Aphrodite
-
- 16,99 €
Publisher Description
From the author of Herc, a Waterstones Best Book of the Year
‘Particularly skilled in evoking the strangeness and contradictoriness of Greek myths’ Sunday Times
‘A joyful exploration of one woman's quest for home, power, identity and ultimately, freedom from fate. A genuine pleasure to read!’ Clare North, author of Ithaca
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
‘I’m a liar, to begin with.’
I wasn’t always a goddess, you see. My only real power was my beauty – you’ll have heard. It’s legendary. But that was never going to be enough for me.
It took a web of lies to convince the gods of Olympus I was one of them. But I did. I was that good. Zeus gave me a title and riches and loved me. And all he wanted in return was for me to love him back.
But of course, Zeus was a tyrant. (Not entirely surprising when you’re ninety per cent insecurities and ten per cent raw power.) I couldn’t live at someone’s mercy. Really, I had no choice. I had to take on the mightiest Olympian of all. And this bit’s not a lie… I intended to win.
A wonderful tale set in Ancient Greece where a being with no power rises to the very top by outwitting other gods all while maintaining a sense of exactly who she is – a goddess who intends to always do it her way.
Perfect for fans of Ferdia Lennon, Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Authors and readers ADORE Aphrodite:
'Sparkles with wicked humour and boundless imagination' Kate Heartfield, Sunday Times bestselling author
'Expect multiple POV's, humour (duh), strong female energy, love, action, war, all packaged in a beautifully crafted, comprehensive story' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Wit and verve, contrasting laugh-out-loud humour with moments of surprising tenderness' Luna McNamara, author of Pysche and Eros
'I can't emphasise enough how much I adored this version of Aphrodite – wickedly funny, caustic, fierce, playful and cheeky yet with a soft centre' Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Aphrodite gives a human voice to the inhuman goddess that you can’t help but love' Lizzy Tiffin, author of Bad Girls of Ancient Greece
‘Welcome the Real Housewives of Olympus. Stunning, brilliant, witty, so delicious it could only be divine’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'If you’ve ever wondered what Tina Fey retelling your favorite myths would be like, Phoenicia Rogerson has the answer' Ian Doescher, author of the William Shakespeare's Star Wars series
About the author
Phoenicia Rogerson has no discernible sense of direction so it’s only natural that she’d get lost in books. When she’s not reading, writing, or spinning in circles, she can be found knitting copious amounts of socks and throwing herself in freezing water. Originally from Cornwall, she now finds herself in London, where she’s aiming for the highest possible bookshelf-to-floor space ratio. Aphrodite is her second novel. She is a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award 2024 for her debut, Herc.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Aphrodite is a liar. She says so herself. This loveliest of goddesses has always been beautiful, but it took layers and layers of deception to become one of the immortals sitting on Mount Olympus. How did she do it? And what does she need to do to maintain her position? Phoenicia Rogerson can make her writing sparkle like Aphrodite’s eyes and she wears her learning lightly, taking the classical story and making it accessible and funny. Her previous book, Herc, looked at the myth of Hercules and won her the Somerset Maugham Award. Aphrodite is shaped in a similar—and brilliant—mould, but with the added bonus of a fully realised female lead who faces entirely different problems to the heroic Herc. Aphrodite is about finding a true home, finding freedom and finding oneself. It’s a hugely imaginative and joyful book and very easy to love. After all, the goddess would want it that way.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rogerson (Herc) opens this solid if familiar retelling of the Greek myth with Aphrodite narrating the unusual circumstances of her own birth: when Cronos, son of the god Ouranos, cut off his father's testicles and threw them into the sea, "those balls were me." Newly sentient Aphrodite is responsible for weaving threads of Fate that tell her the stories of every being in existence. It's overwhelming, and soon the gods are tangling themselves in her threads as well, giving her visions of their fates. When she sees her closest friend and first love, Prometheus, in great danger, she hatches an ambitious plan to save him from his destiny: she will walk into Olympus and announce herself as the brand new Goddess of Love. With the power of a goddess, maybe she can save Prometheus and finally take control of her own destiny. Unfortunately for her, being a goddess is a little more complicated than she anticipated, and before she knows it, she's started a war that may destroy them all. Rogerson gives Aphrodite an energetic voice and manages not to lose sight of her humanity in the sprawling story of her life. There's little to make this stand out in a crowded field, but die-hard fans of mythological retellings will find plenty to enjoy.
