Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara

Book Blurb

The greatest love story ever told…

Born into an era of heroes, a prophecy claims that Psyche – Princess of Mycenae – will defeat a monster feared even by the gods themselves. Rebelling against society’s traditions, she spends her youth mastering blade and bow, preparing to fulfil her destiny.

But she is soon caught up in powers beyond her control, when the jealous Aphrodite sends the God of Desire, Eros, to deliver a fatal love-curse. The last thing Eros wants is to become involved in the chaos of the mortal world, but when he is pricked by the very arrow intended for Psyche, he is doomed to love a woman who will be torn from him the moment their eyes meet.

Thrown together by fate, headstrong Psyche and world-weary Eros will face challenges greater than they could have ever imagined. And as the Trojan War begins and the whole of the heavens try to keep them apart, will they find their way back to each other… before it’s too late?

My Review
I am loving how the reimagining of the classical myths have become so popular as they are some of the best stories with their heroes, heroines, monsters, adventures, romance, gods and goddesses. One of the most famous stories is that of Psyche and Eros, and their story is the subject of Luna McNamara’s debut novel. The story of the god of desire who falls fowl to his own arrow and falls in love with the mortal Psyche. Added to this is a curse meant for Psyche from Aphrodite that means if the lovers meet eyes they will be ripped apart forever. This is a story of desire, adventure and of course love.

Psyche and Eros is such a fascinating story and I loved Luna McNamara’s imaginative retelling. The first person narrative drew me into the lives of these two very different characters and the lives they led. Eros is a god, an immortal, and surprisingly for the god of desire he is disenchanted with love after seeing how it can hurt people. He wasn’t like the other gods in that he didn’t want to play with the lives of the mortals for his own fun. Psyche has a heritage of heroes, she is the granddaughter of Perseus and Andromeda and great grandaughter of Zeus. As a young woman she is trained by Atlanta, the heroine from the Argo, to be strong and fulfill her own prophecy of becoming a hero. She is fiercly independent but on meeting Eros she falls in love, putting her trust in him. Their love story is one that grows as they they find themselves and each other, a true love story that is enchantinging, erotic and full of romance. The Shakespearian term star crossed lovers come to mind as it is their destiny to be together.

As well as the story of Psyche and Eros I loved the fact that Luna McNamara icluded so many other characters from mythology to add layers and depth to the story. There were other strong females including Atlanta, Ipheginia, Penelope and Persephone and Odysseus, Achillies and Promethues who all have fascinating stories of their own. Luna McNamara’s storytelling is beautiful, she captures the nuances of her characters, breathing life into them, making them personable. Her prose is wonderfully descriptive and immaginative, like painting a picture with her words, making me feel like I was in Hades, in Eros’s magical home and on Psyche’s adventure with her. I also enjoyed the backstory of the Gods, how they came to be and how Prometheus made mortals angering Zeus.

I love my Greek Mythology and have since a young child, so it is not surprising that I was immersed in Psyche and Eros. This is not only a wonderful love story but a story of self discovery of a confident and fierce young woman and a disillusioned God. It has adventure, revenge, secrets, and the wrath of the gods that add to the enjoyment of this story. I was completely captivated by this book, the story and the writing, losing myself in this enchanting tale. This is a stunning debut and I will be keeping my eye out for Luna McNamara’s next book.

I’d like to thank Anne Cater and Orion Books for my invite to be part of this blog tour.