The Palace of Eros

De Robertis (The President and the Frog) explores the machinations and vulnerabilities of a Greek deity in this engrossing queer retelling of Eros and Psyche. When Aphrodite learns that Psyche, the youngest of King Lelex’s three daughters, is considered by many to be more beautiful than her, she afflicts Lelex’s domain with a drought. Lelex, hoping to appease the deity and end the curse, seeks guidance from Athena’s oracle, who instructs him to lash Psyche to a rock so that a monstrous husband can take her. Lelex agrees, but both he and Psyche are unaware that the oracle had conveyed a message from Aphrodite’s daughter Eros, who’s come to feel “she existed to bring pleasure to this girl, to bask in her, to offer her all the passions, all the world.” Eros arranges for Psyche to be swept by winds to her palace, where the two fall in love, despite Psyche’s ignorance of her partner’s divinity. The clever protagonists, who find ways to overcome more challenges from Aphrodite, intrigue, and De Robertis especially shines in their depiction of Eros, who strikes an uneasy bargain with her mercurial and toxic grandfather Zeus. Admirers of Madeline Miller will be pleased. (Aug.)