#Review - Daughters of Olympus by Hannah M. Lynn #Historical #Ancient

Series: Standalone
Format: Paperback, 448 pages
Release Date: July 9, 2024
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Source: Publisher
Genre: Historical / Ancient

A daughter pulled between two worlds and a mother willing to destroy both to protect her... Gods and men wage their petty wars, but it is the women of spring who will have the last word

Demeter did not always live in fear. Once, the goddess of spring loved the world and the humans who inhabited it. After a devastating assault, though, she becomes a shell of herself. Her only solace is her daughter, Persephone.

A balm to her mother’s pain, Persephone grows among wildflowers, never leaving the sanctuary Demeter built for them. But she aches to explore the mortal world—to gain her own experiences. Naïve but determined, she secretly builds a life of her own under her mother’s watchful gaze. But as she does so, she catches the eye of Hades, and is kidnapped...

Forced into a role she never wanted, Persephone learns that power suits her. In the land of the living, though, Demeter is willing to destroy the humans she once held dear—anything to protect her family. A mother who has lost everything and a daughter with more to gain than she ever realized, their story will irrevocably shape the world.

Hannah M. Lynn's Daughters of Olympus is the historical fiction retelling of Demeter and Persephone. This story is told primarily in two parts, covering Demeter's story and then Core's POV. It is a story of love, grief and heartache. Demeter: a goddess of life, living half of one. Demeter, one of the Olympians birthed from the Titans, like Zeus, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon, wanted nothing but to enjoy the beauty of the earth in bloom with her daughter at her side. 

The other Gods, especially her brother Zeus, may be cruel and callous, but they have underestimated what the Goddess of spring is capable of. Demeter did not always live in fear. Once, the goddess of spring loved the world and the humans who inhabited it. After a devastating assault, though, she becomes a shell of herself. She decides to leave Olympus behind, and make a living among the nymphs who protected her, and her only solace is Persephone. Where Persephone is taken, Demeter turns the world into a place where nothing can survive.

Before she was Persephone, she was Core. Core is as bright as summer and devoted to her mother, even during their millennia in exile from Olympus. A balm to her mother's pain, Persephone grows among wildflowers, never leaving the sanctuary Demeter built for them. But she aches to explore the mortal world--to gain her own experiences. Naïve but determined, she secretly builds a life of her going further and further away from home.

She secretly builds a life of her own—and as she does so, even falling for a human who she makes plan to spent eternity with. Until she catches the eye of a powerful god named Hades and the rest you already know. Forced into a role she never wanted, Persephone learns that power suits her. Especially if she can spend time with the woman she fell in love with. Until she is betrayed by a demon into eating a pomegranate and is forced to remain in the Underworld for eternity as the Goddess of the Underworld. 

In the land of the living, though, Demeter is willing to destroy the humans she once held dear--anything to protect her family. She even challenges Zeus to try to stop her which makes the situation even more dire for the humans on Earth. A mother who has lost everything and a daughter with more to gain than she ever realized, their story will irrevocably shape the world. Is there a solution that will make everyone happy? Of course!!

Amazon | Audible | Barnes & Noble | Kobo