pickI really enjoyed this modern reimagining of the myth of Persephone and Demeter. As Ruth Gilligan said, Ancient Greece meets Succession by way of Emma Cline. Tightly written, the 18 year old Cory, her CEO mother & their fraught relationship felt real. The sleazy Rolo is a charming & odious predator. Propulsive & thought-provoking. A great read.
pickCory is 18 and has no plans after the Summer Camp where she has been working, draws to an end. When she meets Rolo, a rich pharmaceutical CEO and father of a child she has been looking after, offers her a job as a nanny, she can‘t resist his wicked charm and the money. He takes her to his private island, where all seems to good to be true. And of course it is.
A compelling novel about what it means to finally be seen.
? Antwerp, Belgium
#WeeklyForecast 47/24
The covers of these two books look a bit alike but that‘s a coincidence. I hope to read both of them and am on audio still listening to The People in the Trees.
so-so⭐️⭐️💫
I won this Kindle book through a Goodreads giveaway - thank you so much to them for giving me the chance to read and review this summery fever dream of a book! The daughter‘s chapters were more interesting to me than the mother‘s, but they were also pretty weird, hazy, and unsettling. This story did certainly leave an impression, but I‘m glad it‘s over.
The prose is sharp and electric. Can‘t put this contemporary Persephone/ Demeter retelling down.
pickThere is a lot in this book about addiction, obsession, money, patriarchy, rape culture, and the tension between parents and children. That latter is what hit me the most, and the final line was just chilling. I think this is Rachel Lyon‘s best work yet.
2nd stop: Inverness & Loch Ness in Scotland 🏴☀️
How could I not buy this novel with this gorgeous cover? It‘s a modern Persephone retelling which focuses more on the mother‘s (Demeter) frantic search for her daughter than on Hades. Over all though, it was a bit of a letdown.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
pickI didn‘t like Lyon‘s sophomore effort as much as her debut (tagged ⬇️). An interesting take on Persephone/Demeter, but I found it a bit unsatisfying.
Cory is a washed up prep school grad working at a summer camp when a father of one of the kids sweeps her up to be their nanny. She signs an NDA and is whisked to a private island where she frequently takes drugs and discovers unsettling feelings about the dad. Meanwhile, her mom searches for her.
pickThis is a dual POV book from both Cory's and Emer's perspectives and what a story it is. You have the power struggle between mother and daughter coinciding with the temptation that Rolo offers. This dynamic makes for great storytelling and character development, paying homage to the original myth. This book also delves into sex, addiction, exploitation, and other more modern issues setting this firmly in current times.
Fruit of the Dead | 
