Review: Curse of the Sphinx by Raye Wagner
Mythology and YA? Yes, please. Where do I sign up? Even though my brain becomes like a spider web when I have to keep track of mythological figures, I love reading about them, so I couldn’t wait to tackle Curse of the Sphinx by Raye Wagner.
Curse of the Sphinx by Raye Wagner
Series: Sphinx #1
Category: Young Adult, Mythology
Publication: August 11th, 2015
Purchase: Amazon
How long can a monster stay hidden in plain sight?
Seventeen year-old Hope Nicholas has spent her entire life on the run. But no one is chasing her. In fact, no one even knows she exists. With her mom, she’s traveled from town to town and school to school, barely staying long enough to meet anyone, let alone make friends. And she’ll have to keep it that way. It’s safer.
When her mother is brutally ripped away from her, Hope’s life shatters. Is this the fulfillment of Apollo’s curse, murder from the shadow monsters of the Underworld, or have the demigods finally found her? Orphaned and alone, Hope flees again, but this time there’s no one to teach her who to trust—or how to love.
Set in a universe where mythology is alive and well in the modern world, Curse of the Sphinx irresistibly blends action, suspense and romance.
Review:
[book rating=4/5]Her breath caught.
They were almost face-to-face. She moved to step back, but his hand kept her close.
“Hope.” He breathed her name so softly it was a caress.
As I mentioned above, I am clueless when it comes to mythology; no matter how often I read stories containing mythological characters, I can’t keep them straight in my mind (I blame the gods and their wanton sexual relations). It’s always a challenge for me to be able to keep tabs on who is who and enjoy the story.
Raye Wagner’s Curse of the Sphinx throws a new wrench into the mix by introducing us to the sphinx who, up until that point, I thought was only Egyptian. After I Wikipedia’d Sphinx, I realized that yes, the sphinx was indeed Egyptian but because the Greeks were in close contact with the Egyptians, they adopted a version for themselves (that’s the short, short version; if you’d like a history lesson, you can Google Sphinx). By now, I was both intrigued and nervous about having to catalog another mythological figure in my cramped brain.
Curse of the Sphinx is an interesting and well-written debut novel. The main character is Hope, who lives with her mother Leto; both sphinxes, they are on the run constantly from Skia—Hades’ shadow demons. Hope never has normalcy, and when she finally is able to have a real friend, everything backfires tragically. As a result, she picks the smallest town in Washington state that she can find, and moves there to start her life again…which is where she meets the lovely, gorgeous, and intriguing Athan.
The novel is quite layered. We have Hope in the present time, navigating her way through a singular existence, trying to stay alive and find answers. She is lonely and broken, and her pain is palpable. I ached for her in several scenes, and I wanted to knock some sense into her in others. Then, as if in the background, we have the mythological aspect, which of course directs who Hope is and what she does. Raye expertly weaves these layers together, one informing the other. There are more questions than answers in the book, which is equal parts wonderful and frustrating! But, I loved the mystery and can’t wait to have more questions asked and answered in the sequel.
The writing was beautiful and descriptive. Some lines were downright poetic in their description, and I was easily able to picture everything happening. This is a great example of showing versus telling.
There were a few instances where I didn’t quite understand who was what, or what was actually happening and why. I thought that a more in-depth explanation of the curse or why Hermes wanted to interfere (other than Apollo is a jerk) would have helped better set the stage for the rest of the story. There were also a few instances that felt a little stilted, where Hope was slightly awkward in her reactions and they didn’t feel quite authentic; however, this is a debut novel and to be expected.
Overall, this was a book where I was able to both follow and enjoy the story, always a difficult task for me where mythology is concerned. I highly recommend it to other readers! Just beware: the ending! Total cliffhanger.
4/5 Stars!
Author Bio: Raye Wagner
Raye Wagner grew up just outside of Seattle, Washington. As the second of eight children, she was surrounded by monsters, demons, and her sometimes mortal parents. She read heaps of fantasy while locked away in her room, usually self-directed.
Raye studied the art of medicine long before she had an interest in the Gods on Mount Olympus. One sunny afternoon, the history of Apollo’s ancient curse and the myth of the Sphinx dropped into Raye’s consciousness. She started scribbling notes down after her sister convinced her the story was worth writing.
She writes young adult fiction for teens and adults. Curse of the Sphinx, a YA urban mythology, is her first novel. Demigods and Monsters, the second book in the Sphinx series, will be released April 2016.
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