This was a pretty heavy read... 

I haven't read Greek mythology since school and have always wanted to read more as an adult. This has been the first opportunity I had in a long time and I found I was still as interested and had never come across the story of Theseus, Phaedra and Hippolytus. 
Trigger warnings should be checked.

I really enjoyed the story being told from the perspective of the female characters, and the author did well to commit to the different narratives. I do feel it was weak for a novel that is set out as a "feminist retelling". The characters are helpless before the dominating males and, even the goddesses seem subjected to their violence and treachery. I felt uncomfortable at how explicit the description of male harassment, violence etc was so trigger warnings flagged here. 

My only other gripe is at times there was an assumption that the reader was well versed on the different myths which left the writing hanging to your the reader's imagination. Of course that does not work unless you know the tales, so I lost myself in these moments and found it a bit frustrating. This was a 3.5* for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

i did really like the storytelling and overall writing. however, i felt like there were some characters that were never really flushed out, some weird dialogue, and it overall just felt a little unrefined i guess. the ending was really good though.

 Thank you Net Galley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023, especially due to my love for Greek Mythology, however it did not live up to my expectations. Whilst the writing, overall, was good, the characters felt very 2-dimensional and it was very difficult to form a connection with them. At times the plot felt rushed and disjointed, and it felt like there were parts missing that could have really added to the storyline. I didn’t really find the characters likeable, they seemed distant in a way. When comparing this with similar fiction that retell this myth, it fell short of the sheer genius that they all seemed to have. I did find this easy to read, and at times it was mildly enjoyable. I am gutted to be writing such a negative review as I really wanted to like this.

 

A dark feminist retelling of not only Thesus and the Minotaur but as well as Pheadra and Hippolytus. I can see what the author was shooting for but it did not quite hit for me and more or less just left me feeling empty. Too many povs, and with them being first person pov they all sounded too similar to the point where I would forget who's pov i was reading because reading wise they felt interchangeable. 

Wow, this is a FANTASTIC audio! I loved all the different perspective, especially The Night Chorus chapters! The multiple voices overlapping one another, PHENOMENAL! Gave the coolest sound when listening to it. I felt all the feels.

As far as the story goes, I don't know too much about all the different people in Greek Mythology so I went into this with a pretty fresh POV. I enjoyed it. There's a lot more challenging content than I would've liked but looking at it objectively, that's understandable for the time period of ancient Greece. Women were not respected....men did do whatever they wanted & didn't have to answer for it (hmm...wonder what has changed?). With that being said, I don't fault the story or the author for the content. But because of the way the women were treated, it did frustrate me to no end & at times, made it challenging for me to listen to.

My recommendation to anyone would be to listen via audio! The narration/cast was fantastic!

Thank you so much to Alcove Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.

I actually did not realize this is considered an adult book until after I finished it. Based on the writing this 100% comes off as YA. Re-reading the description of the book, I definitely see why this would be considered adult, but I feel that the description gives false expectations for the book. Saying that Phaedra, "sparks an overdue reckoning" is misleading, as the very opposite happens...and then the book ends.

I was really looking forward to reading a story from Phaedra's POV, but instead we must also read the POV's of a multitude of other characters. Out of 56 chapters in this book, only 17 are Phaedra. There are characters that really added nothing to the story, and I found myself bored while waiting for it to return to Phaedra's point-of-view.

Speaking of the cast of the characters, everyone comes off as quite one-dimensional. We are only ever shown one aspect of their personality, so everytime that character pops up that is the only thing ever discussed about them. For Phaedra it's painting, Hippolytus is riding horses, Theseus is democracy, Medea her children, etc. We never really explore deeper as to who these characters are.

Unfortunately, I also found the plot to be lacking. Once Phaedra is in Athens she rarely leaves her rooms, so huge amounts of time pass by without anything happening. A good majority of the book is simply conversations that Phaedra has with a few characters in her bedroom. As the book revolves around one event, there isn't anything else that happens that is really of any interest.

Which brings me to the main topic of this story: rape. The description of this book makes it seem like the oppressed women are going to be heard, and perhaps get some justice, but that doesn't happen. Almost every page of this book talks about the brutalization of women. Every man is a rapist, and every woman has been raped. I was expecting some sort of uprising, or mass court hearing where women were going to tell their stories, be heard, and gain back some power for themselves. Yet Phaedra is the only one to speak. The other women remain nameless voices in the night.

With how this book ends I honestly do not understand the purpose of it. I get that this is a Greek tragedy, but with minimal plot and no character growth I am struggling to care. We simply stayed surface level on a topic that should have been delved into so much deeper. There were sparks in the beginning that led me to believe we would be heading for some serious and well needed discussions, but it just never happened.

Here are those quotes:
"It was not until ten summers later, when Theseus was to come to Crete, seeking power beyond what we could give him, that I was to learn the truth: that any man can throw words up into the air, and it is women who must pay when those words land."

"I know that history will judge me, but history is written by men."

Such promise ! Overall this is an unsatisfying story that really should have gone all in if it was going to deal with such a serious topic. I was looking for Phaedra's perspective in a feminist retelling, but instead got multiple perspectives on how large and annoying a table was. 

I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
With so many Greek myth retellings coming out these days, I am now a little wary when approaching a new one. This retelling, however, was wonderful. It was beautifully written, gripping, and shed incredible light on both the original myth and our modern society. It also shows how all of these myths overlap: those of Ariadne, Phaedra, the minotaur, Theseus and Hippolyta, Medea, and Zeus and Europa. My only quibble would be that the UK title of "The Heroines" would be far more fitting, as it is all of the women's voices combining in this novel that makes it truly powerful as they take the narrative back from the "heroes".