I was excited to learn that the second installment of the Clash of Goddesses trilogy was a retelling of my favourite Greek myth I was so excited to get into it. Even then it didn’t become my favourite part of the novel. There’s a lot to enjoy in this novel.
When Rose’s family hides an eagle wanted dead by the Greek Goddess Artemis, her beloved Lugh dies to protect her family and their allies. The Morrigan, a powerful Irish Goddess, says that Rose can save him by venturing into the afterlife and facing the harrowing challenges there to bring him back before he resurrects without his memories. When she takes that choice, her trials reveal more and more lies Rose’s mother kept. But meanwhile, Greek and Irish must decide whether to fight or form alliances for their own personal goals and the threat of the world losing its magic.
Characterisation was once again a strong point of this novel. I think what makes this characters stand out is how easily you can envision how they act. For me that’s what makes characters stand out the most, and each acted in such unique ways that even subtle differences made all the difference. Even minor characters without POVs were thoroughly well established characters when their motivations came into play. This made for a very engaging cast of characters.
It was interesting to see the worldbuilding expand in the ways that Greek and Irish myths collide. The original tale of Orpheus and Eurydice was the inspiration for this, but it evolved so much from that to create its own story fueled by Irish mythology. I especially loved when not only Greek gods and goddesses left their marks in the world, but when early stages of Christianity were seeping its way into the world too that was a very interesting approach to take. It is not often that multiple mythologies are looked into and not often that they interact. I really liked Huston’s take on the matter.
Rose and Lily’s plot was very fascinating and engaging. Both were sent on their own missions to save those they loved in their respective ways, but each took different paths of self discovery and evaluation in the process. Their character arcs and their own characters were huge driving forces in their respective stories. I couldn’t say the same for Hera and the Morrigan and how most of their chapters were filled with conversation, but it still wound up good overall.
Which leaves one book left in the trilogy. Let’s just say it ended on some very intriguing notes. I can’t wait to see them resolved in the final installment.
Soul of a Rose gets a score of 4/5. Gods should clash more often, but maybe with less talking and more magic and fighting.
Yours in writing
Amy