What do readers think of Aphrodite in Pieces by Lauren J. A. Bear? Write your own review.

This is my ode to the Venus de Milo, to women loving themselves without shame, to art and beauty throughout history.

This book is my favorite read of the year so far! I absolutely love hearing her story from her POV.

Aphrodite in Pieces came to life through gorgeous sentences and emotion. The lives of the Greek gods spilled forth with such ease it felt like a memoir. Aphrodite shared her story bit by bit, pulling the reader in and making us care about the women Aphrodite championed throughout the story. Bear took a unique angle on the goddess of love and beauty, and offered a glimpse at the kind of struggle women bear, even in the heavens. This was no simple story. It covered the gamut of a woman's experience with all its joys, triumphs, tragedies, frustrations, and humiliations. Throughout the story, Aphrodite approached life with a mixture of grit and compassion, heartbreak and hope. I loved this book and wanted it to continue after the last page. Bear is a talent and understands how to capture myths in a way that makes them relevant and wrenching. I can't wait to find another of her books.

Thank you to BookBrowse for the advanced copy of Aphrodite in Pieces by Lauren J.A.Bear!

While mythology has been a topic that I read often since my youth (oh so many years ago) this feminist was frustrated with how the women, even the goddesses were treated. Those books, mostly written by males frequently glorified masculine strength, intellectual pursuits, and divine favor while marginalizing or punishing females, reflecting ancient Greek misogyny. To my delight talented women authors have begun to write the myths from the female perspective. giving a more accurate depiction-in my opinion- of the thoughts, feelings and motivations of the wives, mothers, daughters, goddesses and victims of the male egos of ancient tales. Lauren J.A. Bear has created superb interpretation of the goddess Aphrodite in her new book Aphrodite in Pieces.

Bear follows the version of the Aphrodite who emerged parent-less from the sea to become the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. Bear lets Aphrodite’s own voice tell her stories of the joyful and destructive nature of love, of the politics of Mount Olympus and her part in the Trojan War. The extension of Aphrodite’s life through the ages is a bonus to this enjoyable telling of the legend of a complicated personality.

Aphrodite in Pieces by Lauren J.A. Bear is a thought-provoking blend of ancient myth and modern social commentary that I couldn't put down. Even coming in with little knowledge of Greek mythology, I found the story completely accessible and engaging. What sets this book apart is how the author examines the way Aphrodite was misunderstood and diminished by the misogyny surrounding her, from both men and women, reducing a powerful goddess of love and beauty to something lesser. It's a theme that feels remarkably relevant today. The characters are equally compelling, flawed and realistic in a way that makes them feel genuinely human. Their complexity keeps the story grounded even as it weaves between myth and the modern world.Whether you're a fan of historical fiction, Greek mythology, or just a really good story, I'd highly recommend Aphrodite in Pieces.

It is is simply a stunning retelling or in Aphrodite myth with a clever twist in the telling as well as bringing it forward to the 21sr C. This is a character driven book. Aphrodite is fleshed out as a person as she tells her story and at times breaks the 4th wall. Two hundred years BE, she appears to sculptor to have him create a statue of
"the real her." In order to do this, Aphrodite tells her story to the man. This story is filled with her triumphs, humiliation, her pettiness, her revenge, her tragic love story - one that compels her but eludes her too, and then her coming to love herself. It's a story asking what is love. It's a book that captures the age old trap women fall into with men unless they assume their agency and dare to be different ( and Aphrodite surely is).
The book follows the Aphrodite myth very accurately-I have a fondness for Aeneas having read the Aeneid in Latin, so I was glad to see the author included him.
It is written in such a lovely, simple but arresting way that you don't have to have read the lliad to appreciate it. Nor is it cluttered with all the names involved in the Trojan war. It's a straightforward story, part memoir (after all Aphrodite is telling her story) and fantasy (which is not over blown). It captures you in the telling. And I simply loved that ending.

This is a book for lovers of Greek mythology but also for readers who want to escape into a fantasy world that delivers on a truly wonderful story of female transformation.
I'd like to thank BookBrowse and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read this ARC.

Aphrodite tells her own story in this book, which I really enjoyed. It was emotional and funny. I thought that the writing was of a high quality. I am now interested in reading the author's other books.

The story touched on a lot of the mythology I've read about over the years. Aphrodite is an interesting character. Despite being immortal, she also does a bit of growing up herself.

I loved the character, Alexandros. He was humble and sweet. He was a good balance to Aphrodite as the listener.