Curse of the Sphinx by Raye Wagner Pages: 344
Published by Createspace Independent Pub on August 9, 2015
Series: Sphinx #1
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy & Magic, mythology, Romance
Source: ecopy from Author
Also in this series: Demigods and MonstersHow 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, 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? Is Hope, too, being hunted? 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. Curse of the Sphinx is the first book in the young-adult Sphinx series.
Curse of the Sphinx is the first book in the young adult, Sphinx series by Raye Wagner. What I liked the most about Curse of the Sphinx is that this is not a mythology lite book. This is full fledged mythology in all its’ glory. You get dropped right into the action, so you would best be served if you have some kind of background knowledge on the players and workings of the worlds in Greek Mythology. One of my minors in college was greek mythology, and another minor was world mythology, so I knew a lot about the set up of the worlds, and a lot of the gods. Raye Wagner not only includes the big hitters, like Hera Hades, Hermes, Thanos, etc, but she also includes some of the lesser known gods, like the god of sweet talk and flattery- Hedylogus. I loved that. The mythology nerd in me was totally geeking out the whole time I was reading Curse of the Sphinx.
Curse of the Sphinx is about Hope, who as the name suggests is Sphinx, and you guessed it- is under a curse. I really liked Hope, but her mother had her so sheltered that she seemed a bit naive to me. I know that sounds strange, since she is what most people would consider to be a creature of myth that does not exist, but still she seemed too naive. Much of the first part of the story is told in a timeline that was based on the amount of days it had been since Hope’s last move. I found this to be a cool concept, but a bit confusing. I didn’t always know which move they were talking about. Was she at the same school? Was this still the same move? Or a different one? I would have really liked to have seen locations, along with the number of days. But the story still flowed really well, and moved at a brisk pace.
Athan is another main character in the Sphinx series, and the story starts out in a scene with him and his father in the underworld. I was very intrigued by Athan. I hope we get to see some more build between him and Hope in the next book. I think they have a lot of potential. Curse of The Sphinx is a book where you get bits and pieces of the answers as you go along. This first book did a good job setting the stage, and building the world. I love that the Greek gods are still running the show in modern times. It was a unique concept for sure, and there is a lot of promise for the second book. I think there are great things to come in the Sphinx series.
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This sounds like a fun story to read. Do you have to be well versed in Greek mythology in order to understand what’s going on and fully enjoy it?
At the beginning, I would certainly say it helps. You would not be lost without the knowledge, necessarily, but there may be a lot of foreign names and people referenced. Things do get explained as you go along, but it is more heavy in mythology references than most young adult mythology books I have read in the past. For me, that was a positive. 🙂
I hope you get a chance to read it Kristin. Thanks for stopping by!
From the blurb, Curse of the Sphinx sounds like an awesome read. I love mythology, and this book sounds rich in the lore. This will be interesting to see where Hope fits into the whole mythology line. The cover is great too!