8 Things I Love About ‘Girl, Goddess, Queen’ by Bea Fitzgerald
As soon as I spotted the hot pink cover of ‘Girl, Goddess, Queen’ and realised it was a Hades and Persephone retelling, I was told. Little did I know that it was going to be one of my favourite books of the year!
I. LOVED. IT.
I know you’re probably weary of more Greek mythology retellings, but Bea Fitzgerald really brings a fresh take to the table. At nearly 500 pages, it’s a bit chunky but I flew through it and was gutted when it ended. I could have stayed in this world, with Persephone and Hades, for so much longer.
To hell with love, this goddess has other plans...
Thousands of years ago, the gods told a lie: how Persephone was a pawn in the politics of other gods. How Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his bride. How her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying.
The real story is much more interesting.
Persephone wasn't taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her.
Now all she has to do is convince the Underworld's annoyingly sexy, arrogant and frankly rude ruler, Hades, to fall in line with her plan. A plan that will shake Mount Olympus to its very core.
But consequences can be deadly, especially when you're already in hell . . .
I can’t say it enough: I loved this book.
This is a genuinely fresh take on a very familiar myth. I’ve never read a retelling like this before and I’m so glad we’re finally getting something fun and fresh out of a storyline that’s pretty overdone. The tone, the humour,
It’s laugh out loud funny. The banter between Hades and Persephone, and also Styx, and some of the other gods that are friends with Hades is wonderful. Humour in a Greek mythology retelling? So very needed.
Hades is an arty soft boi. I love an art boy, always have (the fault of the ‘Diary of a Crush’ trilogy by Sarra Manning - Dylan forever), and the reveal of Hades as the artiest, softest boy was a joy. I literally put my Kindle down to clap excitedly. It’s such an unusual take on the dark, brooding, often brutal Hades and I’m here for it.
The exploration of patriarchal society and the way it’s woven into mythology and religion. This is a major theme of mythology retellings at the moment and ‘Girl, Goddess, Queen’ is no different. The novel gives Persephone a voice and agency to highlight how wrong the situation is to her parents and her environment, as well as to fight it and take back ownership of herself and her life.
It’s friends to enemies to lovers, with a delicious slow burn. It truly is delicious. I felt their connection completely and the chemistry between Hades and Persephone is spot on. It’s YA so I know there’ll be some annoyance that there’s no spice, but it’s honestly not required in every single romance (and there’s more than enough spicy retellings of this story), and their feelings for each other leapt of the page. Perfection!
Found family and finding home are a big deal to Persephone and Hades. Persephone has lived under the strict constraints of her mother, Demeter, trying to protect her from the gods by moulding her into the ‘perfect wife’, but Persephone has already pulled at those reins and she finds her place and her people in Hell. She doesn’t have to soften her words or pretend to be anyone but her badass self. Hell becomes a place that she can shape for the better, too.
The rivers of Hades are WONDERFUL, especially Styx. Have you ever seen an author personify the five rivers of Hades in a retelling? I haven’t, and I loved it. Styx is the star of them with her perchance for diving into Hades wine stash and the resulting kiss-related exploits. I adored her.
It’s fun. Greek mythology retellings can be tough to read and feature pretty brutal storylines and experiences, because the myths are brutal, but ‘Girl, Goddess, Queen’ takes the romcom route while still retaining the essence of the mythology and strikes such a perfect balance.
‘Girl, Goddess, Queen’ is the swoon-worthy, feminist, endlessly fun retelling of Persephone and Hades that I didn’t know I needed. Bea Fitzgerald is really one to watch.
‘Girl, Goddess, Queen’ is released in hardback in the UK today, 20 July 2023, by Penguin.
If you want to grab a copy for yourself, using our bookshop.org affiliate link below will help us out and support independent bookshops, without costing you anything extra.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the review copy.
Written by Sophie
