Ariadne Review

 

Ariadne 

By: Jennifer Saint 

Released: May 4th, 2021  

Pages: 308

My Rating: 4/5 

Goodreads Synopsis: 

As princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur - Mino's greatest shame and Ariadne's brother demands blood every year.  

When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives in Crete as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne falls in love with him. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that in a world ruled by mercurial gods - drawing their attention can cost you everything. 

In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne's decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover's ambition?

Ariadne gives a voice to the forgotten women of one of the most famous Greek myths, and speaks to their strength in the face of angry, petulant Gods. Beautifully written and completely immersive, this is and exceptional debut novel.

My Review:

I took so long to dive into this one because I never felt like I was in the right mood to begin. I knew it would most likely be a fairly heavy read since it is based on Greek Myth and having read and enjoyed Circe prior, I felt it could be similar. While I enjoyed Circe immensely, I did not grow to love it until halfway through the book. I would be lying if I said that I was not bored in the beginning of it and almost DNF'd it and that is why it took me so long to pick up Ariadne, I was just nervous! 

I know a fair amount of Greek Mythology - it was something that always fascinated me, but I do not know it all by any means. I knew the overview of the Minotaur but did not know all the details surrounding it or how it came to fall. I was excited to read it all from a new perspective. Once I started this book, it was hard to want to put it down. Where many of these myth retellings lack in action, this one made up for by being fast paced enough to keep me intrigued. The back and forth between Ariadne and her sister, Phedra's, point of view made things interesting and was a nice way to keep the story moving along. That was one problem I found with Circe - being stuck on an island is boring and it was boring to read about at times. Thankfully, this one avoided that issue! 

My heart felt for Ariadne on so many different occasions while reading. I knew the ending might not be the happily ever after I wished for her, I did not see what was coming. While it made me devastated in many ways, I do have to say that I really love having these retellings from the female perspective because it is so often a voice that is not heard in these original tales. If you read and enjoyed Circe or, just enjoy consuming Greek Mythology, this is a great take on the story of Ariadne.

Signing off,

Molly