Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters is a modernized retelling of the well-known Greek myth of Theseus vs. the Minotaur. Sure we all know he slays the Minotaur and that Princess Ariadne helps him out……but what if Ariadne didn’t want to help? What if the Minotaur had a heart?
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The Good
I loved the characters! Ariadne is presented as an unwilling but ever-present participant in the The Labyrinth Contest. She is the Keeper of the Labyrinth and the only person who calm the Minotaur…or visit him and live to tell the tale!
Theseus. The super hot, super new heir to the throne of Athens. I liked that he was a noble character: he didn’t know all the trickery that was going one but he wanted to stop it for the sake of his people. That’s commendable.
The Bad
Dear Old Dad & Manipulative Mom. I can’t even. I felt sympathetic for the mom at first (I mean, she fell in love with a bull FFS) but as things went along I saw that she didn’t really care for his children, any of them. She even admits it further along.
Dad is no better. His daughter came to him in confidence begging him to not do a thing for his other child. He agreed and then later went back on his word.
The Ugly
The father! Knowing the close relationship I have with my father and then seeing another man who is a father treat his children the way he does…I was so hurt. I wanted to slap King Minos when Ariadne went to talk to him about the “insurance” flash drive. It also made me sad to see that Ariadne’a sisters , the Paradoxes, has found ways (albeit unhealthy) to cope with the life that their father has forced them to live. Pills and drinking and television ratings….
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Overall
This was a wonderful read! The plotline moves along nicely and keeps you engaged and interested. I really loved the random cameos from mythology: Hippolyta the Amazon was there, as was Icarus (known for creating wings and then flying too close to the sun). I read this book in two days; I couldn’t put it down! Definitely look at putting this one in your list if you’re a fan of mythology and the reality show nature of the Kardashians.
Thank you so much to Farrar, Straus & Giroux (a division of Macmillan Publishing) for sending me this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Lifestyles is set to release October 20th. This is Ms. Roberson’s second novel. For more information about this book, Ms. Roberson, or purchasing, please visit https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374310622
Stacia Loves To Read 