Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald Review

Hello Readers,

I will confess I have both the paperback and hardback copy of this book because this book is stunning. I love how bright pink it is and the matching sprayed edges, one of the main reasons I got the paper back was because the cover is stunning, and I missed the from “To Hell with Love” quote on the hardback.
 

I would be lying to you dear Reader if I said I wasn’t a fool for the enemies to lover’s trope. Bea demonstrations this in Girl, Goddess, Queen by having Hades and Persephone go from barely tolerating each other to friends to creating a fake relationship to genuine lovers. It’s a believable character motive there is not insta love, things naturally progress.
 
Persephone's journey from being a dutiful daughter named Kore meaning pure, beautiful maiden, little girl (Girl, Goddess, Queen pg.3) and being mocked by Zeus for choosing the power of flowers during her Amphidromia. Into a confident young woman and eventually becoming an admirable Queen is beautiful to watch, and I was cheering her along every step of the way. Once she learns the true ability of her powers you can’t help but laugh at the ignorance of Zeus for mocking the Goddess of flowers choice of powers.
 
I loved her fury and rebelliousness side when it came to Zeus and Demeter’s plans for her future by forcing her into a marriage like Persephone was just some prize. She even mocks Zeus after he calls her called her chaos bringer by changing her to Persephone which as you can guess means chaos bringer (Girl, Goddess, Queen pg.181).
 
Persephone is a badass main character while we get a softer Hades which I adored with my whole heart. He is completely different to most Hades depictions I have read, he is portrayed as a kind, gentle and introverted person with a love of art and heaps patience and compassion for Persephone and the situation she has been put in by Zues and Demeter. Super nerdy I know but I like the nod to the orginal myth, Persephone I would have done the same thing.
 
In this retelling it’s Persephone who runs away to the underworld and she invokes xenia. Slight history lesson dear Reader Xenia is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality. Xenia consists of two basic rules: The respect from hosts to guests. A Hosts must be hospitable to guests and provide them with a bath, food, drink, and safety. If either the host or the guest was to break a Xenia rule, there would be severe penalties dealt by the Gods.
 
Persephone starts to explore Hades' realm of the Underworld. The underworld in this book is just rocks, Hade’s palace, Tartarus and the five Styx, Phlegethon, Lethe, Acheron and Cocytus. The Asphodel Meadows and Elysium/ the Elysian Fields don’t exist yet the dead are just there in one huge jumbled mess. Talking of the rivers in this book all the rivers have a physical form in the form of a God, Styx is now one of my favourite Goddess and I adore her, she’s witty, sarcastic, and just the perfect friend for Persephone.
 
I cant wait for Bea’s next book and I have pre-orderd The End Crowns All coming out July 18 2024 and its being published by Penguin.

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