botm Archives

Hera

A New Look at an Old Villian Author: Jennifer Saint Hera – the raging goddess of marriage – is a much-hated figure from Greek mythology. While it is her husband, the mighty Zeus, who tricks and rapes his way through both mortals and goddesses, it is Hera that catches our ire. Shouldn’t she, we reason, be gentler, know better, and stop perpetuating a vicious culture of victim-blaming? Shouldn’t her vengeance, her impotent rage, be directed towards the one who really deserves it (her philandering husband) instead of in fits of jealousy towards his often-unwilling paramours? Well . . . author Jennifer [...]

Frances Carden2025-03-23T08:40:21-07:00March 23rd, 2025|Tags: book review, botm, fantasy, fiction, Greek mythology, mythology, read, reading, retelling|

Bright Young Women

A Fictionalized Story of the Ted Bundy Murders Author: Jessica Knoll Bright Young Women is an ambitious attempt to tell a segmented story of trauma, misogyny, exploitation, resilience, and women fighting against a biased and broken system. While the true crime story it’s based on (the Ted Bundy murders) is interesting, Bright Young Women fails to capture the tragedy of those involved. Instead, it comes off as a caricature of what happened, an outline of complexity that fails to capture a deeper, bloodier story. It strives to do something honorable, to highlight the victims instead of the insidious, egotistical perpetrator, but [...]

Frances Carden2025-01-27T10:39:19-07:00January 27th, 2025|Tags: book review, botm, fiction, read, reading, true crime|

Stranger Upstairs, The

"Endings are Loud" Author: Lisa M. Matlin Waning social media star and self-help book blitz Sarah Slade is looking to revitalize her fading fame and marriage with a little fixer-up project. She’s bought and plans to renovate an infamous murder/suicide house (Black Wood House) with the help of her hubby and inflexibly angry cat (Reaper), all while keeping up her façade as a good therapist. Of course, Sarah is doing more than trying to keep her perfect career going. She’s keeping her careful façade in place. Sarah has a past. Sarah has a lot of things to hide. And what better [...]

Frances Carden2025-01-06T15:40:20-07:00January 6th, 2025|Tags: book review, botm, horror, read, reading, thriller|