Aphrodite's Blessings

Title: Aphrodite's Blessings

Subtitle:  Love Stories from the Greek Myths

Author: Clemence McLaren

Summary:  This is a compilation of three retellings of Greek myths about love and the goddess of love, Aphrodite.  They are told in first person, from the view of the heroine.  One retells the story of how Atalanta outran everyone except for one clever young man who thought to ask the goddess of love herself.  Then there's the story of Andromeda insisting on marrying Perseus after he saved her from the vile sea monster.  The last is the tale of Psyche, who was fortunate enough to have Eros himself, son of Aphrodite, fall in love with her.  He takes her to a beautiful villa with invisible servants.  He only comes at night when it is so dark that she cannot see him.  He is gone in the morning.  But Psyche's sisters give her the idea to hide a candle in the room and look at her husband when he was asleep.  She did, but he woke up.  She found that he was Eros, and he left her.  But Aphrodite decided to give Psyche another chance and gave her four tasks.  The first three she accomplished with the help of animals, and the last she had to go into the Underworld.  She accomplished them and was reunited with Eros. 

Stars: 7

Violence: 3, because of Perseus killing the sea monster. 

Romance: 6 because of kissing (of course all the couples kissed).  Also bare shoulders (of Eros) but it didn't describe anything horribly indecent. 

Language: 0 again.  I know, I know, it was supposed to be 1-10, but how can I help it if it wasn't even a 1? 

Appropriate for: Young adult. 

Other: I enjoy McLaren's retellings (such as Waiting for Odysseus) because they take women into account.