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From the award-winning author of Herc, an enrapturing feminist tale that brilliantly reimagines the story of Aphrodite and how she transformed herself from a lowly outsider to the darling goddess of love, for readers of Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint.
Aphrodite saw the gods on Mount Olympus and decided she wanted a piece of what they had. Only problem is, she's not a goddess, just a lowly being who's supposed to remain in a distant cave, keeping the threads of Fate woven neatly. But Aphrodite's never let anyone tell her what to do…
Weaving herself a web of lies and careful deceptions, she convinces everyone she's the goddess of love and that her rightful place is among the Olympians, who lord it over everyone else at the top of the world, but under the stifling rule of Zeus. For the first time, she has the best of everything, as well as friends, peers, even loved ones. Only, being a goddess isn't quite like she thought. Those who oppose Zeus tend to disappear, or worse. And one day, Aphrodite decides she's had enough…
"Rogerson gives Aphrodite an energetic voice and manages not to lose sight of her humanity in the sprawling story of her life...fans of mythological retellings will find plenty to enjoy." —Publishers Weekly
"[Q]uick-paced and quick-witted…A refreshing take on an ancient tale and one that reminds us that heroes are rarely as heroic as we remember them being, Herc is an astute examination of mythology and the centuries-long game of telephone we call storytelling." —Booklist
"'I'm a liar, to begin with,' Aphrodite tells us, and from the first moment she leaps off the page. Phoenicia Rogerson's Aphrodite is a totally unique take on the Goddess of Love, with a voice that's razor sharp, funny, grippingly honest, and all her own—accompanied by a vivid cast of characters we know and love from mythology. This is a bold, inventive retelling and a fantastic time from start to finish." —Jenny Williamson, author of Enemy of My Dreams
"Forget everything you think you know about the goddess of love—Phoenicia Rogerson's Aphrodite is a revelation that's part divine comedy, part epic drama, and entirely addictive. With razor-sharp wit and surprising heart, Rogerson breathes fresh life into ancient mythology, creating a voice so compelling you'll follow Aphrodite anywhere, even into war with Zeus himself." —Crystal King, bestselling author of In The Garden of Monsters and Feast of Sorrow
This information about Aphrodite was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Phoenicia Rogerson is altogether mortal with a rather less checkered past than Hercules. After a decade of not being able to find his complete story on bookshelves, she decided to pull her socks up and write it herself. She's had two short stories published in the UCL Publishers' Prize. She lives and works in London. Herc is her first novel.
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