to fulfill a prophecy declared when she was born: she will defeat a monster that even the gods feared.
What she does not know is that her fate is now intertwined with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, whom she has angered. When Aphrodite dispatches her charge Eros to shoot an arrow of her making at Psyche, the normally capable god of desire accidentally nicks himself with the arrow meant for the Mycenean princess and with the curse that punishes its recipients with a neverending yearning for someone who will be separated from them when their eyes meet.
While I was skeptical at first about Psyche's portrayal as a warrior princess, Luna McNamara does a great job of leaning into that to make Psyche's ability to overcome the mostly physical adversities coming her way more believable. I was equally dubious about her characterization at first, but seeing her shift in maturity and worldview throughout the story was very clever.
Eros was every bit charming as I expected the god of desire to be. I love the conflict between his duty as a god to his weariness of the world. If you get the audiobook version, the voice of Eros' narrator is on point.
I was so glad that their connection was filled with chemistry beautifully balanced with angst and longing. The spice is light on this read, and McNamara makes you wait with a slow burn, but I love the setting when it finally hits.
The timeline shift to tie this tale with the Trojan War was my only problem with the read. While I was willing to suspend my belief about this change, that subplot just seemed so out-of-place and unfinished. Waiting to find the purpose of Iphigenia's wedding took me too much away from the story.
** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Luna McNamara, William Morrow, and Edelweiss for providing an ARC. **