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My Review:Title: Soul in Darkness
Author: Wendy Higgins
Published by: Dreamscape Media LLC
Release Date: May 21, 2019
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Bridie Lawrence
Length: 10 hours and 38 minutes
Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance
Source: Audible Escape Package
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 New Release Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 Retellings Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER Summer Hunt
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Kobo ✩ IndieBound ✩ iTunes ✩ Book Depository
My rating:
Blurb:People travel from afar to the small isle in the Aegean Sea hoping for a single glimpse of Princess Psyche. Their adoration for the mortal woman is so all-consuming that citizens begin to shower her with the very gifts and offerings they once left at the alter of Venus, goddess of love and beauty.
But gods are known for their jealousy.
Cupid, the god of love, takes pleasure in causing strife and mischief in the lives of humans. He uses love as a weapon, humoring in the weakness of people at the whims of their feelings. When his mother Venus approaches him about punishing the human girl who dares to steal her offerings and affections from the people, Cupid gladly accepts.
Psyche's punishment is to be given to a mysterious creature who only comes to her in the dark of night under the pact that she will never lay eyes on him. She is terrified of this stranger, who the oracle described as a serpent. Her mate, however, is masterful in his dealings with his bride. He takes his time, morphing her fears into different sensations completely.
Based on the Roman/Greek mythology of Cupid and Psyche by Lucius Apuleius, New York Times bestseller Wendy Higgins brings the tale to life, weaving layers that show exactly how a sacrificial lamb can be enchanted by an unseen monster.
Adult Historical Fantasy. Standalone.
4.5 stars — OK, yet again, I am not a fantasy or historical type reader. They kind of intimidate me. And I’m actually not generally that well versed on mythology of any kind. But I’ve enjoyed this author in the past, and an author friend of mine raved about this book, so I had to give it a try. And WOW. I just kept wanting to listen to more and more, and life kept getting in my way.
A large part of the 4.5 stars for me was the narration by Bridie Lawrence. While the choice to have an Australian narrator for a book set in the Aegean sea puzzles me to this day, for this Canadian, it added a touch of the exotic to my listening experience. Will it jibe for everyone? Eh, probably not. But honestly, Ms. Lawrence’s voice is just butter to the ears, and so I couldn’t care less that the accent was kind of unrealistic to the story. Ms. Lawrence’s range of emotions just kept me enthralled. I felt all of Psyche’s fear, and loneliness, and despair, and anger. She allowed me to connect to Psyche in a way that I don’t think I would have as well if I’d just read it myself. And it wasn’t just Psyche! I adored Cupid’s voice, and I could feel all of his emotions as well, from joy to frustration to despair! And the voices for the other characters were also varied and consistent. It was just a joy to listen to.
Now, I will admit, I was NOT familiar with Cupid & Psyche’s story. I knew the name, but if I’m being frank…that’s about it. I did look it up really quick on wikipedia, but I didn’t read it all, b/c I kind of wanted to remain surprised during this retelling. So this is a review from an uneducated POV, I have no idea if fans of the mythos would be ecstatic or annoyed by this version.
Oh gods. I fell in love with Psyche from the first moment we meet her. She’s this rather humble girl, which given the way she was raised is kind of extraordinary. I loved her soft-heartedness, her empathy, her kindness. I also appreciated her spirit and stubbornness! Even if I was endlessly frustrated by her stubbornness. It was so hard to both see it from her perspective where she’s in the dark, but also from my reader’s perspective where I have a vague idea of what’s going on, and everything is not as it seems.
There were so many elements that reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, particularly from the point where she gets sacrificed/married. It wasn’t everything, I just saw so many little correlations. I ended up googling if Beauty and the Beast was based on this story, but it looks like a lot of fairytales take elements from this story. That was fascinating to me.
Even though there were so many struggles on the way to romance, I loved the way Psyche slowly fell in love with Cupid, having no idea who/what he was. It was interesting to watch his temper get in the way sometimes, and his complete lack of understanding humans got in his ways at others. But it added a bit of depth to their love, b/c you could see them getting along. I mean, there was a strong physical component of course, but I enjoyed the ways in which he tried to woo her, and how the little things showed Psyche the character of Cupid. But at the same time, I loved that Psyche wasn’t blind to Cupid’s faults in the end, and that she took the time to suss out what she really wanted and how she really felt, OUTSIDE of his influence.
There were tiny elements of the plot that were almost too subtle for me. Like, I kept waiting for an explanation for the trees, and then later the river god, but I figured out in the end it was supposed to be a clear example of the brightness of Psyche’s soul, and how so many could see it and wanted to help her. I loved how she was always humble and grateful when asking for anything. But I wouldn’t have minded being beaten over the head with that explanation instead…especially because the trees made me laugh, and everyone else’s reactions were so astonished, I would have loved a teensy bit more.
Their love story was definitely unconventional, and perhaps on its own may not have held me quite so enthralled. But in combination with the vividly described world, the great characters, the amazing narrator, and the emotional plot, I was sold.
COYER Summer Hunt: Read a book that has a character who is RED with envy (Venus) — 4 points.
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