When you think of ‘Love’ as a person, forget the cute, winged Cupid with a bow and arrow. In Ancient Greece, Eros, the god of desire, was born out of the primordial chaos of the world. Love was seen as the madness of the gods, and the doom of many heroes.

Eirene and her sister, Phoebe, live on the island of Zakynthos, under the terror of their ruler Leandros, a descendant of Eros, who sells potions of ‘Desire’ to men so they can capture the affections of women they want, against the women’s will. After his wife mysteriously dies, Leandros sets his sights on Phoebe. Eirene, willing to go to any lengths to protect her sister, takes Phoebe’s place to become Leandros’s wife instead. Unhappy about this change, Leandros agrees to take Eirene for his wife but only if she succeeds in completing the four tasks that Psyche, Eros’s true love, had to endure to be with him. During her time there, Eirene begins to uncover the secrets of Leandros – how he makes his potions of Desire to sell; how his wife died; and of his beautiful and mysterious daughter, Lamia, whom Leandros keeps locked away in his castle.

Glittering with magic, a heart-fluttering romance, and mystery, I didn’t want to put this book down. Gentlest of Wild Things brings a sapphic twist to the iconic Greek myth in which love overcomes all trials. Sarah Underwood has woven together a mesmerising tale where love is as beautiful as it is monstrous. For ages 14+.