Review: Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters by Emily Roberson

Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters
by Emily Roberson

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook, audiobook
Pages: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publication date: October 22, 2019
Suggested tags: young adult, fantasy, mythology



From the publisher:

"Greek mythology meets the Kardashians in Emily Roberson's Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters, a fresh, fast-paced debut young adult novel about celebrity culture, family dynamics, and finding love amidst it all.

Sixteen-year-old Ariadne’s whole life is curated and shared with the world. Her royal family’s entertainment empire is beloved by the tabloids, all over social media, and the hottest thing on television. The biggest moneymaker? The Labyrinth Contest, a TV extravaganza in which Ariadne leads fourteen teens into a maze to kill a monster. To win means endless glory; to lose means death. In ten seasons, no one has ever won.

When the gorgeous, mysterious Theseus arrives at the competition and asks Ariadne to help him to victory, she doesn’t expect to fall for him. He might be acting interested in her just to boost ratings. Their chemistry is undeniable, though, and she can help him survive. If he wins, the contest would end for good. But if she helps him, she doesn’t just endanger her family’s empire—the monster would have to die. And for Ariadne, his life might be the only one worth saving.

Ariadne’s every move is watched by the public and predestined by the gods, so how can she find a way to forge her own destiny and save the people she loves?"

This was a nice escape from reality for a bit! I wanted to read it because it had a lot of elements I like: retellings, mythology, reality TV, competitions... and it delivered on all of that for me! The synopsis is accurate: it does feel like the Kardashians (or what little I know about them, since I don't watch their show or anything), with Ariadne's two sisters famous for their, um, anatomy and the things they may or may not be willing to do on camera, and their mother pretty much running their lives and focused only on making them all famous... They all live in a huge palace with cameras following their every move, and everything revolves around The Labyrinth Contest and its ratings.

The romance between Ariadne and Theseus was a bit... eh, for me. It didn't really do anything for me. I know it's part of the story and it explains why Ariadne would be willing to help him, but I just didn't really feel it while I was reading. It's said a few times that it's Eros (god of love) who's making people fall in love, and that's kind of how it felt: someone else was telling them they should be in love, so they were.

But honestly, I didn't need the romance, because I thought the best part of the book was Ariadne's interactions with the monster. Her motivations for wanting to care for and protect him were really well explained and I loved reading the parts where she went down to the maze to be with him.

The ending wraps up a bit neatly, but it felt right for this kind of book - an escape from reality. When I'm reading a book to escape, I want everything to work out and end on a positive note, and I got that here. It definitely left me with good vibes. 


Final verdict: I liked it! I thought this book was good! I enjoyed reading it and I would probably recommend it to others.

{ Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways for providing me with a review copy.
My reviews are honest and my opinions are my own; 

your reading experience may vary, so give it a read and see what you think. :) }