Something about these books just give me all the feels!

Growing up Greek gods were what I saw in Hercules and I thought them only good and gracious but when you delves deep into the reality of them they are dark and twisty and make for the perfect baddies. Did I enjoy it as much as Girl Goddess, Queen? No… then again I have an unhealthy obsession with Hades. But the connection and narrative between Helen and Cassandra kept me reading on.

Snared in a trap, locked in as pawns in the gods battle for notability these two protagonists do whatever they can to have their own voice. The solidarity between the women in this story had me hooked and I didn’t want it to end.

The face that launched a thousand ships… and the bad ass women who taught for a chance of free will. Highly recommend.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏’𝒔 𝑨𝒍𝒍

‘𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳: 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥.’

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

holy women with swords! where do I start? I’m a firm believer that a good book should make you feel passionate, miffed at some form of injustice and yet oddly hopeful for a better possibility, a different thread if you will- The End Crown’s All took all of that, wrapped it neatly in the finest of Trojan fabrics and set it alight because WOW WOW WOW. The passion! The aggravating men! But also the hope and the feeling of warmth that these characters- specifically the women- brought is unmatched.

I have so many words and feelings for this book but I just am absolutely, well and truly gobsmacked at not only how much I loved it but how Bea has managed to carefully craft such a beautiful book, riddled with quotes that’ll stay with you for a lifetime, and entwined with feminine rage that digs its blade into you until you feel hollow but seen.

my heart is soaring.

Cassandra and Helen are both two love sick, self-sacrificing idiots who love each other in spite of their flaws and I just they don’t tell eachother things will be okay- they’re realists, strategists and so hopelessly in love I can’t cope.

In my heart I KNEW Bea wouldn’t bespoke us with a queer tragedy but the panic was there okay?? but it’s okay! panic over, they got the ending they deserved <3

overall if you’re looking for a sapphic, greek reimagining of the Trojan war where the stakes are high, and the rivals to lovers is rivalling than The End Crown’s All might just be the book for you!

thank you @chaosonolympus and @netgalley for this advanced copy!

4.25⭐️

As an absolute sucker for myths and retellings, this was such a nice twist to the original myth about the fall of Troy and the added feminism made my little heart very happy.

To a certain extent, I wouldn't be too surprised if this was a closer account on what actually happened than whatever we hear today. The relationship between Helen and Cassandra is so beautiful and Helen's struggle as a woman for safety, not necessarily love, is a true fight for survival and comes to show the way women have struggled during that time.

Bea Fitzgerald has done a truly remarkable job with this retelling and I might actually add Girl, Goddess Queen to my TBR.

Also huge thank you to Tandem Collective Global, Penguin Platform and Bea Fitzgerald for letting me participate in this read along and gifting me a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

In other words, read this if you are a lover of Greek myths and a good sapphic read!

A deeply satisfying sapphic spin on the Fall of Troy, The End Crowns All is a spirited romance between cursed soothsayer Cassandra and the wayward princess Helen that also examines privilege, power, gender roles, and gendered violence in a kinetic, thoughtful way.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Penguin Random House Children’s for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: mentions of rape and sexual assault, violence, war, death, injury, misogyny

“The End Crowns All” is an incredibly original retelling of Homer’s “The Iliad”, focused specifically on Cassandra, Princess of Troy, and Helen of Sparta in a world where the two fall in love during the devastating Trojan War. Cassandra is beautiful, a princess and a priestess of Apollo but she always wants more. When her patron offers her the gift of prophecy, Cassandra initially jumps at the chance, but when she’s told she must offer her body fully to Apollo, she refuses to go through with it. Instead, Apollo curses Cassandra to see the future but never to be believed- soon enough all of her visions focus on a particular person, the one who will bring ruin to Troy and everything Cassandra holds dear.
At the same time, Helen of Sparta is the most beautiful woman in the world and every man wants to fight for her love. When Paris, a long-lost prince of Troy, arrives in Sparta with the aid of the goddess Aphrodite Helen runs away with him- half out of love and half out of a desire for change. However, when she arrives in Troy it is clear that the politics and violence of Greece are echoed here. Cassandra in particular seems to detest Helen and is determined to drive her away before anything can come to pass. When the war comes, it’s not just the army outside the walls that Cassandra and Helen have to deal with, especially as it becomes clear that the gods are determined that Troy will fall. Realising that they might be the key to changing the strands of fate, Helen and Cassandra fall in love as the world is ending, and they are determined they won’t be victims of a man’s war.

I loved this author’s first book “Girl, Goddess, Queen” for the way it retold the story of Hades and Persephone. “The End Crowns All” is even more ambitious and even brighter. It’s a gorgeous retelling of ‘The Iliad’ with the perspectives of the women in mind, focusing on the long-demonised Helen and the tragic character of Cassandra if the two women fell in love with each other. There are so many important messages in this story- about being believed and the importance of consent, about being loved for who you are and changing yourself for the better- but also about the rampant misogyny of the original Greek myths. This is a beautiful love story, a reflection on the roles of women in the ancient world and also deeply compelling in how it represents Cassandra’s curse and Helen’s personality. The book takes its time to build up but by the end I was racing through it, desperate to know if this story would let things would turn out differently for the two of them. I particularly loved how the author took the ten years of ‘The Iliad’ and brought it down to a matter of months due to godly intervention and fate, it made predicting how the story would go incredibly difficult and massively enjoyable as someone who has read a lot of retellings. This is also one of the first books I’ve read that features a lesbian asexual, and as someone who is ace, I loved how Cassandra’s sexuality is written and explored through this book.

A glorious sapphic retelling of the Fall of Troy with Cassandra and Helen at its heart.

With the pun fully intended, I didn't see the HEA coming, but I was rooting for it all along. A massive 'f you' to meddling gods who think that can truly break a human spirit or a love that defies EVERY ODD OR ISSUE THROWN AT THEM!

The relationship between Cassandra and Helen was so beautifully built through an understanding of 'true selves' and finding that someone who sees beyond everything. It felt like a love letter to Greek mythology with a respectful 'hold my beer' to make it better.

OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE BEA FITZGERALDS WRITING
I am in love with this book and cannot wait to meet her at YALC

I am certain Bea mastered the way of retelling myths, no one does it like her! this book is definitely more plot heavy than romance heavy compared to Bea's debut novel, but it was still a fantastic book! and the sapphic asexual representation was great!

Another great book I loved it as much as I loved the first! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

A sensational read. Bea Fitgerald is a phenomenal writer and that is shown once again in this beautiful retelling.
Cassandra and Helen were incredibly easy characters to fall in love with and I love that this story was Sapphic with fantastic asexual representation.
Bea is without a doubt an auto buy author for me.

I love Bea Fitzgerald’s writing style. This retelling of the Helen of Troy myth from the point of view of the women through the voices of Helen and Cassandra is a fabulous tale of female agency. Although described to me as a sapphic tale, it is so much more, giving a voice to, and a representation of, so many kinds of love among the characters in this story. Reading a representation of an asexual character as one of the main protagonists was revelatory - and empowering for such an under represented group within the LGBTQIA+ community. Thank you Bea Fitzgerald for writing her character so beautifully and convincingly.

I look forward to the next retelling with great anticipation and excitement.

A beautiful sapphic story. I adore a good Mythology retelling and this is one of the best.

Adored it from start to finish. Cassandra is portrayed so well and leaps off the page as a fiesty princess. Helen is my favourite though. I needed more from her POV.
This is a more adult book than GGQ but that's great for me.

Bea is fast becoming one of my favourite authors and I'll read anything she writes.

Greek retelling check
Sapphic romance check
What’s not to love? The story of Troy from casandra point of view. I am sucker for myths and legends retellings and this was definitely up there.
For fans of Margaret Atwood The Penelopiad

Finally finished this book! It took me a bit longer than I’d hoped because I had a lot going on, but I’m glad I made it through. I really like Bea’s writing style—it’s so easy to follow and just flows really well. I didn’t love this one as much as *Girl, Goddess, Queen*, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

The book dives into some heavy stuff like sexism, misogyny, feminism, and how women fight in a male-dominated world. It’s told from two perspectives: Cassandra, the princess of Troy and priestess of Apollo, and Helen, the queen of Sparta and also a princess of Troy. They’re both just pawns in a bigger game played by the gods, with Helen getting caught up in the manipulations of Apollo and Aphrodite.

The story kicks off with Cassandra, who’s given the power of prophecy by Apollo in exchange for her virtue. When she can’t go through with the deal, he curses her, and she has to deal with these visions to save her city. Helen helps out, and they grow closer while trying to figure it all out. But then Aphrodite pushes Helen into a relationship with Paris, sparking the legendary war between Greece and Troy.

I love how Bea mixes Greek mythology with strong feminist vibes. She really nails that girl power energy, and I hope she keeps writing more takes on Greek myths.

Absolutely fantastic read, loved this reimagining of the Trojan War. I loved that Cassandra and Helen made their own future, rather than accepting the one given to them. I loved the friendship that blossomed between Cassandra and Helen in the end, and the way all the women supported each other.

"The End Crown All" by Bea Fitzgerald follows Cassandra, cursed by Apollo when she fails to uphold their bargain, and Helen, who flees Sparta for love but faces hostility in Troy. As war approaches, their intertwined fates may hold the key to changing the future, despite the gods' control over their destinies.

I loved both lead characters, especially how there story beginnings mirrored each other with the marriage prospects: Cassandra removed herself from the equation by becoming a priestess while Helen bent over backwards to try and please her husband. There relationship was very sweet and I loved how they went from enemies-to-allies-to-lovers! Cassandra was my favourite character.

I am not the most familiar with the Trojan War but I never found myself lost. The character index at the start was also very handy, especially as there was such a big cast. I will say the last 100 pages had me in a chokehold as I couldn't tell if there would be a HEA or end in tragedy.

I do think I had different expectations from reading Girl, Goddess, Queen. GGQ is very much a fake dating romcom while TECA is a commentary on women's autonomy with a backdrop of a war. I think if I read this first, it would have been a 5 star read. I went in expecting a sapphic romcom and instead got emotional trauma (no regrets). I also think reading this first is totally fine as the events of GGQ aren't really mentioned.

Bea Fitzgerald’s enthralling narrative places Cassandra, the seer of Troy, and her brother Paris at the forefront. Presumed dead, Paris resurfaces to abduct Helen of Sparta, transforming her into the iconic Helen of Troy.

Cassandra's deal with Apollo, granting her the gift of prophecy, turns tragic when she reneges on part of the agreement, resulting in a curse of unrelenting visions. Meanwhile, Helen grapples with her former husband's refusal to let go and Aphrodite's insistence that their saga becomes legendary, with Helen's beauty sparking a war and launching a thousand ships.

Their intertwined fates and shared struggles lead Helen and Cassandra to question if their alliance can defy destiny and save their city. I found myself completely absorbed in this tale from start to finish. I did enjoy book one more, but the rich detail and deep emotion in Fitzgerald's writing are remarkable, and I eagerly await her next work. This is a sapphic romance with asexual representation which was a first for me.

This book even has the reappearance of Hades and Persephone!🥹

Although you can enjoy this book on its own, I highly recommend reading the first book to fully appreciate the story's depth.

I absolutely love Greek mythology retellings and I was really excited for this one but unfortunately, I didn’t connect with this book for multiple reasons.

Firstly, the main characters, Helen and Cassandra, weren’t likeable at all. They were both more likable towards the end, but I never found myself actually liking either one of them. I was interested in reading about Cassandra's power of prophecy, that was the only interesting quality of this character. She angers Apollo multiple times and wonders why she gets cursed which ends up being very repetitive.

Apollo was probably the most interesting character of them all, although it felt very out of place when he started calling Cassandra ‘love’. It really didn’t match the way the story is written. There were other words used throughout that felt out of place but this was the main one that agitated me to read.

The discussion and explanation of Cassandra’s asexuality was perfectly scattered throughout the book, which really helps us understand her and what she feels with Helen. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan of the romance between them, Cassandra very suddenly couldn’t stop thinking about Helen after hating her since arriving. However, after this, the romance progressed well.

On the other hand, the book had a good premise. The description of Cassandra using her power of prophecy, weaving the golden threads of fate, was very well written. It felt very easy to visualise and was beautiful.

Overall, this book felt slow, there weren’t any moments where I felt I couldn’t put it down. The characters were difficult to like and I didn’t feel entranced by the romance. Fitzgerald stays true to most main events of the war as told in the Iliad, but they are extremely rushed that they feel as if they happened all at once. The story ended up feeling repetitive, Cassandra screaming about prophecy's and no one believing her, this makes up almost the entire book. I did, however, really love the way Cassandra accessed her power.

Thank you Penguin Random House and Netgalley for this ARC. ♡

A fantastic feminist retelling of a story we all thought we knew. Highly recommend for both teens and adults!

I couldnt get into this book and decided to soft DVF at first and waited untill i could try the audio- it still wasnt for me so DNF'd very early in