Brutally attacked by one god and unfairly cursed by another she faithfully served, Medusa has spent the last two thousand years living out her punishment on an enchanted isle in the Aegean Sea. A far cry from the monster legends depict, she’s spent her time educating herself, gardening, and desperately trying to frighten away adventure seekers who occasionally end up, much to her dismay, as statues when they manage to catch her off guard. As time marches on without her, Medusa wishes for nothing more than to be given a second chance at a life stolen away at far too young an age.
But then comes a day when Hermes, one of the few friends she still has and the only deity she trusts, petitions the rest of the gods and goddesses to reverse the curse. Thus begins a journey toward healing and redemption, of reclaiming a life after tragedy, and of just how powerful friendship and love can be—because sometimes, you have to sink in the deep end of the sea before you can rise back up again
Dusa is in my top 5 heroines of all time, I liked her character right from the start. But as the story progressed I connected with her on a very personal level, at times it was like her thoughts were my thoughts. Her unyielding resilience to balance the scales and right her wrongs was beyond admirable, it's said more than once by other characters a lesser woman in her position would long ago have given in, and despite how weak Dusa thinks she is it's clear to everyone else, including the reader, just how strong willed she is. To endure what she has for so long through no fault of her own, well it really makes you feel for her predicament. Dusa spends her days isolated but making the most out of life, while there are dark days there are also light and that lightness comes in the form of friendship from the unlikeliest of people. Which endeared me to those characters all that much more, it seemed like they kept her sane as they gave her something to look forward to. One would think her punishment is bad enough and when a way out is in sight you'd think she'd get a break, but oh no minions there are certain Gods and Goddesses who don't know when to give up. I'll admit I wanted to cause some serious damage to Athena and Poseidon, I still kinda do to be honest, I mean if ever there were characters to drive you to commit murder it's those two. Evil rat bastards. *Deep breath* I refuse to let them spoil this review. So on to the positive! Now it wasn't all doom and gloom, there was a certain ray of sunshine that goes by the name of Hermes, I'm sure you've heard of him. I absolutely adored his relationship with Dusa, after all that time in confinement he remained her constant through every trial and tribulation. If ever there was a perfect hero, it's my man Hermes. He had my heart all aflutter. With his help Dusa was free to pursue her dreams in any way she wanted, and was able to appreciate the gift of being given a second chance at life. Around the 75% mark I was in tears, the decisions she had to make and the fear of seeking help are all to familiar to me, and I applaud her for her bravery. The hardest thing as a victim is asking for help, especially when living in denial seems like the easy way out. I have to praise Heather for the manner in which she handled the the topic of abuse, because like I said at times it was like Dusa's thoughts were my own. Heather holds nothing back when delving into the mind of a survivor, Dusa was so self-deprecating at the beginning and it broke my heart, but through friendship and love she finds her way.
Death isn’t beautiful...Death is an act of violence.
Thus, not only am I a monster, I’m a really lousy one. A lonely, classic Five Stages of Grief following, insecure, shut-in of a pathetic beast who talks to the snakes on her head and the statues on her island.
All I can think is, stars above, I am so incredibly blessed to have this man in my life.
“I will never hurt you, Dusa, nor allow anyone else to ever do so again. If you cannot believe in anything else about me, please believe in that.”
“I will fight for us, Medusa. I will not give up. Please do not give up on yourself, either. Never forget that I love you. Never forget that you mean everything to me.”
“Mortal, monster, or goddess,” he says quietly, seriously, “or any combination there in between, I love you all the same.”
My rating is 5 mind-blowing fantastically awesome stars! This book has everything, and if you're an ancient history buff like moi you will love this. Be prepared to have your entire belief system of Greek myths blown out of the water, and immerse yourself in a world so like our own yet fantastically so different. Come an hang out with the great Gods and Goddesses of ancient times, where you will laugh, cry, rejoice, scream and happy dance with glee. Heather is an author to be on the lookout for, her writing is so melodically beautiful it takes the NA genre to a whole new level. She does an outstanding job of conveying the message of Medusa's story to the reader, one of hope, love, strength and justice. *Dreamy sigh* I could fangirl over Heather for a good long while, but I'll end it here my lovelies. I would caution for any sexual abuse survivors to be careful of triggers, and to take the proper course of action to care for yourself.