Review: Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

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 – Minos’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 an exceptional debut novel.

What I thought
Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy of this book for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings expressed are my own.

I have always enjoyed mythology, but I have to say I love that we are getting retellings that focus on the mostly forgotten women of the original myths.  They were briefly mentioned and usually, the context around them was not good.   I took a mythology class in high school (no one needs to know how long ago that was) and we studied the Greek myths.  So when the only thing I could remember about Ariadne was that she liked to dance I knew I was in for a treat.  The original story focused on Theseus and the Minotaur and little was said about the Minotaur’s sisters.  Also, the original story used the mother as a lesson to be learned.  So I really enjoy that this story dives into the fact that the mother is used by the gods to punish her husband and it shows her trama.  In many ways, this story gives back to all the women that were just brushed over.   And it does help that some of the men do get what is coming to them.  

I found the writing to be lovely and I was pulled into the story from the beginning.  This is a wonderful book for anyone that loves retellings or is a fan of Madeline Miller’s Circe.  

My Rating: /5

Have you read this book? If so what did you think? Tell me in the comments below.