Daughter of Sparta Review

Hello, all!

I'm here to sing the praises of yet another Greek mythology retelling! As I've mentioned, I've been diving deep into my myths this year, so big thank you to the publisher for a copy of Daughter of Sparta by Claire M. Andrews!

Pub Date: 6-8-21
YA - Fantasy

Daphne has spent the last seventeen years of her life proving to those around her that she has what it takes to be named a warrior. All she has ever wanted was to be accepted by the brash Spartans who took her and her brothers in, but because she's an orphan and a woman, she's never been taken seriously. But after an unexpected run-in with the goddess Artemis-- who's holding her brother's life captive-- Daphne will finally get her chance, but if she fails her brother's life is forfeit.

Nine magical items have been stolen from Olympus, throwing the gods into chaos. If Daphne doesn't track down and return them to their rightful place, the gods will lose their magic, plunging the mortal world into disarray. With the help of Apollo and other heroes along the way, Daphne must journey through Greece testing her will against all sorts of challenges, from the bloody labyrinth of the Minotaur to trading riddles with the Sphinx. As her quest progresses, Daphne is plagued with dreams of a mysterious shadow woman and visions of her past. Daphne has always known she was meant for more, and if anyone could save Olympus, why not her?

I will eat up any Greek mythology retelling, so I was very much looking forward to this. While I did enjoy it, I didn't end up loving it as much as I'd hoped. I think a lot of that had to do with the pacing of the plot. It pretty much just went: fight scene, travel scene, fight scene. It was very cyclical, and despite all the action, it made it feel almost stagnant. I would've liked to have seen a little bit more depth and emotional connection. I also had the same issue with the characters. Daphne was great and I admired how strong and fierce she was, but I wanted a bit more vulnerability. There were moments when she sort of let her guard down, but they were few and far between. She and Apollo's relationship was said to be enemies-to-lovers, but I didn't buy that either. The whole romance aspect was pretty non-existent except for one or two subtle mentions. While this may not have fully lived up to my expectations, there were still a lot of bits I enjoyed and I'm interested to see where the story goes from here.

Rating: 3.5/5