Reviews

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

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kschiffm's review

4.0

In Ariadne by Jennifer Saint, the Minotaur has a sister. Ariadne, daughter of Minos, grew up under the shadow of the monster. Taking the first chance to get away that she finds, Ariadne seeks to see the world but ends up saved by Dionysis on his remote island. As she falls in love with the god and settles down, not everything in her life, or her past, is as remote as it seems. In a retelling of the classic myth, we get to know one of the women of greek mythology more.

Favorite Quote
“I would be Medusa, if it came to it, I resolved. If the gods held me accountable one day for the sins of someone else, if they came for me to punish a man’s actions, I would not hide away like Pasiphae. I would wear that coronet of snakes, and the world would shrink from me instead.” – Jennifer Saint, Ariadne

Review
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint is a retelling from the point of view of the sister of the Minotaur and the wife of Dionysis. As someone who has read Circe and The Song of Achilles, I knew this would be right up my alley. Ariadne’s story is less epic and has less adventure than other stories in the greek cannon, but still managed to have my full attention.

The book has a very dark ending that I didn’t quite see coming. While there are hints of it throughout, the final climactic scene was more brutal and horrifying than I had expected. Sometimes old myths serve to remind us that bad things can get out of hand quickly and that we should trust our gut.

I received an e-book arc of Ariadne by Jennifer Saint from the publisher Flatiron Books.

I recommend these books if you liked Circe and are interested in retellings of classic greek myths.

mjqvt's review

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adventurous emotional

3.5

alibookedup's review against another edition

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4.0

4.0****

This story hit more at home for me after Roe v Wade was overturned. It ultimately tells the story of women who suffer for the deeds and greed of men. You want so bad for Ariadne to escape that story, but you know it’s a cycle that seems fated to repeat. However, what I am deciding to take away from this is that regardless we as women continue to fight and persevere. This book reminded me a lot of A Witch’s Heart and Circe. I loved all the feminist tones and the realistic relationship between the two sisters.

ellydavis's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

alyjmaahs's review

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4.0

rip ariadne u would have loved the song history of man by maisie peters

tinamariethinkstoomuch's review

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3.0

Heard a lot of hype for this book but it just was okay for me. I seem to be the odd woman out. The writing was a little wordy and some of the story felt repetitive. The POV back and forth was annoying to me and kind of made the timeline hard to follow. People were saying this was feminist and about the women, but I didn't feel that at all. The men seemed to remain the forefront of the story, who the women were completely focused on, though they are depicted as a*holes. Ariadne seemed to not learn, was naive and gullible and simple through the whole book. There's some hope for her sister Phaedra, but then she does a 180 and loses her appeal too. I get this is following the myth, and taken at face value it's a basic retelling without much inspiration or reader engagement. I really considered not finishing it because at times it was downright boring. It wasn't terrible, just not for me, and I love Greek mythology.