Thelia and her sisters were once the Goddess Proserpina's maidens, sworn to protect her. Now, they are monsters now trapped on the island of Scopuli as punishment for allowing Proserpina to be kidnapped. There, they live out their days luring sailors who cross their path and sacrificing those who live to the Goddess Ceres. However, Ceres has grown apathetic to their torture, allowing Thelia and her sisters to starve. Finally, after almost a decade of nothing Thelia hears a familiar voice promising her food in exchange for a sacrifice worthy of the Goddess she had once betrayed, Proserpina.

Thelia agrees and sets out on the open ocean with a mission and a human form that will last her 6 turns of the moon. Eventually, she washes ashore at the newly settled Roanoke colony, and although there are plenty of men for her to offer, luring them out without giving herself away proves to be far more difficult than she had anticipated. Can she convince these hate-filled settlers to follow her back to Scopuli before time is up? Or will the dangers of the patriarchy and her growing care for her love interest prove to be too deadly? All the historical horror and more in Those Fatal Flowers.

This book was heart-wrenching, unexpected, and full of horror. The idea of Greek mythology being intertwined with the disappearance of the Roanoke colony is a fun twist on two classic tales. I would have never thought to put them together, but what a horrific and fun story it turned into. I enjoyed the plot and characters, especially Thelia’s internal and moral battle over her quest. I have also hated fewer characters than Thomas and his mother. I was seething every time they were on the page and flew through this book to see them get their karma. 

The pacing and dual-timeline structure are the only two things I wasn’t a huge fan of in this book. The first two chapters felt like they went on forever. Whenever Thelia described their time on the island, I wanted to skip to the current timeline. Not that those chapters didn’t give crucial backstory and context; I just thought they were a bit long for what they were trying to say. This relates to the pacing, which was a bit slow for me. I understand why it was necessary, but it did drag in places. 

However, overall the book was great. The writing was interesting and flowery yet contained visceral instances of violence. Not to mention the grueling emotional experiences such as assault, misogyny, miscarriage, and homophobia. As much as it contained graphic grotesque scenes, it was equally filled with the horrors of humanity and the depravity of men. The men in this book were horrid, I have never read something so anti-man and I loved it. I was scared it would veer into “not all men” territory at some point but it didn’t. It was a fantastic balance of hating the patriarchy and acknowledging how some individuals are redeemable. It added depth to the plot and helped to give meaning to Thelia’s quest. 

All in all this monstrous historical story is a must-read. From the bloodied shores of Scopuli to the cruel colony of Roanoke you will not want to put it down. Not to mention going and renting a Greek mythology book just to brush up. If you hate men and love monsters, you are in the right place. Happy reading! 

CW: Abortion, abusive relationship, alcohol, alcoholism, assault, attempted murder, attempted rape, blood, bones, cannibalism, death, emesis, emotional abuse, famine, gore, homophobia, kidnapping, miscarriage, misogyny, murder, physical abuse, pregnancy, rape, religion, sexism, sexual assault, starvation, and violence. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for sending this eARC for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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