The Harpy | 
so-soLots of potential I wished would've been explored more. What society expects women to do and to be like. How mothers and fathers are treated differently. But all these themes only come up very late into the book and are only ever spoken of very shortly. Otherwise, it could've been a Pick.
--> in case anyone else was as interested in the lore
it‘s far too late if I‘m doing things like this 😂
#uncommon #fiction #bibliophile #read2025 #librarybooks
#revenge #psychological #lore🪽
#firstlinefriday got me today 🫣
“It is the last time. He lies down, a warm night,
his shirt pulled up, his head turned away.”
#currently #reading #bibliophile #fiction #literary #bookspin #librarybooks #uncommon
Her writing about motherhood, in both this book and in The End We Start From… just amazing.
The Harpy is finished, and I‘m well into Not My Boy, which is my second #BookSpinBingo choice of the month. I‘m really hoping to get through all of these this month! Here‘s to hoping I can clear the board🤞🏻
I decided to fill this months #BookSpinBingo with #NetGalley books only! I have so many on my phone that I‘ve run out of space 😅 I have to read more so I can request more…. Because you know I‘m not going to stop requesting more lol
so-soIt wasn‘t what I thought it would be. But, it was beautifully written. I added a picture of my friend Leia because I just could t leave this review without a pic.
@TheAromaofBooks #bookspin finished in Jan 2021
so-soThis book was so good!!.....Until the end. The story revolves around an ordinary marriage, and then infidelity strikes. In an attempt to retaliate, Lucy is allowed to “hurt” her cheating husband 3 times. I sped through this book, because I couldn‘t wait to see how it ended. After finishing it, I‘m still not sure how it ended. Can someone please read it and let me know what you think the ending means?? Thank you, Goodreads, for the ARC.
pickA woman can be judged for so many things - her mothering, her husband‘s behavior, her public response to that behavior. Lucy tries to control her rage toward all of this, to meet the impossible expectations of others and herself. She pays a heavy price for that decision, in a world where expectations of women don‘t include rage or revenge.
so-soI am still not sure how I feel about this book. Lucy finds out that her husband has cheated on her. They decide to stay together, but she is allowed to hurt him three times. I didn't like Lucy, I know she was wronged but getting revenge by hurting him I also didn't like. I also didn't get the ending. I have heard it will be made into either a tv show or movie. I would watch it though. #books
pickCrystalline, elegant prose that I found intoxicating & hard to put down. But while it isn't fair to judge a book on what it could have been than what it actually is, I think Hunter could have gone wild(er). Dug deeper, got dirtier, more ferocious. It was too restrained for all of the anger that was simmering underneath. I felt that the book took on a dark, foreboding fairy-tale element only towards the end & I felt chills. But by then it was over.
''Sometimes, as a child, I would get the book out just to look at the harpies, to trace the way the wings grew out of their backs, easy extensions of their shoulders, lifting into the air. I wanted to know why their faces were like that: sunken, creased by hate. I wanted to ask my mother more questions, but the words dried in my mouth, sat sour under my tongue, unspoken.''
Currently reading these two books!
pickThis dark novella certainly has a gorgeous cover to draw the reader in- but this won‘t be one for everyone! Superbly written- though with a narrator that will certainly be problematic for some. Lucy has harbored an obsession with harpies and when her marriage falls apart the lines of her psyche are blurred...beautifully written, this becomes hard to put down but then one you‘ll be eager to discuss!!
pickA dark fairytale of betrayal and revenge, I found this story to be beautifully written and completely unsettling.
Lucy discovers her husband has cheated on her, and they agree that she can hurt him three times, but he won‘t know it‘s coming. Tackling themes of motherhood, retribution and the myth of the Harpy, Lucy deals with trauma, past and present, slowly losing her grip on reality. Original, poetic and visceral, and I couldn‘t put it down.
pickVery strange book, but I think it is worth the read.
http://obsessedbookaholic.com/2020/10/28/the-harpy-book-review/
pickIt wasn‘t until I started reading this book that I made the connection to the author, Megan Hunter. If you‘ve read The End We Start From, you will immediately recognize the author‘s unsettling attitude towards motherhood & marriage. Similar in style, Hunter writes with poetic/dreamy prose but vague & detached in content & plot. The ambiguous ending will probably antagonize some readers, who prefer a cleaner story. Cover art is spectacular ♥️#ARC
so-soBeautiful, wonderful, & poetic writing. The premise is interesting, dark, & weird. Lucy's story is full of emotions & fairly rapid mental decline that borders psychopathic. An intriguing book & I liked the read, but the execution was lacking. Lucy's character was what primarily didn't work for me, as she felt unrealistic & parts of her personality were highly conflicting, leaving me unable to be fully immersed. It was decent, but didn't grip me.
pickI think I‘ve found my spirit animal? Beast? Creature? Anyway, I‘ve found it! Lucy finds out her husband Jake is having an affair, and they agree that she can do three things to him as a punishment. It doesn‘t end particularly well, and goes some way to explaining that revenge isn‘t necessarily good for your sanity. This is a flipping marvellous book! Loved it!
pickThank you Edel Weiss for the advanced copy.
This was so interesting, the language is very rich, and the story telling is done well. It is such an interesting concept, husband cheats, and give the wife three opportunities to hurt him back and even the score. I did not expect the story to be as atmospheric and still easily digestible.
the characters are easy to see, and picture in your own neighborhood.
