Beautiful. This mythology geek who keeps poetry under the pillow appreciates your transformation of contemporary to classic with this adaptation. I especially enjoyed picking out the Easter eggs, the references to various poems and myth. But it was the fact that you kept our hero and heroine in character throughout this whole tale that really stuck out to me, as that really rooted the story as less a retelling of a myth than an adaptation thereof. Bravo!

Orange...Chix...oh, God.

O.O Woah. Captivating beginning. And not something to read when you've been without male company for two weeks.

Wow, this is an amazing story. I love how it's all based on mythology - I'm a bit of a myth geek myself. xD Although I haven't heard of Cupid and Psyche. I love your writing style; the present tense really helped it be unique. Everyone was in character.

Sorry, I've been on the computer for over 2 hours straight now and I'm totally buzzed. So my review doesn't make a lot of sense. But basically, loved this story! Thanks for writing it! :)

thnks to Section 8. -> thanks

"If I can begin a relationship during an assassination attempt..." I loved that bit. And Trouble's response too. That was great.

"Whaddya say we ditch the Mudmen, bust out some wine, and really party," Hmm... I was thinking... According to book one don't fairies lose their magic if they consume spirits? I think Mulch is the only one who would be able to enjoy that party. ;)

Ambrosia, huh? That lines up well with the myth, though I must say I hope they find a better name for their daughter. If I remember correctly, the name of Cupid and Psyche's daughter is translated as "Pleasure" or "Bliss."

I think I've said, chapter by chapter, most of what I had to say. This story is truly excellent, one of the best fanfics I've read in any fandom and one of the most original ideas for a fic I've been lucky enough to come across. It's also a rare pleasure to see someone who has a love of literature and mythology and isn't afraid to play around with them. You did an amazing job with all the characters. There was humour and emotion and romance galore and those early chapters were so darned sexy! I also especially love the way you characterize the bond between Artemis and Holly, the sense of connection, of oneness between them. I think it's one of the things that really gets me about this pairing and you honed in on that aspect in some of those earlier chapters in particular.

As a whole, this story has a vividness to it that makes it as real as the books in my mind. I read the first chapters weeks ago and yet I can still remember some of the lines that I liked from them. It has a life of its own. Bravo! I can't wait to read to your latest story. Best of luck in all your writing!

‘Huston, I think we may have lost that lovin’ feeling.-> Houston?

I have to confess something... I can barely come up with something coherent to say about this chapter because I liked it so much. Mulch's armchair coaching was delightful and Artemis and Holly's reunion was perfect.

"She pulls him even closer, no longer afraid, no longer unclean and criminal and creeping. For herself, she is loved and, finally, redeemed."

I copied that line just so I could read it again. ;) Lovely. Absolutely lovely.

I just checked my review history and realized I hadn't posted for chapter six (or it got eaten by ffnet -– one or the other). Sorry about that. I usually write reviews in a draft file in case ffnet does something silly, and as luck would have it, I still have chapter six -– which was an excellent chapter and not deserving of being skipped. Here were my thoughts upon reading it a few weeks back:

Ah the tasks! This will be interesting. Artemis's coolness during the negotiations was just right, and the implication that the counsel drove her into his arms was brilliant. Trouble's line was also quite touching. And poor Foaly –- out of the loop. You're doing a very fine job with the entire cast.

And the last scene with Chix made me laugh aloud. Perfect bit of comic relief.

The conversation with Butler is wonderful just... wonderful. I know I've said it before, but you do such an extraordinary job of characterization with the entire cast. The bit where Artemis admits that he engineered the whole thing just to get Holly to come to him was great too (Butler's right, though: he really should just have called her lol ).

Sorry for being such a slow poke at finishing this, but I wanted to wait until I had the time to really enjoy it and attempt to say something useful in the reviews. I've been very fortunate in the fandom where I've posted most of my fics to have gotten some amazing, thoughtful reviews so I wanted to try to pass that on as best I can. So... on with the show. :)

She wonders if it is horrible of her to be glad that it was that Artemis who-> Extra "that"?-> "it was Artemis who"

The exchange between Artemis and his mother at the beginning is poignant as is her concern for Artemis and the fact that she realizes he's looking for Holly in all the other women he's dated. I really like that there was a chapter about his family in the story. It was very touching and added an extra layer. Artemis's newfound resolve is also a highlight. Another great chapter!

There is madness here, outside of the circle of her arms, and it has made him cruel.-> Wonderful wonderful line!

You weren't kidding about borrowing from La Belle Dame Sans Merci! I re-read just last week to refresh my memory after you mentioned it in your notes. I like what you did with it, used it as inspiration for the dream sequence. Poor Artemis. This chapter makes me want to hug him... but I'll let Holly take care of that. ;)

As for Mulch my guess would be Dionysus due to the grapes?

I found the councilman's diatribe a bit over the top, but maybe that was just due to the contrast between the rest of the scene which was full of clipped dialogue. What a jerk he was! Nice name choice. I loved the scene with Vinyaya. I just loved it. I love how she plays it all cool but also is doing everything in her power to help and encourage Holly. You've really handled the secondary characters in this story excellently. Artemis's coolness is the second scene is well done too, a real pleasure to read.

However, if, somehow, -> This paragraph and the one that follow it seem to be a continuation of Vinyáya's speech? Is that right? It was confusing as there was no quotation mark at the beginning. Normally longer speeches in dialogue simply omit the closing quotations at the end of the paragraph but add opening quotations to the following paragraph. So there would be no closing quotations after "one of the walls" or "back in the day" but there would be opening quotation marks after "However" and "Though, since no one"

I'll stop with the nitpicking now. I just mentioned it as it was a bit confusing.

A couple more great lines:

He is fully willing to agree that she’s far and away the best part of him.

Vinyáya does smile then. ‘Very, very rarely, Fowl, I can sometimes almost see why she likes you.’

No 1 is wonderful and I like how you've transformed the grain sorting task. It's very clever. Nicely done!

P.S. In my review for chapter six I think I typed "20" instead of "20" somehow... But yes I think elves are rather more short-lived than that.

life time of cat and mouse-> lifetime

the next two thousand years in exile-> I think only dwarves live 20 years... there was a reference to it in book three just before the mind wipes

Wow. The 'A Christmas Carol' joke was wonderful. As was Root. The whole chapter was delightful and humourous in spite of the gravity of the situation. Nicely done.

Starting with nitpicks:
He standing there,-> He's ?
he doesn’t look like corpse.-> like a corpse
‘Shut up Artemis,’-> up, Artemis
Artemis you idiot-> Artemis, you
Forget it Artemis.-> it, Artemis

Aside from dwarves, I don't remember fairies being intolerant to sunlight? In any case...

The paragraph about Artemis's dating history was amusing. The dialogue, again, was wonderful. You get them spot on; it's a real pleasure to read. Also... loved the last line of this chapter. ;) Anxious to read more.

Back to spam your inbox with reviews.

I just realized... it's been quite a while now since I've read Keats. I had to pause to go back and read some. The literary and classical allusions are a nice touch: if people don't get them the plot works fine anyway and if they do it, it adds an extra layer.