Daughters of Olympus: A Novel

by Hannah Lynn, Zura Johnson (Read by)

Overview

A daughter pulled between two worlds and a mother willing destroy both to protect her . . .

Demeter: a goddess of life, living half of one.

Demeter did not always live in fear. Once, she loved the world and the humans who inhabited it. After an act of devastating violence, though, she hides herself away among the grasses and wildflowers. Her only solace is her daughter . . .

Before she was Persephone, she was Core.

Core is as bright as summer and devoted to her mother, even during their millennia in exile from Olympus. But she craves freedom. Naïve and determined, she secretly builds a life of her own—and as she does so, she catches the eye of a powerful god . . .

The daughters of Olympus will have the last word . . .

Then Hades kidnaps Core and renames her as Queen of the Underworld. In the land without sun, she realizes she may have a chance to gain back what she thought she'd lost forever. But Demeter will destroy anything—even the humans she holds so dear—to bring her daughter back. A mother who has lost everything and a daughter with more to gain than she ever realized, they will irrevocably shape the world: all in the name of something as human as love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798874837075
Publisher:	Tantor
Publication date:	07/09/2024
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Hannah Lynn is a multi award winning novelist. Publishing her first book, Amendments-a dark, dystopian speculative fiction novel, in 2015. Her second book, The Afterlife of Walter Augustus-a contemporary fiction novel with a supernatural twist-went on to win the 2018 Kindle Storyteller Award and the Independent Publishers Gold Medal for Best Adult Ebook.

Born in 1984, Hannah grew up in the Cotswolds, UK. After graduating from university, she spent fifteen years as a teacher of physics, first in the UK, and then Thailand, Malaysia, Austria, and Jordan. It was during this time, inspired by the imaginations of the young people she taught, she began writing short stories for children, and later adult fiction.

With over twenty publications spanning a number of genres and translated into half a dozen languages, Hannah has proven herself to be both an accomplished and prolific author.

Now settled back in the UK, with her husband, daughter, and horde of cats, she spends her days writing romantic comedies and historical fiction. Her first historical fiction novel, Athena's Child, was also a 2020 Gold Medalist at the Independent Publishers Awards.

Smart, smooth, and multifaceted, Zura Johnson is a narrator, artist, and Lego enthusiast.

Zura began her journey toward the world of storytelling at the age of five, when she memorized the entirety of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. She proceeded to recite them in their entirety to her family on a road trip . . . at which time her exasperated parents enrolled her in theater classes.

Zura received her BS in theater performance, with a minor in Russian language and culture from the University of Evansville. She continued on to receive her MFA from The Old Globe Advanced Training Program/University of San Diego. After graduation she signed with her first voice-over agency in NYC, Arcieri & Associates. Shortly after that, she moved to the Philadelphia area, where she continued to perform on stage, and she began to book local and regional voice-over work.

Zura's voice-over career took off after her family was transferred to Singapore for her husband's work. She worked with numerous studios in Singapore, recording projects for local and international clients from China to Australia. Some of the highlights for Zura were her extensive work with SAP, recording her first NatGeo documentary for NatGeo Asia.

Zura has always been a storyteller. And throughout her training, she has focused a great deal of energy on her vocal work. As she began her journey with books on tape, narrating audiobooks feels like coming home. When Zura is not recording audiobooks, her greatest loves are traveling, making her kids laugh, and pen and ink drawing.

Editorial Reviews

05/13/2024

Lynn (the Grecian Women series) frames this vibrant retelling of the myth of Demeter and Persephone as “the story of a mother’s loss.” After Demeter is raped by her brother Zeus, she gives birth to twins Core and Iacchus. While Iacchus emulates his father’s violence, Core becomes the center of her mother’s world. Zeus again devastates Demeter by killing her mortal lover, Iaison, with a lightning bolt, prompting Demeter to take Core from Olympus to her home on Earth. There, Demeter allows Core to roam freely, leading to her abduction by the love-starved Hades, who’d misinterpreted Core’s friendliness to him during a brief encounter centuries earlier. Lynn impresses with her ability to make her divine characters come across both as impossibly powerful and deeply vulnerable, portraying Demeter’s anguish at the loss of Core, who renames herself Persephone in the underworld, and Core’s despair over being separated from the open air and greenery she’d reveled in. This stands out from the pack of feminist takes on Greek mythology. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Vibrant...This stands out from the pack of feminist takes on Greek mythology." — Publishers Weekly

"Lynn...brings a fresh perspective to the familiar myth of Hades and Persephone. Her writing is full of lush detail and thoughtful explorations of both motherhood and womanhood, and both women's stories are highlighted through alternating perspectives. Lynn is a rising star in the world of mythology-based fiction; suggest this to fans of Madeline Miller and Natalie Haynes." — Booklist, STARRED review

"With vibrant prose and decadent world building, Daughters of Olympus is a magical feast for the senses. This stirring retelling peels back the layers of myth surrounding Demeter and Persephone to touch upon their most human core. It is a stunning testament to the destructive and healing power of love to move the very earth." — A.D. Rhine, author of Horses of Fire

"Hannah Lynn takes an old tale and makes it new with her brilliant retelling of Demeter and Persephone. A novel that is at once tender and rage-filled, this story delves deep into the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship in a beautifully rendered world of gods, monsters, and mortals. This is a book you’ll be thinking about long after you’ve finished the last page! A must-read." — Megan Barnard, author of Jezebel

"With her latest novel, Hannah Lynn demonstrates her deep knowledge of mythology and mastery of storytelling. Her rich, vivid details transport readers to an ancient world, one alive with danger and great magic. Although they are goddesses, both Demeter and Core/Persephone are still women, desperate to forge their own paths and make their own choices in a patriarchal world that stymies them at every turn. Daughters of Olympus is both a celebration of women, and a testament to the importance of perspective—the untold and underappreciated stories." — Lauren J.A. Bear, author of Medusa’s Sisters

"A gripping exploration of love, loss, and the power of rage, Daughters of Olympus teems with the fervor of a mother, the devotion of a daughter, and the passion of lovers. Twining through these surprisingly human relationships, readers will discover a brew of gods intent on ownership and connection and, for some, growth. This story will keep you turning pages and leave you wanting more." — Malayna Evans, author of Neferura

From the Publisher