ebookreview | Entries tagged with author: luna mcnamara

Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara

Series:
N/A

Genre:
Historical Fiction, Mythology, Greek Mythology, Retellings, Romance, Fantasy, Dual Point of View, Science Fiction, Psyche and Eros, Novella, Paranormal, Romantasy, Ancient Greece

Publication Date:
May 25, 2023

Pages Numbers:
352

Read Date:
July 26th, 2023

Date Finished:
July 26th, 2023

Rating:
4.5/5

Blurb:

In this utterly transporting reimagining of Greek mythology, the god of desire is cursed to fall for a spirited young mortal woman, but if she looks upon his face they will be parted forever—an epic adventure and love story for the ages, sure to satisfy fans of Madeline Miller and V.E. Schwab

Who said true love is a myth?

A prophecy claims that Psyche, princess of Mycenae, will defeat a monster feared even by the gods. Rebelling against her society’s expectations for women, Psyche spends her youth mastering blade and bow, preparing to meet her destiny.

When Psyche angers the love goddess Aphrodite, she sends Eros, god of desire, to deliver a cruel curse. After eons watching humanity twist his gifts, the last thing Eros wants is to become involved in the chaos of the mortal world. But when he pricks himself with the arrow intended for Psyche, Eros finds himself doomed to yearn for a woman who will be torn from him the moment their eyes meet.

Thrown together by fate, headstrong Psyche and world-weary Eros will face challenges greater than they could have ever imagined. And as the Trojan War begins and divine powers try to keep them apart, the pair must determine if the curse could become something more . . . before it’s too late.

A joyous and subversive tale of gods, monsters, and the human heart and soul, Psyche and Eros dazzles the senses while exploring notions of trust, sacrifice, and what it truly means to be a hero. With unforgettably vivid characters, spellbinding prose, and delicious tension, Luna McNamara has crafted a shimmering and propulsive debut novel about a love so strong it defies the will of Olympus.

Review:

In the ancient world, the mythology of Eros and Psyche has been one of the most enduring and spun myths. Its story has been changed throughout the centuries, added on, embellished, retold, and interpreted differently by many. The original myth comes steep in Greek Mythology. A beautiful young woman named, Psyche, was admired and adored by many, but never married. Most of the males who came across her preferred to admire and adore her from afar, but never offered for her hand in marriage.

Many saw Psyche as a goddess and began worshipping her instead of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, and in doing so, angered the goddess that she made her son, Eros, take his arrows to strike Psyche into falling in love with the ugliest males. Eros went to do his mother's bidding but only ended up falling in love with her instead that he whisked her away to be his wife.

Eros and Psyche’s marriage was kept secret, and Psyche became overwhelmed by curiosity about her mysterious husband. Even her jealous sisters, seeing how well their sister was living, planted the seed in her head that he must be ugly. This would be seed enough to cause Psyche to use a light to see his face and in doing so, he would vanish from their home in order to punish her.

Psyche would plead with Aphrodite to be given the chance to see her husband again, but Aphrodite, already angered by the fact the mortal woman she had sought to punish, now stood before her pleading for help. She would be given three tasks, each one to be most difficult than the other. She would be helped by the Gods with each task and be finally reunited with her husband.

In this version of the tale, Eros is not the son of Aphrodite but rather one of the primordial gods that had been birth during the early stages of life. His arrows would cause trouble, not only with the mortal realm but also with the new Gods that would ascend to the thrones after the fall of the Titans. While he watched his gifts cause trouble, Eros would decide that he would withhold them. That is until the birth of Aphrodite, who would in turn, adopt him as her "son" and force him to do her bidding.

Psyche, on the other hand, is the daughter of a King and Queen whose bloodline goes back to one of the most heroic men in mythology, Perseus. She wanted to live up to that expectation and to the prophecy that believes she would conquer the monster. Taught by Atalanta, Psyche seeks to carve her name as her ancestor did, but when she meets Medusa, she begins to question everything about her life.

But when Psyche angers Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love sends her adopted son, Eros sends a cursed arrow to be buried into Psyche's heart, but Eros ends up pricking his finger and becomes enamored with her. Taking her with him to his home as his wife, Eros, and Psyche settle into a secret married life. To be able to spend time with her and avoid the curse of being awakened, but one night Psyche's curiosity, fed from her conversations with Zephyrus and Prometheus, gets the best of her and she brings a torch into their room to find see her husband's face. Believing the curse has been awakened, Eros flees from home leaving his wife alone.

Through the story of Psyche's journey to find and unite with Eros, McNamara explores the themes of self-discovery, transformation, and the integration of our inner selves. She argues that by embracing our own Eros and Psyche energies and finding a balance between them, we can achieve a greater sense of wholeness and fulfillment in our lives.

Final Thought:

This unique perspective on the myth of Psyche and Eros offers readers a new way to understand and work with their own desires and passions. It challenges us to examine our own relationship with intimacy, love, and meaning, and to consider how we can integrate these aspects of our lives to live more authentically and fully.